A/N: Yay I updated again! I'd like to thank everybody for all of the nice responses I got on the last chapters. You guys are so awesome. Keep on hittin' that review button! :D Also, Happy Valentine's Day, or as I like to call it, single-awareness day. For those of you without a significant other to hang with these days, you can do what I like to do and curl up with a nice fanfic. I'll try to do this chapter justice. Enjoy reading, my lovelies!

Rated: T (for safety)

Chapter 3 – Exhaustion

Gabriel had allowed Riley to drive to the safehouse. So far, after forty-five minutes of driving, the agents had only made a little small talk, both tired from the day's events. Neither was thrilled with having to be isolated in a cabin either, which was in fact over an hour away from the city, for even the smallest amount of time.

Gabriel tried hacking the internet with the chip but found that he really couldn't distract himself from the awkward silence in the car. He was hoping his partner would cheer up or turn the radio on or something. The whole trip, she'd barely even looked at him. Gabriel glanced over to her, seeing the tight set of her posture. Noting the way she kept crossing the yellow line on the highway, Gabriel soon offered to drive. "You look pretty exhausted, that's all," he explained.

"I'm perfectly capable here. There's nothing wrong with…with my-"She paused to yawn and succeeded in running a red light. She barely noticed.

"Look! You didn't even realize you just illegally drove through an intersection." She looked over at him and then in the rear-view mirror, eyes widening.

She cursed. "That was just incredibly ill timing for a yawn. Maybe I'll switch seats in a mile or so." Riley was being really stubborn. She was probably still mad at the predicament they were in, if the way her hands tightened their grip on the steering wheel were anything to go by. She knew it wasn't strictly Gabriel's fault, but she couldn't help but direct her anger at him.

He decided he wasn't having any of it. "So help me, I will turn off the car and pull you over myself if I have to." When she didn't respond, Gabriel gave her a warning look. "Riley!"

She huffed. "Fine." She suddenly wasn't in the mood to fight with him. She turned on her blinker and pulled over on the side of the road.

As soon as she was in the passenger seat, she felt a whole weight lift off her shoulder. Her eyes immediately felt heavy. Shortly before drifting off, she heard Gabriel say, "Don't worry. I made sure they wouldn't give you a ticket. Just a quick hack into the system."

She hummed in response as Gabriel chuckled. He glanced over at her, thinking that maybe she deserved a good nap. He turned up the heat in the vehicle to make her comfortable and started up the car again.

Riley blinked her eyes. Gabriel's face was once again inches from hers. A cold breeze blew over her.

Her brow furrowed. Wait, she wasn't dreaming anymore…So why was close enough so that she could smell his cologne? She blinked again and looked around the interior of the car.

"Hey sleeping beauty," he smiled tightly, "It's cold out here and I'd like to get inside." He hadn't moved from his spot, leaning in from the open door on her side of the car. They must have arrived in Cunningham Falls State Park. He tugged on her arm to get her moving and out of the vehicle. He'd probably woken Riley up when he'd stretched across her to take off her seatbelt.

"You were going to carry me." She said it as more of a statement than a question. She must have still been sleepy because she giggled, bringing her coat closer around her shoulders. She only laughed more when he rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"What?" He considered denying it, but knew she'd just bust him the more he tried to. "I thought it would be easier that way. Plus you weren't responding to me trying to wake you up before." They'd reached the steps of the log cabin. He was quite impressed with the perks that came with this job - at least they weren't stuck in some ruddy motel room.

"I was pretty tired, I guess…" Riley's words died away as she walked into the cabin. She was speechless; it looked like a one-story vacation home. There was a fireplace, a big couch, and a fully-equipped kitchen. Her heels clacked down the hallway as she went to find the bedrooms. To her right was a big master bedroom, to her left was a slightly smaller bedroom. It seemed like the only bathroom was located in the bigger room.

Gabriel was out in the living room when she heard him groan. She immediately rushed to where he was, hand at her gun.

"Aww, not even a TV?" he said. Riley rolled her eyes and re-holstered her weapon. Men and their television.

He followed her on her walk back down the hallway, grabbing his bags as he went. They went into the bigger room again and both sat down on the bed. "Hey look, here's the TV," Riley said. "Not that it's much help to you, seeing as this is going to be my room."

Gabriel whipped his head in her direction. "Like hell! This is the better room." He gave her a hard stare, daring her to challenge him.

