Author's Notes: Well, we got Brenda off the plane, now can we get her out of LAX?

This story is going to go like this: you know how, when you are going through something really special, time seems to slow down? It's as if every hour is a day. Of course, looking back, it all whizzed by, but when you are experiencing it, time flows blissfully slowly. That is how this story is unfolding. Brenda and Fritz have been separated a month, and it has been a very intense, painful time (read Thirteen Days and The Second Daughter) and now they are reunited, and every minute sparkles. So their first few days back together is going to take up a few chapters. However, time will move a bit faster later on and we are going to see Brenda settle into her new life. The story will end up being longer than I thought, but that's okay. We have plenty of time. I like to write, you like to read, so it's all good.

Remember, there is also an T-rated version of this story. The plot is the same in both, but this version is soooo much better.

Thanks to Kate R for editing this for me.

Hey, before you dig in, make sure you have read the latest chapter of "Letting Go" by Procrastination Queen.

Chapter 2

"Alright Alexis, you take Brenda's arm, gently now, and I'll take Fritz's, and we'll slowly guide them to Baggage Claim. Or Brenda will never see her luggage again."

"Yea, but Gigi, they're cops. If we touch them funny won't they go all Kung Fu on our asses?"

Fritz smiled into Brenda's hair and pulled himself away from her. He didn't realize he had been standing and holding her so long that there was a chance that the luggage for Brenda's flight may no longer be available. Watching Brenda have a hissy fit in Baggage Claim would not be a great way to start their reunion.

"It's okay, we're touching back down to earth," Fritz said. "Right, honey?" He looked down at Brenda, wrapped in his arms. She wore a slightly dazed expression and had tears in her eyes.

"Earth?" she said, looking at him like he was her savior. "Where's earth?" She is so damn cute, he thought, and kissed her nose.

Lily cleared her throat, afraid, Fritz thought, that they would fall back into a trance. She stepped up to Brenda and held out the roses Fritz had bought, which Lily had taken possession of when Fritz needed both arms to grab Brenda when he first saw her. "Brenda, these are for you," she said, passing them to Brenda as she held out her arms. "Aren't they gorgeous? Your husband has excellent taste."

Brenda looked down at the roses, then over at Fritz, and then at Lily. "Thank you, Ms.- Complete-Stranger-Who-Gives-Me-Flowers-and-Knows-Who-I-Am." She raised an eyebrow at Lily and gave her one of her intimidating interrogator looks. She didn't attend Charm School when she was in Atlanta, that's for sure, thought Fritz.

Before Fritz could open his mouth, Alexis stepped between them. "Brenda, hey, remember me, Alexis, your seatmate? I told you I was coming to visit my grandmother. This is her, she jerked her thumb in Lily's direction, "and I guess she and your husband Fred, no, Fritz, became besties while waiting for our flight. Isn't that funny?" Alexis grinned, and with her red hair, thin frame, and barely controlled adolescent enthusiasm, Fritz couldn't help but think of an Irish Setter.

With arms wrapped around Brenda's shoulders, he steered her towards Baggage Claim behind Lily and Alexis. "If it wasn't for Lily here, I would have gone completely berserk waiting for you. I didn't get your text saying you were going to be delayed, so I was here for a long time before you landed."

Lily looked at the monitor and gestured for the group to follow her. "Carousel 23. And it was mutual, Fritz. I would have been bored out of my skull too. Instead I got to hear all about you, Brenda." Lily looked at Brenda and smiled.

To Fritz's surprise, Brenda extended her hand. "Brenda Leigh Johnson. And you have quite an interestin' granddaughter. She kept me entertained the entire flight."

Lily reached out and took Brenda's hand in both of hers. "Lily Powers, and it is wonderful to meet you. And I heard it was you who kept Alexis entertained." Lily released Brenda and caught Alexis by the arm to intentionally slow her pace, nodding at Brenda and Fritz to go ahead. He appreciated Lily's attempt to give them some privacy, but there would be time for that later.

"...and there were these two guys who worked for her who were always screwing up and getting into trouble," he heard Alexis say behind him. "One time, they found a body in the one guy's garage. Like, who just finds a body in their garage? Anyways, even though they're cops and know better, they left the body there because they were late for a Dodger's game and had really good seats. And the body was gone when they got back."

