I am super duper sorry for the length of time it's taken me to update. I've had internals and my little sister was in hospital and yada yada yada. I did plan on leaving you waiting, but not this long. so my apologies. i hope you enjoy it and tell me what you think. :)

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Disclaimer: I own nothing, absolutely nothing. The characters etc are not mine.

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I came to with the sound of people all around me, the feeling of body beneath my head. I squirmed and tried to aim the gun, but it was gone from my hand. In defense, I tried to grab a hold of whomever it was who was holding me. But arms encircled me, making it impossible to move.

"Shhh…" he murmured.

I kept fighting. I was not going to die, not on the cold concrete floor in some basement.

"Shh Emily," the voice said, more demanding now. "It's me." The compassion in the last phrase had me stopping my attempts to get away. "It's me, Dave."

I shuddered as the walls around me fell to ruins. I let myself me pulled in and held like baby against his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, I let it sooth me. My body still ached, with every bit of movement, it ached, but it was worth it to be surrounded by Dave.

After the tears that had started to fall sometime after my awakening started to cease, Dave helped me to get to my feet. I found I couldn't stand by myself and was thankful to have him to lean against. He continued to soothe me as we made our way up the staircase to an ambulance waiting for me.

I don't remember getting in the ambulance, must have slipped from reality again.

My eyes opened again in the vehicle, found Rossi's hand gripping mine. I smiled up at him and he smiled back, weakly, it almost looked as if he'd been crying. It broke my heart. Looking up at his face, I started to feel the world spin again and closed my eyes to try and steady it.

When I work up again, I was in a hospital room, surrounded my the clean smells of the hospital, mixed lightly with expensive cologne and floral perfume. I expected to find Rossi be my bedside, flanked by a nurse. But instead, when I pealed open my eyelids I saw JJ resting her against the bed I lay in.

"Jay…" I murmured.

"Emily," she said, shooting up, grabbing a hold of my hand. "Oh God, Emily. Why do you do this to me?"

I laughed, weakly, but I laughed. "Just to make sure you still love me enough to come."

The blonde who'd been my close friend now for quite a few years scrunched up her face and gave me a very light, playful push.

Rossi walked into the room and both of us stopped our laughter. We both met his eyes. I tried to calm myself, but my heart was aching for him. I forced a smile. "So how did you find me anyway? I thought I'd managed to hide myself quite well."

"Garcia tracked your cellphone. Idiots had taken it off you but had left it on up the top of the staircase where it still got signal."

I laughed and felt pain in my gut. Okay, so I could laugh, just not hard.

"You okay?" JJ asked me. I saw the worry in her eyes so shrugged away the pain.

"I'm fine Jay. Would you mind getting me a coffee? I really need one."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Rossi asked, though his voice was less serious now than it had been before.

"I could be asking for a smoke, couldn't I?"

Jay's eyes widened, but she said nothing. "I'll get you that coffee."

Both me and Dave watched her as she walked down the hall, turning to each other only when she was out of range. I pulled myself up onto my elbows to look straight at him and before I knew it he was beside me, stopping me from moving.

"Don't," he told me. "Don't push yourself."

"I'm fine," I murmured. "Fine."

"No your not," he said with a shake of his head, but I knew he understood how I felt. He'd been in the same position. He knew the only thing I wanted to do was get out of the hospital bed, into some slacks and get to bed. Sadly, I knew he wasn't going to let me do that. It was the one downside about us being together.

He pulled my hand to his mouth and laid kisses against my knuckles, then unfolded my hand to press a kiss against my palm. Shocks ran up my arm and through my body. I forgot about all pain and about the tiny downside of having to rest.

He let my hand lay to rest against the bed then pressed a kiss to each of my eyelids. "Sleep," he told me. "You need it."

"I need you," I murmured as I drifted away.

. . .

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay?" Jay asked me as I made my way to the couch. I tried incredibly hard to keep my walk steady. What I wanted was some time to myself, or at least, without Jay. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, still do, but she can get a little too much.

"I'm fine," I told her, grabbing her shoulders to look her in the eyes. "I'm. Fine. Now go get some sleep, you've got work tomorrow." I pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before walking her out.

I shut the door, slid the deadbolt across then collapsed onto the sofa. I questioned a bath, but that was if I could actually manage to get to the bathroom. I stared at my bedroom door, knowing that I would have to get there, then another eight feet to my bathroom door, then to the bath, then draw the bath, then get undressed… It all seemed like too much effort.

Maybe if it didn't bother to undress…

My thought train was interrupted by a knock on the door. I moaned. If it was JJ I was going to kill her. I didn't bother to grab the gun from the coffee table draw like I usually would, didn't even look through the peephole. I yanked the door open.

