Disclaimer: They are not mine, but secretly I pretend they are because I like where I take them better than where the producers and writers do.

A/N: Sex in the beginning, relationship stuff after that so plenty for everyone, please review, it's the only payment I get, so make me rich.

WARNING: Sexually explicit chapter.

Her voice was barely a whisper, "I just need a minute."

He chuckled against her neck, "please, take all the time you need."

She tried to shoot him a glance over her shoulder but couldn't maintain it and ended up smiling. She felt too good to even feign irritation.

Her breathing had returned to normal, she released her legs and stretched them out, extending herself from torso to toes. He wanted desperately to touch her as she pulled her body taunt but thought he should let her do what she needed, take her moment. Instead, he licked his lips, tasting her and realizing it only fed his hunger but found himself doing it again.

"Seeley, why do you think it's like this between us? The sex I mean." She turned to face him, her eyes wide as though there were some perfectly reasonable explanation that he could offer.

"Well, I love you, and you love me, right?" He looked at her quizzically and she nodded. "I think that's part of it."

She went to speak and hesitated, searching for words, or courage, or both. "But you've loved other women, did it feel like this?" He drew back slightly and looked at her intently, knowing how difficult it was for her to ask and a little stunned that she had. He knew he had to be completely honest but her level of intensity was a little intimidating to him. He wasn't used to so many emotional conversations, especially about his past, but he knew she would ask more of him than any woman ever had and that she would never settle for less than all of him. She was waiting.

"No, no one has ever felt like this to me and no one has ever made me feel the way I do when I'm with you, sexually or otherwise. I think part of it is that I may have loved them, but I was not in love with them. I think we're both giving 100 of ourselves also, which I don't believe either of us has done in the past. Beyond that I don't know what it is, pheromones, chemistry, destiny, karma, yin and yang or incredibly good luck. Since you are the empirical scientist we can go with the first two, somehow I don't think universal balance, religion or fate is what you're looking for in an answer."

"In short you really have no idea what it is, right?" She was smiling. His hand moved under her chin, he was looking at her as though studying something within her.

"I know this, all my senses respond to you, it doesn't matter when or where we are, I can hear you say something profoundly sexual or just moan, and it arouses me. I can look at you, so stunning you make me ache and it can have the same effect. Sometimes it's just the way the light reflects in your hair or the way you hold your mouth when you're thinking and are unaware that I'm watching you. Kissing you and tasting you does it every time and so does your scent, I don't know what it is but I know there is nothing else like it and I always have the urge for more. It's addicting, you're addicting. As for touching, well, you see what happens when I touch you." He leaned against her and his erection pressed lightly into her side.

She reached down and wrapped her hand around him, feeling him immediately swell against her palm. "That's amazing, when I can feel you grow and become hard in my hand or pressed against me. It's, it's…' She was blushing and he knew she was trying to discuss this with him despite her discomfort but he had a feeling all her life her questions to people were asked with great discomfort. "I need some water." She smiled softly and stood up, so quickly, he was shocked by the immediacy of her absence. He put another log on the fire, giving her a moment. She came back into the room and stopped at the window, looking out into the night, the light in the room reflecting her image back to him perfectly.

He came up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist, looking at her in the glass, "are you okay?"

"Yes, I just, you know I'm not used to talking so much about how I feel, even in a good way." She was watching him in the glass, standing behind her, his tanned skin framing her pale shoulders, his arms across her abdomen.

He could see her gaze and he moved his hand up the front of her, running his finger from her throat to the dip of her navel, "look at how beautiful you are." He stroked the tender flesh underneath her breasts and they watched as her nipples tightened, appearing to darken from his touch. He was torn between watching her body and her expression.

Temperance was oddly self conscious watching her reflection and at the same time excited by seeing his hands move over her. It was as though she was being touched twice, once that she felt and once that she could see.

She watched his hand snake down, over her belly, his fingers disappearing in her folds. She gasped, still sensitive as his finger tips disappeared. She was unable to look away, fascinated, aroused and frightened by the unfamiliarity of the sight before her. His other hand cupped her breast, his long fingers cresting around, catching her nipple between two of his fingers and squeezing gently, the line of her ribs appearing and disappearing with her rapid breaths. She glanced at Seeley; he was watching them, his eyes reflecting black in the glass, his expression sending a tingling sensation across her skin. Suddenly he was looking at her, their eyes meeting, "don't move." He released her, stepping away and she saw herself, a naked woman, in a state of want, sexual.

