Megan began work on the auto-erotic asphyxiation case the next morning. She felt terrible that the man had died, she always did. Nevertheless—and maybe it was the result of the post-sex glow she was still feeling from the night before— she couldn't help but laugh at the jokes Ethan and Curtis barraged her with throughout the day. It had kept her working late, which she only minded because she wished she could have left when Kate did, but she couldn't complain. She was feeling pretty giddy despite the somber business she found herself faced with. Just as she was looking to match the belt to the markings on the neck, Peter came into the lab. Perfect timing, she thought. As usual.

"Are you here to help me or do you want to audition for amateur night at the Improv like the rest?"

"I saw you leave Kate's apartment this morning."

Megan dropped the belt on the table and turned white. Then she quickly remembered she had nothing to hide, nothing to fear, and resumed her normal, un-phased state of righteousness.

"Are you stalking me now?"

"I drive by her place on the way into the city. I saw you leave in clothes you didn't wear to work the day before."

"And?"

"And, either she's lost all her money at the casino again and needs a new roommate, or something else is going on."

Megan looked at him, confused, but sure of herself. "For your information, she hasn't been to the casino in weeks. And," she took a deep breath. "If you must know, something else may be going on. None of which is any of your business, and I shouldn't even have to give you that much."

"That's fine, Megan, just fine. I've watched you over the past few weeks, and you've gone from cynical and guarded to much more relaxed, playful even. I guess I was wrong to assume it meant something was finally starting to happen between us."

"Peter, I…"

"Was I a complete fool to think you were flirting with me all this time?"

"Yes and no," Megan admitted. "I'm flirtatious, I've been told, but I have no idea what I'm doing. I guess I try to soften the edge I bring to people by teasing them every once in a while, or asking them about their hobbies, their quirks. You know, you're the one who told me to take an interest in the living, and I have really, really been trying. I'm sorry if you thought I saw you as more than a friend. I appreciate you, but I'm just not interested, Peter."

For as much as he annoyed her at times, this was true. His advice, while tedious and usually unsolicited, had helped her on numerous occasions, with Lacey, with her mother. She had even briefly considered how easy it would have been to just go out with him, but she didn't feel that way, no matter how much convincing anyone tried to do, including him.

Peter tapped his fingers on an empty exam table and looked anywhere but at her.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure I'm a lesbian. I wouldn't take it too personally."

He had to laugh. "Figures. Maybe that's why Kate could never hold down a man. She certainly gave me the boot before I had the chance to figure her out."

Megan felt like someone just shot her in the chest. Her ears started ringing, and she was pretty sure her parasthesia was making its way up her arms. For what seemed like minutes, she felt complete numbness, but it must have only been seconds, because she heard herself say, "I'm sorry, what?"

"You know, we lived together for quite a while, and I never would have guessed she was into women."

Megan thought she might vomit. She tried not to let Peter see how upset she was.

"Um..."

"Wait, you didn't know? Jesus, Megan. I thought if you were seeing her, she would have told you. I had just left the force. She was working her way up the ranks here. She blew her way through most of her savings playing in Texas Hold 'Em tournaments and needed someone to help her out, which is what I was afraid happened again. I'm assuming some of my furniture is still there."

Megan shook her head furiously, trying to shake the feeling of complete helplessness.

"Shit, I'm sorry. She's gonna kill me."

Anger now started to bubble up, along with jealousy. Images floated into her head that she never wanted to fathom.

"Did you…" she couldn't finish asking the question. She turned a piercing glare on Peter. He looked at her blankly for a minute before realizing what she wanted to know.

"Oh. Oh, no. She kissed me once, but that was it. She always had plenty of other men to keep her..."

"Please! Don't. I can't." Megan slid the body away and packed everything up before going to retrieve her things from her office. Peter followed her.

"Megan, that was a long time ago, before she even knew you. Obviously she didn't even know herself back then."

"Well apparently I don't really know her either, and this was a shitty way to find that out. Excuse me…" she sniffed as she pushed past him. She ignored him calling after her as she stepped into the elevator.

Kate was starting to get worried. Megan hadn't texted her back for two hours, and she hadn't answered her phone. She tried to tell herself that she was just absorbed in work, too busy theorizing in the lab to respond, but part of her was contemplating going over there. Then she heard a knock at the door. More than a knock. Pounding.

She quickly threw on her robe and ran to the door, looking out the peephole for only a second to confirm it was Megan. When she opened the door, her heart almost imploded. Megan stood in her orange trench coat, hair pulled back like she wore it in the lab, mascara tears running down her face.

"Oh my god, what…"

Megan glared at her as she pushed into the apartment and threw her bag on the floor. Fuck…

Megan paced for a few moments, before turning to her, wiping the tear stains from her cheeks, and asking, "Did you really live with Peter?"

Kate froze. She breathed heavily through her nose and pursed her lips, feeling both defensive and defenseless. She knew she should have told her. Everything had screamed at her to do it, but at the same time, she hadn't wanted to ruin things. Her eyes began to well up as she tried to gather her words.

"No. You don't get to cry right now. I need you to talk, for once."

