011: Never Felt Something So Strong

Angela had never been so nervous in her entire life, but this was a completely different kind of nervousness. She was unarmed, there were no men shooting at her, but she was about to enter the apartment of a man that she cared very deeply for, and that scared her more than anything.

As her luck would prove, the traffic was extremely congested that night as she was in the cab on the way to Danny's place. The weather that evening was chillier than it had been in several weeks, but it was already 7:15, and Angela hated being late.

"You know what, I think I'm just going to get out here," she said, handing the cab driver her money.

"You sure, lady? It's pretty cold out there. And the radio said that it was supposed to rain."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need to go down that block. Thank you."

Stupid cab driver, Angela thought as she found her way onto the sidewalk and walked quickly in the cold weather. It's February. It's not going to rain.

No more than thirty seconds later, the heavens opened and rain began to pour fiercely down on Angela. She helplessly threw her arms over her head to keep herself dry, but she was completely drenched when she reached Danny's apartment, not to mention absolutely freezing.

"So I take it that it started raining?" Danny grinned as he opened the door to find Angela standing soaked to the bone in front of him.

"Oh, shut up," she said through chattering teeth. "If you're not careful, I'll die of pneumonia on your couch."

"You are completely wet, Angela. You can't stay in those clothes," Danny reasoned.

"Do you have a suggestion?"

"You can… borrow some of mine?" he offered, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Angela considered the offer for no longer than three seconds. "Just for tonight, I promise."

"It's not a problem. I'd rather that than you die on my couch."

"It might look a little suspicious," she agreed with a grin.

"So, um, I'll go get some…" Danny said before disappearing behind the door that was presumably his bedroom.

A small shiver rand down her spine. That was Danny's bedroom. For some reason it thrilled her to be in the room next to his bedroom.

While he was gone, Angela looked around his apartment. It was by no means luxurious, but it was rather nice. It was slightly bigger than her own, and he had filled the space with a small, but comfortable looking couch. It was a very homey and warm kind of apartment, and Angela really liked it.

"I wasn't, uh, exactly sure what you wanted," Danny said awkwardly. "But here's a sweatshirt, and here are some pants. They're probably a little big on you."

"That's alright. Thanks," she said as she took the clothes from him.

There was a pause before it clicked in Danny's mind. "Oh, right, uh, you can change in the bathroom, I guess. It's just right in there to the left," he said, pointing inside his bedroom. "We can hang up your wet clothes or something. Or I can take them downstairs to the dryer."

It almost felt like entering forbidden territory as she entered his bedroom. His bed was covered in a plush, navy comforter and several other warm-looking blankets. Angela had to restrain herself from jumping into it and curling under the warm blankets.

After she had peeled her wet clothes off in the bathroom, she pulled on Danny's large sweatshirt which was simply a plain black and his navy plaid flannel pajama pants. Just by putting them on, she felt tingly all over. The clothes even smelt like him.

She set her wet clothes in a bundle in an attempt to hide her underwear and bra in the shower so they didn't get everything wet. After she emerged from the bathroom, she could smell something that smelt absolutely marvelous.

"Danny, what are you cooking? It smells delicious."

"It's a surprise," he teased as he looked back at her from his small kitchen. "But I promise that it'll be good."

"I don't doubt it."

"It's almost ready, so you can just sit at the table if you want," he said, gesturing to his small round table with two chairs around it.

Angela took his offer and sat down at the table as she continued to look around at his apartment. It was neater than she expected it to be, but he had probably tidied up before she had arrived. There weren't very many personal pictures around the apartment, but it still managed to keep its cozy appeal.

"Alright…" Danny said in a dramatic voice as he walked over to the table with a plate in hand. "I present you…"

He set the plate down in front of her.

"Spaghetti a la Taylor."

Angela laughed. "How'd you know spaghetti was my favorite meal?"

"A lucky guess," he grinned as he returned to the table with a plate of his own. "Parmesan?"

"A bit. Thanks. Wow, Danny, this looks amazing."

"Wait until you try it."

It was absolutely without a doubt the best spaghetti that Angela had had in her entire life. And it wasn't just because Danny had made it. The sauce was absolutely divine, and there wasn't a way to describe the meatballs.

"This is… wow, I can't even tell you how good this is."

