By the time she opened her eyes the clock by the bed read 2:37. She could tell from the stillness of the loft the storm outside had finally started to die down. Only the faintest sound of water running from the roof to the drain pipe could be heard as the fire in the fireplace continued to steadily burn.

Malinowski reached for the now cool cup of tea on the night table, before turning to see the other side of the bed was empty. The last thing she remembered was McCoy's worried face as he tucked her into bed just before noon.

"Jack?"

Hearing no response, Malinowski slipped out of bed and picked up the robe that lay at the foot of the bed. On her way to the kitchen, she glanced at the desk, the coffee table and finally the counter, looking for some kind of message from her lover. She smiled to herself upon finding a still warm pot of tea waiting for her beside the coffee pot; a ham sandwich on a plate beside a clean tea cup.

"Oh Jack," she whispered thoughtfully.

She hadn't meant to sleep so long. She'd hoped a quick nap would refresh as well as calm her, without giving McCoy too much time to put the puzzle together. How she wanted to recapture the playfulness of the night before…to please him, to love him, to spend the remainder of the day thinking of nothing but the here and now.

Tears came to her eyes while she thoughtfully alternated between sandwich and tea. After everything…the mess with Samantha Weaver that had brought them together in the first place, that ridiculous law suit against her after the shooting, Sam returning from the dead, as well as her divorce and McCoy getting stabbed when he dealt with that lunatic Esparza…not to mention that stupid Vanessa Galiano and the trouble she stirred up…

as well as Malinowski's kidnapping and its aftermath.

After all of that that they needed…no… they deserved one day of uninterrupted bliss.

"What a fool I was. What a fool I was to have even thought about throwing you out of the loft …throwing you out of my life," she said quietly as she wiped her eyes."Damn it Jack, where did you go?"

As she reached to check the answer phone…to see if perhaps McCoy had gotten a message from one of his underlinks while she slept… just as she heard a sound coming from the bathroom.

When she opened the bathroom door, her heart ached at the image she saw. McCoy was sitting on the lid of the commode. His tear filled eyes staring at the preparations he'd made while she slept. The free standing tub was filled with lavender scented bubble bath. Candles on every surface lit the room and a glass of what appeared to be champagne sat beside the portable CD player.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself, sleepy head," he replied as he stood.

First he impatiently wiped his eyes, then reached for her and as if reminding himself of something, changed course by pulling back .

"What's all this?"

"You jumped out of the shower so fast, you didn't have much of a chance to rise off," he began as he sat back down."I thought you might like to get the rest of the soap residue off. This time in the tub. Alone. Uninterrupted."

Malinowski nodded as she bent down in front of him, taking his hands in hers.

"You are not only the most loving and thoughtful man on the planet, you're also far too perceptive for your own good," she replied as she kissed his cheek."I know you know Jack and it wasn't your fault."

"And you're far to stoic, love. You said something. I can't believe I was so thoughtless," he said miserably."I knew..I saw the tape. You haven't gone near the shower since you came home…"

"Stop it, Jack," she said firmly. "I told you before not to let them win. It was a set back. It happened and it's over. It probably won't be the last one, but for now let's just focus on us. Can we do that Jack? No guilt, no soul searching. Can't be just be together?"

McCoy opened his mouth to protest, to continue verbally the silent berating he'd given himself before his lover had interrupted. The look in her eyes made him hesitate, deciding instead to stand and squeeze her hand.

"Take your bath. When you're finished we can..."

"Not without you."

"Brooke, you know that isn't a good idea."

"We've done it before and we were fine," she said, a note of stubborness creeping into her voice.

McCoy sighed as she removed first her robe, then the tee shirt and panties she had slept in. He couldn't help but let his eyes fall upon her body. A body so warm and inviting, so soft and exciting, a body that had been through so much more than the naked eye could see.

"I don't want to…can't you see…I can't bear to hurt you again," he whispered as he turned his eyes away from her, ashamed of the effect the sight of her was having on him. "It kills me to think..."

"Then don't think," she said turning his face back to her and placing his hand on her breast."Don't think about anything but us. Now, let me do what I've been dying to do all day. Let me make you feel as good as you made me feel his morning."