He was back, dropping a blanket and two large pillows on the floor, just behind her, his penis moving like an animated limb in front of him. He came up behind her, "step back and kneel down on the pillows." She froze for a second, unaccustomed to such blatant direction from him, but she did as he requested. From a kneeling position the window hit her just above the knee, she watched him kneel behind her, gently nudging her legs apart. His hands appeared on her waist and her reflection looked luminous, yet transparent as though she were some ethereal being that was being seduced by another. She leaned back against him and turned her head, kissing him, lingering, knowing she would be watching every move after this. His hands traveled now, caressing her in long strokes, his palms and fingers rising over each small curve, his thumb dipping inside her navel. For those few seconds she saw herself as he did and she blinked against the intimacy of the moment. Every touch of his hands made her feel like she was on fire, her flesh almost vibrating under his touch. She leaned back against him, putting her hands back and along his sides and his head dipped to kiss and nip a line across her shoulder to her neck. Once again his hand slipped between her legs and one moved up to cup her full breast, they began to move in slow circles around the peaks of bundled nerves. She was trying to watch, drawn to both hands her attention was divided, her body's reaction to him intensified and she struggled not to close her eyes. The heat condensed between her legs, throbbing, she could feel herself growing wetter, could see his coated fingers glistening as he stroked her. He increased his speed and she moaned, her hips arching harder into his hand, rocking. He released her breast, his hand disappearing behind her, her breath caught in her throat as his finger dipped into her wetness and then slid back and pulsed inside her anus, moving slowly. The moan rolled from deep in her chest, he matched the rhythm of his two hands and felt her body fight to roll both forward into one hand and back to the other. She moved her hand to her breast and began rolling her nipple between her fingers and he couldn't take any more. She felt his finger move out from between her cheeks and watched as his penis appeared between her legs and then sank into her with a satisfying grunt. She looked at the whole picture; there they were, framed, like shadows of flesh, reflecting their desire with every move.

He closed his eyes for a second, gathering himself, he didn't think he had ever been so hard. He had been moving inside a fantasy ever since he stepped behind her, viewing a private reel of her. As she leaned back, the firm globes of her ass pressed into his hips, the curve of her shoulder blades rested against his chest, the scent of her hair enveloped him, he caught his breath. He reached behind her wanting to explore the ass she had so tightly pressed against him. When he realized she was watching, her walls so slick he could feel her coating his fingers, the response in his penis made him wince. He increased the speed of both hands just as she reached for her own nipple and he lost all focus, he couldn't recall ever having such a powerful urge to be inside a woman so he followed his compulsion and just pushed himself inside her.

Temperance suppressed the urge to lean forward and felt his hand press against her stomach, holding her upright. Her leg began to tremble, she wanted desperately for him to start moving; when he entered her he was pressing directly against a spot within her that made her hands clench and her body arch. She could hardly breathe; she watched his splayed fingers across her abdomen holding her tightly as his other hand slowly stroked her clitoris. If she could get enough air she was going to start screaming. He began to slide in and out of her and she shifted her hips against him, matching his cadence. Her thighs were burning from the strain but rolling waves of a pleasure she had never known carried her from the thought of pain to a soaring place within herself. She stroked his arm, the silky hair grazing her palm, his muscles solid just beneath the surface. In the reflection she saw her hand on his arm, his arm on her belly, her body against his; they were layered, moving, her breasts swaying gently with their rhythm, a low moan rumbling from her lips. She no longer knew the woman in the glass. His stroke was relentless, nudging her higher and higher; she sank her fingers into his skin, holding on against the sensation of falling. He suddenly sped up his pace and her head rolled back to his shoulder, crying out and struggling to push against him as her orgasm broke over her. He pressed against her clit and continued to pump himself into her, he could feel the heat of her cum running down his penis as her walls seized around him and she continued to crash. Her voice was growing louder, she was calling out to him above the din in her ears and the pounding of her heart. He moved both hands to her hips and held her as he slammed into her, emptying himself, a moan and her name tangling across his tongue, her body still clenching around him.

