A/N: Okay, so last time you guys were amazing and I received some INCREDIBLY sweet reviews. I wanted to let you lovely readers and reviewers know that I appreciate every single love note (review) that you give me. It makes me wanna cry, but it also makes me feel like my writing is worthwhile. I'll try not to let you down! And also, I'm REALLY sorry for the delay in the update. I didn't have a lot of free time this weekend to write, but I'm gonna make it up by hopefully giving you chapter eight early.

Rated: T sort of…slightly M

Disclaimer: I will own these characters when pigs fly. *tries furiously to attach wings to said animal*

HOW TO READ THIS CHAPTER: Go to rainymood dot com for the sound of the rainstorm, open up a fireplace "episode" on Netflix to hear the crackling of the fire, and open up a Frank Sinatra mix on YouTube. You will totally get the effect of what Riley and Gabriel are hearing. ENJOY.

CHAPTER 7 - Warmth

Riley paused her actions, her pancake-holding fork halfway to her lips and eyes wide.

She hadn't meant to think that at all. Love? This wasn't love. It was obviously a Freudian slip. It wasn't like she could be in love just three days after finally kissing her partner, right? It couldn't be as simple as that.

She thought of their partnership, or rather their friendship, over the past year. They fought and teased each other all the time, and could never get along. She supposed she did enjoy it though, and it was nice to have someone who gave as good as he got. She certainly could be a match for him in that respect. He could be surprisingly nice to her on occasion. He was also a hell of a kisser, and she had no doubt he'd be great in bed, especially if their morning wake-up kiss was any indication. Her train of thought derailed for a moment, thinking of all the potential they had together.

"Something wrong with my pancakes?" Gabriel asked. He'd caught her staring off into space with a sort of lost look on her face. She didn't answer for a moment, so he waved a hand in front of her face.

She jumped when he neared her and turned red. "What?" It was times like this when she was incredibly thankful that he couldn't read minds.

He furrowed his brow. "You looked sick a minute ago. Is something wrong? Is it about the guardsman?" He looked genuinely concerned. Riley was hit again with the realization that Gabriel really did care about her, at least a little.

But, she was also reminded about the guardsman. Just like that, she remembered exactly why she shouldn't be thinking about her partner. It distracted her, despite her greatest efforts to do her job, which is why she prized professionalism over thinking about love.

Love… There she went again. She had to stop kidding herself. Maybe she just didn't know what to call their odd exchange of feelings over the past few days. It wasn't like they had any chance of starting anything up with each other.

With a strange, hollow feeling in her chest, she realized everything would probably go back to normal between them as soon as they returned home.

Suddenly, she wasn't so eager to leave.

"Gabriel, the pancakes are fine." She glanced around for an excuse, and looked to the window outside. "I was just thinking that the storm clouds are rolling in soon, so we'd better hurry and get the laundry." She covered up her distraught look quickly. He didn't need to know anything about her traitorous thoughts. He watched her face, almost like he knew she was keeping some big secret from him, but nodded anyway.

"I think I'll just grab your clothes for you. I checked the weather report already and the chip told me it's going to get cold again, so you should stay and collect some firewood before it starts raining. I don't think we're gonna be able to leave the cabin much today," he stated as he put their dishes in the sink and went to his room for a quick change of clothes.

Just perfect, Riley thought. More time for them to spend together in an enclosed space with nothing to do but enjoy each other's company.

She was already getting a migraine.

"Wait a minute, I should come with you, just like I should have last time. I was hired to be your bodyguard, you know," she frowned and asked him when he came out.

"Is that concern I hear in your voice?" he chuckled. "It's fine. Lillian sent an email that said they had located the guardsman's car in the next state over. He apparently followed the decoy car that took off at the same time we left to come to the cabin, so he's fooled for now. They're waiting for him to try to make a move before they apprehend him, but I think I'll be safe enough." He brushed her off and exited the cabin.

Yup, she definitely had a migraine now. Riley resolutely followed him into the car and cut off his protests with a glare. As much as she wanted a moment to herself, she was more concerned about the potential trouble Gabriel could get into if he was let out of her sight.

After they'd returned, Riley was craving to be on her own so that perhaps she'd stop thinking about her partner. For a half an hour, she'd been outside alone. Riley had told Gabriel that she was just checking the perimeter, but in all honesty, she wasn't sure she could be in the same room with him any longer that morning.

