A/N: This is abnormally cushy, fluffy, cute and romantic for me, so please forgive me for that. Maybe my mind is too tired to come up with anything else; Mum bought another - yes, another - car. This one is quite modern, technological and computerised. Helping her understand it all will be a job and a half. Technology and my mother...it just doesn't work. Trust me.

Thanks again for all the kind reviews, as well! :D

Sarah x

Hanssen heard Serena enter the bedroom at about ten o'clock; he didn't speak or even move, deciding to pretend he was still asleep so she could sleep too. He heard her in the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth, taking her jewellery off, and he listened as she quietly rifled through the drawers looking for pyjamas.

He contemplated scaring the life out of her by speaking to her through the darkness but, though the idea was thoroughly amusing, he decided she had had enough frights for one day.

She carefully crawled into bed, lying with her back to him. He listened carefully for any sign that she wasn't OK, but none came. Instead, all he heard was her whisper, "I know you're awake." He could hear the smug grin in her voice when she added, "Your breathing changed when I came in."

He smiled to himself. She rolled over, her hands finding their way to his chest. "You're still in your work clothes?" she demanded, sounding rather shocked. "Henrik, you'll boil. It's bad enough with pyjamas. This house seems to trap heat at night," she explained.

"I'm fine," he answered her. Admittedly, he was overheating slightly. Perhaps going to bed in a suit wasn't his best plan ever.

"Honestly!" she argued.

"I'm perfectly alright," he lied to her.

"No," she asserted. "Come on. You must be so uncomfortable!"

He had to admit she was right; he had just fallen onto the bed with his clothes on because he was so tired, but he was now regretting it. "Right," she sighed. She unbuttoned his shirt before he could stop her. He tried to stop her throwing it on the floor but she beat him to it, her hands already on his belt by the time he moved.

Before he knew it, he was left in just his underwear, his clothes strewn on the floor somewhere. "What was the purpose of that exercise?" he demanded, trying to sound strict. He knew it wouldn't work but still he attempted it.

"I don't want you dying from heatstroke in my bed," she retorted. "I mean, how would it look to the police? Not to mention the coroner!"

He let out a gentle laugh and kissed her neck lightly. From what he could feel, she was wearing a cotton vest and shorts. She kissed him lightly on the lips and turned around again; he knew that if she felt anything like him, she felt like she could fall asleep and never wake up again.

He didn't know what she was feeling and he wouldn't pretend to. He reached out a hand and placed it softly on her arm; her skin was warm against his hand. He rubbed his thumb against her arm soothingly, feeling the tension in her body and realising that she was still uptight about everything.

The realisation hit him that, in the past week, he had made her relive the two most upsetting times in her life and he felt slightly guilty for it. It was quite unnerving to know that she was so troubled as a youngster. The last thing she came across as in adulthood was troubled. In that sense, she seemed to have overcome many of her issues.

He leaned forward and put his arms around her, slipped on between the bed and the curve of her waist. Holding her tight to him, he could almost feel her internally squeaking to herself at the fact he was being so tender. He didn't quite understand why everyone saw him as the loveless, frigid monster he knew he wasn't. He kissed the top of her head, smelling the scent of her shampoo in her short hair. There was something enticing about her, but it wasn't in the normal sense; she was interesting, and not to mention challenging.

He pressed his lips into her temple, feeling her smile against his face. Her hand drifted up to his face and her fingers lightly stroked his cheek. He trailed kisses down to her jaw; she started to stifle laughter. "Henrik," she warned him, her voice husky and low.

He ignored her and kissed down her neck and onto her shoulder. She wriggled slightly but his arms had too tight a hold on her for her to turn and get back at him as he knew she wanted to.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Being...nice?" he suggested. He started kissing her shoulder, moving back towards her neck this time. Part of it was that he wanted her to feel wanted because, for such a competent woman, her personal confidence seemed to be through the floor when she was in private. His lips were pressed against the crook of her neck when she finally let her sweet, girlish laugh escape.

He leaned over and left a trail of soft kisses between her jaw and her lips; there was a strange spark inside him when their lips met. He felt her smile into his mouth and moved away from the kiss, his lips against her cheekbone.