She felt him burst within her, the flood of his hot seed rolling her body into another wave that bowed her spine to the point she feared it would snap. As she began to descend, her blood rushing and breath rasping she glanced in the window, a sheen of sweat made them appear shiny and her inner thighs glistened brightly with their intermingled fluids, her body pulsed weekly in response. Her thoughts were whirling around, having long ago dismissed the idea of multiple orgasms and g-spots; she had concluded that they were more myth than natural occurrence. Her womb twitched erratically and she felt him ease himself out of her. She immediately pulled her legs together, her thighs, knees and hips now screaming from the activities.

They stood slowly, their muscles protesting, joints popping. She kissed him gently, searching her mind for an all encompassing expression but found nothing would form. She hugged him tightly, having missed being able to wrap her arms around him and needing the solid feel of him pressed to her. After a moment she released him and took his hand, leading him to the bathroom. She turned the water on hot and they both stepped in, letting it pound down into their aching muscles. After rinsing she cut the shower and let the tub start to fill, pouring in some oil she turned to him.

"Let's soak in the tub for a few minutes."

He laughed softly, more than willing to comply. He sat down; the water was hot enough to cause him to move gingerly into it, leaning against the cool porcelain back. "What did you pour in here? It smells so good."

"It's a eucalyptus, mint and fig; it'll help your sore muscles. It has a clean natural scent I really like, earthy." She lowered herself into the water, between his legs, curling slightly so she could rest her head on his chest. Once settled she sighed deeply, a sense of contentment oozing from her.

"You surprised me tonight. I didn't expect you to be a voyeur and an exhibitionist." She could actually hear him smiling as he spoke.

"Slow down Seeley, I have never been a fan of watching, it supports the objectification of women and is the basis on which the porn industry was founded. I was amazed tonight because it was us, seeing you touch me and then being able to feel it was …well, incredible. I've never thought about how we looked before now, or how you see me." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "it was beautiful. I couldn't stop watching."

"Well, I can promise you one thing."

"What's that?"

"The first thing I'm going to do when we get home is install mirrored doors on the closet in the bedroom." He could feel her laughing into his chest.

"As for that part about being an exhibitionist, that's only for you."

"Only for me in private or in public too?"

"I guess you'll have to wait and see, literally."

"Are you trying to make me crazy, because a man could go insane from statements like that, you know?" He didn't tell her that most of his fantasies involved her flipping from her most scientific mindset clad in her lab coat to a sex goddess whispering profane invitations to him.

"I don't want you to be crazy." She snuggled herself closer to him and sighed heavily in the warmth, the heat had drained her energy and pushed her well into a state of exhaustion. "I am getting tired; it's been a long day for us. How about if we get out, sit by the fire for a little while until it burns down and then go to bed?"

"That sounds great to me."

They were weighted with fatigue as they moved but they managed to get to the living room and remake their nest on the floor. It was only a few moments before the gentle rise and fall of her next to him told him she was asleep. He watched her for a long time, wondering at how they had already come so far together. He felt in a certain way privileged that she had decided to let him in to her private world but he hadn't thought about how difficult it would be to keep up with her emotionally. He didn't mind sharing the events of his life, but how he felt about them and how they affected him was not something he really enjoyed discussing. He didn't really like being too introspective, it sent him to dark places within himself that were full of moral vortexes threatening to suck him down into an endless spiral of guilt and compromise. He should have known that in revealing herself to him she would be as intense and focused as she was in everything.

He lay watching her for a long time, wondering if he would be able to be the man she saw when she looked at him. After a while he started to feel chilled, the logs were just about gone so he screened off the fire place and went to get the bed ready. When he came back, Temperance had curled up against the chill but was still sleeping. He lifted her carefully against him, carried her to the room and laid her gently on the bed. She murmured to him that she was cold so he pulled an extra blanket over them and chuckled as she wrapped herself around him as soon as he was settled into the bed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When he opened his eyes again, he was disappointed to find that he was alone. Heavy rays of sun filtered around and between the blinds telling him it was still early, but well past sunrise. He stood and stretched his naked form toward the ceiling, sighing deeply as several joints popped and eased. He walked hesitantly to the bathroom, the healed bones in his feet aching from the change in temperature. He cleaned himself up and although he didn't know what the day's activities would involve, he put on his jeans and a sweatshirt, adding leather deck shoes he went in search of Temperance.