Angela could see the faint trace of blush creeping up Danny's neck. "It's just spaghetti," he insisted, suddenly becoming un-Danny-ish and modest.

"Well, if your career as both an FBI agent and a lawyer fails, then you've got a good back up plan here."

The two enjoyed their meal in comfortable silence. Every once in awhile, they would make eye contact, but they hardly said a word.

The rain beat heavily on the building outside. It didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon, but it didn't bother Angela that much. She rather enjoyed the rain.

"You know, when I was little," Angela said softly. "My dad and I used to sit in the garage in the bed of his pickup truck when it was raining. I used to be terrified of thunder and lightning, so we would sit there and he'd tell me to laugh at it. To laugh at the thunder and the lightning. We would just sit there and laugh and eat peanuts. The peanuts were always the best part."

"I used to be scared of thunderstorms too," Danny said with a small smile on his face. "My brother would tell me that the angels were bowling and crying because they were laughing so hard. He told me that whenever there was a thunderstorm, the angels were having a party."

"You think they're having a party now?"

"Of course," he said with a smile as he stood and took both his and Angela's plate off the table.

Angela helped him clear the table and load the dishes into his small dishwasher.

"You don't have to help me if you don't want to," Danny teased as she passed him a plate.

"Oh, but I do. Didn't you know that cleaning dishes is my favorite thing to do?"

"You'll make some man very happy one day then," he chuckled. "Do you want something to drink? Tea? Coffee?"

"You wouldn't happen to have hot chocolate, would you?"

Danny opened his cabinets and looked. "You just got lucky," he said, as he pulled out a packet of hot chocolate mix.

"A man after my own heart," Angela grinned.

"Here, I'm just going reach above you and get some mugs…"

Danny stood close behind her as she stood at the sink to get to the cabinet above her. He put a hand on her waist and his body leaned slightly against hers as he reached for the mugs from the cabinet.

In that moment, it felt like an electric current had shot up and down her spine. Angela closed her eyes and savored the amazing feeling of his hand on her waist and his chest against her back. She had to use all of her self-restraint not to turn and throw her arms around his neck, to pull his body against hers.

All too quickly, Danny had found the mugs in the cabinet above her and the warmth of his body left hers. He filled the mugs up with the warm water that was running for the dishes and then carried them over to where the packets of hot chocolate were waiting. After he had mixed them, Angela had finished loading the dishes into the washer and took her cup. He led the way over to the couch and she sat down next to him.

Angela crossed her legs underneath herself and Danny leaned casually back on his couch, and her knee rested comfortably against his thigh. They sat and sipped their hot chocolate slowly. Neither one of them wanted to disturb the comfortable silence that they were in. Lighting shown through the curtains, and a loud crash of thunder loomed above them.

"It sounds like quite a party those angels are having," Angela said softly, taking another sip.

"Yeah, it does." Danny cast a glance out the window, and then back to Angela.

"It's not going to be fun getting a cab."

Danny was silent for a moment as if he was trying to phrase the sentence correctly. "I don't… I don't think you should… go home in this weather."

Angela turned her eyes to him. He was completely serious.

"I just… I don't want you to get sick or something from the rain—"

Oh, my God, Angela's brain was in a frenzy and her heart was beating out of her chest.

"—and you're already warm here—"

What?! He can't really being saying what I think he's saying…

"—and this couch makes a really good bed with blankets and pillows."

At the mention of the couch, Angela relaxed slightly. She hadn't even considered that this night would turn into a night in Danny's bed (Ok, that was a lie. She had thought—dreamt about it, but not seriously).

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to… impose or anything—"

He smiled gently. "Don't be ridiculous. It's not like I have a raging social life."

She considered it for awhile. What was the worst that could happen?

"Well. Alright. But only because you insisted."

"I do," he said with a grin. "I'll get you some blankets and pillows."

"Here, I'll take your mug…"

Ten minutes later, Danny and Angela had made up a makeshift bed for her on his couch. She was absolutely buzzing with excitement to be sleeping with Danny's blankets and pillows. It hardly sunk in that Danny would be sleeping in the room next to her.

It was late when the bed was finally put together, and although Angela felt rather tired, she knew she wasn't going to sleep very well because she would be too excited about the place she was sleeping in.

