The next day, Megan felt like Kate was avoiding her. She didn't have to look very hard for a reason to get her attention though: she needed a very expensive test performed on her latest patient in order to prove he did not die of natural causes. Kate had already made it pretty clear earlier in the week that she thought the case was cut and dry. Nevertheless, Megan's instincts were telling her otherwise, and pushing Kate's buttons was becoming one of her new favorite hobbies.

"Can I ask a favor?" Megan sweetly chirped as she poked her head into Kate's office.

"What's ever stopped you?" Kate responded without looking up from her desk.

"Well…okay. So I need to run a test for…"

"Yes, I know what you want. Need is another thing entirely."

Megan dropped the cuteness and stepped into Kate's office, shifting from courteous employee-mode to entitled-genius mode.

"Listen, when I know something as deeply as I know this, I'm prepared to do everything it takes to prove I'm not imagining things."

If it weren't for the costliness of what Megan was asking for and the mountain of work on her desk, Kate would have stopped and analyzed the hell out of the subtext Megan was spewing, but not now.

"If I say no, are you just going ask Curtis for it anyway? He seems to cave much more easily to your demands."

"I wouldn't have to go to him if you'd just stop playing hard to get."

Kate couldn't have ignored that one if she tried.

"Okay, Megan."

"…Okay?"

"Yes. Go for it. Go right ahead."

Megan felt a twitch in her lower abdomen.

"Alright…thanks. I won't make you regret it."

"I know you won't." Kate offered, a sudden gentle reassurance not coming out of nowhere. She let her blue eyes rise up to meet Megan's green ones for just a moment, enough to let it register that she did have faith in her, and that all Megan really needed to do was be honest and ask, and Kate would give her just about whatever she wanted.

Megan gulped, half-smiled, and quickly left before Kate could change her mind.

The test quickly proved Megan was absolutely right: murder was the cause of death for the young man who had been found dead in his own bed nearly a week ago. Nobody wanted this to be the result, they never did. Life would be easier, though no less tragic, if all their young victims simply slipped away painlessly during the night. But if this was not the case (and most of the time, it was not), they were absolutely determined to bring the killer to justice.

The rest of the day involved much running around for Megan and Kate. The former returned to the victim's home to scan the room for clues and re-interview family members, while the later followed up on a lead Bud had suspected at the victim's high school. When they returned to the office that evening, neither appeared entirely satisfied with their findings. They sat at their respective desks for hours, trying to piece things together.

At about 2 a.m., Megan was thrown off her train of thought by a noise she heard coming from somewhere in the office. She held her breath and became very still in order to listen more carefully, trying to place it without having to get up. It soon became clear that the low, persistent grumble hyphenated by a soft yet higher-pitched whistle was someone snoring. Megan's cheeks turned a little pink at the thought of Kate sleeping in her office, and her lips curled into an adoring smile. She couldn't go back to focusing on her work now, but didn't exactly know how to approach the situation.

Hesitantly, she made her way to Dr. Murphy's office. Thankfully, the door was open, so she could walk in without making much noise. She had left her Prada heels back under her own desk, the easier to tip toe up to Kate without startling her. Now that she saw the awkward incline of Kate's head on her desk, however, she felt compelled to wake her up rather than let her sleep her way to a sore neck in the morning.

Megan kneeled next to Kate's chair and started to reach out to touch her arm, but stopped. That might give her too much of a jolt, she thought. Instead, she decided to whisper her name.

"Kate."

No response. Megan was tempted to let her keep sleeping. She knew she needed it, and in this condition Megan could admire her boss's smooth ivory skin and full, rose-colored lips without being forced to look away more quickly than she'd like to. But that, she thought, would be selfish.

She cleared her throat before more loudly whispering "Kate," and that seemed to do the trick. Kate's eyes opened but she didn't move for a few seconds. Once she realized where she was, however, she too quickly lifted her head from the desk and gasped as the blood rushed back to her neck and her stiff muscles burned. She grimaced.

"Sorry," Megan genuinely offered.

Kate seemed to just realize it was Megan who had woken her. "Oh…it's…"

"I just heard you from my office. When I saw the position you were in, I didn't want you to be hurting in the morning."

"Heard me?"

Megan felt a little embarrassed, even though she knew it was silly.

"You were snoring."

Kate blushed and then rolled her eyes.

"Great. I'm sorry I disturbed you."

