Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.

A/N: Okay, here it (finally) is for all you fabulous people, an update! And I offer my sincerest apologies for the delay. For anyone who was concerned, I promise I have not nor do I plan on abandoning this story. Inspiration is a fickle friend, never appearing when you need it. But I certainly don't offer it as an excuse.
A/N2: Chapter title is by Feist. If you haven't checked out her new album 'Metals' I highly recommend it.
A/N3: I really want to thank everyone who has been sticking with this story. It means a lot to me.


As soon as Alice heard a car door slam she raced to the front entrance and threw the front door open, pulling Carlos into the house before he could even bring his keys up to unlock the door.

"Carlos, I am the dumbest person alive."

"No arguments here." He jested but his eyes turned concerned at the worried look on his blonde sister. "You're serious aren't you? What did you do that was so stupid?"

"I asked Claire on a date."

A confused smirk worked across his face. "And?" He asked, eagerly waiting for his best friend to elaborate.

"And I made it for tomorrow but I don't actually have anything planned out yet! I've been trying to wrap my head around different ideas the last two days but I can't come up with anything good. It has to be special you know? Not just some dinner and a movie thing, so you're going to help me. This is your area of expertise after all." The words fell out of her mouth in such quick succession that she wasn't sure if Carlos had even understood everything she'd said, but a moment later he nodded his agreement.

"Okay, calm down. Of course I'll help you." Alice allowed him to spin her around and push her by the shoulders into the living room, only stopping once she was seated on the couch. "First things firsts; what time are you picking her up?"

"Eight."

"Good," he looked at his watch. "That gives us a little less than twenty-six hours to come up with a plan. Is there anything in particular you want to do?"

"Flowers." Alice stated, remembering her words to the redhead during their first date.

"Okay.." Carlos gave her a strange look but pressed on. "Flowers are good, let's try to build on that. You need something fun but not too casual, that's the easiest way to get stuck in the 'friend zone.' You should take her somewhere that reflects your personality but still be something she would enjoy too."

Alice fell back into the couch, burrowing herself as much as possible into the back cushion. "Those are a lot of parameters," she sighed. "I'm not sure I can do this Carlos."

"Of course you can. You're Alice Abernathy! You're the strongest, smartest, most capable person I know. I've seen you get lots of girls without even trying!"

"That's the whole thing, I never had to try before. I never wanted to. I could just take what I wanted from those other girls and then move on to the next one. But with Claire everything is different. I'm trying to have a real relationship with her, and we both know how well that turned out for me the last time I tried it."

"Every relationship is different Alice, just because things ended badly with-" Alice gave her brother a stern look, reminding him of their long standing agreement to never speak that name again, "her doesn't mean the same thing will happen with Claire. In fact, I'm sure it won't end like that."

"You don't know that."

Carlos sat next to her on the couch. "You're right, but here's what I do know. I was here four years ago and I remember how much that... bitch hurt you, but you have to let that stuff go. If you let fear of being hurt dictate your life you might miss out on something great."

"You think I might have something great with Claire?"

"I think I haven't seen you this emotional about anything in a long time. It's nice to see you actually giving a shit about something again." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "So, about this date, do you want to bounce some ideas off me?"

She stood up abruptly, startling her brother with the action. "Thanks for your advice Carlos, but I think I should come up with something myself." She took a couple of steps before turning back to her now confused looking brother. "You're right, it is kind of nice to care about something again. I'll see you later." She added as she retreated from the room.

Alice descended the stairs into the basement, entering her room with her head hung low. The closer time crept towards the next day, the more convinced she became that maybe this whole dating thing wasn't a good idea, but the thought wasn't nearly as strong as it had been before her conversation with Carlos and she quickly dismissed it. Alice knew she was already in too deep with the redhead. She couldn't imagine just walking away now, no matter how uncertain she felt.

Things had been easy with all those other girls. Alice knew her good looks helped a lot, and a couple of whispers in their ears usually took care of the rest. But ever since that night at the hospital, Claire made Alice nervous. But in the best possible way. On the days she knew she would see the redhead, the normally patient Alice would find herself restless and bored throughout the day. And she'd been so anxious for their second date that she'd asked out the redhead without having any actual plans in place. She'd let her feelings overshadow her logic and now she was stuck.