"Oh my," Lily said. "Although that kind of sounds like something your father would do. Ignore a dead body if a baseball game was starting, that is."

"Only if it was the Red Sox. And during a good season."

"Well, if only during a good season, then I guess that dead body wouldn't get lonely after all!" Lily and Alexis snorted. Fritz was amazed how this woman could be so classy and yet so down-to-earth at the same time.

Fritz could feel Brenda tremble from suppressed laughter though his arm thrown over her shoulder.

"Oh and this is the coolest ever, Gigi. Brenda's niece, who was 16, my age, came and stayed with them for a few weeks, and Brenda took her to work with her. Can you imagine if Aunt Crystal took me to work when it was all about murders and death? Mom would flip. Anyways, Charlie, that's her name, she actually helped out on a couple cases, and she basically solved one! For real, Brenda said! Charlie was the one who figured out who shot this other kid. Charlie sounds like the coolest girl ever!"

Fritz didn't know if he was stifling a groan or a laugh, but he was stifling something. Brenda would not be happy if she knew he had told Lily about the pot brownie adventure. He hoped Lily didn't repeat anything he had said about Charlie, whom he certainly didn't describe as "the coolest girl ever."

But Lily was a class act. "Her name was Charlie, you say?" she said, and Fritz could hear the humor in her voice, which she raised a bit, to make sure, he guessed, that he heard. "Sounds like that Charlie is a real go-getter, a model teen."

"Darn straight she is," Brenda said softly, hugging Fritz with the arm she had slung around his waist. "Well, she is now. Told me time and again it was the summer with us that straightened her out. Now she's gonna be a sophomore at Georgetown and is on the Honor Roll."

Fritz quickly leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Together, we are our own version of "Scared Straight." He looked back and tipped his head toward Alexis. "I just hope you didn't get carried away with your reminiscing and tell her about some of your more gruesome cases."

The smile slid off her face, and Fritz felt her small body tense. "Uh, no," she said. "No, no, just the funny ones." She disengaged herself from Fritz before he could stop her. "There is our carousel, and, oh my, I think all my luggage is there!" She walked quickly toward a carousel that only had a handful of bags on it and was nearly ploughed over by Alexis making a mad dash toward her suitcase.

"It will come around again, honey," Lily called to Alexis. "It's like karma. The conveyer belt always comes back to you."

Fritz could tell by the look on Brenda's face that she was amused by Lily, and the dark cloud that had just shadowed her face had blown over. She managed to pull one of her bags off the conveyer belt, and Fritz jogged ahead and grabbed the other two.

"All set!" he said, amazed at the bags' weight.

"Not quite," Brenda said sheepishly. "There are three more bags on the belt that belong to me."

Fritz looked at her. "Three?"

"Mama's stuff," she said. "Daddy insisted I take it. I mailed a bunch too."

Fritz was thinking of his full trunk and wondering how all of this was going to fit in his car. The conveyer belt had emerged again, carrying only Alexis's second bag and three large pieces of luggage Fritz recognized from Willie Rae's trips to LA. As if on cue, he and Brenda lunged at the luggage and managed to get all three on the ground in a matter of seconds. It was like collaring a suspect.

"Good lord Brenda, what did you bring back, gold bars?"

"That would be nice for our retirement fund."

Fritz looked around. "I'm going to go get one of those luggage carts. Be right back." He dipped down and kissed her, and he rubbed her arm. He couldn't stand how pathetic he was, but he didn't even want to be away from Brenda for a second. She had been back to him for hardly any time at all, not nearly long enough to be permanent. He feared that if he blinked, she would be gone again.

He returned a few minutes later, pushing an unwieldy metal cart with a stuck wheel. Brenda was chatting with Lily and Alexis, cradling the roses in her right arm like a baby, looking more animated and happy then she had for a long time. She had gotten so ground down with month after month of the lawsuits and Goldman's relentless attack on her; she was so threadbare by the time the cascade of other events had begun, starting with her father's cancer diagnosis, that he had seriously wondered if he would ever see her smile again. And yet here she was, making small talk with complete strangers, something she hated to do.

