Disclaimer: If I owned Mort, I'd be living with him in his cabin and doing very naughty things with (and to) him…but since I don't, I'm stuck here writing stories about him (sighs).

AN: I know that the Kayla-and-Mort encounter was a bit like Amber and Mort in my first fic, but at least it happened when they both felt something for each other, right? Also, I don't promote/condone drinking or alcohol in this chapter, I'm just saying Kayla's having one because her mind and emotions are a bit wacky and need to be calmed down a bit. Oh, and this chapter is rated R. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Evolving Feelings:

That Night, Kayla's POV:

'I can't believe I let that happen,' she thought to herself, staring out the windows of her apartment.

Kayla took a sip of the frozen margarita she'd made that evening after dinner, and felt like kicking herself. She'd actually had sex with Mort Rainey, and the weird thing was, she didn't feel bad about it. Well, okay, she felt a little bit bad about the whole thing, but it had been so intense that she still couldn't get the encounter out of her head! All she could think about was the peaceful, content look on Mort's face afterwards, and her heart just melted. How could a sweet and caring man be called insane? It didn't make any sense, but at least he was making considerable progress towards 'getting better.'

'But what if he was intimate with me because of his hallucinations and dreams?' she thought, clutching her glass tightly with both hands. Horrified at the idea of being used for sex, Kayla took a deep drink of her drink, letting the alcohol numb her nerves so she could think clearly.

It was possible that Mort had had sex with her in an attempt to somehow become closer to his hallucination. But was that what he'd had in mind when he had dragged her into the supply closet that afternoon? Could be, but who knows for sure? For all she knew, Mort could have loving feelings towards her, and she'd never know it because she couldn't tell his real feelings from his attachments to his hallucinations. Was there a way for her to tell the difference? Possibly, once he got better and was released. What depressed her was the chance that he might figure out his feelings for her, and he'd have to choose to either return for her or forget about her completely.

She just didn't know which option was the one she wanted him to choose.

Mort's POV:

It's truly amazing how a person's ceiling can become a constant form of focus for a person. For instance, Mort had been staring at his for over an hour (he could tell from hourly bed-check at night), and his mind was still racing. It's not that he couldn't sleep; it was simply that he didn't want to. Thoughts of Kayla and the sounds she made as he took her in the closet filled his mind, and he wanted to keep those images in his head as long as he could.

'If only I could have had her here, in my bed,' he thought, rubbing his eyes with his hands.

Oh, it would have been so magical if he had her beneath his body and under his sheets as he made love to her the way she deserved! Mort mentally scolded himself for not having their first time together in his bed, as it should have been. The closet should have been for a much later time, not their first!

'Next time will be better,' he thought, smiling to himself. 'Kayla deserves better, and I'll make sure she gets it!'

Sighing, Mort finally drifted off to sleep, images of Kayla in his arms going through his head.

Kayla's POV:

Kayla sat in her chair, her head still spinning slightly from the previous day's events. Actually, she was still sort of hung over from the three frozen strawberry margaritas she'd had the night before, but she liked to think that she was pondering the 'closet incident' with Mort. Either way, her head felt like it had been spun around a dozen times before allowing itself to settle in its correct position on top of her neck.

Sighing, Kayla tried to focus on the pile of paperwork in front of her, but couldn't seem to see the papers. All she saw were a pair of intense brown eyes staring into hers right before a pair of hot lips descended on her. She could swear on a stack of Bibles that she felt Mort's hands on her body, his mouth on her neck, trailing upwards towards her face. She let out a small groan before a tapping sound snapped her out of her daze. Looking around, she spotted Mort right outside the sliding window. Smiling in spite of herself, she rolled her chair over to open it.

"Hi, Mort," she said, giving him a happy smile.

Mort grinned back as he slipped a sheet of paper through the window. "Read this and then destroy it," he whispered through the small opening. She barely had time to pick up the paper before he quickly walked off down the hall.

Kayla couldn't help but stare after him in confusion. Mort had never asked her to destroy a piece of his work before, so this was a new thing. Shrugging her shoulders, she opened the note and read the message inside.