"It's alright. You deserve a break. You just might consider bringing that cot in after all."

Kate smirked. She propped her elbows on her desk and rested her chin in her palms as she tried to keep her eyes open. In her grogginess, she mumbled "See, you'd kick me out of bed."

Megan's heart felt like it got kicked into her throat. Her jaw dropped just slightly as she fumbled for a response. Maybe Kate hadn't even realized what she said? Still…

"I don't think so."

Now Kate was definitely awake. As she turned her head to face Kate she grimaced again and hissed between her teeth at the ache in her neck.

Megan placed her thumb and forefinger on the back of Kate's neck, massaging just firmly enough to provide relief without causing more pain.

"Here. Does this help?" She couldn't really believe she had dared touch Kate, but something about the intimacy of hearing her snore, watching her sleep, and waking her up without being completely rejected made her feel a little bolder than usual.

Kate's breath caught a little at Megan's touch and her eyes closed, but she did not pull away or tell her to stop.

"Yes. Thanks. I'll be alright." She still wasn't sure how far she should let her guard down, as Megan's superior, and as someone who had fewer friends than she pretended to.

"Of course you will. But right now you look like you've been hit by a bus."

Kate gave her a sort of crushed, insecure look, something Megan had never seen before and needed to quickly remedy before she felt like total shit.

"Oh no, I mean, you look beautiful as always, just like you're really hurting."

Now the pink in Kate's cheeks bloomed to a full crimson.

"I…" She let her eyes close again as Megan continued to rub.

"You don't wear your stress on your face as much as I think I do, but I can certainly feel it." Megan let her fingers travel down to Kate's shoulders. She felt Kate shiver under her fingertips and felt a responding shiver between her legs. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment and she knew she'd better stop while she still had control. She smoothed her hands over Kate's upper arms and squeezed gently before stepping away.

"Why'd you stop?" Kate almost inaudibly whispered. Megan couldn't hear much over the sound of her own heart beat pounding in her ears. She took a risk and, almost on autopilot, reached out and brushed a few of Kate's blonde locks behind her ear as she stood next to her. This time, Kate turned her entire chair to face Megan, and slowly lifted her chin before opening her eyes to look at her. Her face read of exhaustion, but also gratitude, and what Megan pretty undoubtedly knew was desire. Still, she hated to be wrong. She looked back at Kate, standing her ground until the blonde gave her some kind of clue as to how she should proceed.

Kate stared up at Megan, hoping to God that she wasn't just one of those people who became very touchy-feely once she got close to someone. Though they weren't particularly close, considering she was her employee and Megan's rebellious nature often forced Kate to scold her, sometimes more harshly than she wanted to. Being slightly younger and feeling not quite as brilliant as she knew Megan was often led her to feel she needed to be extra tough. Right now, however, the tension was all but gone, or maybe just replaced with a different kind. Kate watched as Megan, consciously or not, licked her lips. Having studied body language, she was pretty sure she knew what that meant. She had her proof.

Kate reached out and gently took Megan's right hand, which Megan looked down at in wonder as Kate pulled her back to her knees. Once on the ground and eye level with Kate, Megan tried to steady her breathing as she continued to stare at their clasped hands. She realized Kate was not letting go, but was too overcome with nerves too look her in the eye just yet. Instead, she lifted Kate's hand to her lips and pressed a very soft kiss to the back of it. Soon she felt Kate's other hand in her hair, playing with its red strands before bringing it to her chin and lifting Megan's head. Megan focused on Kate's eyes in the dim light, seeing them clearly just as they were drawing nearer. Then they closed as Kate's plump lips crushed into her own.

Megan responded by bringing both of her hands to Kate's cheeks, stroking them with her thumbs as she moved her lips in synch with Kate's. She tastes so good, Megan thought. Like plums, with a little salt on them. Kate teased her lips open with her tongue and Megan linked it with her own. Their tongues danced together in their mouths while they continued to kiss and seemed to simultaneously realize how much they had both wanted this. Megan gave two shorter, sweet pecks before pulling away just enough to stare back into Kate's blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" Megan asked, not really sure of what to say, but feeling the need to say something.

Kate smirked, one hand still playing with Megan's hair. "You're too smart to ask such a dumb question."

Megan felt only slightly bruised, and a whole lot more turned on. She smiled as she continued, tracing her thumb over Kate's lower, poutier lip.

