A/N: It's Friday night and the kids are watching a movie, so I got to finish editing this chapter sooner than expected. Yay, me!

When Bella woke up the next day, her muscles were screaming. Running wasn't such a big problem any more, but the calisthenics on Friday morning, followed by all the grappling with Masen last night, had pushed her body far beyond its normal limits.

Agent Masen had given them both the morning off from running. Bella looked over and saw his bulky shape still fast asleep on the couch. Levering herself stiffly off the bed, she gathered clothes for the day and stumbled into the bathroom to pee, brush her teeth and soak in a hot bath.

Twenty minutes later, her muscles were finally relaxing. She ran her fingers over her shin and cringed. It had been four days since she last took the time to shave. She lifted the drain plug, stood up and reached for her razor and shaving gel, then screamed when the door opened and Masen walked in. Bella dropped back into the tub with a splash, crossing her arms to cover her chest.

"What are you doing? Get out!"

"Why?"

"I'm in the bath! I'm naked! Don't you understand what a locked door means? It means stay out. What is your problem?"

"I'm not the one with the problem, Ms. Swan. I'm going to be seeing you naked a lot. Get used to it."

He stood at the sink in his boxers and ruined shirt, wet his toothbrush, added a blob of toothpaste and started brushing his teething, humming tunelessly at the back of his throat.

Bella sat there with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. He was right. Of course he was. But theoretical nudity was way easier to cope with than actually being trapped naked and cornered in a small, enclosed space with another person, especially someone like Agent Masen. She wasn't prepared for how vulnerable it made her feel.

Eight hours ago this man had been training her in hand-to-hand fighting with a kitchen knife and an unloaded pistol. They had wrestled with arms, legs and torsos twisting and striking against one another. They had even spent a significant amount of time tangled up on the floor. He had been the impersonal, professional instructor the entire time.

Sitting naked in her bath tub with him standing five feet away did not feel impersonal or professional. . . and it was downright terrifying.

He finished brushing, rinsed and spat in the sink, then washed his hands and splashed cold water on his face. With his eyes shut, he reached behind him and grabbed his towel. He patted his face dry and then turned to look at her boldly.

"Would it be easier if I was naked, too?"

"God, no!"

"What would make this less challenging?"

"I don't. . . I have no. . . Oh, my God, please just get out. Give me a minute."

His eyes narrowed and he stared her down for several seconds before nodding, hanging up his towel and leaving the bathroom. "I'm gonna grab breakfast," he called out a few minutes later. "I'll be back in 15 minutes, then we need to talk. Oh, and don't shave."

Bella waited until she heard the apartment door shut behind him before scampering out of the now empty tub and wrapping herself tightly in her towel. She stood there shivering, trying to come to terms with her own weakness and fear. What was wrong with her? She had agreed to this. It was a little late to be having second thoughts.

Her clothes sat right where she had left them, neatly folded on the shelf above the toilet. She reached for them, feeling the very natural desire to cover herself in layers of fabric. Then, she pulled her hand back, thinking. The end result was a foregone conclusion. She was going to have to bare herself completely eventually. If she was honest with herself, she preferred that it was on her terms, in a place where she felt comfortable and safe. With her teeth clenched tight, Bella went back out into the main room and sat on the end of her bed, waiting for her partner to return.

It didn't take him long. Less than a quarter of an hour later the door swung open and Masen appeared carrying two coffees in a cardboard drink carrier and two take out boxes. He pushed the door shut, set the food on the table then turned to face her. He leaned back against the wall, crossed his legs at the ankles and folded his arms across his chest. His expression was placid but his eyes were stormy.

Waiting wasn't going to make it any easier. She knew that. Bella swallowed her nerves and stood, allowing the towel to loosen and fall to the floor. His eyes didn't waver, holding her gaze for several seconds before he dropped them gradually lower and lower. Bella's hands twitched at her sides but she kept her arms down and her chin up. He didn't linger on her breasts. In fact, he showed no visible reaction to any part of her. His perusal was as clinical and uninterested as his first examination of her in SAC Mahardy's office at the beginning of the week.

When his eyes returned to hers, Bella started breathing normally again. She didn't know what she had expected. Compliments? Jokes? Signs of interest or even arousal? She wasn't prepared for any of it, but the absence of any sort of reaction was strangely reassuring. Nothing had changed. He was her partner and she was his. Being around each other in various stages of nudity was part of the mission. That was it. Nothing more.

"Hashbrowns or skillet-fried potatoes?"

"I. . . uh. . . what?" Bella blinked at the sudden change of subject.

"With your eggs. Hashbrowns or fried potatoes?"

"Um, fried, please," she finally replied.

Masen turned back to the table and started setting out breakfast. Feeling slightly foolish, Bella hurried back to the bathroom, hung up her towel and got dressed.

Masen was already digging into his breakfast, so she sat across from him, squeezed three packets of ketchup over her eggs and potatoes and started eating. Between bites she snuck quick glances at her partner, but he was typing and reading on his phone. He barely looked up except to occasionally reach for his coffee to take another sip.

"What's on the docket for today?" she eventually asked.

"I have some running around to do. You have appointments with a spa this morning and later a makeup artist."

"I have appointments today? What time? And when were you planning to tell me about them?" Despite her best efforts, her annoyance managed to seep into her voice.

"10 o'clock for the first and 2:30 for the hair and makeup. And I just did," he replied in a preoccupied tone. He never looked up from his phone.

Bella swallowed the irritation that burned in her stomach. She had been so busy all week that knowing she would have an appointment at 10 am on Saturday really wouldn't have changed a thing. That didn't stop it from aggravating her that he hadn't mentioned them earlier. She resolutely ate a few more bites of her eggs, finished her coffee and tossed the containers into the garbage can. The bin was almost full, so she removed the liner, tied a knot and put a new bag in. When she returned to the unit after taking out the trash, Agent Masen was still working intently. It was barely after 8 o'clock, so she pulled out her mission file and notes, sat on the floor and studied while stretching her too tight muscles.

An hour passed in near silence. Bella quelled the urge to interrupt Masen's work until she realized she needed the address for her appointment soon if she was going to make it there in time. She put away her notes and stood. When she looked over at Masen he was watching her. He held out a sheet of paper torn from one of her notepads. On one side was a home address at the south end of the city for her 2:30 appointment. On the other side she found the name of the spa, its address, phone number and the list of services she would be getting. She blanched and looked up in outrage.

"Waxing! Seriously?"

"Yep."

"That's why I wasn't supposed to shave."

"I should have said something sooner."

"You think? Why do I need to do this now? We're not even supposed to be undercover for another week and a half."

"And how convenient that we'll need recommendations for a suitable location to do a touch up within a week of arriving."

Bella narrowed her eyes at him, willing him to smile or wink or give any other indication that he was enjoying himself at her expense. His face remained completely impassive.

"I thought we were going to talk," she said, desperate to elicit some sort of response from behind the wooden facade.

"I thought it would be necessary, but you took care of it adequately all on your own."

"Right. Of course," Bella said in a carefully controlled voice.

It was obvious that he had no intention of elaborating. Finally she turned on her heel, gathered her phone, keys and wallet then headed down to her car. If she didn't leave right away, she was bound to say or do something she would regret.

A/N: How many of you would have lost your temper before now? I know that I would have bitched him out the very first day.