Kayla,

Meet me in the storage room in the East Wing after your lunch break.

Mort

Kayla stared at the piece of paper before slipping it into the shredder. She knew exactly what Mort wanted, and was unsure about being able to give it to him. After all, what woman wouldn't want to be intimate with a sexy man like Mort Rainey? True, she'd had sex with him in the closet once, but perhaps she'd been too forward with him. Maybe now would be a good time for her to stop this from going any further before things turned bad.

Nodding to herself, Kayla looked at her watch and saw that it was lunchtime. She had an hour before she had to meet Mort, and she silently prayed that she would be able to think of something kind to say to him by the time they met.

That Afternoon, Author's POV: Rated R:

Slipping into the storage room, Kayla looked around and saw nothing. Inwardly sighing, she closed her eyes to mentally go over the mini-speech she had prepared five minutes ago. She was scared out of her wits when a strong hand slid around her waist, another quickly clamped over her mouth to silence the small yelp that escaped her mouth. She let out a small squeak of fear as a pair of lips kissed her neck.

"I missed you," a velvet-silk male voice whispered to her, his hand sliding from her mouth and down her neck.

"Mort," Kayla gasped, feeling his hand stroke her breasts, the heat from his palm seeping through the fabric of her top. She tried to keep her speech in mind as she licked her suddenly dry lips. "Mort, we really shouldn't…" She groaned as his hands began a slow rubbing motion all over her breasts and stomach.

"Quiet, sweetheart," he said, gently nipping her neck. "You don't want anyone to hear us, now, do you?"

Kayla could only groan in reply as his hands slid under her dress and began sliding the material upwards. His hands were amazingly soft and gentle, moving in tiny circles along her skin as he moved them up her body. How had she not noticed how wonderful his hands felt when he touched her? Probably because she was too busy enjoying the feel of his lips on hers…

She snapped out of her daze when she felt him move her forwards, her knees suddenly hitting something large and soft. Looking around, she saw it was a spare cot, the type used when bad storms trapped visitors here for the night. Apparently Mort had thought of everything for this little encounter. Kayla soon felt him lift her up in his arms before gently laying her down on the cot.

"I wanted this time to be done right," he whispered as his mouth descended on hers.

Kayla could only make a noise of agreement, as her lips were preoccupied with responding to Mort's gentle, yet passionate, kiss. She quickly lost all coherent thought as he began unzipping her dress, the fingertips of one hand sliding up and down her spine as the other slowly pulled the garment down off of her. Kayla gave a small sigh when his lips left hers for a brief moment, only to kiss their way down her body, stopping at her stomach before drifting back up, her dress lying forgotten on the floor along with her shoes and stockings.

"Mort," she whispered, right before his lips pressed against hers once more, enjoying the feel of his facial hair against her cheeks.

Mort simply smiled as his hands quickly unsnapped her bra, tossing it aside before removing her panties. He froze for a moment, staring at the beauty of the angel in front of him before coming back and removing his own clothes, his body quickly covering hers. Mort let out a sigh as skin rubbed together, wrapping them both in an indescribable shell of warmth and love. Letting out another contented sigh, Mort pressed inside of her.

Kayla gave a small whimper of pain as he thrust into her body, but soon her sounds of pain became those of pleasure. It was only the second time they'd been together like this, and yet it seemed that they had done it a thousand times before. Feeling Mort move inside her was unbelievable, and she knew that she wanted more than what he was giving her. Tilting her hips upwards, she gave him the signal he'd been praying for since the moment he'd met her.

Thrusting hard and fast, Mort began to take her as he'd never taken a woman before, pouring all of his passion and love into this one act. He needed to bury himself in her, to make her his forever, and this was the only way. Moving his hips faster, Mort began to grunt and groan, sounding like an animal as he possessed the woman beneath him.

