John went to bed with Jessica on his mind. She was dreaming about him, just as he was dreaming about her. He had saved her in her dreams, until that night. Dreams were funny things.
The kiss. He hadn't kissed anyone since Anna. He was leery about trusting anyone else, but there was something about Jessica that was drawing him in. He couldn't help himself. He was so grateful she had kissed him back. It was a big risk on his part, considering their situation. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to go back into her room and finish that kiss, but he had to stay focused on the job.
As he drifted off to sleep, he waited for images of death to start, but they didn't. He dreamed of Anna that night. One of his favorite memories, waking up next to her, watching the sunlight on her face. He brushed her hair away and the face changed. It was Jessica next to him. He realized the change, but it didn't seem odd. The dream continued with kissing and caressing, and John slept through what was left of his night.
The alarm on his watch went off at six a.m. He showered, then sat in the chair next to the sofa, where Dorian sat.
"You look like you slept better," Dorian said.
"Yeah, I did. Slept straight through."
Jessica came into the room, and John's eyes went straight to her.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning," she said. A slight blush colored her cheeks before she disappeared into the bathroom.
"John," Dorian said, "you made her blush."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did," Dorian said with a chuckle.
"She's probably just a little embarrassed. She had a really bad nightmare last night and she cried in front of me." John saw the lights flash across Dorian's face, and he narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," Dorian said.
"Yeah, right, nothing... what are you-."
Jessica walked out, and John stopped. She came around and sat on the opposite side of the sofa.
"How'd you sleep," John asked her.
"Much better," she said with a grin. "Thanks."
"Looks like your internal alarm clock got a bit off," John said. His smile grew as hers did.
"I guess I was enjoying the sleep... and it's not like I have somewhere to be."
Once Dorian left to charge, Jessica moved to where he had been sitting, closer to John.
"Thank you for last night," she said. "I really did sleep better. Maybe I did just need to let it out."
"Don't mention it."
"And... about the other thing last night..."
"Look," John said as he leaned forward, "I don't want you to think that I was taking advantage-"
"I'm glad you kissed me. I really am. And I hope you don't think I'm being too forward, because I swear I'm not always like this," she said with a chuckle, "but I would love for you to kiss me again."
He stared at her for a moment before he stood and moved next to her on the sofa. He took one of her hands in one of his.
"It's not too forward," he said.
He let the backs of his fingers run across her cheek, placed his hand at the back of her head, and slowly pulled her lips to his.
Jessica sighed at the contact. She was almost afraid to kiss him back. She didn't want him to stop like he did before. She hesitantly parted her lips and felt him deepen the kiss.
John let go of her hand and held her face in both of his. His thumbs lightly brushed over her cheeks as they kissed. He thought about the dream he had the night before. He thought about how he had imagined it would feel to hold her completely, and his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close.
When their bodies met, a small moan escaped her lips, and she felt John smile. She ran her hands up his arms and wrapped them around his broad shoulders. One of her hands rested on his neck, her fingers playing in the short hair there.
They stayed that way for several minutes. The kissing became urgent, and hands began to grasp at clothing, just looking for something to hold on to. John finally pulled his lips away and kissed down her jaw, to her neck. Her breathing was heavy as her hand snaked into his hair, clutching it in her fist. Her other hand dropped down to his leg, and her hand passed over the metal band around his thigh. She unconsciously pulled back, remembering his synthetic leg.
John pulled away, a little confused by her sudden withdrawal.
"What's wrong?" He followed her eyes down to where her hand touched his leg, and his heart sank a little. "Does it bother you?"
"No," she said. She responded fast, so he would know that she meant it. "No, it just..." She looked into his eyes and ran her hand over his leg again. "Can you feel that?"
John shook his head. "No," he said as he picked up her hand and placed it higher on his thigh. "But I feel it here. That part's me."
"That works," she said with a smile.
John returned the smile and kissed her again, but didn't let it linger. He knew if they got started again they may not stop.
"Maybe we should cool it, huh?"
"I guess you're right," she said. "Don't want this going too far, too fast. Especially not in this dungeon of a place."
They ate breakfast, and then decided to watch television. John sat in the corner of the sofa and motioned for Jessica to join him. She sat next to him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her and rested on her hip.
They watched television silently for a while. Jessica's hand occasionally landed on John's synthetic leg, and she wondered about it. She had watched him walk. It seemed natural. He was still on the police force, so it couldn't interfere with his duties, but he couldn't feel anything. Part of her wondered what it looked like. Was it made to look human, like the droid models were?
John shifted slightly, snapping her out of her thoughts. She began to think about how it felt to be in his arms, and their kiss the night before. It was then that she remembered him stopping.
"I'm curious," she said, and sat up. "Last night, you pulled away. You said you couldn't because you had to focus on the job. Then, this morning we had that... amazing..." She smiled, struggling to find the word. It hadn't been just a kiss.
"Make out session," John asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah," she said with a bright smile. "I'm still the job. What changed?"
John sighed. "Nothing really, except that you told me you wanted me to kiss you again. I told you last night... I wanted to kiss you. I was thinking that after we both got some sleep it would pass, but..."
"But?"
John stared at her, then shook his head with a smile. "Come on... Isn't a guy supposed to have some mystery? Some secrets?"
"Not when he's got my life in his hands."
John thought about that. He thought about Anna and the secrets she had kept. If there was any chance that this attraction to Jessica was more than physical, he needed honesty. There couldn't be secrets.
"Okay," he said. He swallowed his pride, and pushed aside the embarrassment. "I thought about you all last night. Dreamt about you." When the words came out he thought they sounded creepy. He hoped he didn't completely freak her out.
"What kind of dream," she asked with a grin. Her cheeks were pink again.
John smoothed a hand over her hair. "Basically what we did this morning, but..."
"But?"
"We were in bed." John watched as Jessica's eyes widened a bit. "I promise," he said quickly, "it wasn't a sex dream. It was just like this morning, just... horizontal." He smiled and looked off into the distance.
"Are you actually thinking about it now," Jessica asked, trying to sound offended. Her laugh gave her away.
"Yeah, I am."
They both laughed for a moment, but Jessica brought the conversation back around.
"Okay," she said. "Nothing's changed. Where does that put us?"
"Well, if something would go wrong with your detail, and it was discovered that we started a relationship while we were in here, I could get put under review."
"You could lose your job?"
"Not likely."
"But possible?"
"I guess."
"I don't wanna be the reason you're not a cop. Especially not after what you told me about your dad."
"Yeah, but we've already decided we like kissing each other," he said with a smile. "And the odds of anything happening that would put us under review are slim."
"I don't know," she said. "Do you really want to risk it?"
John stared at her. Part of him was yelling that he didn't. The other part was thinking maybe it was worth the risk.
"John, you've just met me. You won't hurt my feelings. You love being a cop... don't risk it."
"You're right," he said. "Maybe we should take a step back." He moved to the chair and ran a hand over the back of his neck.
"And it's like you said last night... after the job..."
"After the job," John said with a smile, "we get back to where we were this morning."
"Deal."