Seeley walked to the kitchen and found it empty but there was coffee made so she couldn't be too far away. He poured himself a cup and stepped into the living room, stopping in his tracks as he looked to the windows. The view was spectacular, he walked out onto the back porch, the house was actually on a bit of a bluff and there, where there had been only darkness last night, stretched an expanse of sparking deep blue water surrounded by a line of trees that were ablaze with their Autumn colors. He realized that there were houses peppered among the trees, and as he looked further he could see a number of smoke trails against the sky indicating that there were fireplace burning. He tried to recall having ever seen a sky that perfectly blue and wondered if it had to do with some sort of reflection off the water and then laughed at himself for having such a squint thought. The difference being that they would probably know the answer. He stood for a moment, sipping his coffee, taking it all in, the vibrant colors, the scent of pine, and the warmth of the sun being chased off his skin by the stroke of a cool breeze. He could see her attraction to this place; it would be hard to stay depressed or withdrawn when your surroundings that felt this alive.

He walked across the lawn and saw the wide wooden staircase leading down to a dock that stretched out over the water, there at the end, sitting with her legs tucked underneath her and her hair fluttering in the wind, was Temperance. Even from this distance he was struck by the grace and beauty of her, relaxed, her face tilted toward the sun, he descended the steps to join her.

Temperance had been up for over an hour, having made coffee she dressed and headed down to the dock. There was a cool breeze and the sun had just crested the horizon lighting up the trees and highlighting the water, the view was so brilliant that for a short time she couldn't do anything more than stare, mesmerized. She was still struggling with her feelings for Seeley, the intensity sometimes made her uncomfortable and she wasn't used to considering someone else's feelings every time she made a decision. On the other hand, being with him felt right, safe, like something within her was finally balanced. Then there was the sex, she had to admit, she would have a hard time walking away from it. She smiled to herself, even armed with all her scientific knowledge she couldn't define that place they went to, beyond pleasure, beyond desire, beyond animal instinct and even beyond fucking. It was one of the rare things that she had experienced herself that transcended logical explanation.

She momentarily closed her eyes, tilting her face to the sun to directly feel the heat of it. Maybe this was good for her, loving Seeley this way; she didn't want to remain closed off from the world forever. Sometimes when she thought about it she could picture them in the future, growing old together, but the image was fleeting. She took a deep breath, releasing her tension and letting herself relax. It felt good not to have to hold herself so tightly, scary but good.

She was watching a small fishing boat in the distance, the occupants were just settling down after casting their lines. She had fished this lake as a child with her family. Her mother would pack a basket of food and she and Russ would walk to the corner store for bait. She was never squeamish about baiting her hook whether it was a worm or a grub and she helped her father clean the fish when they got home, a job her brother refused to do. Somewhere there were pictures of them at different ages holding their catch of the day on the dock of which ever rental they were in that year. She could call up those days with ease, all of them in bathing suits with clothes pulled over them, tanned from days on the beach, chatting about their plans for the next few days and then falling into a peaceful silence as they waited for the hungry fish. Temperance had watched her line for hours as it disappeared into the black depths, patiently waiting for her rod to bow and the excitement of the catch to begin. Her mother didn't fish, she made them put on sun block once it became bright, got them drinks, fed them snacks, and kept track of sun glasses, hats and clothes. When they became bored her father would give them riddles to solve, Russ would tell jokes, or they would play a memory game to pass the time. They didn't fight, not here, not on this lake. It was vacation and everyone was at their best, indulging in the wonders of this remarkable place they were too entertained to be worried about their own conflicts.

Seeley was only half way down the dock when she heard him approaching and when she turned and saw him walking toward her something welled up in her chest.

He leaned over and kissed her before settling down next to her on the bench. She turned and leaned against him, his arm curling around her.

"Good morning, what are you thinking about out here by yourself?" Knowing when she sat alone with her thoughts that her brain could take her in any number of directions, some good and some bad, he was checking her mood.