Kayla cried out as Mort gave one particular thrust before his lips fell on hers, preventing anyone from hearing their activities. Their bodies continued to move in an intensely fast pace before she came, hard, screaming into his mouth. Mort followed immediately after, grunting as he continued to thrust into her, his body dripping sweat as he gladly released himself inside her.

Gasping, the two lay on the cot, caressing each other while trying to regain their breath and strength.

Kayla's POV:

Kayla laid her head on Mort's shoulder as his hand drifted up and down her back, trying to catch her breath. The speech she had prepared still hadn't returned to her, but she knew that these little rendezvous couldn't continue, not if she wanted to keep working here and not if Mort were to be given the chance to get better. This was important, and she really needed to talk to him about this.

"Mort?" she whispered, trying to gather her courage to talk to him.

"Hmm?" He sounded tired as he gently trailed his fingers up her arm to caress her hair.

"I need to talk to you about something." She took a deep breath and was about to speak before Mort interrupted her thoughts.

"I know what you want to talk about, Kayla," he said, wrapping both arms around her body, gripping her tightly to him. "I know what you're thinking about, like what will happen to your job and to me and my treatments, and I will say this." He turned her head so that his eyes met hers. "I'm saying that there's no way I'm going to let you go, not when I've found you and held you in my arms like the wonderfully divine woman you are."

He then leaned forward and kissed her, just like a husband would kiss the woman he called the love of his life and his soulmate, and she couldn't resist melting into him. It felt so warm and safe that she never wanted the moment to end…but of course, it had to. She knew there would be people looking for them before too long, and Mort had an appointment to keep. She reluctantly pulled back from the kiss.

"I'd better go," she said, reaching up and stroking his face as she reached for her clothes.

Mort gently took her hand in his. "Don't worry, Kayla," he said, softly smiling up at her. "I promise to get better and get out of here to romance you properly before anyone here finds out. Your job will be safe, I promise you."

Kayla couldn't stop the smile that quirked the corners of her mouth. "Thank you, Mort," she said, letting the smile progress into a full grin. This man had to be the most considerate man on the planet to care about her, and to do so much on her behalf and for her own good. It was almost like he was perfect. "But it's not just me I worry about…I worry about you, too."

She then leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips as she slipped on her clothes and shoes before leaving.

Mort's POV:

Mort leaned back on the cot and sighed. He knew that Kayla worried about what would happen should the staff members and doctors find out about their relationship. What touched his heart was that her fears were not only for her and her job, but also for him and his ability to get better so he could be released. She didn't want him to be stuck here forever, and he certainly didn't want to be here any longer than he had to. It was indeed risky trying to woo her while he was still here at the hospital, but Mort knew that (given the chance) his rival, Alex, would gladly step in and attempt to take Kayla from him. Mort also knew that should never be allowed to happen.

Mort's jaw tightened as his hands clutched the sheets around him. Alex will never take her away from him. 'I will get better and I'll take Kayla away from here,' he swore. 'I've got a dozen ideas to make into stories, and I could make a good life for the two of us.' Mort smiled. 'We could be happy together.'

For now, though, he had to get up. He had an appointment with Dr. Vincent, and he couldn't be late. Even though the meeting wasn't for another hour, Mort still had to get his head together after this wondrous encounter with Kayla. Last time, his head had been in the clouds for much of the session, and Mort had barely escaped any sort of suspicion because Dr. Vincent thought that maybe his medication was affecting him a bit much. Now Mort was on a specific amount of pills, and no longer needed to be watched while he took them. This time, however, he needed to be careful and not appear so distracted during his sessions with Dr. Vincent.

Sighing, Mort stood up and collected his clothes, putting them on as he tried to put aside all thoughts of Kayla and him lying together in bed in each other's arms. Instead, he tried to focus on how to answer Dr. Vincent's questions without appearing 'out of it.' If it appeared that the medication had been the cause of his previous problems, it would turn out for the best for everyone, Mort especially. If he went in and looked like he was still high on drugs that he wasn't taking, he would most definitely be monitored closely to discover why he was acting strangely, and he did not want that to happen.

