This is my first fanfic so please, please be kind!

The Night That Changed Their Lives!

Summary: Ben and Kate spend a night of passion together and the consequences are life changing.

Chapter Two: That Night

The trip home for Kate was filled with much confusion. Her mind raced thinking about the conversation she'd had with Ben only minutes ago. 'Was he trying to tell me something?' she asked herself. Kate shook her head 'I think I'm going mad' she thought looking out the taxi window at the passing street lights.

Kate was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the taxi had pulled up at Lauren's house. "Excuse me Miss? Is this the right place you want to be?". Kate looked at the taxi driver and didn't say anything. "Are you ok?" He asked slightly concerned with her blank expression.

Kate gave a nervous laugh and said "Yes, I'm fine!"

"Well... is this your stop?" he asked again wondering why she wasn't getting out of the car.

She looked out the window at the house and the thought of getting out of the car and not finding out what Ben was going to say would have driven her to the brink of insanity. "No! Please take me to Sea Cliff Ave"

The driver nodded and pulled the taxi from the curb and sped off down the street.

Meanwhile, Ben had just arrived home and was sliding the key into the lock barrel of his front door. 'I should have just told her!' he mentally scolded himself for being such a coward. Unable to turn the lock he slid the key out of the lock and turned back and headed towards his car in the driveway. 'What am I think? She's staying at Laurens! What am I supposed to do when I get there? Say "Hi Lauren, I'm here to make love to Kate"'. He shook his head and walked back up the stairs and unlocked the door.

He dumped his briefcase by the door and kicked off his Italian leather shoes. As he walked through the house he removed an article of clothing and discarded in carelessly where it landed. Eventually he was laying on the couch in only his black boxer briefs watching the news on CNN.

With nothing really interesting to watch, Ben grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. He switched the lamps and lights off and just as he was about to head up the stairs to his bedroom there was a ring at the doorbell. "Who the…" he said walking around the corner to the entry hallway. Ben peaked through the window to see Kate standing there. He quickly unlocked the door and asked "What are you doing here Kate?"

Taken slightly back by his near nude body presenting itself for her view she stuttered a response "I…I… I need to know what you were going to say… What were you going to say in my office?". The whole time she asked the question her eyes scanned his body. From his face down his smooth pecs, over his hard abs and much, much lower.

He enjoyed watching her squirm like this. What he didn't enjoy was seeing her lips a tinged of purple and her hands shaking in the cold. "Come in, it's freezing out there!" he said knowing only too well the sea air can cause the outside temperature to drop rapidly.

Kate blushed and accepted his invitation to enter his home. She waited and Ben led her through the property to the lounge room. "Hold on a second, I'll just light the fire so that it's a little warmer in here" he said pressing the auto ignition button on the mantle.

The fire began to roar and the warm glow filled the room. The flicker of light sprawled over Ben's body and Kate's face began to sting red with a blush. "So? What were you going to say earlier Ben?" she asked nervously.

"This could have waited till tomorrow" he said trying to dodge the question.

Kate not stupid gets up and walks over and grabs his hand forcing Ben to look directly at her "No! I need to know now".

Ben turned and pulled Kate into a loving embrace planting a long hard kiss on her mouth. At first she resisted but after a few moments she relaxed and allowed herself to be consumed by the burning passion within her. Although she was enjoying every moment of the kiss, a part of her told her that she couldn't do this and that she needed to be smart about this and not rush things. Kate pulled away "We can't do this Ben. It's not right".

Ben was shocked by her reaction. Feeling rejected, he turned away from her and face the fire "I…I… I'm sorry."

Kate put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back to her. "Don't be sorry. I enjoyed it very much" she said burying her face in his neck.

Ben closed his eyes and rested his head against hers. 'Now the time' he thought before whispering "I love you Kate".

He didn't want to open his eyes fearing rejection but could feel her shaking in his arms. 'She's crying' he thought pulling away and lifting her chin to look at him. "What's wrong?" he asked her lovingly.

Kate lifted a hand and wiped away the tears and choked out, "I want to love you but I don't know if I can".

"What do you mean 'if you can'?" he asked angrily pulling away from her grasp and taking a few steps back. The thought of rejection sprung to mind and he started to get mad.