During the ride down to the main lodge and all while they were gathering her laundry, Gabriel had kept accidently brushing her and resting his hands on some part of her or another. The way it made her feel was something she did not want to deal with, but after the much-needed fresh air, Riley was starting to feel as though her head had cleared a bit.

Cleaning up the yard seemed like it would serve as a good distraction, and before long, she'd forgotten the burning need to avoid her partner inside the cabin. Riley was picking up some logs when she heard the crunching of the leaves nearby her. She looked up and wordlessly handed Gabriel a pile of wood, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

"Firewood collecting going well?" Gabriel asked. He would've pulled his coat tighter around himself had his hands not been full.

"You can put those on the pile on the porch. And yes, it's going okay." He noticed how her shoulder were set tensely. Something in her voice still sounded like she was on edge. He hoped it didn't have anything to do with the accident that morning.

And an accident was what he was going to call it. He was tired of her always besting him in their verbal sparring matches, and if he was forced to admit it, he loved unnerving her by getting close to her like he had this morning. Not to mention the affect it had on him. When he had closed his lips on her mouth, a wonderful warmth had spread quickly throughout his body. He had planned to move away right as soon as she had started to respond to his touch, but he didn't have the willpower to move away. Plus it just felt amazing getting that close to her. Her hair was as soft as silk, and every time they made skin-to-skin contact, it felt like a bolt of electricity had surged through him.

He hadn't regretted a minute of it before, but now that he had time to think on it, he was beginning to have second doubts. His heart was getting rather attached, and that was seriously bad, because he was sure that his desire for her was no longer due to his southern anatomy. And looking at his partner, it seemed like she was starting to regret their near-intimacy as well.

For a second, he began to seriously doubt whether Riley was actually enjoying their make-out sessions as much as he was. But then again, she kissed him back with just as much fervor and hadn't tried very hard to put a stop to him this morning. He couldn't help the wicked grin that suddenly spread across his face; he figured he was in the clear with her.

He looked thoughtfully over to her but blinked as a rain drop hit his nose. "Riley, it's starting to rain." She ignored him and kept picking up a few nearby branches for kindling. The rain started coming down in bigger drops and he knew they were going to get soaked if they didn't move inside soon. "Riley!"

She finally turned towards his pleading look and walked past him slowly with no mind to the rain. He heard her mumble an apology quietly.

They both scooped up the wood stacked on the porch, and Gabriel picked up the laundry bag nearby with one hand as they entered the cabin.

She still hadn't said anything at all even after they placed the wood in the fireplace and sat down to watch the flames. Before lighting the fire, she had approached the record player in the corner of the room and looked through the records resting against it. She picked up one that had music by Frank Sinatra, and "I Get a Kick Out of You" started to play. It reminded Riley of the music that used to play in her grandparents' house and it helped to relax her somewhat.

Gabriel, on the other hand, grabbed a blanket from the big bedroom and frowned when he saw her sitting tiredly upon the couch cushions. He sighed and draped the blanket around her from behind and set his hands on her shoulders. "You seem a little tense, there, partner."

"Gee, I can't imagine why," she said tersely. Her muscles were tense, so he gently started massaging her. They only tightened up further.

"Just relax, I'm not gonna hurt you." She sighed and relented, closing her eyes when he kneaded a knot in her neck. "Was it something I said?" he joked as he worked his thumbs into the base of her neck and heard her sigh.

"We really should talk about this morning," she said quietly. Gabriel momentarily paused in his actions at her tone, but kept going as she talked. Riley wanted to avoid discussing it as much as he did, but they weren't going to get anywhere by being afraid to bring up the incident. "Things got a little…intense." She took a deep breath. "This is why I…why we can't deal with too much close proximity. You keep stepping in to my personal space, being nice like this –"

"What's wrong with being nice?" Gabriel interrupted. He didn't like where this was going. He was afraid she was going to try to put more distance between them when in reality neither of them wanted it. "It's probably just the proximity that's affecting us."

Probably.

"I'm sorry about this morning," he lied. "But it's not like anything bad happened. Besides, things will probably go back to normal when we go back to the city and get some space. We're both professionals, we can handle it," he declared, having finally worked a couple knots out of her shoulders and heard her sigh, either in relaxation or disbelief of what he was saying.

"Could we please at least try and pretend to be professional, then?" she fluttered her eyes open, unaware that they'd shut, and put her hands over his to stop him. "Like you said, space is what we need." She didn't catch his frown but heard him move around the couch and then sit on the opposite end. He was plastering a compliant smile on his face, which she was trying not to feel guilty about. Of course, she didn't want space between them; quite the opposite. However, if they were going to remain unattached at the hip, Riley needed to make an effort to obtain some breathing room.

