Another chapter yo!

So, I'm shocked I got this up in time! Well...not really shocked. I could NEVER not post hahaha. More like, impressed? I'm going back to school for Homecoming this weekend and the anticipation and excitement in getting ready is like, killing me. I haven't seen most of these people since graduation so obvi I want to look my best. Also, it's Halloween weekend so my costume has to be AMAZING. Although NOTHING can beat my costume senior year haha. I took a box and drew two dresser drawers on the front. Then I attached string so I could wear it. I wore around a lampshade on my head (I wonder where that went...) and went as a...

one night stand. Get it? I was a nightstand... but it had a double meaning haha. I also wore a dangly earring on one ear and went around to everyone going "I'm a one nightstand, wanna turn me on?" hahaha I was a genius back then!

Anyway, enough of my ridiculous life haha. On with the chapter!

Omg really quick side note. Yesterday my dad told me he had a present for me. This is the man who went to Subway alone for lunch one day and bought himself a kid's meal so he could get the Frankenweenie glow in the dark lunch bag. I kid you not. Anyway, I didn't have high expectations for this present, so I walk in the house and VOIILA! A typewriter! But not just any typewriter! If my research is correct, it's a Royal typewriter from the 1920s! I was STOKED because I told my parents I wanted one for Christmas this year and they kinda laughed at me like I was ridic. Needless to say, I'm still super excited and speechless and telling EVERYONE I can haha.

Wow, longest note ever. NOW here's the chapter...

Chapter Fifteen

Meg had always loved sunrises. Whenever a mission had seemed hopeless or something bad had happened, she'd wake up early to watch the sunrise. As she would stand there, gazing at the beautiful image of orange, red and yellow, she would feel at peace. She knew everything would turn out alright.

Now she stood there, looking out her room's large windows, watching the sun come up. She hadn't been able to find her bathrobe and her dress was too much trouble to put back on, so instead she had slid into Lew's undershirt, taking in the musky smell of him on the fabric.

It gave her a comforting feeling, similar to how it felt to be wrapped in his arms. The shirt barely covered her thighs, but it gave her a relaxed feel that she found enjoyable. Hoping he wouldn't think her foolish, she pulled the collar up around her face to take in the smell again.

Last night had been so wonderful, she still had butterflies thinking about it. It had been everything she'd expected and then some. Lew was a perfect lover, the perfect mixture of gentle and rough to make her toes curl. And they had curled plenty of times throughout the night. Now when she looked at the sunrise, she had a different reason to admire it.

The morning had never seemed so amazing.

Looking over at the clock, she sighed when she saw that it read 6:45. If she knew Lew as well as she thought she did, he wouldn't be waking up for another few hours.

Glancing over at the man in question she smirked. He was lying on his stomach, stretched out across the whole bed. The sheets had slid down to his hips, allowing her the pleasure of admiring his muscular back.

Paratrooper training had done him well.

Tearing her eyes away from his figure, she turned back to the window, her smile falling when she realized the sunrise had ended; the sun was now just a golden orb in the sky. Even the clouds had returned to their usual whiteness.

Walking through the room, she stopped when she found the rest of Lew's uniform on the ground. Feeling very much like the mother of a small child, she picked the pants, shirt and jacket up and carried them over to where the iron was stored.

She had to do something to occupy herself and keep from jumping the sleeping man in her bed. Although he had seemed completely enthusiastic the night before, she wasn't sure how he would take to being woken up so early, even if it was to continue their actions of last night.

When Big Ben struck eight, Meg knew she couldn't stand it any longer. Setting down the paperwork she had been reading over for her Monday meeting, she walked to the bed and crawled across it, leaning down to begin placing kisses along Lew's naked shoulders.

"Mmmm," he mumbled and she smiled, continuing her ministrations until she had completely covered his back in kisses from shoulder blade to shoulder blade.

Slowly, Lew's arm reached up and he wrapped his fingers around her wrist, pulling her down on her back onto the bed next to him.

"Good morning," she said chipperly and he squinted one eye open before closing it again. Clearly he wasn't a morning person, something Meg knew but had only experienced once prior to this.