"Good evening," he smiled.

I pushed the door open to let Dave in and made my way back to the couch.

"Aren't you happy you don't have to go to work tomorrow."

I simply moaned.

Dave laughed and set himself up in my kitchen. I didn't look, but I could hear the unfamiliar click of the stove being turned on. I was one who didn't much use my kitchen for anything other than housing my junk food and to heat up leftover takeout. I let myself relax and let the aroma of whatever he was cooking fill me.

When I awoke, he had set the table and was pouring us each a cup a wine.

"You're allowed to drink, right?"

I nodded, and pushed myself up to look at him. I wiped my tired eyes with the back of my hand. "It's smells amazing."

"Here's hoping it tastes amazing."

"I'm sure it will."

I let him help to the table, and as he held out my seat for me I brushed a soft kiss against his lips.

The food tasted even better than it had smelt, which was a pretty near impossible feat. As we ate, we talked about nothing in particular. No serious topics, we just enjoyed each other's company. It continued after the food had gone. Even as we moved from the tiny dinning table to the couch.

As I relaxed further, I sunk deeper into the fabric and closer towards David. Soon, I was practically sitting on his lap. He took my empty glass, and his, and placed them together on the table, then reached over to press a gentle kiss against my forehead. I sighed, closed my eyes and leaned into him.

"Try not to get kidnapped again," he told me, only half playfully.

I smiled. "It does happen a little to often. Next time, you can be the one abducted."

"Deal," he smiled at me.

Somehow, he managed to sweep me over so that I lay down on the couch, his body floating over mine. He held himself so that none of his weight rested on me. Softly, he pressed his lips against mine. I sighed once again.

His hands were gentle as he pulled my shirt over my head, then lay me back down again. He pulled his shirt from his body with the same delicacy. His eyes scanned over my body, but I didn't feel judged, rather appreciated.

"You are so beautiful."

His mouth lay soft kissed down my chest, over my torso, stopping at my breasts. He tried each with the same kindness, then traveled further down my stomach. My muscles quivered. I wasn't used to this compassion. David was a kind man, truly, but when he came to lovemaking, he usually took me up in a tidal wave that left me shaking, exhausted, and wanting more. Yet, his gentle touch had me feeling the same way.

As his mouth moved over the crouch of my jeans I left out a moan. He smiled. "So beautiful."

He undid the button, then the zipper, then as slowly as humanly possible pulled the denim from my legs.

Then he stood at my feet and once again rolled his eyes over my body. I knew from his vantage point he could see all of my scars. Though they had patched me up pretty good, I knew the scraps and cuts on my face still looked vicious. I knew the bruises that covered me were still dark. I knew he'd see the scar from where Ian killed me. I shuddered.

My breathing was harsh, by heartbeat rapid, and we hadn't even done anything yet

He looked so handsome. He wasn't perfect, no. His belly wasn't split into six, and it had a sprinkling of black hair over it. His face, that could flick from loving to hating in a matter of seconds, was wrinkled and rough. Yet the attraction I felt towards him was stronger than that I'd felt for any other man. Maybe it was because of the other feelings I had for him, the ones I tried to hide.

"You are so beautiful."

"So you've said," I smiled.

When he came around to my side, slid his hands under my back and lifted me into his arms I let out something halfway between a laugh and a scream. I gave him a soft punch.

He carried me like then into the bedroom then somehow managed to undress the bed whilst still holding me. I wrapped my arms around him for dear life. Once it was free of covers, David place me down, then took me was a softness I had never experienced, not even on my first time.

. . .

The light was off and I was curled up against him, his strong arms holding me tight. Each of us were still covered with a thin layer of sweat. Even more than my still sore muscles, my heart ached. I cuddled in closer.

I wondered if I could ever be like this against him and not worry about everything. I hated the idea that if anybody found out, one of us could loose our job, or both of us for that matter. The thought that in the morning, he'd go to work and pretend he'd never came to me, never cooked me dinner, never kissed me with such a tenderness that nobody could compare to.

I looked up and saw his eyes closed. Beneath me I could feel his heart beating, his chest expanding with each breath. I loved him. The realization shocked me a little bit, though it probably shouldn't have. I didn't know quite when I'd fallen, but it had been a while ago. I loved him, and I couldn't tell anybody. Not even him.

I felt tears swell in my eyes, but I pushed them away. I didn't want sadness, not now. Instead I cuddled even closer.

"Ti amo," I whispered, needing to just hear the words and pretend he was listening. I love you.

I fell asleep like that, close to him.

He waited until I was out to squeeze me close, press a light kiss to the top of my head and smile. "Ti amo anche io." I love you too.

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Hope you liked it.

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