Summary – The bed has been made and it isn't always the maker that has to lie in it.
Disclaimer – I don't own Dark Angel. I'm merely borrowing it for a while; I'll return it fairly intact soon enough.
Notes – Please read and review.

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Christopher watched in amusement as Shauna collapsed on his couch stretched out her body, threw back her head and closed her eyes. Although, he had to admit the sight was slightly arousing. "Ahh," she said, cracking an eyelid and smiling at him, "better."

How long had it been since he had seen her smile? A week? Two? She did not smile often, but had been doing so even less lately. Ever since she had seen the X4s and the attack a few days later. She was still the same irritable, sarcastic person she had been before, but now there was something else hovering beneath the surface. Sorrow? Weariness?

He remembered when he had heard about the attack, that she had killed a man. After her reaction to the X4s, he had expected something more than a vague acknowledgement that she killed someone and injured another, sentencing him to torture. She did not react though, not really. It hadn't occurred to her – she was doing her job. If he wanted a relationship with her then he had to deal with it.

And he did want a relationship with her. They had talked about their relationship, briefly, a couple of times. He was surprised that she was happy but tentative with the direction it was going. It surprised him that she had never given any indication that she wasn't happy with it. She only displayed a nervousness that indicated a very real possibility that this was her first serious relationship of a romantic nature. The thought struck him that she probably didn't have all that many serious relationships of any kind. Probably wasn't encouraged in her line of work.

She was also close to seven years younger than him, which gave him pause occasionally. Theoretically, he knew that seven years wasn't that greater gap, and there were plenty of other relationships with a larger one, but when he thought about it, it was big. Shauna never acted immature – she was hardly a child, for sure. And had he been asked, before knowing her age, he would have said she was older than she actually was. It was just sobering when he thought about the difference.

One thing he found difficult was that she made few attempts at physical and emotional contact. Although she never resisted him, and even responded, she almost never initiated anything between them.

A thought occurred to him: wasn't it traditionally the girl that worried about these things? Shauna was not your average girl though.

"Christopher? Chris-to-pher?" He blinked, realizing that she was calling him. He grinned and sat next to her, gently putting his arm around her and, when she did not resist, pulling her closer, and was still surprised when she returned the embrace. "You were staring into space so long I thought you'd got lost." Her tone was light and – he was nearly bowled over to note – almost playful. He didn't think she got playful.

"I was thinking. You seem happy. Dare I ask if I have anything to do with your mood?"

"You do. And the lack of hell."

He smiled. "I'm glad that you are Sha'. You've been working so hard lately and they give you so little time off."

She shrugged closing her eyes again and resting her head – in another almost unheard of act on her part – on his shoulder. "I'm an assassin, I get so little time off coz assassins don't have unions. What about you? Ever since that group decided to breach Manticore, you've been working so hard. I'm not actually doing anymore than usual. Who were they, by the way?"

Lydecker had already told him what he could and could not tell Shauna about the group that had attacked Manticore. Chris was amazed that the man seemed to know exactly what was going on with the walls of Manticore, including the relationship between Shauna and Chris – which was not general knowledge.

He took his time answering her question, he knew that while she expected him to tell her almost everything, she would accept that there were some things that he could not ell her. It would piss her off, but she would accept it.

"It's a group that's anti-Manticore, it consists mainly of ex-Manticore employees that have not been 'taken care of', the odd surrogate who has not kept her word about being silent and has slipped beneath the radar, their families, and a few others they've managed to convince to join their cause. They want Manticore stopped and the 'captives' freed. For some unknown reason, they're unwilling to make the public aware of Manticore. In short, they have a grudge. This is personal, and they don't want anyone else involved in their vendetta.

"I think you stumped them, though. They weren't expecting you. Manticore soldiers maybe. Possibly some of the X-series. Not you. That's why it was so easily stopped. Things haven't happened that way before. Manticore's still missing an X4 and its mother from the last raid."

She had tilted her head up to look at him. "Really? But what would my presence do? I only came across two of them."

"Yeah, but they created enough distractions elsewhere on base that those two should have been able to do something. You stopped that."

She closed her eyes again making the shadows under her eyes even more prominent. She looked so worn, even with the day away from Manticore. She was allowed two days every month to herself, it was in some contract signed higher up. Right now it looked as though he should have let her sleep all day, like she had originally planned. He had dragged her out of Manticore, thinking it might have been good for her to escape for a while. Shauna, in her usual fashion, had protested and scowled as he all but carried her out. But he had got her out and they had had a good time today, just relaxing around the small town of Gillette.

Suddenly he had a thought, "Sha'?" he began tentatively.

"Hmm?" came the sleepy response and he almost lost his nerve.

"What would you say if I asked you to stay the night?"

Her whole body tensed, though she didn't open her eyes. "I have work tomorrow morning."

"I know." He found himself holding his breath and he released it slowly.