"It is," he said before leaning over to kiss her, never opening his eyes. She returned it quickly before pulling back.

"I've been up since 6:30," she said and in response he opened both eyes and grinned.

"I guess I didn't do too good of a job last night then, if you were rested enough to wake up at 6:30."

"Lew," she scolded, feeling herself blush at his highly inappropriate statement. The faint color spread across her cheeks and down her neck, disappearing under the collar of…

"Are you wearing my shirt?" Lew asked, ignoring her scolding and looking down at the fabric on her body.

"Mhm. I didn't want to take the effort to put my dress back on," she said and then she jumped when Lew's rough hands dropped to where the shirt ended just below her hips, his fingers brushing against her bare skin. With an evil grin in her direction, he slid his hands up, bringing the shirt up with them. At the feel of his hands on her sides, goose bumps covered her skin from head to toe.

"This is easier to take off than your dress," he informed her before turning his focus on what the shirt was revealing as his hands pushed it higher.

"Lew, aren't you hungry?" Meg asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. It was daylight; there were no shadows to hide anything.

"Very," he said as he discarded the shirt and dropped his head to suck on her breast. Meg sighed, first out of annoyance, then out of pleasure.

"Lew," she said again, but this time it came out as more of a strained whimper. Damn him and the things he did to her. She felt his lips smirk against her skin, trying and failing to act annoyed at his reaction to her response. When Lew's hands began roaming on their own, she knew she had lost the battle.

For now.

"Jesus Christ it's only 9:40?" Lew asked as Meg nestled closer in his arms, resting her head against his chest. "You know if I had taken my 48-hour pass on my own, I'd still be asleep."

"Sorry," Meg said, not actually being sorry at all. Deep down, she knew he wasn't either. Not in the least.

"The things I do for you woman," he teased, bringing his hand up to stroke it through her hair casually, causing her to snuggle her face up into the crook of his neck, placing a soft kiss there and smiling when he made a low, guttural noise in response.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Meg asked lazily, enjoying the rise and fall of his breathing against her cheek.

"You'll cook for me too? I am a lucky man," he said and she sat up, slapping his stomach lightly and making him chuckle in mock pain.

"Of course not. Do you see a kitchen anywhere in here? I meant where do you want to go for breakfast?"

"Where do you usually go for breakfast?" Lew asked, his eyes focusing lower than her face as his hand began to draw gentle circles across her chest.

She felt an involuntary shiver travel down her spine and once again cursed her body for giving in when her mind knew she shouldn't. Using all her will power, she focused all her attention onto the task at hand: breakfast.

"Well, normally I just have breakfast down in the cafe but maybe we should go somewhere else."

"Embarrassed of me?" Lew smirked at her and Meg quickly shook her head, her mind screaming at her that she was lying.

"No, I just don't want people to jump to conclusions." Her mind screamed louder.

"You don't want people to jump to the right conclusions?" Lew asked, cocking one eyebrow at her expectantly.

Meg knew he was mocking her, but he didn't realize how close to home he was hitting. She had refused to think about the consequences of everything last night but there was no denying it now; they were both in big trouble. Lew had committed adultery and Meg had knowingly been the other woman. Neither of them was in God's good graces this morning.

Which was why Lew's statement annoyed and hurt her. He was voicing all of the fears in her head. If people saw them together, they would jump to conclusions. Conclusions that she and Lew were an item; perhaps even conclusions that she and Lew were married. While the thought was appealing to the girlish side of her, the rational side told her it was stupid. Being seen in public with a married man, even if you were thousands of miles away from his wife, was dangerous. Why couldn't Lew see that? Did he not care? Reaching over to grab the discarded shirt off the floor, she yanked it over her head. She had to get away. She had to think.

"Meg," Lew pleaded but she ignored him, jumping from the bed.

"I need to take a shower," she said quickly. "I ironed your clothes and hung them over there."

And before he could say anything else, she shut the door of the bathroom behind her.

She didn't know why she was so annoyed with his comments. If she was being completely honest, it was rather silly to be worried about people's opinions. She knew none of those people down there would actually know Lew was married, but she knew; and she knew that the image of them whispering, the thought of them calling her a whore would make her too paranoid to face them.