His lips hit her temple again, and then her forehead; her skin wrinkled against his lips slightly as she smiled. This was what he had want – for her to smile. And for her to let him be so free and casual with her. He kissed her nose lightly and she burst into fits of quiet laughter. He smiled and relented, retreating to bury his face in her hair again for a moment.

"Mmm...smothering me in kisses. I think that's a bit beyond being nice," she giggled. What he was actually doing was reminding her someone wanted her, and unwind her, but he wasn't going to tell her. He just smiled into her hair. Her hands drifted down to fall on top of his. "Why aren't you frightened?" she asked.

"Why would I be frightened?" he replied, slightly confused.

"The...the scars," she explained. "When my ex-husband first saw them, he didn't touch me for weeks. I could tell he was frightened by it."

"With all due respect, Serena," Henrik sighed, "he didn't ask about your nightmares, he didn't ask about the scars and instead was visibly disgusted by it, and he never once told you you are beautiful. Your ex-husband is starting to come across as a bit of an idiot."

"Oh, he is an idiot," she assured him. "But we're not talking about him. We're talking about you, and the fact you haven't run away from the insane woman with all the ugly scars, because he didn't even know where they came from and he hated having to look at it."

"You're not insane and your scars aren't ugly," he immediately replied. He didn't care how many times he had to say it, but he was determined to make her believe it. "And I'm not stupid enough to be frightened by a few scars. Alright?" He felt her nod her head. "Good."

"I don't understand," she said. Her doubt was relentless. Part of Henrik just wanted to shake her and shout at her that he didn't care if she was scarred.

"What is there to misunderstand?" She really could be quite unfathomable at times. What part of him not particularly minding that she was scarred was so difficult to comprehend?

"How can you be so calm?" she demanded. "How can you keep so level headed all the time? I would have slapped me today if I were you. I know I must have annoyed you with the silent treatment," she admitted. At least she knew she had been frustrating today.

"Yes, it did irritate me," he confirmed. "But I can see beyond blind fury. I knew there was a reason for your reaction and I wanted to know what that reason was," he explained. "And a mutual friend of ours told me to ask the question and accept the answer, no matter what it was," he added.

"Who?"

"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you," he teased. "The important thing is that I asked the question, I got an answer, and I accepted that answer for what it was. I can't change it, and I can't go back in time and stop you from doing it in the first place. That just leaves acceptance."

"How is it possible for logic to be confusing?" she sighed.

"It's entirely possible if an illogical person tries to understand it," he grinned. She elbowed his ribs gently, making him groan quietly. He should have seen that one coming.

"I am not illogical!" she said childishly. "You're just too logical," she added.

"Am I really?" He kissed her bare shoulder and tightened the grip his arms had around her body; he knew she was smiling now.

"Yes," she insisted. "Even when you're thinking in reverse, it's still a straight line. Most people can't do that, you know," she informed him, her voice slightly accusatory.

"So my logic is abnormal?" he concluded for her. He had never considered that ability as abnormal before; he had always assumed that everyone was capable of logic if they put their minds to it but clearly he had been mistaken.

"Definitely."

"That's handy to know," he smirked into the crook of her neck. He felt her body relaxing in his arms; the plan to help her relax after her stressful day was working. There was silence for a few minutes as he just let her fall into him. Her whole body was leaning back into his.

She turned her head slightly and smiled, throwing it lazily back onto the pillow. "Thank you," she sighed. "For everything. For today."

"You're more than welcome," he replied. "Now, don't you think it's time to get some sleep?"

"If I wasn't so exhausted, I would have had other ideas," she answered him, the wickedness heavy in her voice once more. "But I could barely walk in a straight line coming up the stairs, so..." she trailed off. He smiled and squeezed her tight. "'Night," she mumbled.

"Goodnight," he said, briefly pressing his face into her hair. She gave a soft moan of appreciation before her breathing started to slow down. He found it odd that her nightmare hadn't come back. Not in his presence, at least. Perhaps since she had opened up about it, her mind had let her rest a little from it. Maybe her subconscious knew he was there and knew that he actually cared what it all meant.

She was one of the strangest women he had come across. Beauty, brains, ambition, a bad temper, a tendency to be reckless...and yet there was this softness about her. When he was sure she had fallen asleep, he kissed her neck lightly and settled to sleep himself.

Hope this is OK!
Please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you thought of it!
Sarah x