"Um, well. There you go," Danny said, rather lamely as he tossed on a last pillow. "Home sweet home."

"Thanks Danny. Really."

"Your welcome. Really."

There was an awkward pause as the two stood there, not moving. It was taking every ounce of Danny's willpower for him not to take a hold of her waist and pull her tight against his body. His hands were fidgeting with the bottom of his un-tucked shirt because they wanted too much to reach out and run along the small of her back, to her waist, to her hips. Before he did anything he regretted, he took a step backwards.

"Night," he said awkwardly. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Danny."

He turned and walked into his bedroom, leaving Angela with her little bed on the couch, although both of them wanted nothing more than to spend the next nine hours within the same bed.

---

It was nearly one in the morning and Angela hadn't slept at all. She wondered if Danny was sleeping. She wondered if he had even meant anything by having her spend the night on his couch. Maybe it was just a friendly gesture. He was that kind of guy. But then again… the way he put his hand on her waist…

There was a noise from the direction of Danny's bedroom. Angela turned over and realized that it was running water. Danny was still awake.

She wasn't really sure what she was thinking, but Angela quietly got off the couch and crept over to Danny's bedroom door and looked inside. The door was open somewhat, and Angela could see that Danny wasn't in his bed, but the bathroom light was on with the door slightly ajar.

Before she could move, Danny came back out of the bathroom, dressed in a rumpled white undershirt and a pair of dark cotton pants that hung low on his non-existent hips.

And then, as if they were magnets, his eyes went straight for the open bedroom door and locked eyes with Angela and he froze.

She didn't move. She couldn't move. Even if she had wanted to move, she couldn't.

They stood there for several seconds. Danny took several steps around the bed to meet her at the door. Angela pushed his door open and stepped through the threshold into his room.

Standing right in front of him, Angela felt herself shaking all over. She was standing so close to him that she could feel his breath on her face. They stood like that for a long time. Too close, but not close enough.

Finally, very carefully, Danny lifted his hand and put it on her cheek. Angela's shivering either stopped completely or increased. She couldn't tell and she didn't care. His eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips, and he leaned in tentatively closer.

Too close, but not quite close enough.

He kissed her gently as she felt herself be pulled into his body. Her arms automatically wrapped around his neck as she kissed him back. He tightened his grip around her waist and deepened the kiss. Angela felt as if she wanted to cry as he threaded his fingers in her deep red locks.

She was suddenly up against the wall as Danny's arms squeezed her waist tightly. His tongue chased hers and she moaned gently into his mouth. His hands slipped under the oversized sweatshirt and started up her bare back, tracing along her stomach.

He pulled her with him as he guided her back over to his bed. She fell softly onto his many blankets and he soon followed, not letting his mouth stray from hers for very long. He laced his fingers in her hair and held her hips tightly. Angela cupped his face and neck as her other hand crawled down to the bottom of his shirt and began to lift it up over his back. Danny lifted his arms from her body briefly as she let him slide the shirt off of him. She discarded it quickly as Danny's mouth found her neck. She let out a louder moan as her weakness was kisses on her neck.

Her fingers traced lightly over his bare chest, taking in all of the contours of his body. He finally found his way into the sweatshirt again and began to slip it off of her. She kissed his neck and jaw line and soon both of their pants and his boxers found their way onto the floor as well. His body up against hers felt so good and so right that she never wanted to let him out of her grasp.

They joined together, and he kissed her gently and then deeply as her body moved with his. Danny's hands ran smoothly over her soft skin, his fingers dancing around her elegant curves with such care and grace. When they came, both of her hands were grasping securely around his shoulders as he gripped her waist almost painfully tight. Danny collapsed next to her in a tired, hot mess as she lay breathing heavily.

For several moments, Angela's mind was absolutely blank, only filled with the sweet aroma of sex and Danny's warm body. She was dimly aware that one of her hands was clasped around his neck or that his legs were securely intertwined with her own.

Angela slowly felt the sensation of warm, welcome sleep begin to overtake her body, but not before she felt Danny kiss her gently on the back of her neck several times. His lips brushed against her skin softly as he shifted his body to form around hers. He pulled her bare back up against his chest and kissed her neck again and fell asleep with Angela in his arms.

A/N: Oh. My. God.

Please leave reviews.

-Laura