Carefully arranging his robe, Mort carefully looked around the room. He had to clean up the mess they had made on the cot, or else someone would know something was going on. Mort quickly removed the sheets, stuffing them into the laundry shoot as he began looking for the stack of clean linens. Spotting what he needed, he re-made the cot in record time, making it look as though no one had been in it. Proud of his achievement, Mort went to the door and peeked out. Spotting no one, he slipped out, slowly and carefully closing the door behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Mort whirled around and felt his blood boil. It was Alex, and he looked happy to find Mort doing something against the rules of the hospital…in this case: appearing to attempt to steal from the storage closet. Mort knew that he had to think of something fast before he was punished with time alone locked in his room for a day…or even worse, with more time in the institution! Letting his writers' creativity work, he put on a small ashamed smile and looked Alex right in the eye.

"I was trying to find another pillow," he said, using his best acting skills. "Mine's kind of lumpy and I wanted a new one."

Alex frowned, apparently unhappy with Mort's passable lie. "You need to ask the staff about that, not do it yourself," he snapped, crossing his arms.

"I didn't want to bother them, they're all so busy helping out everyone else." Mort tried to look ashamed and, from the look on Alex's face, apparently succeeded.

"Don't give me that kind of crap, Mr. Rainey," Alex growled, his hands clenching at this side. "You're up to something, so don't act so innocent."

Before he could blink, Mort found himself pinned against the wall, Alex's face an inch from his, and for the first time since Shooter appeared and vanished, Mort felt afraid and extremely angry. The last thing he needed was an orderly with a grudge against him, especially when this particular orderly wanted the woman he loved! Trying his best to keep his anger at bay, Mort opened his mouth to defend himself, but was unable to get a word out before a savior appeared next to them.

"Alex, what the hell do you think you're doing!" cried a female voice they both recognized.

Nurse Holly had appeared, and Mort was never so happy to see a nurse and staff member in his life. He really didn't want to hurt anyone, especially when he was doing so well with all of his treatments and with Kayla, but if Alex seriously meant to do some sort of harm to him, then Mort would answer in whatever manner he saw fit…even if it meant using violence.

"Alex, why the hell do you have Mr. Rainey pressed against the wall?" Nurse Holly growled at the orderly. "I saw you from down the hall, and I know that he didn't provoke you into anything, so don't give me any sort of crap about that." She crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

Mort looked up and could see the wheels turning in Alex's head as he frantically tried to think of a believable answer, but appeared unable to grasp one. Slowly, the tight grip on Mort's clothing vanished, and he was free.

"Now, what happened, Mr. Rainey?" asked Nurse Holly, using the calm voice she applied so such stressful situations like this.

"I wanted a new pillow for my bed because my old one felt lumpy," Mort said, once again using his shy and ashamed look. "I know I should have asked for one, Nurse Holly, but you're always so busy, so I thought I could get one myself." He looked at his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Its okay, Mr. Rainey," Nurse Holly said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Next time, just ask and we'll get one for you, okay?"

"Oh, my God, you can't really believe his story!" Alex said disbelievingly. "I mean, the man is obviously lying!"

Nurse Holly turned and looked at him. "We have no proof of that, and it has been a while since we've changed the pillows in the wing Mr. Rainey is in," she said, glaring at him. "I'll talk with the head nurse about that, and you, Alex, are going to have a small smear on your permanent record for assaulting a patient without cause." She then turned towards Mort. "I think you're supposed to be with Dr. Vincent?"

Mort nodded and walked off, leaving the two staff members behind him. He risked a slight glance back and saw Alex frantically arguing with Nurse Holly. Before he could turn his head back around, he saw Alex give him the most evil death-glare over the nurse's shoulder. Not giving any sort of acknowledging look in return, Mort turned back around and headed down the hallway.

That was close, too close for Mort's comfort. Hopefully Alex won't try anything like that again, but he had a feeling that the orderly would try some sort of revenge on him for this.

Sighing, Mort walked to Dr. Vincent's office and opened the door to go inside.

AN: Another day, another chapter…yay! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will leave a review.