She smiled and curled more tightly into his embrace, "I was thinking about how much I love you and how amazing that is to me."

He was surprised by her answer and tightened his arm around her, "amazing because you didn't think you were capable of it or you didn't think you would ever allow yourself to feel this way?"

"Both and the really strange part is that now I can barely remember what it felt like not to love you."

His chest moved under her as he chuckled, "I can only imagine how confusing that is to your perfectly logical mind."

"I've always found emotions to be confusing, they're rarely logical and they cause people to behave in irrational ways. Most of the crimes committed are linked to some distorted emotional outburst; our society is defined by it."

"Yes but there is a flip side to that theory, throughout history most of the greatest pieces of art, music and literature were also born of some distorted emotional outburst, usually love or the loss of it."

"So the best we can hope for is that our love inspires a creative act and not an act of violence? Seeing as I am in love with a man that carries a gun and not a paint brush that make me a little uneasy." He burst out laughing; the sound skipped out over the water and made her feel somehow warmer. "My coffee is gone and I'm starving so let's go up and fix a meal and we can take it out on the boat. I'll give you the color tour of the lake."

"Okay, let's go, I have to admit, I'm starving too. It must have been all that traveling yesterday." He was struggling to keep a straight face.

She looked at him, eyebrow raised in question at his statement, "the travel? You really think it was just the travel?" She could play this naïve game as long as he could.

"Well, now that I think back I do recall burning up some energy on the floor in front of the fireplace. Oh yeah, and in front of the window, that's right." He was laughing as he spoke, unable to maintain a sober expression. "Speaking of 'in front of the window', how are your thighs and hips this morning?"

She stood up, and looked at him, a blush dusting her cheeks, her eyes as bright and crystalline blue as the sky, "they're fine this morning, but you seem to be walking somewhat carefully." She put out her hand and he took it and stood, realizing that she had noticed his slow walk out to her and had assumed it was from the previous night. Why didn't he want to correct her? Why did it matter? His mood darkened and he shifted uncomfortably, he squeezed her hand and began to walk down the dock with her.

She barely heard him utter that he was fine and she was aware that something had gone wrong. She could feel him pull away from her and it was both shocking and confusing. She was startled by the tug within her belly when he turned from her, a physical reaction to his emotional shift. It was as though they were connected and she could actually feel thin strands between them snapping as he shut himself down. Was this how other couples felt? She was momentarily overwhelmed so she walked with him in silence back to the house as the questions churned within her.

Seeley knew he had shut down; he felt his mood collapse in on itself and couldn't stop it. Temperance had looked confused and although he paused, he couldn't retrieve enough of himself to speak to her. They walked back to the house, feeling disjointed and distant. Temperance went to the kitchen and Seeley sank into the recliner in the living room. He closed his eyes and leaned back, jumping when he felt her hand on his thigh. She was sitting on the floor in front of him between his legs and he hadn't heard her approach.

"Seeley, what happened out there?"

He knew he owed her an explanation. He took a deep breath trying to clear his head. "Look, my difficulty in walking didn't have anything to do with last night. It had to do with the weather; changes in temperature make the fractures in my feet ache sometimes. I don't talk to anyone about that part of my life, it's just too difficult. I didn't want to tell you, I know you saw my x-rays but I just…I don't know."

When she was sure he had said all he had to say she stood and kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you, now just stay here for a minute." She headed toward the bedroom and he put back his head and closed his eyes, trying to push the haunting images from his head. She was back, kneeling in front of him she spread a towel across the floor and one across her legs. She had his shoe off and was massaging something into this foot before he was even sure what she was doing.

"Temperance, you don't have to…" He didn't open his eyes when he spoke, he couldn't look at her.

She cut him off, "sshhh, don't say anything. I understand what it's like to shut down because you have to protect yourself. What did you tell me the other day? We have time; everything doesn't have to be said in one day. I'll never ask more from you than you're able to give, sometimes one sentence is all there is for that day, for me some days it was just one word. I understand that Seeley, now let me make this better." She continued working the lotion into his feet, her strokes firm and smooth to minimize his damaged nerves from jumping.