Feelings. That was something the blonde had never expected to encounter again. Alice had made herself think that she was perfectly happy with having as few people involved in her life as possible. Her mother and Carlos were really the only people she needed, and while it was nice to have L.J and Betty around now and then, they wouldn't make or break her happiness. But she had quickly grown rather fond of K-Mart, something about the teenager had been infectious enough to rope Alice into becoming her tutor. And things with Claire had escalated from mild physical attraction to so much more. She wanted to see and talk to the redhead as much as possible, she wanted to hold hands with her and keep her close. She wanted Claire and not just sexually. Alice wanted a real relationship, she wanted Claire as her girlfriend.

Alice paced the room anxiously as these thoughts swirled her mind. It scared her how quickly her feelings were progressing. That first day in the diner she hadn't felt anything for the redhead and now she couldn't even think about Claire without excited knots twisting inside her.

Alice knew she needed to calm down. If she wanted Claire to be her girlfriend than she was going to need to come up with an amazing date. She sat on the edge of her bed, head in her hands as she contemplated her own stupidity. She'd hoped the perfect idea for a date would just come to her like the inspiration for one of her paintings. But the inspiration never came and now she was left with nothing. Carlos' advice hadn't been of much help either. Alice didn't think of herself as the romantic type, making the task at hand that much more difficult. She needed something fun and interesting for her and Claire to do but still needed romantic connotations so as to not be confused as just two friends hanging out.

She tangled her fingers into her own hair and gave it a sharp tug. "I am so fucked."

Alice moved over to the studio side of her room, she picked out a clean brush and reached for some red paint. The colour reminded her of Claire and not just because of the woman's hair. Claire's passion and stubborn demeanour as well as the fierceness with which she cared for others reminded Alice of the bold colour. She stared at the blank canvas sitting on her easel, her brow furrowed in contemplation. She didn't have a clear idea of what she wanted to paint but decided to just see where her hands would take her. At the very least she hoped painting would distract her enough for her mind to relax and a suitable plan for the date to slither in. Shaking her arms to relieve the tension, Alice took a deep breath before dipping the brush into the paint.

Watching the lines of red paint and hearing the faint scratching sound of the brush across the canvas instantly soothed the blonde. Allowing her mind to go blank, Alice followed her instincts and worked away at the canvas and it wasn't until almost an hour had passed that she finally put away her clean brushes and paints. A much more relaxed Alice once again collapsed onto the bed and before drifting off to sleep she smiled to herself, knowing exactly what she was going to do on her date with the redhead the following night.


Alice had arrived ten minutes early to the redhead's apartment. Even though all her plans were in place she still needed a few more minutes to psyche herself up and convince herself that this was going to work. This had definitely been a lot easier last time when it had been Claire who was in charge and all Alice had to do was show up. But this is what she had wanted; to prove to herself that she could still do this dating thing right.

"Alice?"

Alice's head darted up and she flushed at seeing the redhead watching her. "Hey." She said nervously. "I was just uh.." trailing off the blonde gave Claire a sheepish smile.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah, something like that."

The redhead walked down the steps, closing the distance until she was standing right in front of Alice, grinning broadly. "Well if it helps, I already like you." She winked and Alice let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"That does help. Makes me feel a little more confident about giving you these." Alice motioned for Claire to wait and stepped towards her truck, reaching through the open window and picking up the small bouquet on the seat. They were only white daffodils and Alice mentally crossed her fingers, hoping to have made the right selection.

"Thank you Alice. These are great." Claire grinned brightly at the gesture, even giving the blonde a kiss on the cheek for her efforts, but Alice instinctively knew that she could cross daffodils off her list.

"But they aren't your favourites." The blonde stated more than asked.

"I still like them, white is definitely better than yellow ones but what I really love are-"

"Don't tell me!" Alice interrupted. "Half the fun is trying to figure it out myself. The more I get to know you the closer I'll get to picking your favourites." She couldn't identify the look Claire was giving her at the explanation and it made Alice uncomfortable enough to quickly change the subject.