"Megan, I should have told you…"

"Oh my god, you did. How could you not tell me?"

"I wanted to, I just…"

"Did you sleep with him?" She didn't know if she could trust Peter. She didn't know if she could trust anyone.

"No! I did not have sex with him, we just…"

"Just what? Just everything we do, or is that suddenly not really sex?"

"STOP! Please. He lived with me, but that was it."

"And you kissed him?"

"One time, when I came home from losing more money, and I was drunk, yes. That's it."

"How do I know that's it? You didn't tell me you lived together, or that you have a gambling problem, or that you apparently had dozens of other men, so many that you couldn't even be bothered with…"

"That was years ago! I was a mess back then. I…"

"You know, it would pretty much go against every feminist bone in my body to criticize you for sleeping around, or demand you tell me about all your past relationships. I haven't pushed to know anything, at all. But Peter? Who I work with, who we work with, side by side, every day? You didn't think this would maybe be the slightest bit awkward?"

"I did think that, Megan, that's why I didn't tell you. He and I haven't even discussed it in years, especially not the kiss. The gambling, the men…it's not something I'm proud of. I knew I should have told you, but I was scared."

"You were scared? I hadn't been with anyone in nearly six years. My husband cheated on me because I actually give a fuck about my job. You think I wasn't terrified?"

"I know. I'm so sorry. I have a lot of regrets about the men I've been with. I told you, I was raised to think that if I even dreamed about having anything other than what was considered a 'normal' relationship, I would have been done. I saw people get the shit kicked out of them just for being perceived as gay, and I'm pretty sure my father gave the orders. Do you know what that does to a kid? There's no way I could be who I am. Men hit on me constantly, and it was easier to be with them than to be alone while I was running away from myself."

"I get all of that. I don't get lying to me."

"I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you the whole truth."

"Kate, how fucking stupid do you think I am?"

"I can't undo this. I know I can't. I can't take back what happened with Peter, or the lying. All I know is that when you came into my life, I started to feel something I've never felt with anyone."

"Oh, please. I can't listen to this. Did you feel it with Peter too? Is that why you didn't jump into bed with him?"

"Megan, stop! I never slept with anyone I worked with. I wasn't picky, but I also wasn't stupid. I was trying to move up the ladder. I couldn't risk my reputation getting out at work. That's why I never slept with him."

"Oh, is that the only reason why? Why would you let him move in with you in the first place?"

"Because, you know how he is. He can make you feel like you know nothing, like he has all the answers. It's infuriating and patronizing, but it can also be comforting. I needed someone to move in with me, fast, or I was going to lose my place and everything I'd built here. That was not an option for me. He was the closest thing I had to a friend back then. The awkwardness over what happened has certainly made us grow apart, and his obvious feelings for you made things even more uncomfortable…"

"The last thing I want to hear about right now is how uncomfor…"

"Listen to me! Don't you understand? I've never loved anyone in my entire life. The last thing I wanted to do was lose you over all the stupid mistakes I've made in my past."

Megan almost missed the words through her anger. Kate loved her. She knew she did, and she loved her back so much it made her dizzy. She sat down on the couch and bent over with her face in her lap. She wanted to throw her arms around Kate and kiss her, let her know exactly how she felt, but she was walking a thin line between self respect and self defeat.

"Megan…"

"Please…"

"I…"

"Shh!" Megan sniffled. She took a few minutes to compose herself, breathing rhythmically and wiping her eyes on her skirt before sitting up and slowly facing Kate on the couch.

"You're absolutely right," Kate practically whispered, trying to speak through her own tears. "I shouldn't have lied to you. I should have told you the whole truth. I could make a million excuses for why I thought it would be easier this way, better for work, better for us. But I was wrong, and I can only tell you that it was the fear of losing you that kept me from telling you everything. I'll tell you whatever you want, but the only thing that I know that matters, the only thing I know more than I've known anything else, is how I feel about you."

Megan tried to not feel betrayed. She tried to dismantle this situation like she would the organs inside a decaying body, looking at each part separately in order to make sense of the mess. Perhaps to anyone else, this wouldn't have seemed like that big of a deal. Everyone had some kind of a past. But how could she continue to work with Peter knowing that he had also been keeping this secret from her? She knew it was truly ridiculous to feel this way, but she was not yet ready to write her feelings off. "I need time," she said.

Kate nodded, appearing resigned. Tears continued to spill down her cheeks. Megan inched closer to her on the couch, reached out, and wiped the tears away with her thumbs. Kate grasped her wrists, took her hands, and held them in her lap as she tried to get a hold of herself. Megan's green eyes glistened as she spoke to her.

"I don't know exactly when I fell in love with you, but it's getting to the point where I can't remember how it felt not to love you. And I know that in all honesty, I have absolutely no right to be upset at you about your past, or hold it against you. This is just very…complicated. I don't know how I'm supposed to be okay working next to someone, two people, who have been keeping something like this from me for months. I'm not used to not being in control."

"You do love me?" Kate whispered.

"How could you not know that? I've wanted to tell you so many times, but life doesn't always give you those 'perfect moments.'"