He could feel the tears stinging behind his eyes, he didn't want to cry but her act of compassion and understanding had triggered him emotionally. He tried to take slow deep breaths, concentrating on the feel of her hands, hoping she was not watching his face. Her touch was reminiscent of a an oriental woman, his physical therapist, that used to sit and massage his feet when he was in the hospital, kneeling on the floor in front of him, always coming to him when the nurses had him sitting for a while. She had small powerful hands and she worked over his broken bones with brutal efficiency. They never spoke, but he was just a shell then, unable to engage in conversation anyway. His head was filled with horrifying images, bodies being blown apart, bodies being tortured, most of them men he knew, men who were his friends. He had survived what had been done to him by shutting down, closing off the part of his brain that would keep him sane but there was a cost to surviving.

She had removed his remaining shoe and began working on his other foot; he still could not look at her. He ran his hand over his face, removing any traces of tears and forced his thought to a more pleasant time, back to today. He could feel the heat from whatever she was using penetrating his feet, reaching and soothing the ache deep in his arches. As he let himself relax the silence became more comfortable and he was able to reduce his world down to just her touch. He felt her hands draw away, she was removing the towels, wiping her hands on them and setting them aside. He felt her presence as she stood and then a pressure as she straddled his lap, sitting comfortably on his thighs. She placed a feather light kiss on his lips before wrapping her arms around him and holding him close.

The emotions he had so recently suppressed rushed forward and he fought not to sob in her arms, frightened by his own surprising lack of control he held onto her tightly. He wanted to tell her that he was not the man she thought he was, that he had cried out when they had beaten him, had sobbed as they dragged him across the dirt floor, that in another hour he would have talked if his team had not arrived to rescue him. He knew from protocol that when his team came it was to get him out or kill him if they couldn't; he had too much information to be left alive in enemy hands. When they broke into the building that night he didn't care which outcome it was going to be as long as it would be over. He never told them he was going to break, he never told a soul, not during debriefing, not during counseling, not drinking with his friends, but in his own heart he knew it, so when they called him a hero his own brain mocked him by whispering coward. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't form the words, afraid if he spoke the flood of grief would drown him and the man he really was would be revealed.

Temperance felt him struggling and was not completely sure if he was crying or fighting hard not to, but either way the turmoil was obvious. At this point she didn't know what to do other than to hold him, as he had her so many times, and wait until he was calmer. She knew whatever demon he was wrestling would be forced back into its cage and he would resurface, come back to her. He held her a long time, hoping that somehow her nearness would heal him, believing that when he was with her, he was a better man. When his breathing had returned to normal and she felt him relax under her, she sat up and began to place gentle kisses on his face until at last he opened his eyes.

"There's my Seeley."

Maybe it was the sound of her voice as she claimed him to be hers, or the sunlight setting her hair on fire and lighting the blue in her eyes, maybe it was the simple statement itself, he would never know for sure, but at that moment he believed in redemption and that the only way he would ever find it was through her. He studied her for a moment, capturing the way she looked, knowing that he would forever hold this image of her inside him.

"Let's get something to eat and then I owe you a boat ride. If you're good, I'll let you drive for a while." She stroked his jaw, watching him intently.

He smiled then, "you've driven this boat before I hope?"

"Of course I have, I even took the association's water safety class, although it wasn't necessary, I've been driving boats since I was a child and I take this one out all the time when I'm here, besides, we're taking the pontoon out for the color tour, I'm saving the speed boat for tomorrow."

"You have two boats?"

"Two boats, two Seadoos, a windsurfer, skis and an inner tube, this is a place to come and relax and play, its vacation Seeley."

"I just never guessed you would be the type to play. Why doesn't anyone at the Jeffersonian know this about you?"

"In Washington they play in the ocean and I don't go out on the ocean, I think it's asking for trouble and I guess a conversation about boats just never came up at work. I haven't used this place as a resort yet, I guess I just always thought I would. Come on, let's go." Temperance had an uneasy feeling when she finished the last statement. When did she think she was going to use this as a resort? Had she planned on bringing friends? Had some part of her thought that one day she would bring a family here as her parents had done? She pushed the thoughts away and climbed off his lap, heading to the kitchen to fix breakfast.

He got up to go and help her and in no time they had omelets cooked and fruit chopped for salad. Despite the fact he didn't know where anything was in the kitchen they managed well together, finishing breakfast and packing a cooler for the boat.