The blonde tapped her hand against the metal door of her truck which she had been leaning against. "We should probably get going. Places to see and things to do." She mumbled quietly and was relieved when Claire smiled softly before climbing into the vehicle, setting the flowers to rest on the seat between them.

"So," Claire began as Alice started the truck and pulled away from the curb. "I dressed casually like you said, so are you going to tell me what I'm in store for tonight?"

Alice mused over how to explain her plans for the evening. "Tonight we're doing a sort of tour of the city/scavenger hunt type of thing."

"Scavenger hunt eh? What exactly am I looking for?"

"It's not so much looking for something as it is finding things along the way." Alice replied, purposely keeping her answer cryptic.

She had decided to take Claire to her favourite spots around the city, or at least some of them. Alice may have been raised in the suburbs but she had fallen in love with Raccoon City during college and couldn't imagine ever living anywhere else. It was her home. She figured the redhead probably hadn't had the opportunity to appreciate what the city had to offer, hence the 'tour' aspect of the evening. But what she was really hoping to accomplish in a roundabout way was to have Claire get to know her. If there was one thing Alice had always struggled with, it was talking about herself and letting people get close enough to see the real Alice. But she knew that if she wanted to properly date the redhead and make Claire her girlfriend than she'd have to open herself up to the other woman. Alice figured that showing her the things she liked would be easier then telling. And this way she could also get a feel for if Claire liked and enjoyed the same things. She just hoped Claire would pick up on her intentions and not think the evening was merely a random selection of destinations. She was pulled from her thoughts when Claire posed another question.

"Will I at least be given hints about what I'm suppose to find?"

Alice grinned at the redhead as she slowed the truck. "No promises." She chuckled softly when Claire rolled her eyes at her continued vague responses. Hoping to defer Claire's interest in asking more questions Alice posed one of her own. "How are you with a gun?"

Claire gave the blonde a weird look before grinning. "Let's put it this way, in highschool I was voted most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse."

"What kind of school has that as a category?"

"You're forgetting I used to live in Nevada. We also voted on 'best show girl,' and 'most likely to become a pimp.'"

The blonde shook her head in bewilderment as she pulled into a parking lot. "We're here." She announced.

Claire glanced out the window, taking in their destination. "Laser tag?"

"Yep." Alice gave herself a mental pat on the back on seeing the redhead's childlike excitement at their first activity.

"That is...awesome! Let's go." The redhead eagerly jumped out of the truck, Alice following close behind.


Claire had been putting it mildly when implying that she could handle a gun. The redhead had easily achieved the highest score during their game and Alice, while highly skilled at the art of laser tag herself, knew that had she not been on Claire's team the other woman could have easily beaten her.

"That was so much fun!" Claire declared as they exited the building. Her grin brightened when Alice took her hand, pulling the redhead away from the parking lot and leading her along the sidewalk up the street.

"Glad you enjoyed yourself, though it probably wasn't necessary to make that little boy cry." Alice smirked.

"Hey, in war there are going to be casualties." Claire defended. "And that kid was at least twelve, he should have been man enough to handle it." A beat passed. "Besides, I only shot him because he had let his guard down while staring at your ass."

Alice had missed that part of the incident. "Nice to know I have you to defend my honour from the children."

"I think it's a fair trade; you defend me from street thugs and I ward off the hormonal teenagers."

"Sounds good to me." Alice replied absently as she spotted their next destination. There were few cars out that night and the pair didn't have to wait long before the blonde led them across the street.

"So where are we going next?" Claire asked.

"We're already here." Alice replied as they stopped walking, now standing in front of a cart featuring a large banner reading 'Harry's Hot Dogs.' She noticed the grim look on Claire's face and was quick to offer reassurance. "I know the name offers an unsavoury image but trust me, the hot dogs are to die for. If I was on death row and it was time for my final meal, this is what I would having. That's how good they are."

"You just set the bar pretty high."

"It won't hurt that you probably worked up an appetite kicking ass at laser tag, so you're probably willing to try anything right now.

"This is true."