McCoy sighed softly as he ran a cautious hand over her breast, closing his eyes as her lips found his. As careful as he'd tried to be with her, times like the night before made him forget how fragile his lover still was. During their time apart, he had suspected it was that fragility had played a part in her reaction the night she'd told him to leave.

While Malinowski had been recovering in the hospital after her ordeal, McCoy had made a point of taking his friend and longtime colleague Liz Olivett to lunch. The lunch had served two purposes: The first was to retain Olivett's services if and when his lover decided to seek counseling. The second was to prepare himself to be able to give Malinowski whatever support she would need when she returned home.

Olivett had emphasized the importance of treating his lover like a 'whole' woman, as opposed to someone who was broken or damaged. Simple, easy sounding advice, on the surface. Simple, until she wanted him to make love to her. Then, for so long, the thing he feared most was inadvertently hurting her…triggering something that would take her back to that dark, frightening time…

"Jack, get in before the water gets cold again," she said softly as she discarded the last of his clothing and pressed the 'play' button on the CD player.

"I think we've set a record to day as far as how many times we've dress and undressed," he joked as he slipped into the tub.

"The maybe we should just give up and stay undressed until we have to go to work,"she countered as she joined him; carefully leaning her back against his chest.

For a moment the pair simply laid in each other's arms. Both of them leaning back and enjoying the warmth of the sweet smelling water, as well as the feel of their skin against one another. The sound of Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge singing Help Me Make it Through the Night brought a smile to Malinowski's lips.

"I thought you said that was in your bedroom at the apartment?"

"It was. I stuck it in my pocket when we were getting ready to come back here."

"When you invited me to hear your recording of this last night, I thought you were just giving me a line," she with amusement as she turned her body around so has to be directly across from him, her legs slipping around his hips to draw him closer.

"A line? You mean you thought I just wanted to get you to my place so I could try to get you into bed," he said as he reached for the sponge and bath gel.

"Wait a minute," Malinowski said snatching the items from his hand."It's you turn to be pampered…that is what you're paying me to do," she said with a playful gleam in her eye, "isn't it John?"

McCoy scratched his head as he grinned back at her, while she began to move the soapy sponge over his chest as she kissed his neck. As his chest became slick with lather, his breathing became more rapid and she substituted her breast for the sponge; the feel of her slick, hard nipples rubbing teasingly over him caused his libido to reawaken with surprising swiftness.

"I'm paying you to please me," he countered as he drew her to him. "Right now, kissing you would please me very much."

Malinowski moaned softly as he parted the lips of her mouth with an inquisitive tongue…he parted the lips below the water with an equally curious finger.

Determined to match her lover's desire to please, Malinowski reached below the water as well, McCoy's desire for her undeniable.

"Gee John, feels like you're going to make my job easy," she panted while her fingers continued to squeeze and rub his erect shaft.

"Now I know better than to take that to mean you're easy, love," he shot back as he slipped a finger inside her.

Malinowski purred with pleasure as she first pressed her body back, then slowly, smoothly glided her body forward with the next thrust of his finger.

"More a tribute to your skill, rather than a comment on my easy virtue," she retorted as her hands pressed his backside forward."Although, I can think of something I'd like even better."

McCoy laughed softly as he removed his fingers before turning her so she remained on his lap, but faced away from him.

"I can't image what that might be," he whispered as his legs opened hers to allow his cock to slide between them.

"You know you're driving me crazy," she moaned as he thrust over her, taking care not to enter her.

"I told you something's shouldn't be rushed," he replied as one hand turned her face towards him, before returning to her hips. His lips claiming her mouth.

As they moved together the waves in the tub grew higher, the splash of the water louder. McCoy thought of carrying her to the bed to finish what they had begun, but after so many starts and stops, he was determined not to tempt fate by even momentarily breaking the mood.

In a move he cursed himself for not anticipating, his lover slipped her fingers over his balls, her gentle squeezes causing him to gasp and involuntarily thrust harder against her,

"You play dirty."

"I play to win," she gasped. "Like…like someone else I know."

Finally giving in, McCoy slipped inside his lover effortlessly, his thrusts long and deep. The withering of his lover's body against him adding to his satisfaction as he increased his tempo to fall into the same rhyme of Malinowski's contractions.

"Do you know how good you feel,he whispered, his heart racing as he felt her body stiffen while he ran his hands over her while his thrusted deeply, urgently, wanting as much of her as he could claim.