He stood watching her until she noticed him and held out her hand. He dragged the cart over to her, and the two of them began to load the five large pieces of luggage in such a way that a bump or an uneven elevator floor wouldn't make everything fall off. When they were satisfied that Brenda's heavy bags would stay put en route to the car, they stood up and caught their breath. Lily and Alexis were a little ways away, Alexis with her hand wrapped around her grandmother's arm and whispering in her ear. Lily nodded as she reached into her purse, grabbed a slip of paper, wrote down a few words, and handed it to Alexis. Alexis hugged her grandmother and walked over to Fritz and Brenda. Lily followed closely behind.

"Please don't think that we are strangers who don't have any boundaries," Lily began, before Alexis could say anything. "But Brenda, Alexis is quite taken with you, and I've really enjoyed getting to know you a bit, Fritz. and-"

"We were hoping you would come to dinner," Alexis cut in, rolling her eyes. "Sorry, Gigi, but why do old people take forever to say anything?" She looked at Brenda. "Look, I'm not stupid, and I know why my grandmother doesn't want to seem like a pain in the butt. You just got back from being apart and you and your husband are going to want some sexy time," she nodded at Fritz. Lily put her hands over her face and muttered, "dear lord." Alexis continued, nonplussed. "But when you come up for air, we would love to have your over. Gigi is the best cook in the world, and I only get two weeks in LA. I'd love to get to see you again." She said this to Brenda, but then turned to Fritz. "And you too, I'd like to get to know you, I mean. Brenda went on and on about what a great guy you are. And besides, as an FBI agent, you must have some good stories too."

Fritz took the piece of paper from Alexis with Lily's contact information, and he and Brenda promised to call to set up dinner. After their goodbyes, Fritz steered the reluctant luggage cart toward the nearest elevator that would take them to the parking garage.

As soon as the elevator doors were closed, Fritz grabbed Brenda and pulled her close. She laughed as he kissed her, trying to say, "security cameras" as he captured her lips. He was just getting into the kiss, warming up his mouth and hers, when they reached their floor. Reluctantly he released and turned to wrestle with the luggage. Brenda smacked him on the ass and complained that he had bent one of the roses.

"I have no idea how I am going to get this all in the car," he grumbled at his load.

She heard him. "What do you mean? We have the trunk and the back seat for the bags. There's plenty of room." Suddenly she stopped as they walked down the corridor that led to the parking garage, and Fritz didn't notice for several seconds. The momentum of the luggage cart carried him further, so Brenda was a ways behind him. He left the luggage and jogged back to her, wondering why she was standing stock-still as people buzzed around her.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked warily. There was a stiffness to her back he didn't like.

"Uh, nothing. Hey, what time is it?" She had that dazed look back in her eyes, but this time he didn't think he put it there. She looked at her watch. "Oh, it's a quarter to five. Do you think we can go have an early dinner before we go ho- back to the duplex?" Brenda looked at Fritz hopefully.

Fritz knew what this was about. Brenda was dreading returning to their apartment. She had had a hard enough time going back to live there after her mother had died, but after Stroh had attacked her there, her discomfort increased exponentially. She told Fritz it made her skin crawl to go into the kitchen, and every time she went into the bathroom, all she could see was the screen removed, and the fear of what that meant the night Stroh broke in came back to her. Now here she was, home from a long trip, and she didn't have a home she loved to go to. I can't make the demons go away, he thought, but I can put them off for another night.

"Well," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the luggage to so it wasn't unattended, "it just so happens that we aren't going home. I have a big surprise for you." He leaned on the luggage cart and watched her carefully. This would be fun. Brenda loved surprises.

"Really?" All melancholy was gone. "Oh tell me Fritz, why aren't we goin' home? Where are you takin' me? Somewhere good for dinner? I gotta change. I can't go out like this. Flyin' makes me feel dirty..." her voice rose an octave in her excitement.

"Hush woman, will you be quiet and let me tell you what I have planned? The least I get for planning all of this is the pleasure of announcing it dramatically."

"I'm hushin' now," Brenda said. "Announce away, cuz I'm all ears."