As the hot water trickled over her skin, she tried to let these worries disappear down the drain with it. But for once, she just couldn't make herself feel any better about the situation.

What had they done? Why had they both agreed to this dangerous situation? If anyone had asked Meg years ago whether she would see herself becoming involved in a scandalous affair, her answer would have been a firm no. What would Marco think? What would Christian have thought?

"Don't think about him," she said to herself as she closed her eyes, pushing her face forward under the spray of water.

When she emerged from the bathroom 20 minutes later, her heart fell slightly at the sight of Lew sitting on the bed, wearing only his trousers and undershirt, head between his hands. When he heard her come out, he looked up, standing up.

"Meg," he started, taking a step forward.

"Maybe we should just order in," Meg suggested, looking down at the floor. Lew actually laughed lightly as he stopped in front of her, taking her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a forced smile on his face as he caught her eye.

"I feel like they all know," Meg whispered and now Lew frowned.

"Know what Meg?"

"Know that you're married...and not to me," she said and he sighed, taking one hand away from her face to run it down the front of his own. So here it was, the elephant in their relationship.

"Meg," he said for probably the fourth time that morning. "They don't alright? None of them out there know what's going on in here. And even if they did, it wouldn't matter," he added and she frowned up at him.

"It wouldn't?" she asked, shocked that he would say that. If people talked, it wouldn't just be about her. Gossip would start about him being an adulterer. In fact, the gossip might even be worse for him. She was a nobody; he was Lewis Nixon.

He smiled at her, shaking his head.

"Not at all. Now come on, what are we doing for breakfast?"

They settled on going to a small local bakery Meg had found during her first week in London. It was too chilly to sit outside so they opted to sit by the window, watching all the people walk by as they ate their breakfast.

"What do you want to do today?" Meg asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"I have a few ideas," Lew said and from his tone Meg knew exactly what he meant.

She blushed and responded by drinking another gulp of tea. This was bold conversation to be having in public.

"So is that a yes?" Lew asked, teasing her slightly.

"What about lunch? And dinner? We have to eat you know," she said instead of rewarding him with an answer. Of course she'd enjoy his idea very much, but someone in this relationship had to be the rational one.

Relationship? Meg shook her head to rid those thoughts. She was not about to stress herself with this again, especially in public.

"We'll order room service," Lew continued and Meg knew he was set on his decision. "You know the only reason I even got out of bed this morning was because you were throwing such a fit I had to prove you wrong."

Meg rolled her eyes as the two finished and stood up, heading back out into the busy street. Immediately he offered her his arm and she smiled, wrapping both arms around his and cuddling up against his shoulder.

"Want to catch a movie? I'm sure they've got better ones here than what the USO provides us," Lew suggested as they walked. "I bet they'll be newer anyway."

"Alright," Meg said, tugging him toward the cinema. Although the building didn't have a marquis to tell what they were showing, Meg could just barely make out movie posters on the windows. They were too far away to see them however, so she began to head determinedly in that direction.

"Hey Nix!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted and they both stopped and turned. Out of instinct, Meg dropped his arm and composed herself.

Looking to the man that had spoken, Meg's stomach dropped when she realized it was Captain Norris. He was walking their way, a large grin on his face. Meg saw a look of recognition flash across Lew's face before he strode forward and met the man in a handshake.

"Rog!" he said, "What're you doing in London?"

"I'm stationed here working with General Montgomery. What are you doing in London?" Roger asked before noticing the patch on Lew's hat. "I heard you'd become a paratrooper. Fancy that huh?"

"Yeah," Lew chuckled and Meg could tell he was starting to feel uncomfortable. She was as well. Roger knew who she was, and apparently he knew who Lew was too. This was exactly what she had been afraid of, someone finding out what was happening between the two of them. This was dangerous.

"Miss Myeroff?" Roger suddenly asked, causing Meg to jump. She had hoped she would go unnoticed. "You know Nix?"

"Yeah she does," Lew cut in quickly, seeming to suddenly realize what was happening. "She and her brother were stationed at Aldbourne with us before she transferred. We just ran into each other on a complete coincidence and were going to catch a movie."