She gladly took that challenge. "I got here first. Finders, keepers. Why can't I just have it?" She gave him an endearing smile and bit her lip for show. Riley knew perfectly well how to use her womanly powers of persuasion.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out because he was too busy staring at her mouth. He hated when she did that. It was totally not fair. And since when did they decide on sitting so close together on this bed? He glanced up to her teasing eyes. Maybe he could relent, but only a little.

"Why don't we just switch every other night? That way we both get to sleep in this bed," he proposed. Riley's expression made him laugh. "Poor choice of words, but you get the idea." He gave her a blatant once-over.

"You're disgusting," Riley rolled her eyes. Against her will, Riley's mind had given her a visual of the two of them, sleeping in the same bed. It was an image that was all too swiftly replaced with the two of them rolling around, entangled in the sheets- and they certainly were not sleeping. She cleared her throat. "But it sounds like a good idea to me." At his suggestive look, she added, "I meant the switching."

"Alright then. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" He started off so quickly she barely had time to form a rock-shaped fist. He covered her hand with his flat, paper-shaped palm. He beamed. "I win."

That same infuriating grin was reappearing on his face- the one Riley couldn't decide if she wanted to smack or kiss off.

Wait. Kiss off?

Riley shook her head and glanced back and forth between his dimples and the hand that was still clamped over hers. "No fair. Two out of three?" she begged. He just ignored her, brought her hand up and kissed it in mock-celebration.

"Thank you oh-so much, Riley! This was a wonderful housewarming gift to give me today." Gabriel dropped her hand and started hanging up his coat in the closet, dumping his bag at the bottom. He really could be infuriating. "For your kindness, I'll let you have the shower first in the morning."

"Oh gee, you're so thoughtful." She took her bag across the hall and huffed. She really wanted that bigger room. He didn't deserve to have it first. Besides, wasn't it the gentlemanly thing to do to give a lady the better room? Gabriel certainly was a different sort of man, and not just because of the chip in his head. At least he didn't give her any pitying special treatment.

She was in the midst of hanging up a dress that she didn't want her bag to make wrinklier when Gabriel poked his head in her room. He walked up to her and took it right out of her hands. "Hey-"

"I have definitely got to get you to wear this while we're up here," he was saying while admiring the article of clothing. He gave her an apologetic look and hung the dress up when she smacked his arm. He put his hands in his pockets and asked, "Why did you bring a dress up to the mountains anyway?"

"It wasn't on purpose. I always pack a dress in case of emergency. You'd never guess how much they come in handy." She sighed, and Gabriel could almost imagine her all spiffed up in the lacy black dress. If it looked anything like the red dress she'd worn today, he couldn't wait to get her into it. Or out of it.

It looked like he wasn't going to get rid of his dirty thoughts anytime soon. Best to just embrace them and enjoy his internal commentary. It wasn't like she could hear what his mind imagined her doing anyway, so he figured there was no harm in daydreaming. He could see Riley now, hair up and dress hugging her curves, tan legs stretching on forever. Gabriel saw himself tugging her hand so that she fell into his chest again, his body pressed against hers, hands exploring her waist.

He didn't realize his feet were moving until he was an arm's reach away from her. She glanced up from her unpacking to frown at the intense way he was looking at her. "Something wrong?"

He held her gaze for a beat longer and turned around to head for the kitchen, making a swift exit. "I think I'll make dinner," he called, slightly embarrassed.

He had to move himself out of her proximity. Jeez, this was getting out of hand. Some food and a goodnight's rest would do them both well, and hopefully whatever he was feeling about her today would die a natural death by morning. He just really needed some space- not that there was any abundant supply of that in the cabin.

Riley returned when she smelled the dinner cooking. Apparently it was a mac-n-cheese sort of night. It was just as well, because she was really in need of some comfort food. She was feeling exhausted for no particular reason and it was affecting her mood. Not only was she having a harder time keeping herself from flirting, but she had actually giggled in his presence today. Giggled. She knew was acting like a schoolgirl, and that bothered her the most. Only five hours of sleep the night before could do that to her, she concluded.

She silently sauntered into the kitchen. Gabriel was adorning an apron and humming along to the kitchen radio. He looked so at home; almost domestic. She couldn't put a finger on why this seemed so strange, except for the fact that she never imagined her hardcore, technologically-gifted, gun-toting partner strutting around the kitchen, making dinner as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Riley wouldn't have thought he'd be the cooking type.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke. "You're really making that apron work for you." Riley laughed as his wide-eyed expression turned into a sour pout. He walked over to where she was leaning against the counter.