Fritz rested his hand on his chest and cleared his throat. He was glad no one else was around to see him act so ridiculous. He was entertaining Brenda, and that was all that mattered. "In honor of the auspicious occasion of the return of my beautiful wife to Los Angeles," he began in a pompous voice, "I have booked us a room at the Beverly Wiltshire for the evening."

Brenda's face lit up. "Fritz, Fritz, that's great! That is supposed to be real nice! Oh thank you!" She clapped her hands together.

He held out a finger to silence her. "That is not all. We have reservations at the upscale restaurant Cut in the hotel at 8:30 for a romantic dinner for two. And tomorrow we will have brunch at Scarpetta's before spending the day doing whatever you like." He finished with a half-bow.

He got the reaction he wanted. "I can't believe you planned all this!" She lunged and kissed him on the cheek. "I am so excited to stay at such a nice place. But honey, we have to go home so I can pick out a nice dress." She sounded sad. "I don't have anything in all those bags I can wear out to a fancy restaurant."

Fritz started to move toward the car, eager to get to the hotel and settle in, amongst other things. "Brenda, Brenda, Brenda. When are you going to learn I'm a planner? I have everything you need in the car, sweetheart."

"Everythin'?" she sounded dubious. "Honey, you can' possibly have packed everythin' I need. I-"

"Brenda, I have been watching you get dressed to go out for seven years. I picked out a nice dress-"

"-which one?" she interrupted, clearly not convinced.

"The black one with those real thin straps. You know, the one that shows off your cleavage." Brenda started to open her mouth and Fritz began to speak before she could. "You get cold when you wear it sometimes, so I packed the sheer shawl-like thing you wear over your shoulders. And I know you have to wear a strapless bra with a dress like that, so I brought a black one with the sexiest underwear I could find that matches. And you like thigh-high stockings if you wear them at all."

She looked impressed. "Shoes?"

I chose the black ones that kinda look like sandals but have really high heels with the little diamonds on them that you like."

Brenda sniffed. "They're called 'strappies.' Not my first choice but they'll do. What else?"

Fritz knew she was teasing him, and he was going to give her no room for ribbing. "For jewelry, I brought the four necklaces and matching earrings I see you wear the most when we go out. Personally, I think the platinum choker with the matching dangly earrings look best with the dress."

She seemed to be at a loss for words.

"You have a few black purses, but I chose the one with silver sequins, because you use that one the most," he went on, enjoying himself. "I packed essentially your entire makeup drawer, and if I forgot anything, there is a salon in the hotel that sells makeup. They also sell hair goo, but I brought about every bottle of that, too."

Brenda was wracking her brain for something. "Perfume?" she practically shouted in triumph.

"One bottle of Opium packed away. Plus I brought the shower gel and lotion I get you for Christmas that you save for special occasions. Because I plan to make tonight a very special occasion." He looked suggestively at her.

"Only if you brought my razor."

He sighed. "And shaving gel. And toothbrush, brush, curling iron, an outfit for tomorrow. You can keep quizzing me, Johnson, or since the car's right over there, you can help me unload so we can get to the hotel faster."

Brenda playfully shoved Fritz aside, placed the roses on top of the luggage cart, and pushed it the last 100 yards to their car. Fritz followed behind and unlocked the doors for her.

"Eager to get going, I see." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. She relaxed against his body, and he couldn't help but drag his hands from her hips up toward her breasts.

She twisted around and pressed her body against his, grabbing his wandering hands in hers. She whispered in his ear, "Now you save that for later, mister. I don't want any of your sexual energy wasted in airport parking lots, do you hear me? Save it for our 'sexy time.'" She kissed him lightly, and Fritz knew that her control was about as tenuous as his.

"Baby, I have enough sexual energy to light up this city, I've missed you so bad. And it's all yours."

"So take me to this expensive hotel and prove it."

The lobby was lush, all dark colors and highly polished brass, and solicitous staff were ready to wait on Brenda and Fritz. "I could get used to this," smiled Brenda, as the bellhop took their luggage.

"They probably think we're staying for a week," Fritz said, nodding at the large suitcase and suit bag he had packed.

Brenda snaked her arm through his and pulled him along behind the bellhop as he led them to their room.