Meg tried not to scowl. He was giving more explanation than needed. That was one thing she had learned at the IIAA. When giving a cover story, don't give too much detail unless specifically asked. Otherwise, it looks like you're trying to hide something.

"What a small world isn't it?" Roger asked, his tone seeming to be laced with a hint of sarcasm. It was apparent he was teasing the two of them but Meg wasn't about to rise to the bait.

"Quite," she answered shortly, feeling her nerves rise. They needed to get out of there.

"How's Katharine doing?" Roger suddenly asked and Meg held back the urge to sigh at her rotten luck.

"Uh, she's alright," Lew responded, his own nervousness completely obvious. "Spending a lot of her time at the Ladies Auxiliary in town."

"And you had a son didn't you?" Roger continued to prod and Meg wondered if this was God's punishment for what had transpired last night. It certainly felt like it.

"Yeah, Charles. He just turned one."

"Pity you couldn't get a longer break to go back to the states and see them," Roger commented and Meg felt like closing her eyes in shame. All she wanted to do right then was crawl into a dark hole, curl up, and die.

"Yeah," was all Lew answered before glancing around. "We should probably be heading to the movie," he said, sticking his hand out to shake Roger's again. "But hey, it was great seeing you Rog. Maybe I'll run into you when we get over there."

The two men shared a forced chuckle before tipping their hats and heading in opposite directions. Lew took Meg's arm, leading her in the direction of the theater somewhat roughly.

Roger wasn't stupid. Meg knew this, and she was pretty sure he had seen right through Lew's excuse. No doubt he was already constructing what to say in a letter to Katharine, telling her that he had run into her husband and another woman.

"Lew," Meg said under her breath, wincing slightly as Lew's pressure on her arm increased. "Lew I want to go back to my room."

"Huh?" Lew asked, coming to a stop and making her realize he hadn't heard a word she said. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had been so affected by the exchange.

"I said I want to go back to my room," she repeated, feeling herself begin to shake. Lew nodded distractedly, before they both turned and headed back to the South Rotunda.

When they walked through the door to her room, Meg felt her composure finally falling away. Feeling the tears pour from her eyes, she hurried into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.

How could she have been so stupid? How could she have let this happen? She was an agent, for Christ's sake! She was supposed to be smarter than this. Smart enough to know not to walk around in public with a married man. Smart enough to know not to get involved with a married man in the first place.

They should end it. The rational part of Meg's brain told her that was the only thing they could do now. They had to admit they were wrong, that they had made a mistake, and part ways.

"Meg?" Lew's voice called, the vibration of the wood making her realize he was leaning against the door just like her.

"Please just leave me alone," she sobbed and she heard Lew groan.

"Meg, open the door or I'll open it for you."

"You'll break it down," she said, knowing that wouldn't stop him if he really wanted to get in.

"So? It's not my room," he said and she sighed, reaching over to unlock the knob. She stepped back up against the counter as the door slowly swung open and Lew walked in, looking apologetic.

"Please don't say anything," Meg whispered as she frantically tried to wipe the tears from under her eyes. The action proved pointless though, as new tears continued to fall in their place.

"Listen to me," Lew said calmly, walking forward to stand in front of her and stopping her hands, using his own thumbs to wipe her tears. "You listening?" he asked and she nodded mutely. "I haven't seen Roger in years alright? Not since we graduated from high school back in '36. We're not close okay?"

"So?" Meg asked, feeling the tears start a fresh wave. "I see Roger every day. We're working together with General Montgomery for Christ's sake! He's the one I tried to avoid all those months ago when you and Harry came to visit."

Lew seemed startled by this information but Meg continued, ignoring him.

"You and I both know how the gossip mill works. He'll tell one person what he saw and they'll tell another, and another, and somewhere along the line facts will change and next thing you know people will be saying we're married or worse."

Normally the idea of people thinking she and Lew were married wouldn't bother her. Especially when she was so afraid they'd know he was married to someone else. However the thought of Katharine getting wind that her husband had married someone else, even if it was false, terrified her. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Katharine would have every right to be furious with Meg.

"If that happens, then you let me deal with it," Lew said, tilting her chin up so she was looking at him. "This was more my fault than yours alright? I'm the one who pushed this and like hell am I going to stop it just because of the possibility of gossip."