"A little warning would be nice, you know. It's not nice to sneak up on people like that." His lip poked out adorably, but his pout was gone in an instant. He grabbed her wrist and brought her over to the stove. "Try this. It's a homemade recipe – not that gross stuff you always make from a box." At her questioning look, he added, "You forget I've seen your recycling bin."

He held up a spoonful of the cheese sauce and let her mouth close over the spoon. She hummed in response, licking her lips when it spilled. Gabriel took his thumb to reach the excess sauce on her chin and popped it into his own mouth. "I was right, that is good."

She nodded in agreement and mumbled something about 'getting his own cheese.' His eyes were dancing a bit at the moment. There again was that spark of awareness that settled between them.

"You still got a bit left on your cheek," he teased. Her eyes widened. His hand reached up and had just barely grazed her chin before she caught the look in his eyes and moved away.

"I've got it this time," she said, damning the slight hitch in her voice. Riley tried to silence the voice in her head that told her he would probably have eaten it right off her face if allowed him the chance. He smiled as if he could read her thoughts.

She moved to set the table, turning so that he couldn't see the heat on her cheeks, hearing him chuckle when she moved to the dining room. She made sure to set each place at opposite ends of the table, putting as much distance between themselves as possible.

After his latest attempt at rattling her composure, she sure as hell wasn't going to make herself an easy target at his disposal.

After eating what was probably the most delicious mac n' cheese Riley had ever eaten, she'd offered to clean up the dishes. Gabriel walked down the hall to change into sweatpants, but stopped by Riley's room when he heard a strange noise.

He went in to investigate further. In the room, he could hear a distinct scratching noise, followed by a squeak. Suddenly, a white blur scampered across his toes. "Jesus!"

"What is it?" Riley called from the kitchen. She rushed in, hand once again at her hip, ready to face down any danger. Gabriel swore and walked over to a little hole in the wall.

"Looks like you've got a tiny roommate." He wished there was a thermal imaging device that was installed along with the chip. He could find the mouse in no time flat. "Hope you don't mind mice."

"It probably won't give me any trouble when I'm in the room. I don't scare easy, anyway." She gave him a pointed look, and he remembered that he'd let out a small exclamation a minute ago.

"I wasn't prepared for it to practically crawl up my leg," he grouched.

She grinned at him and left the room. A little while longer and she was done with the dishes and went to see if he had unpacked. Instead, Riley later found her partner in front of the dark fireplace, cursing the matches that he was wasting. "What's wrong, need somebody to light your fire?"

He grinned up at her when she wiggled her eyebrows and stopped his efforts. "As it happens, rain makes for wet firewood. I think there's a leak in the woodshed." Riley remembered how slippery and muddy it had been when they arrived. "Let's go see if the TV signal's working."

Indeed it was. They both sat a comfortable distance away from each other and watched reruns of Lost. Every so often they'd talk about the characters and their horrid situation, sharing memories about watching the show for the first time.

"I always liked Claire. I could see me being friends with a girl like her," Riley was saying.

"That Sawyer guy was always my favorite," Gabriel replied. Riley rolled her eyes.

"But he's always so snarky." Riley didn't tell him that she loved Sawyer just the same.

"That's what makes him so funny, though!"

"And annoying."

And they kept the conversation going in this manner until they were both weary. Eventually, Riley grew completely silent. Gabriel's head was bobbing, trying to prevent himself from falling asleep in his upright position. He shut the television off and moved to where Riley was sound asleep. He slid his hands underneath her warm form and scooped her up, surprised at how light she turned out to be.

He was careful not to smack her head on any doorways, and he set her gently in bed. The only reason he'd moved her was because he thought he could at least perform one gentlemanly act today (though he wouldn't have minded sharing some bed space). Her shoes were already off, and he wasn't about to undress her without her permission, so he settled on placing a blanket over her slumbering form. She'd curled into a ball and reached out to grab his hand, muttering incoherently. "Thnankgs, Gaybreel," was all he could make out. Her hand left his as quickly as it came and curled back against her chest.