The room was large but not overly so, with a king-sized bed. What was special about it, however, was that it overlooked Rodeo Drive. Fritz had paid extra for this. He hadn't wanted to pay the ransom for a suite, so a room with a view of LA's shopping mecca seemed perfect.

The bellhop opened the curtains with a flourish, and Brenda rushed over to the windows. "Fritz, this is perfect! I know I don't normally like shoppin', but would you believe I've only been on Rodeo Drive once, and that was with Mama? Try buyin' an expensive splurge with her makin' a fuss at all the price tags. Now I know what I want to do tomorrow after brunch!" She swung around and looked at Fritz, who was leaning against the wall, watching her, enjoying her enthusiasm. Again, it had been so long since he had seen this lighthearted side of her that he just wanted to soak it in.

"Speakin' of clothes, let me check out your packin' job." She grabbed the garment bag and hung it up in the closet. "Oh, my dress isn't wrinkled at all!" she exclaimed as she unzipped the bag and pulled it out. "And neither is your suit, honey. Oh, this dress must be for brunch tomorrow. I like this one, it will be perfect!" She gave him a big smile. She gestured towards the overstuffed suitcase, and Fritz set it on the suitcase stand. Brenda turned away from the closet and trotted over to it. "Okay, I'm doin' an inventory here, I don't wanna have to go and buy deodorant on Rodeo Drive...oh here it is, oh my, you really did pack all my makeup, didn't you? And you used my jewelry roll, good boy...stockings, hair serum, curling iron...hey what's this?" She held a bag. Fritz snatched it from her hands, but not before she saw the label.

"La Perla? Did a little lingerie shoppin' for me, huh?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe."

"Do I get to see it?" She held out her hand, and he pulled the bag closer to him.

"Not until after dinner."

She stuck out her lower lip in the perfect pout. "You mean I don't get to get my hands on you until after dinner? That's almost three hours away!"

He looked at her, in all her Brenda glory, one step away from stamping her foot in frustration, and he felt just a little bit more in love with her. The loneliness of the past month came back to him, a ghost of something that was gone now but still left an echo, a taint in the air, and he felt like it would take months of being with her to fully recover.

She noticed the change in his demeanor. "Honey, what's wrong? Fritzy? You look upset."

The concern in her voice almost did him in. He turned away and looked at the window, not wanting her to see his vulnerability, after she had spent a month needing him to be strong for her. "I think," he started brokenly, "that if you were going back to Major Crimes a week from now, after being away for a month, I would lose it." Fritz tried to concentrate on the clouds outside to distract himself from his own darkness, but his eyes were drawn back to her beautiful face as if by magic. She looked at him, her brow with the little crease she wore when she didn't understand something. "I missed you so much," he choked out. "I missed you so much it was physical. Going so long without you was the biggest challenge to my sobriety I've ever had."

"Oh honey," Brenda said, looking sad.

"What I mean to say is I need you so much, Brenda. I just need you in my life so much. And we've done a ton of talking when you were in Atlanta, and you've told me things you've never told me before. It makes me eager to get to know you all over again. And if you were going back to your old job, when you worked constantly, didn't come home some nights, and didn't return my calls, it would be like I got a taste of something amazing that then it got snatched away from me. I don't think I could take that, getting that close to you and then you pulling away. It would be too much, too much..." His throat closed and he scrunched up his eyes, wonderinh when he had become so emotional.

Brenda had her arms around him in seconds. "But I'm not goin' back there, Fritz, I'm not," she said soothingly, stroking his cheeks and pulling him close. He returned to his favorite place, his face buried in her hair. "I'm startin' somethin' new, without bullets or dead bodies or spendin' Christmas at work." She guided his head upwards so he was forced to look at her. "If there is one thing I have learned from watchin' Daddy this past month is that nothin' in the entire world is more important than your spouse. He told me time and again he'd give everythin' he ever had for just one more minute with Mama." Her voice cracked. "Lord knows I've wasted enough time negelectin' you, and I'm done with that. I'm here, honey, and I'm not goin' anywhere. I promise." She caressed the sides of his face with her thumbs. "So what do you say," she whispered, lowering her hands to his chest and unbuttoning his shirt, "that we stop wastin' time right now?"