"As you wish," he smirked. Did she really think this was going to help? The only reason he'd decided to sit on the other end of the couch was to make her more comfortable. He was positive it wasn't going to help. In fact, if that annoying hiker, Chris, hadn't shown up to take away poor Ivy, he was sure he would've succeeded in removing her shirt, and all her other clothing for that matter.

He knew he should focus on something else before his lower "brain" started taking over again. "I cannot believe that Ivy belongs to Chris," he chuckled lightly. Ivy was a safe topic.

Some of the worry lines on Riley's face relaxed a little. She was still frowning, though, when she answered him. "That's really just not right. Did you see how scared Ivy was when she saw him? Wanna bet this isn't the first time she's run away?"

"The poor thing probably didn't want to put up with all of his bragging," he remarked and got a smile out of his partner. He didn't like thinking about the poor treatment that Ivy received. "Did you notice the dog looked a bit thin, too? It's a wonder Chris is even allowed to own her."

Riley sat up straighter, worry lines back. "Do you think we should do something about it?" Her head was tilted and she looked over at him with big eyes. Gabriel was starting to feel even worse about letting the dog go, and squirmed where he sat.

"I'll email the lodge and at least tell them about Chris' illegal hiking plans. Maybe that'll get him in trouble or something and he'll hopefully have to give up Ivy." He stared out of focus for a few seconds. "Done. The lodge will have no choice but to send a team out to find him soon." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Alright. At least we did something." It certainly didn't feel like enough. She thought about making Gabriel call animal control or something if Chris was let off the hook. No animal deserved to be treated cruelly. "I miss her already," Riley complained.

"You should really think about getting a dog," he suggested. He'd seen the way Riley's face lit up when she'd played with Ivy.

"I don't know, I've already got you," she snarked. "But seriously, I'd have no time to take care of a dog with our line of work being what it is. Plus, you're more than enough trouble," she said with a straight face, earning a sour eye-roll from him.

A wide, toothy-grin erupted on her face when he feigned offence. He was glad to finally have her laughing again. When she was sad, it usually turned out to be his fault. The least he could do was try his best to help her find her smile again. It always cheered him up, too.

They both jumped as the window suddenly flapped open and a cold gust burst through the room. Riley ran up to shut it and promptly sat back down to get warm by the fire again. Gabriel noticed that she'd inadvertently sat closer to him in the process. She was shivering hard, so he quickly rose from the couch and ducked into the kitchen.

Five minutes later, he came back out with two steaming mugs of hot cocoa. Since she'd moved slightly closer, he figured he was safe to inch slightly closer to her as well, and he did so while handing a mug to her eager and outstretched hands. "Oh my – you didn't have to do that." Her eyes were expressive and grateful as she mumbled her thanks.

"One condition, though," he started. "You have to at least let me share some of the blanket." He pointed to the large object that she was wrapped in. Instead of protesting, she moved it over and handed him a part of the blanket. "Oh, gee. I get a whole corner."

She rolled her eyes and scooted a few inches to her right so that he could reach the cloth better. "Do you really need two corners? I mean, that's a lot." She squinted her eyes at him in a teasing fashion.

"Yes, in fact. I'm sorry but I need at least a quarter of this thing, you blanket-hogger," he teased right back. They both chuckled. "It's freezing in here, and the fire isn't very big yet. I mean no funny business, I just want a little warmth." He took a big sip of the hot chocolate and shivered dramatically.

She relented and moved to the middle cushion so he could finally share half the blanket. "If this is some big ploy to completely ignore my wish for space-" she started with one perfectly arched eyebrow accompanying her glare.

"Warmth, Riley. Warmth. Honestly, I'm not trying to get a rise out of you, I'm a completely professional adult, you know," he grinned devilishly. He ran his tongue on his upper lip to try and contain the laughter that was threatening to bubble out of him.

"Which is why you've kissed me, like, ten times," she pointed out. Her glare held, but a lovely blush dappled her cheeks. She really was adorable when she was embarrassed. "Professional, my ass."

"Eight times," he caught her gaze and looked away.

"What?" she asked. She hated that her breath had caught in her chest.

"Eight times. Two times each on the mission, by the fireplace, at the party, and this morning – not including on the cheek." He swallowed and turned back to her. "For the record."