"But Katharine..." Meg choked out. "Your family... your reputation will be ruined."

"Do you think I give a damn about my reputation?" Lew asked with a sarcastic snort. "If I did then I would have been fucked a long time ago." He didn't seem to notice his filter had gone lose. Meg wondered if she was about to hear a stream of obscenities fly from his lips. She braced herself as he continued. "And none of this is worth your tears because-" he cut off suddenly, as if he was just realizing something. His eyes grew wide and his jaw went slack as he stood up straight, pulling away from her.

"Because why Lew?" Meg asked after a few seconds had gone by, wanting to know why none of their worry was worth it.

Lew ran a hand down his face, heaving out a loud sigh.

"Shit Meg, I think I'm in love with you."

"You what?" Meg asked with a gasp, feeling a little faint. Lew looked up at her with a guilty grin.

"I'm in love with you," he repeated, this time with more confidence.

Meg knew it was crazy. She knew she should be questioning his feelings and hers; that she should be scolding him for what he had admitted. She should be telling him it was wrong, that not only could he not be in love with her this quickly, but he was married to someone else.

In fact, she had been just about to tell him what a mistake they had made. What were they thinking, to do what they had done the night before; to do any of the flirtatious behavior they had done in the past few months? They were both in deep, and they were both being stupid. She had been so close to telling him they should end it all; that they should both go back to their normal lives and forget about each other.

Instead she simply flew forward, throwing her arms around his neck and attaching her lips to his.

She was tired. She was tired of trying to justify what they did. She was tired of trying to force herself away from him. She was tired of forcing herself to be comfortable giving into him. All she wanted to do was give in to everything and just be herself.

All that mattered right then was them.

As they kissed, Lew frantically tried to undo the back of her dress, both of them wincing when they heard the loud rip of fabric.

"Sorry," Lew said but Meg shook her head, bringing his mouth back to hers. She had more important things to worry about. Besides, it was an older dress, she probably needed to get rid of it anyway.

When her dress was finally off her, Lew hoisted her up onto the bathroom counter, bringing her to level height with him. As she sat there, she began the long task of unbuttoning all his buttons.

She sighed in contentment when Lew reached up and began undoing all her bobby pins, his fingers running smoothly against her scalp as he buried them in her hair.

As Meg unbuttoned his last button, Lew pulled loose her last bobby pin, sending her hair cascading down her back in a soft brown waterfall. He buried his face in it, breathing it in before placing searing kisses on her neck.

Meg sighed again as she reached down to begin undoing his trousers. When they were both down to their underwear, he lifted her up in his strong arms, her legs wrapping around his waist of their own accord.

It was only a short walk from the bathroom to the bed but when they arrived, they stood there like that, Lew holding Meg up around him as they continued to kiss, both too enthralled to worry about lying down on the bed.

When Lew's lips stopped moving, Meg opened her eyes and glanced at him, concerned when she saw the twinkle in his own eyes looking back at her. Before she had time to react, he tossed her through the air, sending her to bounce on the bed with a loud shriek.

He laughed as he joined her, the two sinking into the mattress as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Lew," Meg whispered some time later as they both lay there diagonally on the bed, sheets and pillows strewn around them.

"Hm?" he asked, his eyes closed as he stroked her arm gently.

"I'm in love with you too," she said, tilting her face up to see his reaction. She had spoken it softly, almost as if she was afraid to tell him. She had never spoken those words to anyone other than family before and it was an odd feeling to tell it to someone romantically. It took a lot for her to put that out there; she was so used to keeping to herself.

Lew opened his eyes and looked down at her, the smile that stretched across his face one of the few genuine ones she had seen.

Right then all that mattered was them. There was no Roger Norris. There was no Katharine. At that moment, neither Meg nor Lew had obligations to anyone but each other and Meg wasn't about to change that.

She'd worry about it all later.

OMG say what!? Lew and Meg...you crazy kids. Am I right?

Anywho, since I won't be posting until the day AFTER Halloween, have fun and be safe! I want to hear all about your costumes this year! AND if you have a costume that tops mine I mentioned above, PLEASE tell me. I'm a sucker for creative costumes haha.

