Disclaimer I do not own Sands.. just my own character and ideas what to do with him

all reviews very welcome.. in other please review :)

Sands paused.. this was not how this was meant to go. She was meant to be slapping him across the face and storming back to the settee..

... Lets make this crystal clear.. it was not the slap Sands craved.. no he had wide tastes and interests, but he was not quite that way inclined. But he had been seeking an escape, and she was not supplying it. He paused .

Sara kept very, very still. He had to listen intensely to even hear her breathing "you quite done?" she eventually asked.

ok this was definitely not going to plan

he nodded slightly, immediately regretting it, as he could feel her face still close to his, he could almost feel the warmth of her lips, and he could definitely still taste them, she tasted good. he pushed the thought away

"That was.. pardon the pun.. or perhaps don't, really below the belt Sands" she said. He couldn't quite identify the tone in her voice. But then he supposed he wasn't meant to . "I haven't quite made up my mind which distraction from my questioning you were going for; me responding, or slapping you. Either way, luckily for you, I am trained to resist both." she said. There was definitely a warning tone in her voice "You must really want to avoid talking about those dreams" she added wryly

"Sorry.. " he murmured

He felt her react to that. "An apology?" she said incredulously "From you Agent Sands?" He wondered if she was smiling, it almost sounded like she was, but he didn't trust himself to quite believe it.

"It happens.. occasionally" he replied.. Christ he could seriously do with a cigarette just now.

Sara looked intently at him... he looked, if she didn't know better, and here she reminded herself, she didn't actually know better, he looked lost. She steeled herself not to feel pity for him, he had after all crossed the line, with that all too expert kiss. she half wondered what was offending her more.. how expert he was at kissing or that he had used a kiss to distract her. It was no contest really, but it bothered her slightly that the question even came to her.

"Just don't try it again" she bit her lip and decided it was definitely not wise to add the teasing 'unless you mean it' that popped into her mind. He would definitely take it the wrong way. She collected her self and she tried not to even think about how his kiss had felt.

"The apology or the kiss?" Sands quipped

Sara gave a slight laugh.. Sands thought he heard a nervous tone to it "Behave" she replied.. some Machiavellian part of Sands brain filed away that she avoided answering that one. He was not prone to ego where women were concerned.. unlike the Bond films liked to imply, most agents were not lady-killers.. well not in that way.. the life didn't promote meaningful relationships, and as he had the ample proof off, not that any agents doubted it, the type of women who liked the agent life style in their men, were often the last to be trusted. It made for a solitary time. As he thought this he became very conscious of the fact she was still sitting very close next to him, her hand on his arm.

"Behaving isn't quite my style, but I will try" he added.. he was feeling uncharacteristically bad for what he had done. He quickly supplied an almost convincing reason, he needed her help in this mission, he was more dependant than ever on others. He also reluctantly admited to himself that her soft words on first gettign to the hospital had meant a lot to him, and he had repayed them badly, lost a sense of balance.

And he needed balance. Now almost more than ever

"Don't beat you4rself up over it" she said softly as she read his expression. "It was only a kiss" she said dismissively. She almost even managed to convince herself of it.