Steve managed to get down a couple of quick sketches of Martha sleeping before he too succumbed to a quiet slumber. She was still curled against him when he woke the next morning. He watched her for a moment, wondering how he managed to get so lucky, and then he slipped off to take a quick shower.

When he returned, Steve found her standing next to the window, draped in a bed sheet. "Morning," he said with a smile as he dried his hair.

"Good morning." Martha looked over her shoulder at him. Her smile made Steve's heart flutter. "I would have joined you, but I didn't want to be presumptuous."

Steve paused. "Sex in the shower?" His heart began to race at the very thought of it. "Something to build up to I guess," he replied boldly.

Martha laughed. "I meant for an actual shower."

"I guess I'm the presumptuous one." Steve covered his head with the towel and continued drying his hair.

"Apparently," Martha agreed with a smirk. "One little taste and now it's all you're thinking about?"

Steve peeked from under the towel. "Technically, I think that counted as more than once."

"Three cheers for super soldier stamina."

Steve pushed his towel away from his face so he could look her in the eyes. "All jokes aside, I think we should talk about last night."

"Okay." Martha met his eyes. "What about it?"

"About what it means, for starters," Steve answered. "Not to sound old fashioned, but what we did…"

"Sex," Martha cut in. "You can say the word. It's not dirty."

"I know," Steve assured her with a sigh. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not really the casual type when it comes to sex and all that."

Martha quirked an eyebrow. "Neither am I," she said pointedly.

Steve cleared his throat. He knew he was on thin ice and if he said the wrong thing, it would ruin all the progress they had made. So he took a deep breath and tried to rein in his thoughts, but it was easier said than done. "I'm not even sure what this is between us," he began. "I mean I know what I'd like it to be."

Martha's expression relaxed a bit. "So you're interested in being more than what we are now?"

Steve draped the towel around his shoulders and looked at her seriously. "Last night wasn't proof enough?"

Martha shrugged. "Physical intimacy and genuine affection are two completely different things."

Steve knew she was right. He knew plenty of people from before the war and after the ice that were casual about sex, but he wasn't going to condemn them for their choices. As long as no one wasn't being hurt or taken advantage of, he didn't feel like it was his place to lay judgment.

Sex didn't equal love and love didn't equal sex, but for Steve they were closely linked. Martha was special to him and after their night together his feelings for her were stronger than ever. But before things got any deeper, he just needed to know that they were on the same page.

Steve nodded. "I know we haven't spent a lot of time together on our own, but it's been over a year since we first met. In that year, I've gotten to know you pretty well and I'd like to think you know me too," he told her. "It feels like we've been dancing around each other for the longest and now that we're finally getting somewhere, I just hope we're on the same page about where this could go."

Martha turned to face him. "Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yes." Steve nodded again. "I know I should have said this before we had sex, but I've been interested in you since the day I met you. First, as an ally and a doctor. Then, as a friend. And now…as a lover. I just…" He exhaled sharply in frustration. He wasn't sure if he was getting his point across well enough so he decided to just throw caution to the wind. "You. I just want you, Martha. All of you."

"I want that too," Martha responded in a quiet voice. "So much." She sighed and looked out the window again. "And if I'm honest…that frightens me," she confessed. "I mean don't exactly have the best track record with men."

"I'm not exactly batting a thousand myself," Steve retorted. "But I trust you and I know you'd never lead me astray. So whatever you say…I'm with you 100%."

Martha turned her attention back to him. "Anything?" she challenged playfully.

Steve nodded. "As you wish."

Martha froze as if she had been rendered speechless. She eventually found her voice again, but her words came out in jumbles. "Was that…are you…I mean…I told you about the film…and now…but Westley said that to Buttercup…so I'm not sure if…but the line goes…and we did watch it…I mean it could have just been random…"

Steve crossed the room while she rambled, closing the space between them. She looked up at him questioningly and he stared down into her eyes. "As you wish," he said deliberately.

Martha's breath hitched for a brief moment then she laughed softly. "I love you too, Cap. And I would love to be your girlfriend."

Steve smiled brightly and gave her a gentle kiss. "After last night, I think you can start calling me Steve," he told her as he pulled back from her lips.

"I could." Martha smirked.

Steve aimed a chuckle at his feet. "But you won't, will you?"

Martha shrugged again. "One day. Probably. Eventually."

"I'll look forward to it." Steve retrieved his stretch pad from the nightstand. "Can I draw you while I wait?"

"How do you want me?"

"How you are is perfect," Steve insisted as he sat on the edge of the bed and began working on a sketch.

"Should I lose the sheet?" she asked, allowing it to drop from her shoulder.

Steve stared at her for a moment before moving to a clean page in his stretch book. Martha seemed to take that as a sign and dropped the sheet completely. Steve's eyes traveled over her body as all the mental notes he made last time came flooding back. He knew she was beautiful, but the way the sunlight hit her skin seemed to give her a heavenly glow.

Martha turned to look out the window again. "Like what you see?" she teased.

Steve smirked as resumed drawing. "You're gonna be the death of me."

"Nonsense. You have a perfectly healthy heart…for a man your age."

"A man my age, huh?"

"You are technically old enough to be my grandfather," she joked.

Steve let out a quiet huff. "I'm probably old enough to be your great grandfather."

"God…I think you're right."

"Too old for you?"

Martha laughed to herself. "You may be a fossil, but you're an extremely well preserved one. And oddly enough, I've fancied older."

Steve glanced up from his sketch. "The Doctor?"

Martha nodded. "For a bit."

"Which face?"

"You've seen his different faces?" Martha quirked a brow. "Have you been reading up on me again? Or just him?"

"After London, I got curious," he confessed. "I wanted to know about what kind of man he was."

Martha turned to face him. "You're not jealous, are you?" she asked seriously. "Because you honestly have nothing to worry about. I did have feelings for him once upon a time, but what I felt for him is nothing like what I feel for you."

"I'm not jealous," Steve assured her. "But it is nice to hear that a kid from Brooklyn is ranked above a Time Lord."

"Why wouldn't you?" Martha asked. "I'm just a girl from London."

"That traveled the stars."

"You punched Hitler."

Steve laughed. "Only on stage," he reminded her.

"In tights," Martha said with a suggestive smirk.

Steve looked down at his sketch again. "I'm not wearing tights."

"Please?" Martha pleaded jokingly. "We could make a game of it. You wear the tights and I'll wear whatever you like."

"Or you could just continue standing there not wearing anything at all," Steve replied.

"Cheeky!" Martha said with a laugh. "Keep that up and I might have to come over there."

"Is that supposed to dissuade me?"

"It's not a threat," Martha told him with a bright smile. "It's a promise." She turned towards the window again and resumed her previous pose. "Now finish your bloody sketch so I can come over there."

Steve smiled down at his drawing and quickly got back to work.