After her first bite, Claire had turned right back and bought herself a second hot dog while the blonde had been occupied covering her own with the random selection of condiments provided. Alice normally tried not to gloat when she was proven right, but couldn't refrain when Claire closed her eyes and sighed at the food induced bliss.

The hot dog stand had been conveniently located at the entrance of the city's premiere park. It was no Central Park to be certain, but it was the only sign of green space in the heavily urban metropolis. Alice smiled fondly as they passed a tree she use to read under during breaks between college classes and the smile grew as slender fingers tangled with her own as they walked the path.

"How come you never worry about wondering around after dark?" Claire asked.

"Because I have eight years of mixed martial arts training and a black belt in karate." Alice replied dryly, not realizing it wasn't a typical answer until the redhead stopped walking and tugged on their joined hands so the blonde was facing her.

Despite how poorly lit the park was, Alice could still clearly see Claire staring at her with wide eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes?" She shrugged, knowing she would have to offer further explanation. "Carlos and I used to be bullied pretty badly in school. After it got around that my parents had taken off and Carlos' family had taken me in, kids seemed to think the best way to treat me was through teasing and beating us up after school." Now that she had started, Alice found it difficult to keep from relaying the full story. "They said I must be a real freak if even my own parents didn't want me and that Carlos' parents only took me in because they couldn't be Mexican if they only had one kid. The Olivera's aren't even Mexican by the way," she rambled. "After Carlos and I came home one day with black eyes and bloody lips his mother immediately put us into self defence classes."

Claire looked visibly upset at hearing what the blonde and her brother had been through but did her best to lighten the mood. "Did you end up beating the shit out of those kids?"

"They tell you not to do that when they teach you the moves." Alice gave the redhead a sly smile. "That being said though, we totally did. We took crap from them for a couple of months still before we could beat them but once we did we never had another problem." She pulled the redhead along so they were walking again. "Carlos and I enjoyed the classes a lot though, so we kept it up even through highschool. He even won some competitions, but that aspect of it never really interested me."

"I guess it was really lucky for K-Mart and I that you're the one who came to our rescue that night."

"I was hardly at my best then, getting stabbed and whatnot." Alice laughed bitterly. "I wasn't even thinking that night. When I saw those two guys holding you against the wall..." she trailed off. "We were just lucky I didn't get us both killed."

"Don't say that Alice. I can't ever repay you for what you did for K-Mart and I that night."

"That isn't what you're doing now right?" The blonde hated herself for thinking it, but she knew the doubt would always linger in the back of her mind if she didn't know for sure.

Claire halted their movement again. "I'm not dating you out of some obligation or because of hero worship." The redhead looked horrified at the mere suggestion and Alice scolded herself internally for causing that look to appear on Claire's face. "You know that right?"

"Yeah, I think I just needed to hear it out loud."

"I will admit though," Claire continued and the pair began walking again, following the circular trail around the park. "I was kind of on the fence about you before, but that night really showed me that my feelings for you were definitely more than platonic."

"Oh yeah?" Alice smiled shyly. "Care to share?"

Claire's cheeks turned pink under the blonde's gaze and she averted her eyes. "I may have been a little jealous of Betty when I first met her." She admitted. "It was stupid, but when she was looking at your arm I had a brief fantasy about punching her in the face. I know she was just doing her job but.." she shrugged. "Once I found out you two worked together I felt like a jackass."

"Even if we weren't co-workers, Betty is definitely not my type. She's a good friend and everything but I find her completely exhausting to be around. I always feel like I need a nap after talking to her." Alice had to stop herself from laughing, the idea of her and Betty together was just ridiculous in her mind. However, Claire looked so cute in her embarrassment that the blonde couldn't stop herself from teasing her further. "If you were that jealous of Betty, does that mean you weren't pretending with that waitress from the bar?"

Claire let out a soft chuckle at the memory. "Well I certainly held back," she admitted. "Not in a violent way or anything," she quickly added. "But if you had been my girlfriend for real I would not have held back in staking my claim."

"Like how? Grunting 'mine' and dragging me off like some caveman?"

"No, probably something a little more like this," a little smirk played along the woman's lips before Alice felt them crashing into her own.

