The white flash of lightning and the accompanying blast of thunder jolted Kate from sleep. In those first moments, her memories of the day flew to the forefront and, thinking she was alone in her apartment, her tears were very near the surface as she struggled to sit up. Once consciousness cleared out the rest of her brain and she recognized her surroundings, her relaxation was nearly instantaneous. She felt Sam pull her closer and tighten his hold. It looked to her like he was still asleep, but she wasn't entirely sure. She leaned in close to his face and whispered something to him, then settled back with a little smirk on her face and waited for his reaction. About 3 seconds after she told him, his eyes flew open and looked at her.

"You're what?"

She laughed softly, and he looked at her entirely confused, but enjoying the sound of her laugh. He had no idea what was going on.

"I only said that to see if you were up, you know. Don't worry, it's not real."

She looked up at him with a completely innocent look on her face. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Don't do that to me, please. It's too damn early in the morning for that."

"Sorry."

He kissed her forehead lightly. "Did the storm wake you, too?"

"Yeah, but I love thunderstorms and stuff like that. I want to run outside and play in them. Sometimes, if there's one going on when I go to bed, it actually helps me sleep."

"Oh, good."

"What's that supposed to mean, you?", she said as she gave him a light swat.

"Nothing, really. When we went to bed, I could hear the thunder and worried that the storm would startle you. You feeling better now?"

She sighed quietly and closed her eyes. "A little. It's going to take a few days."

"Want to talk about it?"

"You sure? I don't want..."

"Katie, stop. We're both up, it's 3AM and I don't think either of us is going back to sleep anytime soon. If you're willing to talk about it, I'm willing to listen."

She closed her eyes for a moment. 'I know that I can trust him,' she thought, 'and he may be able to help me figure this out.'

"Toby was the last straw for me today. Work was boring and miserable; I was worried about finding your office. Around lunch, my supervisor called me into his office and asked me to confirm where I was born and what my parents do. He even asked me what other members of my family did. Then, he tells me to move my workstation from on the aisle where I'm near a few other people to the far back corner of the section. Now, there are at least 2 empty desks between me and the nearest person and it's unbelievably obvious when I try to leave my desk. I don't know why he asked me all those questions nor why he had me move."

"When I got to the Wing, I just wanted to be able to sit and talk about this with you for a few minutes before we went out for dinner, just so I could get this out and we could have a good time. It was still very close to the surface when I got to the bullpen and Toby ran into me. He started to yell at me and I just went on auto-pilot." He began to touch her hair very lightly, like a soft breeze, as she spoke.

Her voice caught as she continued, "All I could think of was not making him more upset so things wouldn't get any worse. I wanted to find you, but I was afraid you'd react the same way. By the time he'd finished, the only thing I could think of was getting away from there. I just wanted to run, Sam. I wanted the pain, the fear, the sickness to go away. I just—I just wanted everything to stop."

She sighed as she rested her forehead against his chest. She was exhausted just from talking about it, and could easily fall asleep in that moment.

He stared into the blackness of the room and thought about what she'd told him. He was surprised that she'd wanted to discuss this before they went out, but he had a feeling that she'd been more concerned about him than with herself. She knew that he'd be able to tell if something was wrong and would worry about it until she talked about what was bothering her. The whole incident just smacked of bad timing and high emotions.

He pulled her close and began to play with her hair as he rocked her gently. He could feel her snuggle closer and the soft touch of her lips on his chest through his shirt when she kissed him. Surprised, he pulled back to look at her, smiling gently as he did so.

"What was that for, precious?" His voice was barely audible.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For caring about me, about my feelings."

"I've always cared, more than you could ever know." He traced the outline of her eyes and trailed his finger down her nose. "All the time we've been apart, I thought about you nearly every day. I missed you so very much."

"I missed you, too." She slipped her hand up to rest on his face.

The touch of her hand was too much. He looked into her eyes and, in a flash of lightning that lit the room, found the unspoken consent he hoped for.

The first small kiss was soft and tentative for both of them, but after that, it was like they'd never left that snowy balcony all those years ago.

Her heart flew into her throat as they kissed. The dazzlingly electric sensation she'd prayed for so many times was there in abundance. It was so soft and loving, she felt as if she were dreaming. He'd run his tongue along her upper lip and behind it to tell her what he felt, nip at her lower lip to tease her. She moaned softly as she lightly traced the edge of his ear with her finger. The kiss deepened into something so passionate, so sensual, it was as if he was laying claim to her as his lover with this single kiss.

Sam caressed her cheek as he kissed her, slow and tender, lovingly and passionately. She tasted so sweet, like warm crème brûlée, and was so responsive. He was amazed by the depth of emotion that came through as she kissed him back. He could feel her love, her tenderness in every touch, every breath. He forced himself not to jump when she traced his ear; her caress was a reassurance and an endearment in the same moment. The way that she ran the tip of her tongue along the edge of his made him crazy. With that single action, she spoiled him for any other woman in the future.

They ended it with tiny, gentle kisses, like a carousel slowing to a stop. Dark green looked into deep royal and back, and what passed between the two needed no words. Each wrapped themselves around the other and drifted to sleep as the storm faded outside, secure in the knowledge of how they felt about each other.

And as the stars came out from behind the clouds while they slept, small pieces of broken glass slowly began to fuse themselves together in a long-forgotten corner.