Quick side note: my life has been super down lately. Like, a majority of the time. And last Friday was a bad day for me. But I will say, reading all of your reviews makes my day just a bit more brighter. They mean so much to me, even if it's just a quick note to tell me you liked the chapter. When I'm feeling at my worst and feeling like my whole life is a dreary rain cloud, it's so nice to get these reviews that show me people care about something that's a piece of me. So, from the absolute bottom of my heart, I want to truly thank each and every one of you.

caught-offsides - I'm glad you thought the last chapter was a success? And this one? And I TOTALLY agree. I was definitely born a few decades too late. I wish I had grown up in the 40s. Even the 20s. Honestly, any decade earlier than the 80s hahaha. Thanks for the review! Thanks for all your reviews!

LovingBOBThePacific - How'd you like this chapter? No Joe again, but I hope all the smuttiness of it made up for that haha. And yes Spiers, I will ALWAYS listen to everything you tell me to do haha. That man is too gorgeous for his own good ;) Thanks for your review!

SparkELee - Ack once again your review was amazing! I was in a really crappy mood last Friday as I mentioned. So crappy I didn't read any of my reviews or check my chapter stats all day. When I got home (and after I had a good long cry) I sat down and read them and seriously, your review made my day seem brighter. The above note I wrote is ESPECIALLY for you. Now onto your review content haha. Not as much inner monologue with Meg this chapter but there was still a bit. Did I do as well this time? And I love that you love everything about Meg, and every part I write for her. It's so nice to see someone read into everything as much as you do, because sometimes you even see things I would never have noticed in my own writing hahaha. And yeah, I thought Meg needed a little bit of a lighter chapter. This one got a little bummy but for the most part it was all fluff and happiness too. I'm excited to see what you think of with where I take this story. I'm looking forward to the action starting when the boys go off to war (finally haha). And yeah, I'll let you know as soon as I post something of my own. I'd definitely love your input on it! Thanks SO much for your review! I feel like this response didn't do it justice, but it would almost take a whole chapter's worth of text to respond with what I could say haha.

IceColdInAlex - I'm glad you liked her internal thoughts. It was hard writing this chapter because part of me felt like it was happening too soon and another part of me felt like it was perfect timing. The internal monologue wasn't in the first draft as much but I added it in mostly to make me feel more comfortable with the chapter hahaha. In the end, it ended up being a perfect fit because I realized Meg would be having the same thoughts I was when writing it. I hope you liked this chapter as well! Thanks for the review!

paintmyworlddarkblue - Thanks for your review! And I'm glad you liked the chapter! I love when things happen in the moment too. Sometimes when there's a lot of build up, it seems too played out or too forced. At the same time, sometimes when things happen in the moment they seem so random that the reader is all "WTF!?" So I'm glad you thought I wrote this well. I was worried it was too shockingly sudden but it seems like the majority of people didn't think so haha. And yeah, pets are fun, but sometimes annoying haha. I used to raise rabbits when I was in high school and those got really annoying because I'd have to clean all the cages twice a week and handle them all so they behaved well, and keep them groomed...etc hahaha. I prefer the animals I have now because they're either easy to take care of or they're not mine so I can just enjoy them without doing the work hahaha.

Rose2621 - YAY new reviewer! Thank you so much for taking the time to review! And I'm glad you're enjoying my story. And yes, the other shoe does drop. I think it dropped a little bit in this chapter, so you'll have to tell me what you thought. I do agree though, I love their relationship. A lot of time my writing isn't what I originally had planned, and their relationship has turned into something wonderful that I never thought of when I first sat down to start writing this story. I'm glad you like it :) and again, thanks for your review!

LauRa-ReaDingG-XoX - Thanks for your review! What did you think of the aftermath? Was it more aftermath than you were expecting, just as much aftermath as you were expecting, or are you still expecting MORE aftermath? Haha sorry, now I feel like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Sidenote, every time I hear Skyfall now, I think of my story hahahaha. And I told my roomie/editor (who's OBSESSED with James Bond) and she LOVED that you said that haha. PS I'm listening to it right now in honor of posting this chapter lol