After some playful back-and-forth teasing, Ashton had led Bull to the bedroom they once shared. Later that evening, as they lay tangled together with each other Bull asked, "What the hell happened to us?"

"Is that rhetorical or do you want me to answer?" Ashton inquired without picking her head up from his shoulder.

"I'll take the non-psychologist opinion," he said.

"We happened to us. You spent more and more time at the office building a successful company, and the more time you focused on your cases, the more I shut down – and shut you out." Ashton related and propped herself up on an arm.

"I thought you were okay. Maybe you were a little quieter than usual but you never complained," Bull said in almost a whisper.

"You know me. I jumped to conclusion that you wouldn't take me seriously," she said sounding more acerbic than she had intended.

"Ash," he began to protest.

"I knew what I was getting into with you, with starting a company, all of it," she said gently cutting him off. "I could deal with being alone a lot of the time but I needed some of your attention, too."

"I should've been able to tell something was wrong," Bull admitted. "Since you're letting me help you study I'll make it up to you. You'll have my full attention."

"I don't remember accepting your offer," Ashton told him with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he asked while looking around the bedroom and rolling onto his side.

"You're gonna have to work a little harder to convince me you're serious about this," she said with a wink.

"If I recall correctly, a part of your test will focus on anatomy. Let's see how much you know," he said and ducked under the sheet. A second later Ashton gasped.

"What's this?" Bull's voice asked muffled from under the cover.

###


The next morning, Ashton was just about to eat an English muffin she had toasted and carefully topped with butter and orange marmalade when Bull walked into the kitchen.

"You didn't need to iron my shirt. I have a change of clothes at the office," he said and took the cup of coffee she passed to him.

"That is no reason to be wrinkled in the meantime," Ashton replied as he grabbed the muffin half out of her hand.

"Someone's still a bit obsessive about white shirts being crisp," Bull observed after taking a bite of muffin.

"And someone still lives at the office," she replied as she took the muffin back, took a bite and gave it back to him with a pointed look.

"When I need to," he conceded with a smile.

"It's reassuring to know it wasn't me," Ashton told him.

"Quince, my working at all hours was never about avoiding you," Bull replied earnestly. "I was trying to do my best for my clients."

"I know. It was very easy to go down that path some days, even now," she admitted.

"Today is not that day," he admonished her. "I'll call you and we'll set up a study time."

After Bull rushed out the door, Ashton looked off into space for a few seconds and shook her head.

###


"Did you change your mind about going out last night with your team?" Ashton said with a yawn as she let Bull into the apartment Saturday morning.

"No. Why?" he asked as he walked inside.

"It's very early," she told him with a slight pout and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I knew you'd be awake," Bull replied.

"You look decidedly casual. What's the occasion?" she asked and gave him a once over.

"No occasion. This way you won't be tempted to get the iron out," Bull quipped. He was wearing black pants, a grey shirt and black leather jacket. It was a distinct departure from his usual white shirt and cardigan sweater.

"Funny," Ashton retorted.

"You got me the jacket," he reminded her and followed her into the kitchen.

"I know. Still looks good, too," she said with an approving glance and put a pod in the coffee maker for him.

"I brought breakfast," Bull told her and handed her a bag. Ashton opened it to find croissants and danish inside.

"What's in that one?" she asked and pointed to another bag he had slung over his shoulder. The question caused Bull to take the backpack off his shoulder and dig around in it. A few seconds later he pulled out some index cards.

"You still have those?" Ashton inquired with amazement as she delicately picked apart a croissant and ate it.

"They ended up in a box when I moved out – probably with this jacket," he replied matter-of-factly but a hint of a smirk was on his face. "Not sure why I kept them but it looks like they'll come in handy."

Later that afternoon, Bull talked Ashton into going to see a movie and then grabbing a burger. "If you take away breakfast and an attempt at studying, this is suspiciously like one of our first dates," she told him as they returned the apartment that evening.

"It was our second date, actually. The burger was better tonight though. You didn't think I remembered?" he replied as he hung up his jacket and saw the look on her face.

"I assumed it wasn't memorable to you. For all I know your usual second date was burgers and a movie. Your time and attention were and still are, I would imagine, highly sought after; a planned date format was probably a good idea," she teased.

"Uh-huh," Bull answered non-committedly as he watched her with an amused look in his eyes. He had missed her teasing, even if he wasn't ready to admit it aloud just yet.

"Hmmm, there was a format and that is what you remember?" Ashton challenged.

"You invited me into your apartment so we could continue our conversation. We fell asleep on the sofa. I woke up to your head on my shoulder and the realization that I didn't want to leave you. Definitely not my usual second date," he recounted smugly as he sat on the sofa.

"I never talked to anyone all night before…or since," Ashton reflected and sat down next to him.

"I'm a hard act to follow," Bull pronounced.

"That is an understatement, Jason Bull," she agreed with a nod.

"So that's why you're not seeing anyone," Bull teased mischievously.

"Maybe," Ashton shrugged with a sideways glance. "What's your excuse?"

"You're a hard act to follow, too," he said as he leaned in and kissed her slowly. "What happens next, Ash?"

"With us? I have no idea. Am I supposed to?" she said.

"You haven't thought about it at all?" Bull asked. He knew she was not prone to jumping into anything, even a relationship in which she was very familiar with the other person.

"There are about one hundred things running around my mind at any given moment, so it may have gotten a second or two of time, but you can't plan these things," Ashton told him sincerely.

"I know that," he replied.

"Isn't it okay not to have it all figured out, Jason?" she questioned in return.

"Of course, but…," he said without finishing his statement.

"But you would rather know my intentions given what happened the first time around," she guessed.

"Ash, I didn't mean it like that," Bull told her.

"I'm sorry, Jason," Ashton said quietly. "I truly am."

"I don't understand. Sorry for what?" he asked.

"Sorry for hurting you. Sorry for having to walk away. It hurt me, too, more than you might think. Realizing that your clients meant more to you than me – or us – was slowly killing me," she told him.

"They never meant more, Ashton; never. For a psychologist, I did a lousy job where you were concerned," Bull said shaking his head.

"While knowing I confounded one of the most intelligent people I've ever met is gratifying, I never wanted you to be a psychologist at home. I wanted you to be the man I fell in love with," Ashton said sincerely.

"I did a lousy job at that, too," he replied.

"I messed up, too. I can admit it," she stated.

"I think this leads us back to what happens next," Bull replied with a half-hearted smile.

"And this is why we end up talking all night. I know this sofa is a lot more comfortable than that hand-me-down I had but we don't have to sleep out here, do we?" she asked with a laugh.

"We?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I see you have some things planned."

"You can always say no, Doc," Ashton told him.

"And miss what you up your sleeve? Not a chance," he replied with a wide grin.

"You may be disappointed. What I was thinking of had no sleeves involved," she answered doing her best to remain straight-faced. In the end, the scrutiny of Bull's gaze won out and Ashton ended up giggling.