Temperance was good with the boat and she gave him a thorough tour, reverting to her scientific self and explaining the lake, its terrain, indigenous trees and fish and the architecture of the houses as well as the background of some of the inhabitants. She pulled the boat in toward a beach on the crescent side of one of the five islands that trailed down the center of the lake, telling him it was Picnic Island. He realized he had no idea in which direction the house might be and how easy it would be for a newcomer to get disoriented and lost on the large body of water.

"You're different out here, a mix of the lab doctor and yourself, I feel like I've had home schooling lessons this morning and I have to tell you, you're a good teacher. You should show this side of yourself to more people, you're an amazing woman Temperance." He watched the blush rise up her neck as she cut the engine and dropped anchor, the wind had stopped completely in the shelter of the cove and it was quite suddenly, quiet.

"I told you, I know this place and despite everything I told you today there is still so much more, consider this an educational cruise."

"Your love of this place is obvious when you talk about it. Why are we stopping here?" He watched her peel off her sweatshirt, revealing a tank top underneath, without the breeze and with the sun having climbed high above them, it was warm.

"So we can have something to drink and a snack and because it's calm here so it's a great pace to take a moment and enjoy the view."

"I've been enjoying the view this entire time." When she saw the look in his eyes she realized his meaning and felt herself blush. He held out his hand to her and she curled up next to him on the bench, relaxing in the heat of both the sun and his body. He tipped up her chin and kissed her, easing her lips apart and stroking her tongue with his, letting the desire flow between them. He released her and held her against him, enjoying the vibration running through him, she rested her head on his chest.

"Temperance, I want to ask you something and I don't want you to think that it means anything more than my need to know. After I ask you this, I promise you that I'll never bring it up again. Okay?"

He felt her stiffen in his arms as he spoke, "never is a long time and I'll hold you to it so I hope you're sure about that statement." Her voice had a chill that made him nervous and he wondered if she had any idea what it was he wanted to ask her.

"I'm sure. I've watched you for a long time, when you do something, you don't go half way. When you learned to shoot you became proficient, when you took self defense you became a black belt, when you look at a skeleton you examine every crevice and when you decide something during an investigation, you won't let it go until I prove you wrong. You are a woman of extremes. Then I got to know you and I see this warm compassionate woman that is good with children, that understands that they need to be heard and answered, that is loving and giving. You told me that you were sure you didn't want children, that you didn't want to love anyone that much and I believe you, I believe you one hundred percent. This is where I get confused though because you said you have been sexually active almost half your life, so why would a woman that is sure she doesn't want to have children, inject herself with a medication that has severe and life threatening side effects every three months? Why wouldn't you just get your tubes tied if you were so sure? It's a relatively simple procedure these days, you're a doctor, you know that between the two risks the one time surgery would be the obvious choice, so why didn't you ever do it?"

"I think my natural instinct to procreate was strong enough to keep me from doing anything that permanent until I was older. The human impulse to continue the species is one of the four biological imperatives that we're born with so it is hard to completely shut it down, especially during child bearing years."

"Okay, you just gave me the anthropologist's answer to this question, now may I please speak to Temperance?" They fell silent for a few moments, not moving; he could feel her breath increase and knew her brain was racing at an unfathomable speed. He was warm, wishing now that he too had removed his sweatshirt before starting this conversation. She rocked gently against him as the water lulled the boat into a steady buoyant rhythm.

"I don't know, I realize the logical assumption would be that I didn't do anything that permanent because on some level I wanted to keep that possibility open in case I changed my mind, but you know how I hate psychological analysis. Why are you asking me this? I thought we were okay on this topic."

"I am, I respect your opinion on this, I really do and that's why I said I wouldn't bring it up again. I can live the rest of my life with you and Parker; I've given it a great deal of thought. I just want you to be sure that this is what you want, that you're not letting part of life pass you by out of fear. A year ago you would have said a relationship like ours was an impossibility for you and probably would have debated it's existence for anyone that was not hormonally or chemically imbalanced in some way, and yet here we are today. Life changes, you change and when you made the decision not to have children you made it on the faulty premise that you would be the same person for the rest of your life, you forgot to factor in growth. I think you based your beliefs on Dr. Temperance Brennan the forensic anthropologist and not on how you felt as a woman. I want you to promise me something."