The action surprised her but Alice was quick to respond. She half wished Claire had actually reacted this way at the bar but she certainly had no complaints about how they had gotten to this point in their relationship. Alice instantly granted access to the redhead's questing tongue, and inwardly grinned when Claire's hand grasped the front of her t-shirt, tugging the blonde a half step closer.

It was over all to soon for Alice when Claire abruptly separated their lips, leaving the blonde in a daze as she struggled to catch her breath. She didn't even care that Claire could see the obvious effect her actions had over the blonde. The redhead almost giggled as she released Alice's shirt and tapped the blonde's chin. Alice quickly snapped her mouth shut, not having realized it had been hanging open. She grinned sheepishly.

"I think I like jealous Claire."

The redhead shoved her playfully and started walking along the path again. Alice watched for a moment before quickly following. Once she had fallen in step Claire turned the tables on her. "Now it's your turn to tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Well I think it's pretty obvious that you're enjoying us being more than friends, so when did you realize you liked me?"

Alice tried not to show it on her face but she was panicking. It was a fair question for the redhead to ask but sharing her feelings wasn't Alice's forte and she didn't want to say the wrong thing. "Can I plea the fifth?"

Claire seemed to sense the blonde's hesitation because she let it drop without hassle. "Sure." She shrugged nonchalantly but Alice didn't miss the disappointed look in the redhead's eyes.

Running a hand through her perpetually dishevelled hair Alice sighed, reminding herself that the evening was suppose to be about her opening up. She wanted Claire to be her girlfriend for real but that wouldn't happen if the redhead didn't even know how she felt.

"I didn't want to have sex with you." Alice blurted, immediately feeling her face burn.

Claire gave her a sideways glance but didn't speak. Instead she pulled Alice over to a nearby bench and when they were seated she waited patiently for the blonde to elaborate.

"That didn't come out right."

"Ok."

"I meant that I don't want to fuck you." Alice couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. She dropped her head into her hands, waiting because any moment now Claire was going to get up and leave. What she didn't expect was for the redhead to let out a slow chortle. Alice lifted her head and leaned back into the bench. "It isn't funny." Despite the assertion, Alice could feel her own lips twitching into a grin.

Claire's laughter started bellowing through the empty park. "I'm sorry Alice." She tried to apologize though her continuing smirk said otherwise. "But let me see if I'm understanding this right. You knew you liked me because you didn't want to sleep with me?"

"I tried to convince myself at first that it wasn't more than friendship I was feeling. The night of the art show after Carlos and I walked you two home he was already convinced that you and I should be together. I had known you for all of five minutes so I was quick to brush it off."

Claire slid down the bench a few inches until they were almost shoulder to shoulder. Gently, she ran her fingers down Alice's forearm, tracing the lines of her palm when she reached the blonde's hand. "So what changed? I know you kind of resisted when I tried to ask you out but you never would have let me kiss you if you didn't want it."

"I don't know what changed," she replied honestly. "Maybe nothing changed and I was never really fighting it at all." She closed her hand around Claire's fingers, encouraging them to lace between her own. "But what I do know is that as long as I've known you I've enjoyed spending time with you. I know that I respect what you do everyday to provide K-Mart with everything she needs. I know that you can handle mine and Carlos' stupid birthday traditions and get along with my friends. And I know that those are only a few of the things I like about you. But to get back to my embarrassing outburst, what I meant was that I didn't want to fall into bed with you until I found out all those things that I liked. I haven't dated in a long time, I usually do the 'no strings attached' thing. But with you I want the strings attached. That's how I knew I liked you."

The ensuing silence was tortuous for Alice. It was the moment she had been dreading since she opened her mouth. She waited for Claire to say something. Anything. It felt like an eternity had passed but in reality it was only a couple of seconds before the redhead spoke.

"So what you're saying is that you do want to sleep with me?" Her tone was completely serious but the mirth in her eyes assured Alice that it was the redhead's attempt to put her at ease.

Feeling her confidence return, Alice smirked. "I'm definitely not opposed to the idea."

"Pssh" Claire scoffed. "One kiss and you're putty in my hands, I don't know if you could even handle all of this."

"That sounds like a challenge." She stared at the redhead, daring her to make the next move.