She pulled his lips down on hers, and they were warm, so warm, warmer still when they parted and she invited him into her mouth. Their tongues touched and she pressed herself against him, and he responsively ground his hardening cock against her. She dug her nails into his shoulder and tried to press herself even closer to him, and he could feel her heat through her summer dress. Desire flooded his brain and carried away with it any notion of going slow, savoring their first time back together. He was desperate and needy, like a hungry child grabbing at the cookie jar.

He backed her up against the wall and slid his hands down to her buttocks. He lifted her, and she squealed in surprise, then reflexively wrapped her thighs around his waste and her arms around his shoulders. He lined up his erection with her core perfectly and pressed, giving him some relief and causing Brenda to moan. He removed his right arm from her buttock as she clung to him, sucking his neck and earlobes, and reached down the vee of her dress. Oh, her breast was so soft, and the nipple hardened to a diamond the second he touched it. "Oh yes," she moaned, "Yes Fritzy, yes." He pulled her breast out of her bra and pushed the dress down and wrapped his mouth around the nipple. Brenda's legs tightened around his waist and she began to rub against him, and he was sure he was either going to come or burst his zipper or both. He switched breasts and Brenda threaded her fingers through his hair and attempted to hold his head in place, her nails carving half moons in his scalp. He pulled away and looked at her. Her head was tossed back, her face red, her eyes closed, an expression of pure want on her beautiful features. He stared at her half naked breasts, nipples glistening with his saliva, and as much as he wanted to pull her panties down, unzipper his jeans, and fuck her hard against the wall, he had to see her naked body, to run his hands over every inch of her. This may be a hungry, desperate fuck, but that doesn't mean he had to deprive himself of anything. He lowered his hand to her backside and, surprising her again, carried her over to the bed and set her down beside it.

"Take off your clothes," he whispered roughly. He told himself he would make love to her with more finesse than a caveman later on tonight to make up for his behavior. Holding his gaze, Brenda stepped back and kicked off her sandals. She untied her wrap dress and slid it off, letting it flutter to the floor. She was left wearing only a skimpy red bra and matching panties.

"Fuck," Fritz murmured.

"That's the idea," she said, and reached behind her, unhooking her bra. She took one strap, then the other, and pulled it from her body, leaving her perfect pale breasts with their dusty, hard nipples free for Fritz's eyes. Subconsciously he unzipped his pants and took himself in his hand, desperate for some relief. Brenda smiled at him as he stroked his cock slowly up and down, his eyes never leaving her, and she slithered out her small lace panties. She turned away from him so he got a good look at her ass and pulled the covers down. She crawled onto the bed and lay on her side, propped up on her elbow, and patted the empty space next to her. "Get naked and get in here, now," she ordered.

Fritz didn't have to be asked twice. He released himself and pulled off his pants, removing his shoes in the process. He noticed Brenda was watching appreciatively. He would have given her more of a strip show if he wasn't so desperate to be inside of her. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and threw it to the floor and started to climb into bed.

Brenda rolled over to the edge of the bed and lay at her stomach. She put a hand up to his belly to stop him from coming onto the bed, and then slid that hand down to grab his cock. She scooted a little closer toward the edge, lifted herself up on her elbow, and took him in her mouth. He wasn't expecting this. "Oh god..." he hissed. And oh, it was so veryveryvery good. This is what he jerked off to every night she was gone. Even when they had amazing phone sex, where she described in perfect detail everything she wanted to do to him and he came hard, he still went at it again after they hung up, imagining she was sucking his cock. Brenda giving him head was Christmas and chocolate and skybox tickets and a warm day at the beach all rolled into one, times a thousand.

But she was good, too good, and it had been too long. He reluctantly put his hand on her head. "Honey, you have to stop. I'm so hot right now I'm afraid I'm going to come. But I'll take a raincheck." She pulled him out of her mouth and smiled. "A very big raincheck." She moved over and patted the space next to her. "Now start touching me before I do it myself."