"Trust me, I know," Kate smiled and laughed a little nervously through her tears. She reached out and caressed Megan's cheek, still damp. Megan took her hand and kissed it just as she had that first night in Kate's office. She did love her, immensely, too much to let this tear them apart. She knew she'd have to get used to knowing the kiss meant nothing, or at least not anything close to what she and Kate had, and knowing that it had nothing to do with her as she hadn't even entered the equation yet.

Kate gently placed her hands on Megan's cheeks and held her face, looking into her eyes for what seemed like minutes. She wanted to communicate something that would have just sounded trite with words: that Megan could trust her, that she would never lie to her or not tell her the whole truth ever again. So she looked into her eyes and let Megan look back, let her see her with her guard down for as long as she felt it took to get the message across.

Megan blinked back a few more tears before tilting her forehead against Kate's, closing her eyes and breathing in her scent. She brushed their noses together as she ran her fingers through blonde, wavy locks. She tried to feel her through every one of her senses, listening to the sound of her breath, inhaling it, tasting it as it hit her lips, feeling her soft skin against her own cheeks. Finally she opened her eyes again.

"I really shouldn't let you off so easy…" she trailed off, barely brushing her lips against Kate's as she spoke.

"I'm sorry…." Kate whispered.

"I know…" She continued to sigh as she closed her lips around Kate's slowly. Kate kissed her back more gently than she ever had.

"I promise…I'll…"

"Just be honest with me…"

"I promise…I love you too."

Megan couldn't take the time to process all of this right now. Kate's words, words she had heard a million times before from people who didn't always mean it, felt so real and right. She pulled back just enough to look clearly into Kate's eyes again, acknowledging those words with a smile that gave Kate the shivers. She wrapped her arms around her back and kissed her fully, forgiving her, and allowing Kate to forgive herself. She slipped her tongue inside Kate's mouth and relished in the warmth of their tongues sliding so nicely together. She sucked in each lip, indecisive over which one she preferred, instead choosing to equally savor them. Kate brought her fingers to Megan's neck and lightly traced them over the sides of it before bringing her lips to rest there too. She kissed her, almost more with her breath than her lips, also breathing her in before burying her face in her hair.

Megan looked down to see that Kate's robe was sliding off her shoulders. She pulled on the belt just enough to let it come undone all the way, causing Kate to sit up a little straighter and look back into her eyes. Megan ran her hands over Kate's chest, feeling her heartbeat under her fingertips, glad that her fingers were actually allowing her to feel this moment. She kissed Kate again on the lips as she continued down with her hands, gently squeezing her breasts as Kate worked to undo and remove her jacket. Megan helped her by slipping out of it, and then pulled her own sweater over her head, and quickly took off her bra. She wanted to feel Kate against her skin. Kate shrugged off her robe as Megan continued to fully undress herself, and soon the two were completely naked together on the couch, just as they had been the night before. But tonight, there was so much more and so much less between them. Less questions, less secrets, and much more love.

Kate leaned back against the pillows as Megan wrapped her legs around her, straddling her until they were fully pressed against one another. Kate gasped at this and Megan shuddered so hard she had to hold on to Kate's shoulders for support, burying her face in her neck. They both began to grind against each other, sliding wetness against wetness. They made noises driven by the pleasure throbbing through them to their cores. Megan slid against her harder, riding her up and down, as Kate matched her movements perfectly. She wrapped her arms behind Megan's back and dug her nails deep into her skin, gripping on so she could more thoroughly melt against her.

"…Megan…"

"…yes…"

Soon they were both convulsing, continuing to press hard against the other, slickly getting off to the sensation of slippery, wet skin and hair mixing. Megan arched her back for a moment before bringing her lips to Kate's as she came against her, and felt Kate come seconds later while a moan echoed past her lips into Megan's mouth. Megan fell against Kate as her body went limp, and she rested her head against her shoulder. Kate rubbed Megan's back, passing her hand softly over the salty stickiness. The two stayed silent for some time, enjoying the sound of each other's breath.

"Kate?" Megan whispered.

"Yeah?" Kate panted back.

"Will you come to dinner with me and Lacey tomorrow?"

Kate laughed lightly. "I guess we're coming out in full force now, huh?"

"Not all at once. It's just she's the only one whose opinion I really care about."

Kate swallowed. "Would a negative opinion from her change anything?"

Megan pulled up slightly, just enough to plant a lazy kiss on Kate's chin before falling back down to her chest.

"No. One, she can't have a negative opinion of you, you're wonderful. And two, if she's weirded out by it, she'll get over it. But I didn't raise her that way."

"It can be different when it's your own parent…or child…"

"She'll get used to it." Megan assured.

"Good. Can we save my parents for last?"

Megan chuckled, though understandingly.

"Mhmm."

"Thank you," Kate sighed, very relieved.

"Sure. We have lots of time, plenty to talk about."

"Indeed."

"But right now," Megan kissed her once before sitting up. "Do you still have some Ben & Jerry's in the freezer?"

Kate rolled her eyes and kissed her back before getting up and granting her wish.