Kate took a step closer to Ben and looked him directly in the eye "I mean… could a relationship between us last? We fight, disagree and have nothing in common. I know they say 'opposites attract' but, how long would we last? One month? Two? I need a man that is in it for the long haul"

Ben huffed and angry sign and got really close to Kate "Oh and that's not what I want? Let me tell you something Kate… Actually, you know what? It doesn't matter. You're right, we could never work out. We should nip it in the butt right now and just pretend that none of this ever happened". Ben moved away from Kate and opened the bottle of scotch and took a swig from the bottle. "I think you should leave now" he said not wanting to look at her.

Kate tried to get Ben to turn around and talk to her but he would refuse to face her. "Ben? Talk to me please" she pleaded. Not getting a response frustrated Kate so she sat down on the lounge and said "I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me".

Ben scoffed and said "Kate! I don't want to talk to you! The reason I've never been in a long term relationship is because I'm a Lawyer that works 50 hours a week to be honest… I just don't have time to meet someone, get to know them and form a relationship… you made me want a relationship Kate… it was you. Now, if you don't mind I'm going to bed".

Ben wouldn't look back at Kate and he left the room heading up the stairs walking straight into his bedroom. He listed out and heard the sound of the front door opening and closing again. "Well I guess that it then" he said aloud reaching out and pulling back the covers on the bed and sliding in. He leant over and switched over the bedside lamp and lay back on the bed.

Kate had thought about leaving but decided against it. 'Where am I going to get a cab at this hour?' she thought entering the lounge room and slipping up the stairs to find Ben. Unfortunately for Kate, Ben owned a pretty big house and it took a while to find his bedroom. When she did find his bedroom she could see him lying on his back, hands behind his head staring up at the ceiling. Kate watched Ben for a few minutes before slipping of her shoes, running and jumping onto the other side of the bed.

Ben was startled by this unknown attacker and fumbled around in the sheets before tumbling on to the floor. "What the f… KATE? What they hell do you think you're doing? You scared the shit out of me!" he yelled huffing and puffing.

Kate couldn't help by laugh loudly at Ben's reaction. 'That was better than I thought' she thought lying down on the bed. She continued watching him brush himself off and pick the sheets off the floor. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" she joked with a smug smile plastered on her face.

Ben threw the sheets on the bed and sighed in frustration "What do you want from me Kate?"

Ben was definitely in no mood to play these games 'One minute she doesn't want me and the next she's in my bed' he thought shaking his head.

Kate grabbed the dumped sheets and fixed them on the bed and slid under the covers. "I want you to get into this bed" she said pulling back the blankets on his side of the bed.

Ben looked at her and raised an eyebrow "What are you up too?"

Kate laughed and snuggled into the pillows and said "Settle down buddy… We are not having sex. Just get in the bed, I need sleep"

Ben didn't know why he agreed to get into the bed but he did. "Are you going to take those clothes off?"

Kate coughed in surprised shock "What did I just say? No sex". She rolled over to face the other direction thinking 'Nice try buddy'.

He laughed loudly at her comment. "No idiot… You're still in your work clothes. Don't you think you'd be more comfortable out of all that?" he said tugging on her frilly cuff

Kate lifted the blankets and looked at her attire and narrowed her eyes and Ben. "You got a shirt you can lend me?" she asked poking him in the chest

"Just a shirt?" he asked raising his brow again. Kate nodded so he moved out of the bed and walked into his walk in robe pulling out a shirt that read "Sexy & I Know It" on the front. 'Perfect' Ben though returning to the bedroom where he found a naked Kate under his sheets with a hand extended to accept the shirt. He tossed it to her with his mouth hanging open. Although he couldn't see anything, it was the thought of Kate naked in his bed that made his mind race.

Kate slipped on the shirt and Ben climbed back into the bed. "Thanks" she said kindly placing a hand on his chest. Ben covered her hand with his and replied "No problem". Kate pulled away and faced the other way closing her eyes. "I never thanked you for the massage. I will return the favour one day"

'Being next to you is payment enough' he thought looking back up at the ceiling. Kate closed her eyes and drifted to sleep only moments later. Ben listened closely to her breathing pattern and it became so soothing he drifted to sleep shortly after her.

*2 Hours Later*

Ben was woken by a police car speeding by his house. He tried to sit up but found he was being held down by a sleeping Kate. She had switched positions to be laying half on him with her head on his chest and arm draped across his waist. 'Wow' was all he could think relaxing back into a comfortable position. He kissed the top of her head and brought the arm she was laying over around her to pull her closer to him.

TBC