She lips formed a silent, "Oh," and she nodded, staring into the fireplace to watch the flames rise. So…he'd kept track, she thought. She took a moment to count them in her head, for she never realized just how many times they had touched lips. It was several moments before the sound of Gabriel talking brought her back out of it.

"Besides, you kissed me at the party. That wasn't my fault." He rubbed his jaw and set his empty mug on the end table near the side of the couch.

"But that was only because you said I wasn't a good kisser," she said defensively. The record player started the next song, "I've got you under my skin."

"Wrong again, you assumed I thought you were a bad kisser, then you went and tried to prove me wrong for no reason." He smiled, remembering. "I honestly don't know how you think you could possibly be a badkisser." Gabriel gave her a look of pride, to which she turned even redder at. She smacked his arm at the odd compliment.

"Well, I can never tell with you. And maybe I have a slight problem with being competitive and trying to prove you wrong," she sighed. At the time, she'd also been sort of scared that he was losing interest in her. Not that she wanted him to be interested in her. Darn it, was it the fact that they were sitting closer again? She tried to lean away from him slightly, even though they weren't touching.

"We both do," he replied. He shifted to put his blanket-covered feet up on the coffee table and the nice space between them that Riley had been enjoying was getting smaller and smaller by the moment. Riley followed his actions, though, because the blanket had fallen off her when he'd moved. Their arms, as well as their legs, were now grazing each other in order to stay under the warm cloth.

"Jeez this place needs more blankets," Riley grouched. Gabriel just laughed and leaned against her more. "So much for space," she muttered.

Gabriel ignored her fake protests this time. "Are you gonna finish that?" He reached for the cup and avoided her glare as he downed a few gulps.

Riley yanked the drink back and took a few sips. "Why do you always steal my drink, anyway? And why do you always feel the need to eat my food, too?" She could never just finish her own meals when he was around.

He shrugged. "We already swapped spit, so I wouldn't worry about sharing drinks, partner." He looked as though he was going to steal the cocoa out of her hands again.

Riley grimaced at the gross way he put it. She stared down at the drink, realizing she's put her mouth where he'd placed his, and a stupid, teenager-like giddiness struck her for a split second. What was she, in high school? It wasn't the same as a kiss, and wasn't nearly as good as the real thing. She hadn't realized she'd put her hands up to her lips while thinking about it.

Gabriel caught the action and glanced at her lips. He promised himself he wouldn't kiss her again, at least for the moment. He knew it just made Riley feel even guiltier that she was defying Lillian's orders, but boy could she tease him. And that was the thing that got to him – she wasn't even trying to make a conscious effort to tease him, but she still made him hotter than anything. He really was falling hard.

Wait, falling…falling in -?

No, of course he wasn't. He dismissed the idea and busied himself with grabbing her cocoa, completely emptying the mug. She opened her mouth wide in protest, but closed it just as quickly. She finally must have realized there was no hope in getting him to stop.

They were now both incredibly warm from the fire and from their body heat under the blanket. They simultaneously leaned back against the couch, Riley resting her head on Gabriel's arm that had somehow wrapped itself around her without her knowledge. She felt her lids getting heavy but fought to stay awake. Gabriel was listening to the music, and was so relaxed that he could barely tell what song was playing now. "I'll make you more cocoa later, or something," he told her. "I'm sorry I took your drink, but you were about to let it go cold."

She hummed in disagreement. "I was savoring it. Nothing wrong with making something good last while it can," she said softly. He held her meaningful gaze for a moment and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder. While her words were saying one thing, her body certainly seemed to be saying another. It was confusing as hell for him, but he didn't protest when he heard her sigh quietly against his shoulders.

There went his heartstrings being pulled again. It was still mid-morning, but the heavy storm clouds were making it very dark outside. With the only light coming from the fireplace, it was even darker inside the cabin. Losing the battle to stay awake, his head drooped and came to rest atop her soft one. He could feel her breath tickling his neck and realized she was probably sound asleep.

Both agents fell asleep, succumbing to the naps they both needed. The crackling of the fire and the warm body heat that they shared lulled them off to sleep, giving way to pleasant dreams about each other.

Riley was smiling uncontrollably. The two agents were still on the couch, but Gabriel was hugging her close to his body again. She was resting on his chest, curled in an upright position against the side of his body. Gabriel had loosened his grip on her all of a sudden, so she popped her head up to stare directly into his face, questioning his movement.