That image propelled him forward and he crawled on top of her, meeting her mouth in a battle of tongues, as she ran her hands along his chest. He slid his hand down her hip and to the inside of her thigh, and then moved up again. She parted her legs eagerly. "Oh touch me, Fritz," she breathed, as he sucked on the sensitive spot on her neck. She was bare, smooth and soft, and he knew how sensitive the skin that used to be covered with hair now was, because the slightest touch had her squirming. But he could explore later. Now he needed to see... oh yes. Brenda was wet, very wet, for what little foreplay they had, and she was grinding against him to attempt for her clit to rub against his fingers. He had no intention of depriving her; he rubbed his thumb over her nub, and she arched her back and moaned.

But after just a few passes, she batted his hand away, opened her legs, and wrapped them around his waist. "I want you in me, now," she said, her eyes half open, looking into his. "I've missed your body so much, honey, I can't wait another second to feel you inside me. Please." He was more than ready, and when her small hand wrapped around his cock and guided him into her heat, he had to grit his teeth to retain control. She thrust her hips up, letting him know she wanted him to get going, and her impatience made him even more turned on. In a move deeper than he intended, he pushed himself into her, deep into her, and oh god, he thought he was going to faint. It was so much better than he remembered. Maybe there are some things in this world that are just are too perfect, too beautiful, to magnificent for the human memory to hold, and sex with Brenda is one of them. How else could he explain why the experience of being surrounded by her wet heat is just a shadow of what he remembered it to be, and he had been making love to her for seven years? Every time her enters her, the way her body yields to him, the silk of her, how the arch of her back draws him in deeper, the perfection of it all...it seems new and uncharted to him. Each and every time. Perhaps that's the way it's supposed to be.

Brenda pulled her knees up, and he took the hint. He hooked on of her legs behind her knee to deepen the angle, and she yelped in response. "Yes yes yes, deeper Fritz, you feel so good, so good," she chanted, and he knew he must have hit her g-spot, because it it was if she was possessed. She writhed and moaned and grabbed and begged, and Fritz knew that things were going to be very short, because no man could withstand fucking a woman this wild and untamed.

She opened her eyes slightly and pressed on his chest, indicating that she wanted him to roll over, which he did. She climbed on top of him and put her feet flush on the bed, so all he weight was on Fritz's groin. Both of their moans picked up; every move or shift in this position unleashed a torrent of new sensations. Fritz grabbed her hips and thrust up, hard, part of him worried about hurting her, part of him beyond caring. Her gasps were of pleasure and not of pain. Brenda leaned back so she was almost resting on his legs, propped up by her hands, and he slid in and out of her. He watched her as she moved around on his cock, watched her breasts bouncing, became enthralled by all the expressions of pleasure on her face. God, she was exquisite.

He was reaching his limit, and he was desperate to see, and feel, her come. She was upright again, her hands in her hair, grinding clockwise circles to his counterclockwise. He reached out and rubbed her clit his thumb and got the reaction he was hoping for. "OH godyesyesmakemecomefritzmake mecome" she shouted out, and a sheen of sweat broke out on her chest. "Harder," she panted, and he increased the pressure, and he stared at her intently, waiting for the first signs of impending orgasm. Her enthusiastic thrusts became even more athletic as he firmly rubbed her clit, and then a look of what appeared to be surprise crossed her face. This is it, he thought. He applied more pressure and reached up with his free hand to grab at a breast. Her movements slowed and she began to take deep, long breaths. The calm before the storm. "I'm...oh...I''m coming..." she barely got the words out before she shrieked, and he hips moved as if motorized, her shoulders shook, and her face twisted in a beautiful agony. He felt her tighten around his cock and stopped holding back. Grabbing her hips, he slammed her down on his cock one, two, three times and then felt like he was knocked over by a wave of pleasure. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he could only experience exquisite perfection and sensation. He was vaguely aware that he was yelling along with Brenda, but mostly he was lost in the white mist of pleasure.

He stayed in the afterglow for what felt like a long time, aware Brenda was next to him, his brain clouded by pleasure and release. If there is a heaven this must be what it is like. A complete lightness of self, floating, no body, no worries, just bliss and perfection.

Eventually, though, the mist cleared and he realized he was lying in a bed at the Beverly Wiltshire next to a naked Brenda. Hey, this is still pretty damn close to heaven, he thought. With what little energy he had left, he rolled over to embrace Brenda. He could hear her breathing, but her body wasn't touching his. Damn king bed.