"Maybe." Claire replied, tossing the ball back in Alice's court.

The sound of a dog barking broke the trance and Alice looked away first, remembering they were still in the park. On their date. She watched the dog run passed their bench, it's owner jogging along a moment later. She turned back to the redhead, offering a sincere smile before standing up, simultaneously pulling the other woman to her feet.

"Come on. We still have places to go, and I saved the best for last." She grew both excited and nervous, thinking about showing Claire her favourite part of the city. But before she even made it one step, the hand in her own halted her movement.

"Alice."

She could tell just from the way her name was said that she wasn't dealing with the same playful Claire she'd been experiencing all night. It didn't take long, but Alice swore she would have waited forever to hear the next words that left Claire's mouth.

"I want the strings attached too."

Alice was at a loss for words. But it turned out she didn't need them as Claire leaned in to give her a chaste kiss. The tenderness of it felt completely unfamiliar to the blonde but she revelled in it. No one had ever kissed her like that before. It was almost as if she could taste the sincerity of the redhead's words, causing Alice to grin like an idiot when Claire pulled away.

The amusement returned to Claire's face when she caught sight of the grin. "So where to next?"


"The hospital? What are we doing here?"

"This is my favourite place in the city, and not because I work here."

"Then why?

"I'll show you, come on." Alice grabbed her date's hand. Once inside, she looked around carefully before walking quickly through the hallways, at a pace where she was almost dragging the redhead behind her.

"Are we in some kind of hurry?" Claire asked and when Alice paused to glance back saw the bemusement on her face.

Alice looked around them again before answering. "No, I just don't want anyone to see us. If Betty finds out I brought you here I'll never hear the end of it. She'll be all 'Oh my God Alice! You took her to the hospital for your date? You're completely hopeless!' You know what she's like." She swallowed hard after speaking. It wasn't like she cared what Betty thought but she didn't want the other woman's teasing to affect Claire's image of her.

Feeling the redhead squeeze her hand Alice met clear blue eyes. "I don't think you're hopeless." Tugging on the blonde's hand she urged her to keep moving. "So what was it you wanted to show me?"

Alice grinned. "It's this way." Further down the hallway she pulled Claire into an elevator and pushed the button for the top floor. The car stopped several times before the pair exited and Alice led the redhead down another long hall, stopping at a door marked 'No Entry.' Glancing around the deserted hallway to make sure they went unseen, Alice procured out of her pocket a rather extensive set of keys. When the door swung open she darted inside, tugging Claire along. On the other side was a concrete staircase. The stairs were narrow enough that the pair couldn't walk side by side but it only took a minute before they reached another door at the top. This door didn't require a key and the blonde pushed it open and the two women walked out into the night air.

Alice turned back to face the redhead, looking at her expectantly. She wasn't surprised to be met by Claire's quizzical expression but wasn't expecting the question that fell from the redhead's lips.

"You have keys to the roof?" Claire asked. "What? Do you sweep the helipad or something?"

Alice spared a glance at the key ring still clasped in her hand before re-pocketing it. "Uh, technically I'm not suppose to have keys to get up here. I borrowed it from a security guard who carelessly left his keys on the table in the employee break room." She shrugged.

"Can we get in trouble for being up here?"

"Probably." Alice replied nonchalantly but was quick to reassure the redhead when her eyes bugged out at the admission. "But I've been sneaking up here for years and never gotten in trouble." Then as an afterthought added; "of course, in all that time I've never been caught either."

Claire rolled her eyes but seemed willing to let the potential rule breaking go. "So tell me, why is this you're favourite place in the city?"

"How are you with heights?" Alice asked, not answering the redhead's question.

"I'm alright." Claire replied only to have Alice pulling her by the hand across the roof top.

"Close your eyes," Alice instructed. "I promise not to push you off or anything."

Claire obeyed, allowing the blonde to lead her around ventilation chimneys and over a couple of pipe lines.

"It's better if you get to see it all at once." Alice explained as they walked, silently hoping that Claire would enjoy the surprise as much as she did. When they reached the far side of the hospital roof Alice positioned Claire and stood behind the redhead, gently gripping the other woman's waist. "Okay, open your eyes."