Gabriel brought a hand up to graze the tip of his thumb over her bottom lip, and with a hand holding her jaw, brought her forehead down to rest against his. If she would've been able to breathe, they'd be sharing the same air.

He let go of her head and brought his arms around her. Gabriel positioned his hands on either side of her waist, holding onto Riley's hips and bringing her body around to sit on top of his lap. He hadn't moved his head to kiss her yet, and actually separated their foreheads to look at the skin that her low-cut shirt revealed. His fingers came up to skim her sensitive skin when he undid a few of the buttons near the top of the tee.

She shivered as he let go of the buttons and ran his hands up along both sides of her ribs. Riley saw that his pupils dilated quickly, probably matching hers. He placed an open kiss to the skin that he'd uncovered, and she felt her hands start to shake as his mouth got nearer to the thin fabric of her bra. His torturous trail stopped and veered towards her neck, coming up to a sensitive spot behind her ear. Riley had been gripping Gabriel's biceps tightly, but she released them to place her hands lightly on his chest.

She couldn't stand the wait any longer; Riley leaned her head back and tried to level his face with hers. The corners of Gabriel's mouth were upturned again, and she knew she'd finally be able to kiss the smirk off of him. She ran a tongue across her upper lip in anticipation, but he only leaned up to kiss her cheek, lingering as he brought his mouth to the corner of hers slowly, with a barely-there touch. It was only igniting the fuel inside her further, so she finally just moved her head to the right to meet him.

Her mouth found his in an urgent, deep kiss that had them both moaning; they'd deprived themselves of each other for too long. Gabriel brought her tongue into his mouth as soon as she'd opened hers and shoved both his hands into her hair. His thumb kept brushing her jaw lightly in contrast to the rough way he was taking her.

Riley's hands were caught between their bodies and they pushed against the warm fabric on his chest. She could feel his racing pulse like this, and reached down to the bottom of his shirt to start lifting it up. Gabriel let go of her head and placed both of his hands over hers to take over the action. Once his shirt was removed, he took hold of her hips again and pressed them onto his. She closed her eyes in pleasure at the movement and because his face was now leaning into her chest again.

She took a deep breath as he inched closer to her, but laughed because she was suddenly swung around and pressed against the lower couch cushions. He was hovering over her with a certain gleam in his eyes, and he quickly removed her shirt in one swift action. A startling heat erupted in her belly when he kissed her bare stomach and made his way leisurely up to the space between her breasts, making her arch when he reached the front clasp of her bra.

She couldn't believe this was happening. She smiled in totally ecstasy because for once, there would be no interruptions to keep him from getting as close as possible to her. Just as he was starting to remove her bra completely, a loud clap of thunder shook the cabin around them and viciously pulled her out of her sweet dream.

Riley had no idea what time it was when she actually woke up. Her whole body was buzzing from the dream and she was blinking at the ceiling, completely confused. The record player was still going, and the sky was still as dark as ever. And, her partner was still sleeping.

She was disoriented for an entirely different reason, though. Somehow, in the time span of their nap, the agents had moved from their position of leaning against the back of the couch and had slid down so that they were sleeping horizontally, side-by-side. Well, Gabriel was sleeping on his side. She was flat on her back.

She had only been dreaming, right? Her face flushed completely, and she hoped that they hadn't actually done anything in their sleep. One look at her unrumpled clothing had her taking a deep breath of relief.

Gabriel's arm was still wrapped around her, and he was hugging her body to his like she were his teddy bear. His nose was buried in her neck, and one of his legs was swung over hers. His warm breath washed over her cheek and she could hear him softly snoring. She found the situation a little funny, but knew it was bound to ignite the sexual tension they kept finding between themselves if he woke up soon.

Which, unfortunately, was why she jumped when he whispered, "What time is it?" She didn't even noticed he'd stopped snoring, and he'd snapped awake so quickly that she wondered if he'd really been snoring at all. His lips were still touching her neck and tickled her when he'd opened his mouth to talk.

"I can't tell," she spoke in a low voice. She tried to turn and look at him, but he hadn't moved from his position. He pressed his nose further into her neck and made like he was going back to sleep, resting his mouth on her shoulder.

She didn't know what to do. Should she let him fall back asleep? Push him off of her? His grip was strong; his right hand was wrapped across her stomach and clamped tightly onto her waist. She tried to move her other hand and found it firmly clasped in his left one. Her chest was doing that funny flutter again. She needed some space again, and soon.