Brenda was on her side, facing away from him, so he scooted behind to spoon her. As soon has his arm draped over her waist, though, he could tell from the small tremble in her shoulders that she was crying.

"Honey," what's wrong?" No answer. "Brenda, what's the matter? Look at me." He tried to roll her toward him, but she resisted. Finally he managed to get her on her back, and he leaned over her and stroked her hair. Brenda looked away at the opposite wall.

"You know, it's kind of bad for a guy's ego when the woman he just made love with starts to cry," Fritz said. "I guess I shouldn't bother to ask, 'what it good for you?'"

At that, Brenda smiled and turned to face him. She had tears streaming down her face, and she haphazardly tried to wipe them away with the sheet. "You know it was good for me."

Fritz put his hand on her stomach and gently rubbed, concerned. "So what is it? Really, I'm worried. I basically just walked on the moon and you're crying."

"Oh Fritz." She managed a watery smile and reached out to touch his cheek. "I was in outer space along with you. That was just amazin.' Somethin' just happened when I came. It's like, well, I don't know how to describe it, but it felt like a big burst of sadness in me burst or somethin.' And I just started sobbin.' But it's not the bad kind of cryin', it's the good kind, you know what I mean?"

Fritz moved closer to her and kissed her neck. "Catharsis," he said. "When you can you just had a big release of emotions. It happened one other time before."

Brenda closed her eyes in a gesture Fritz knew meant she was faced with a memory she didn't wish to revisit. After watching Charlie's new friend Jake Burrell die, and having to pretend to be his mother in his final moments, Brenda then had to arrest his killer and come back home to face Charlie's grief. Fritz held a sobbing Charlie and tried to drag Brenda into his arms, but she had wound herself so tight, had bound her emotions into such impossible knots that she wasn't going to risk anyone untying them, lest she fly to pieces. After awhile he calmed Charlie down and got her back into bed. Brenda had escaped to the shower, but Fritz sat in the bedroom and waited for her. When she came out of the bathroom he was persistent; he knew she wasn't going to talk to him about what happened, so getting her to make love was his only chance of human contact, assuring himself that she hadn't slipped past the point of no return, her heart frozen in the "closed" position forever. Growing tired of fending him off, Brenda finally turned around and pulled off her towel and pressing her naked body against his clothed one. "You want to fuck?" she hissed. "Fine, we'll fuck. But we do it my way." And her way was to grab, to bite, to dominate, to leave no room for tenderness or love. He had never seen her so feral. When he finally tipped her over the edge and then followed, she collapsed on his sweaty and red, scratch-lined chest. She was breathing heavily, and then her breath started hitching, but it took the first hot tear to hit his skin before he realized she was crying. She went limp and allowed him to hold her tight as sobs wracked her tiny frame. She stayed like that for 30 minutes, and slowly the sobs turned to crying, and crying to sniffling, and then silence. He then realized she had fallen sound asleep, most likely her physical and emotional reserves utterly exhausted. He pulled the covers up and he held her tightly as she slept, and when she woke two hours later, she was still reluctant to talk, but over strong coffee and scrambled eggs, Brenda haltingly told him what happened. And his heart ached for the young man…and for her.

Brenda opened her damp eyes and looked at Fritz. "Oh honey, it' okay. I think that all that missin' and the sadness that came with it just kinda poured outta me." She rolled on her side so he was facing him. "Cuz I gotta say, Fritz, that was so much better than my memory, and my memory of makin' love to you is pretty darn good."

He smiled, rubbing small circles on her shoulder. "I have that same problem. Every time we have sex it's so much better than my memory."

"Glad to hear-" she interrupted herself by yawning loudly. "Sorry," she said. "I had to get up real early to get to the airport, and I was up late last night packin'." She snuggled down into her pillow. "How long until dinner?"

"Two hours," he said, closing his eyes. She turned her back to him and he pulled her tight, an old, familiar position. She felt so good in his arms. "Plenty of time for a nap and getting ready."

"Mmmmmph. You gonna be here when I wake up, Fritz?"

"Brenda, there's no place else I'd rather be."

END CHAP 2

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