Saff made it as far as the door to her flat before bursting into tears. Tony took her in his arms, hugging her tight. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed into his chest.

"It's all right, Saff," he said, his voice soft and soothing. "Everything's all right."

"She's so sweet. I hate leaving her there," Saffron sobbed. "All those children deserve homes."

"I know," Tony agreed, rubbing her back in hopes of calming her. "I know."

They held each other for a couple of minutes before, at last, Saffron sniffed, dried her eyes with Tony's handkerchief and took a deep breath.

"Want some coffee?" she asked, forcing a smile to try convincing Tony that she was okay again.

"Sure," he answered. It was obvious to him that she was still upset.

Once inside, Saff quickly made her way to the kitchen. Her hands trembled as she tried opening a fresh bag of coffee and grounds spilled everywhere. She dropped to her knees and shakily started trying to clean up the mess.

Tony came to her, crouched down and took Saff's hands in his.

"Don't worry about this," he whispered.

"But…"

"Saffron."

Saffy suddenly reached for him, wrapping her arms around Tony as if she'd never let him go.

"I'm sorry for how I treated you - after you stayed over. I was cruel," she said, sniffling again. "I'm sorry."

Tony pulled back so he could gaze at Saff. He hated seeing her so upset.

"Come on," he said, helping her to her feet. Taking Saff's hand, Tony slowly led her back to her bedroom.

"Saffron… Let me love you."

She touched Tony's chin before stroking his temples.

"I will."

And then, after tender delays and diversions, they were finally together.

The feel of Tony's body against hers was too much for Saffron to bear. She couldn't hold out any longer; she wanted him.

Although he was well-toned, he wasn't overly muscular. His physique was firm and strong but tender, also, in a way she found pleasing. Tony's smooth skin invited her lips to set off on exploratory sojourns anywhere and everywhere.

She explored his body slowly, taking pains to caress him and let the touch of her fingers linger on his skin. When she reached the still-tender appendix operation scar on his lower right side, Saffron let that grin of hers play at the corner of her mouth. Stroking him with a featherlike touch, she allowed her gaze to settle on the small mark.

"I'll be gentle with you," she teased, her voice a whisper in his ear. "I promise."

He chuckled deep in his throat at this. Saffron kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"Saffron," he moaned, his voice hoarse, barely a whisper.

It had been too long since she'd touched anyone intimately, but now it felt so right. There was no going back to Just Friends; she and Tony had left that line far in the dust.

"Hmmm?"

Saffron's mouth overtook Tony's. When the heated kiss was over, she smiled down at him.

"I need you, Tony," she told him breathlessly.

"Yes," Tony said between harsh gasps, his chest heaving. "You have me."

"Do I?" she whispered, her heated breath mixing with his.

There were no words as Tony's hands pulled her hips into position over his groin. Saffron swallowed hard, knowing where things were headed. But before things got going, she pushed his shoulders back against the pillows, effectively holding him down.

"Safety first," she teased, smirking as she reached over, seemingly without effort, and produced a condom packet from the nightstand. Saff let her trademark grin play at the corner of her mouth as she fitted the condom onto him.

"That's better," Saffron murmured.

Time became nothing more than a word. They were both too consumed with pleasing one another to know how long they'd been making love. When it ended, they lay together quietly, fully satisfied, unable to do anything more than work towards breathing normally again.

After what seemed like a long while, Tony spoke. Or tried to.

"Saffron… You are… so..." he began, his voice hollow with exhaustion. He had nothing left to give.

"Mmmmhhmmm?" Saff moaned softly.

"Precious, indeed," Tony groaned, almost inaudibly, in reply. Just before giving in to a deep, deep sleep, he grinned and added, "And difficult to acquire."

The words left Saff feeling so deeply touched that she couldn't sleep, thinking about them again and again. She recalled Tony saying them months back on that first, dreadful morning he'd visited her office.

Now they made sense.

He loved her, which was a good thing.

Because she absolutely loved him.

Moonlight streamed in through the windows, dimly illuminating Saffron's bedroom. When she awoke after what felt like only a few moments' worth of sleep, she drowsily gazed at the wall opposite her bed. The light created strange shadows there. Normally, if she woke up late in the night, she tried figuring out what the patterns might be.

But tonight, with Tony lying beside her, she let the shadows go and nestled her head against his chest. His heartbeat was gentle and steady.

"Tuppence for your thoughts," he whispered, breaking the utter stillness of the night.

"That much?" Saffron whispered back.

"Mmm-hmmm…" Tony sighed, kissing her sweetly on her forehead. "Tell me."

Saffy caressed his chest, closing her eyes.

"I love you," she said.

She felt Tony's heartbeat quicken.

"I love you, too," he said, his voice low and sensual.

She shifted now, propping herself up on her arm so she could look down at Tony where he lay.

"Do you know how happy you make me?" she asked softly.

"I do now," he said.