So this is what she looks like when she sleeps, he sighed. His heart clenched in a way he wasn't prepared for. It was so out of sorts for her to be completely relaxed, worry lines gone. He found her to be endearingly peaceful like this. Giving her one last look behind his shoulders, he closed the door and fell into his own bed.

Their first night hadn't been terrible. They'd kept the fighting to a minimum, at least. He was mostly remembering the pleasant moments they'd shared that day. He'd gotten a taste of her sweet lips, something he didn't even know he'd wanted. He still wasn't sure he should want them, seeing as he'd swore to keep it professional. He would keep it that way of course, but would enjoy himself this weekend all the same.

Gabriel awoke to see a white ceiling in a log bedroom. He sat up quickly. Fire? No, doesn't smell right. He looked to see the bathroom door open a crack. Oh.

He laid back down and glanced at the alarm clock. It read 6:00 AM. He groaned. Figures she would stick to her early schedule when they were on vacation.

He put his pillow over his head and dozed off for a few more minutes. The noise of the shower had brought many fantasies to his mind, however, and he couldn't ignore that sort of thing this early in the morning.She was naked. In his shower. The door wasn't even closed all the way, so he could have easily come right in. And joined her.

He shifted his legs into a more comfortable position and tried to tamp down the arousing thoughts. Down boy, he chided himself. The water was shutting off and he saw shadows move against the steamy opening of the door. Then, the door opened to let the steam billow out. He feigned sleep to give her some privacy, but reopened his eyes when he realized she had a towel on and was only brushing her hair. She hadn't noticed he was awake yet, then.

Gabriel noticed the water droplets clinging to her shoulders and skittering down her bare legs. He could get used to a morning view like this. He looked up to see that he had been caught peeking in the mirror. She turned on him with a devilish grin as he looked away. "Morning sleepyhead."

"Good morning to you, Agent Neal." His voice was still husky from sleep. He self-consciously ran a hand through his bed-head and scratched at his morning stubble. He finally looked back into her eyes and saw a she was still grinning wickedly. "What?" She moved to stand before the doorway of the bathroom.

"Are you seriously scared of a woman in a towel? God you should see your face," she was laughing. "You can't be thinking I'd have any ability to cause you harm right now. So if that's not it, what, are you afraid of me showing a little skin?" This was probably a dangerous outfit to be taunting him in.

He pulled back the covers on his bed. Yup. Definitely dangerous.

She learned that he slept only in boxer shorts. His muscled form, warm and rosy from sleep, came to stand in the doorway of the bathroom. She brought her line of sight up from his abdominals slowly to reach his face, which, once again, was dimpled with a smile that packed a punch. In his husky, sleep-ridden voice, he stated, "Quite the opposite. I'm really loving this new look, actually." Up this close, he could see a few droplets of water still clinging to her eyelashes.

His darkened eyes silenced whatever retort she had planned. Gabriel's hand reached out to grab her waist where the towel was tucked in. His stubble scratched her damp cheek when he leaned in to grace the shell of her ear. His other hand that he'd been using to support himself was now tracing her bare shoulder, gliding down the skin of her arm to rest on her wrist, tugging her so that she crossed the threshold of the room. She felt the goosebumps on her forearm rise as he spoke again. "You should wear it more often."

He paused to rest his cheek against her hair, but she could feel that damn smile against her temple again. That cocky bastard knew what he was doing to her.

She moved her hands to cover both of his, bringing them into the small space between their bodies. She moved her forehead back, making sure he could see her expression. Her eyes were focused solely on his lips, enticing him further. She bit her lip and dropped both his hands to reach up to his bare chest.

She'd started pushing him backwards into the room, towards the bed. Gabriel almost couldn't believe how far she was letting this go. But then he realized that the space between them was not actually getting smaller.

She gave him a light push and he fell onto the bed. Before he could gather his wits, she'd released a triumphant laugh and escaped out into the hallway, shutting the door to her room.

He sighed, deciding to shower himself. He liked that she gave as good as she got, but sometimes she was downright cruel. He knew he could force himself to be immune to her wiles if he tried hard enough.

Just to be safe, he made sure the shower was extra cold.

A/N: And there you have it. Tell me how it went – click that pretty review button for me. I know you were probably expecting me to finish this at least before V-Day, but as fate would have it, I was having a busy school week. Don't worry, there's more romance ahead. Patience, my dear friends. Also,special thanks to my friend, diana-of-wales, for giving me some great prompts and offers of help. Thanks for reading! Still think I should continue?