Hearing Claire gasp confirmed everything Alice believed about this one spot. She was certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that where they were currently standing offered the most perfect view of the whole city. The skyline illuminated by the city's light pollution but not enough that the pair couldn't faintly see the stars littering the night sky. Alice never felt more at peace than the times when she would sit on the edge of the roof, feet dangling over the side, and let the scenic beauty of her favourite city take her mind away. The only thing she liked better than watching the city at night was sitting there to watch the sunrise.

Now certain that Claire wasn't about to go tumbling off the the rooftop, Alice started to remove her hands from the redhead's hips. But Claire had a reflex time that could challenge the blonde's own and she felt the other woman take her hands and pulling them further around her waist, forcing Alice to move closer. Catching on to what Claire wanted Alice embraced her from behind, letting her chin rest on the woman's shoulder and letting her thumb drag gently over the warm skin of Claire's arm resting over her own. Not counting the time they'd fallen asleep on the redhead's couch, this was the closest they had ever been physically and Alice was enjoying it quite a bit. She hadn't planned on keeping Claire out until sunrise, but she wouldn't mind if neither of them moved until then. She'd never brought anyone up here before, even Carlos didn't know about her special spot. It was something she had always kept just for herself. But in that moment, with Claire wrapped safely in her arms, she had never felt more content.

It was several long minutes before the silence was broken. "I can see why this is your favourite spot," Claire breathed gently. "It's beautiful."

"You are beautiful," Alice said with complete conviction. While staring at the postcard perfect scene before her she realized she'd much rather be looking at the woman in her arms.

Claire turned in her arms and walked them back a few feet so they weren't standing as close to the edge. "It's time to go." That was all she said but Alice immediately nodded in agreement, taking Claire's hand once again and leading them back inside the hospital.

The pair barely made it out to Alice's truck in the parking lot before they were all over each other. Claire straddled Alice's lap in the passenger seat, the blonde aiding their position tightly holding on to her lower back as their lips mashed together. Alice let out an embarrassingly loud moan as Claire's tongue swiped across the roof of her mouth.

All of her previous hesitations about being intimate with Claire vanished as their exchange grew more heated. Knowing the redhead wanted the same thing from their relationship made Alice feel more at ease. When she hooked up with other girls she always made it clear that it was a one time thing and would sneak out before morning. But she wanted to stick around with Claire, and more importantly she wanted Claire to stick around for her. And knowing that Claire was not going to disappear in the morning, that Claire wanted her and not anyone else, Alice knew she was ready to take that next step. But she didn't want her first time with the redhead to be in the front seat of her truck.

The blonde broke the kiss, but still held Claire tightly against her. She was already tingling with pleasure and they had barely done anything yet. "Do you want to head over to mine? It's closer but we might have to sneak passed Carlos."

"We could do that...or," Claire drew the word out. "We can go back to my place. K-Mart is having a sleep over at a friend's so we would have more privacy."

Alice gulped inaudibly. "Are you sure this is what you want?" She gave the redhead one last chance to back out, but prayed she wouldn't take it.

"Mmhmm." Claire hummed, running her fingers through blonde hair. "I've wanted you for a long time Alice." She purred, trailing kisses along Alice's jaw.

Claire's words and lips had effectively put the blonde in a stupor. Normally she would be the one to take control in situations like this, but Claire seemed able to play her like an instrument. Alice pulled her keys from her pocket, offering them to the redhead. "Do you want to drive?"

Claire grinned wickedly and was in the driver's seat, keys in hand so fast that Alice didn't even register what was happening. Claire ripped out of the parking lot, causing Alice to almost slam into the window from the motion. Right then she couldn't care less if her truck ended up in crumpled heap, as long as they made it to the redhead's apartment as quickly as possible.


So there it is, I hope you all enjoyed it. I don't do the smut thing so I hope no one is too disappointed with the ending. It is something I want to be able to incorporate into my writing at some point but for now my stories probably will not progress to a rating any higher than 'T'.

I've already started on the next chapter, fingers crossed that it won't take as long as this one did. And once again, thanks for reading!