She relaxed against him again, although her eyes stayed closed. "All right, but let's stay here for a while."

"All right."

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As Shauna woke the next day, she became aware that she was not alone or in her room at Manticore. The surroundings were strange and someone was wrapped around her. She was about to lash out when she remembered where she was and whom she was with.

Christopher. She had spent the night with Christopher. And what a night – he was so…down girl! She thought with some amusement, a little panic, and a lot of annoyance. She was feeling so relaxed and so good. Now she understood why she had been told that sex could be a very effective tool. From her very first encounter, she had been able to see it as a powerful weapon, but she had never completely known why she had been taught that it was it was also a soporific.

But last night…

Slowly the panic was beginning to take over her other emotions. It would have been so easy for Chris to— she snapped that thought off before she could go any further.

Last night she had wanted this, and she wasn't one to regret decisions that she made. Also she trusted her own character judgment. An ability to tell friend from foe was something she had long ago learned to refine almost to infallibility.

Chris was not the type of guy who slept with woman to play a sick power game, months of friendship had taught her this. Besides, you couldn't change what had already happened. She was just going to have deal with it. If it had been a mistake, then…but she didn't want it to be a mistake.

…And her head was so all over the place this morning. Quickly, she did a few breathing exercises, managing to get some order in her brain, just a little more clarity. However, it was at this point that Chris shifted slightly, stirring into wakefulness, his skin moving against hers and she had to grit her teeth and concentrate on breathing to keep her body and mind from going completely haywire. God, but that feels so good.

"Do you want me to move?" His words surprised her. Obviously, he had felt the tension in her body, despite the fact that she was still pretending to sleep, and responded to it. That in itself presented a new problem. If he knew her that well…

Forcing herself to relax again so as to not letting him know she was panicking, as it wouldn't help her if he was an enemy, and if he was not, then she didn't want him to know anyway. Never reveal all that you know, not even to your closest allies. Why, in God's name, was she reciting old lessons? You wanted this. You know Chris well enough toknow that this probably isn't atrap. Get over it.

"No. Don't." She didn't want him to move, and right now that was what she was going concentrate on. He kissed the back of her neck, and his hand slid upwards to her breast. Shauna shifted slightly, pressing her body against his and then started to turn to face him.

However, as she did so she caught sight of the glowing alarm clock, which told her that she needed to get up to face the world.

"As much as I want to continue here, right now isn't the time," she said with a sigh, trying to ignore his grunt of protest, wanting nothing more than to stay warm and cocooned with him.

Rolling out of bed, she winced at her protesting muscles and body, and grabbed the robe hanging over a chair. It smelled like Chris, clean with a hint of something spicy. In fact the smell alone was almost good enough to throw training and work to the wind and jump back into bed with him.

Closing her eyes briefly, her back to Chris, she let her mind wander, affording him more trust than he would probably ever realize. Despite a few aches here and there, she felt good. The sensation of having his robe wrapped around her only heightened that. Maybe the terry cloth wasn't as good as him, but it was very…comforting.

So gooey…but the annoyance was becoming harder to hang on to, and the panic was disappearing even faster. Even though they had done little sleeping last night, she felt so much more rested than she had in so long. What she really felt was sated. God could strike me down now and I'd be smiling as I went!

Shauna sighed, bringing her thoughts back in line, once again. This time she managed to keep them that way. She headed for the shower leaving behind the still sleepy Christopher.

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Lying on his back, Chris watched lazily as Shauna left for the shower. Even the robe couldn't quite hide her form. It was ridiculously short on him, but on her it was a little long. Still, there was a nice view of her legs. And now he knew what they extended up to…Oh, yeah, nice…

He knew he should get up, to get ready for the day, but he was just enjoying the sensation of being so relaxed. Shauna had agreed to spend the night with him, and she had not been nearly as skittish as he might have expected. As good as she was at keeping people away, she had not panicked, or gotten upset.

He briefly regretted that she had to be back there a good two hours before he did. Maybe she would let him use her room to get a little more sleep before he started. Rolling out of bed as he heard the shower turn off, he groaned. Time to get up.

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Relieving the guards from their duty, Shauna was slightly exasperated to see the two, now familiar X1s take up their position silently a few feet away. Yet another thing she had to talk to Lydecker about. They were really not necessary. She wasn't sure she could talk him around getting rid of them, but she would try. They made her feel so…watched. A feeling she definitely did not like.

As she unlocked Theresa's door, she felt a familiar tension creep into her shoulders. Which was all for the best really. She needed to be alert and ready, not relaxed and distracted. In the future, she and Chris would have to be careful about the time they spent together. She couldn't let him distract her. That said, she had no intention of putting an end to their relationship – she was enjoying it too much.

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A/N: Sigh, end of part two. Part three starts next chapter. Give me some feedback please. Pretty please.