As he was speaking she was answering in her head, it wasn't growth she hadn't factored into planning her future, it was him. She never could have predicted his arrival in her life, or how he made her feel. "What?"

"I'll keep my word and never bring this up again but I'd like you to promise me that you'll at least stop periodically during our relationship and make sure that not having children is still what you want, in your heart. If you do wake up one day and change your mind, I'd like to be the first to know because I would love to share that with you but understand that this is not a pressure situation. I can picture living a very happy life with you either way, okay?"

"Okay."

"Say it Temperance, I want to hear you say it."

"I promise that I'll think about it sometimes and let you know if I ever change my mind." Her tone was slightly petulant but sincere enough for him to be satisfied.

He tipped her face up to his, looking her in the eyes for the first time since starting the conversation and surprised by the soft expression that gazed back at him. "We're good on this topic now, you can relax, and you never have to discuss it or defend yourself again, at least not with me." She kissed him tenderly, appreciating that this was a difficult topic, that he had so carefully thought it through and that he was willing to respect any answer from her. Part of her was relieved that they had come to a conclusion that was good for both of them, that left them both feeling content.

She pulled away from him, standing up and unsnapping the canopy from the overhead bar, after adjusting and snapping she had it open and the back of the boat was cast into a cool shade.

"I too hot, I'm going to dip into the water just to get wet and then fix us lunch. Do you want to join me?" She peeled off her tank top and dropped her jeans to reveal her suit on underneath.

"I didn't wear my suit." He sounded disappointed.

"It doesn't matter, wear your underwear, or nothing, we'll only be in for a minute to cool off, but for the record, always wear your suit under your clothes when we're here, you never know when you might end up in the water. We aren't anchored very deeply, so surface dive, don't jump into the water." She walked to the back of the boat and launched herself into a long line of flesh out over the water, slicing into the surface in the slightest of angles, she disappeared from his sight. He stripped down to his underwear in record time, spotting her head bob up out of the water some distance from the boat. He took an arcing dive off the back as she had done and surfaced a moment later, immediately heading back to the boat.

"IT"S FREEZING? ARE YOU INSANE?" She had climbed back into the back of the boat and was laughing as he boarded. "I think my balls just crawled up somewhere in the vicinity of my kidneys for warmth. Jesus Christ! I can't believe you just jumped in there like it was no big deal." He was panting from shock, adrenaline and exertion. "It's really not that funny."

She was still laughing, "I'm used to it and I was prepared for the shock, if I had told you, you never would have gone in, would you?"

"No, because I'm not crazy, oh my God that was cold." He began to towel himself vigorously to return warmth to his limbs.

"Get out of the wet underwear and back into dry clothes, that'll help." She was still chuckling from the look on his face when he had surfaced from the water.

"Oh now you want to help me, first you…" His words faded from his lips as he watched her strip from her suit and stand before him nude. He immediately came over to her, dropping his shorts and wrapping a beach towel around the two of them. "Of course you could always help me get warm since you set me up to freeze in the first place." He was already kissing her neck, her skin warming beneath his lips; he heard a small moan escape her. She stepped him back into the sunlight and he broke to glance around, feeling suddenly exposed in the bright light and open space.

"What's the matter Mr. Exhibitionist? Don't look so panicked, there isn't anyone here but us." She was laughing softly, her hand dropping between his legs and cupping him. "I see you're warming up nicely." The smile was downright wicked.

"You have been far too amused at my expense this morning."

"But I'm willing to make it up to you." Her hand began stroking him and he bit back his protest as her fingers tightened around him and her lips captured his. She backed him up to the seat, draped the towel over it and eased him down. She kissed a path down the center of his chest, kneeling in front of him, slipping her tongue in the dip of his navel. She paused and looked up at him, "since we're on an educational cruise today I'm about to teach you the advantages of having paid attention in anatomy class and show you exactly why it's good to be a squint." With that she lowered her head…

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Okay I need a temperature reading from out there because I think I'm going to wrap this up in a chapter and an epilogue. Let me know what you think, you know the drill, press the button and I can almost hear you…