His light snoring had returned. Maybe he hadn't actually woken up at all. "Gabriel, are you awake?"

"No, it was purple on Wednesday," he muttered incoherently. Riley stifled a laugh that would really wake him up. So, apparently he was a sleep-talker. She could definitely have fun with this.

She wondered if he could understand her at all. "Gabriel." He moved his head slightly, which she took as a good sign. "Can you let go of me?" He frowned in his sleep and dropped his hold on her hip loosely, but hadn't lifted his leg off her. One of her arms was freed in the process though, and she put her hand over her eyes. She wasn't going to get off the couch like this.

Gabriel moved his head and his hair tickled her neck again. She tried to squirm away slightly and reached up to scratch her neck. His forehead was stuck in the dip of her shoulder again though, so her fingers just met his hair instead. She moved what she could away from her neck, but found herself touching his soft hair and running her fingers through it to smooth it out. She could have sworn she felt him smile against her skin and removed her hand immediately. "You've got me in quite the position," she said quietly.

"Yeah," he answered unexpectedly.

"I bet you're just having the time of your life right now." He was probably dreaming of something far different from the situation they were in. Boy, wouldn't he be shocked when he was brought back to the sad reality?

"Love it here with her," he mumbled.

Riley looked down at him again and her breath caught in her throat. "Her who?"

"Riley." He smiled again. "Don't wanna ever leave here."

Her heart stopped beating altogether. She doubted he could answer her coherently, but she figured this was her chance to ask Gabriel how he really thought of her. It was now or never.

"Gabriel? Why do you keep invading my personal space? What's with the daily make-out sessions?" Her chest felt like it was drumming so loudly that just the sound of it was going to wake him. She held her breath as she waited a full minute for him to say something.

Finally, his head shifted so that it was resting more directly over her chest than her shoulder. Riley noted that his lids were still as heavy as before. "Love kissing Riley. Makes me feel warm," were the words she heard next. His head raised up again to give her a tired, sloppy kiss right on her cheek, and then he promptly went limp, snoring even louder.

She let out a whoosh of air and a quiet sort of giggle. He was adorable when he sleep-talked, and she couldn't help but feel the same warmth he had just described flooding all throughout her veins. He'd actually admitted to enjoying putting his lips on hers – he not only enjoyed it, but he actually seemed to love it. It wasn't any different for her, if she had to admit it. If his heavy, unconscious form hadn't been pinning her down, she might have actually jumped up and down.

What was it about him that made her want to scream embarrassingly like a pre-teen who'd just kissed their first crush? Sleep Gabriel was very different from Awake Gabriel. Sleep Gabriel actually let his guard down and told her how he felt, without teasing her mercilessly until she wanted to pull her hair out. Oh, she so wanted to rub it in his face that he liked her. But that wouldn't last very long until he would turn the tables on her and ask her if she agreed with his thoughts about them kissing – which she would deny at all costs, obviously.

Her attention returned to the current situation when he grazed his stubble across the open skin of her chest and back down to where he'd woken up, lips pressed to her shoulder and nose in her neck. He inhaled sharply and blinked his eyes.

He was really awake this time.

"Quit talking, Riley. Go back to sleep." He apparently didn't care if they were wrapped up in each other when he was tired.

She looked down in shock at him, to which he raised his eyebrows in response. Not knowing how to react, she simply looked back at him as he stared into her darkened eyes. He suddenly grabbed her waist again and turned her so that her back came up against his chest, his strong arms holding her comfortably and his head resting behind hers. She choked on a surprised laugh. "Comfy, Gabriel?"

"Mhm, very. Are you gonna keep chatting though? 'Cause I'd like to finish my nap now, if you don't mind." The only reason she was sure he wasn't sleep talking was because of his grouchy sarcasm. That was the Gabriel she knew and lo…liked. Liked.

"Sorry," she answered sarcastically. His hold was keeping her extremely warm, even without the blanket that they were still sharing. Spooning him like this turned out to be more comfortable than she'd thought possible, so she relaxed completely against him.

Since she couldn't see a way of getting out of his embrace anytime soon, she supposed there was only one thing to do.

She closed her eyes and drifted off to the sound of Sinatra and the rain beating lightly against the roof, happy that for once, she wasn't worrying about what might happen when she woke up.

A/N: How was it? It took a lot of time to write this particular chapter, so I hope it turned out well…but you guys should tell me what you thought! I tried to jam-pack it with fluff. Aren't I a tease?