"I just…I wasn't expecting…"

"No?"

"Ok, well, maybe I was hoping that somehow this would happen, but no, I wasn't really expecting it to happen now."

"Shocking." Kate teased. "You're usually so direct about asking for what you want."

"Yeah, I'm not as good at asking for what I need."

Kate's eyes narrowed, half devilishly and half incredulously.

"What exactly is it that you need?" She opened her lips and let her tongue lasso Megan's thumb into her mouth, where she sucked on it, making it difficult for Megan to respond.

"Someone… to share my bed with every once in a while…even if they snore." Kate rolled her eyes and smiled as she continued to nibble Megan's thumb. "Assuming this is more than just some random thing."

"If it wasn't, it wouldn't be worth risking."

"Right. Because you're my boss, or…?"

"That, and because I haven't let anyone in for a while, and last time I did it didn't end with me feeling great about myself."

"I get that. Though right now, I think you should be feeling pretty great about yourself."

"Why's that?"

"Because nobody has gotten me this hot in…never."

"Seriously?"

Megan felt herself go a little more red, as if that were possible.

"I hope I'm not coming on too strong…"

"You always come on strong."

Megan's heart sank a little.

"But," Kate quickly noted as she played with Megan's necklace, "that's one of the things I like most about you."

"Really? You don't seem to like it when it involves work."

"That's just because I have to keep some kind of order. I have to be firm or you and everyone else wouldn't respect me. You think it's easy being a woman in this position?"

"Hell no, particularly for someone as drop dead gorgeous as you are. I completely understand why you have to play hard."

"And play careful. Which is why I wanted to be absolutely sure you felt the same way."

"Well. I do."

Megan smiled and kissed Kate again, this time putting her arms around her back and very gently pulling her in to her chest. Kate more fully embraced Megan as they kissed for what felt like a forever, before they both needed to come up for air.

"You're really good at this," Kate huffed.

"Not bad yourself," Megan almost giggled.

"You're beautiful too, you know."

Megan took compliments a little less easily than Kate did, but thanked her by planting a tiny kiss on the blonde's nose.

"Your eyes…your legs…your instincts…" Kate continued.

Megan silenced her with another few kisses, before bringing her lips to Kate's ear.

"I have all kinds of instincts you've yet to see" she whispered before whipping her tongue out to taste Kate's ear. Kate gasped.

"Show me."

"I would love to. But right now, it's nearly 3 a.m. The cleaning crew will be here in a few hours, and then our colleagues, and you and I will need to be at our best and brightest on five-or-so hours of sleep if we're going to get anywhere with this case today."

Kate loosened her grip on Megan's shoulders as she began to slip back into boss mode.

"You're right. So…"

"So we should get home and get a little bit of rest before we have to be back here. And, if this proves to be more than just some dream we're both having while sleeping at our desks, maybe I can take you out on a date before we take things further."

"Sounds like a plan. But maybe I should take you out, considering I'm the one with the bigger paycheck."

"Oh? Are we going to start that already?"

Kate nuzzled her nose into Megan's before pausing with her lips just teasingly out of reach. She whispered, "Come on. Can't we play a little with the fact that I'm your boss, technically your superior?"

"Only technically?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "I like to think we're pretty close to equal when it comes to experience and expertise."

Megan smiled. "Agreed. And yes," she kissed her, "We can play with all kinds of things. Another night."

"Tomorrow. Pending we solve our case before evening."

"Deal."

They helped each other to their feet and Megan painstakingly trotted back to her office to gather her belongings before meeting Kate back at the elevator. Before Megan could push the button, Kate stopped her and threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly. Megan couldn't remember the last time she had been given such a warm, full and genuine hug, and it made her very hopeful that what she and Kate had was much more than just a steamy sexual attraction. They could actually be friends.

Kate pulled back and brushed some of Megan's red hair behind her ear before gently kissing her on the lips.

"We still have to be careful, even though I'm clearly not taking advantage of you. It wouldn't be considered professional if…"

"I know. Though there's nothing wrong with what we're doing."

"Not at all. It will just take time to figure out how to handle it. Not necessarily hide…just… manage."

"The guys are gonna flip!" Megan appeared to relish in their male co-worker's pending shock and imminent jealousy.

Kate rolled her eyes once again before kissing Megan on the cheek and pushing the button. When they got to their cars, they hugged once more before parting and heading home.