Morning couldn't come soon enough and when he heard Robin up and moving around in the kitchen, he got up and showered, shaved and dressed. He was off the next two days since his 'shift' was up in an hour. He headed downstairs and joined Robin and Jessica in the kitchen. Cody instinctively picked up Jessica to let Robin have time to get coffee and breakfast started.

Robin looked at Cody. "Want to talk about it?" she asked quietly after getting the coffee started. "It'll be at least half an hour before anyone gets up to join us…" She had learned a few things about Cody along the way and she left the invitation open to talk.

Cody pursed his lips together. "I should be upset that you found the note and more upset that you read it but…of all the people, it was probably best it was you." He rocked Jessica in his arms as he fed the baby the bottle her mother handed to Cody.

Robin nodded, "Tell me how you feel about her?" she asked quietly.

Cody was quiet for a time, pacing the kitchen a little, keeping just out of her way. "I guess once a woman gives you a bloody nose in her sleep, the rest is all sunshine and roses after that."

Robin chuckled. Cody had gotten no end of grief from the guys about the bruised nose and dark spot under his eye it had caused when Crane had jerked her hand away in her sleep and hit Cody in the face accidentally. "True…but what's your gut tell you? Is this someone you could live with for the rest of your life? Do you think you can deal with her 'issues' and her with yours?"

Cody was quiet for a long time as he watched Jessica drop off to sleep in his arms. He silently wished his dad were here to talk to but also to see his granddaughter. Finally he spoke up, "Guess whenever I used to get close to someone in college, something would happen that would remind me of things that happened between my mom and dad. Then it was downhill from there. I'd distance myself and the girl would end up being just friends as she realized I had 'issues'." He carefully put Jessica into her cradle seat that sat in a chair out of the way.

"With her, it's different. I don't know why but I feel like a compass needle and she's north. I've learned how to read her where others are still struggling to understand her." He smirked a little.

Robin nodded, "I'm getting there. I've come to realize she's not as serious as she comes off as being." She smiled quietly. "Cody, I will tell you one piece of sisterly advice. You won't hear this really from anyone else but call it a woman's intuition. She's your match Cody. I think if you two open up a little more to each other, you'll find that you two are the two halves of a whole. It took Matt forever to realize that with him and I but when he did, there was nothing that could keep us apart and that connection seemed to settle things a little. It's hard to explain but we became a better team once things were out in the open between us."

Cody sat quietly and thought it over. He looked at it from every angle. Finally Robin came over and put down a plate of eggs and sausage in front of him, then kissed his forehead. "I read the letter. She's gone out on a proverbial limb to show you how she feels in the only way she can at this moment. I get the feeling that if you truly love her and you let her know it, there won't be anything that will budge her faith and love in you. You will never want with her…and it'll never be boring." She said with a sly smile as she restated Cranes own words.

Cody looked at Robin and she kept her smile hidden as she saw his cheeks color with a blush. "Eat. It's your day off and if you wait around too long, someone will see you leave. I'll cover for you if you wish to 'go to town for the day' but I would suggest taking an alternate route or they'll know." She whispered conspiratorially.

Cody chuckled and quickly finished his meal. He was gone out the door before anyone else was truly up and moving. Cody dressed in his snow gear and headed out. He took Robin at her word and made his way to the road with the snow mobile and angled his way towards town. Unless someone followed his tracks, they'd have no idea he changed his direction once deep enough into the woods.

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Cody made his way from the place next to the barn where he parked the snowmobile. The sun had only been up for half an hour and when he looked at the chimney of the house, he knew she hadn't stoked the fire yet. She might not even be up. He knew first hand how late you slept when you're recovering.

He entered the cabin quietly, shutting the door behind him. He was right in that she hadn't gotten up yet. He moved quietly and put a few logs on the fire after uncovering the bed of coals from the night. He made his way into the kitchen and stoked the cook stove a little, getting something going to build coals up. He looked around for a moment and knew that she had done her best to keep the cabin cleaned.

Carefully he moved back into the living room and stoked the fire before knocking softly on what was once his fathers' bedroom door. He heard a slight intake of breath and a groan, "Whosisit.." came a semi-conscious voice.

Cody opened the door some and stepped quietly into the room, "Cody." He said softly.

She must have had a rough night because dark circles rimmed the bottom of her eyes plus the redness of them. She seemed just a touch flushed. He looked at her in concern, "You all right?" he asked carefully, moving to the bed and sitting on the edge of it.

She looked at him again before laying her head back on the pillow. "Nightmares. My leg was killing me. Took a pain pill. Some reason…painkillers make me have nightmares of…" she stopped talking, really not willing to finish that sentence. She finally looked at him, "You read my note?" she asked, a sudden look of worry in her eyes.

He smiled a little, not really looking at her as he clasped his hands in front of him, his elbows resting on his knees. He looked a little at the floor, "I wasn't the first one unfortunately but I think we owe Robin a favor for being discrete."

Crane looked at him, an embarrassed blush to her face. Cody continued to explain, "Yesterday afternoon and evening were hell. Ended up less than three foot of snow that fell off a roof trying to get a few skiers out from a cabin they'd been stranded in since the beginning of the storm. Whole snow shelf fell on Mark and I. Before that, we had to deal with a snow plow accident….and….and….and. I was soaked when I got back to the station and hung my coat up to dry. I went for a hot shower and couldn't even stay awake to eat supper. Robin woke me up about ten last night, handing me the slightly damp note. She had checked my pockets before putting my jacket into the dryer. She admitted that she opened it and saw it was your writing. She thought at first it might be a note from you about supplies needed or something but when she realized what it was, she said she brought it to me so the guys wouldn't know."

He looked sideways at Crane. "I talked to her this morning and she gave me some 'sisterly' advice." He said, keeping his face straight.

Her eyes suddenly seemed to widen then return to normal before she leaned back on the bed and put an arm over her eyes with a sigh. "Dare I ask what that advice was?" she asked, her heart sinking. He hadn't come in confessing his love and she couldn't read his face for once. It didn't help she was so tired she could drop right here. She had fretted about the letter for hours last night, wondering if she had done the right thing or if she had just pushed away the one person she trusted.

She felt him shift at the end of the bed and suddenly to her surprise, she felt him move up beside her. She tensed, unsure of what he was doing. He laid on top of the covers that were over her, keeping her left side upward. She felt him touch her face, then felt the kiss on her cheek. "You can but it wasn't so much advise as confirmation of what I already knew." He said.

He heard the little hitch in her breathing. He had felt her tense up when he laid down against her back. "Crane…I've loved you since the moment you invited me to sit with you. I didn't realize it at first but…I haven't felt like this with anyone I've ever been with. You're like a stone to the fast moving white water that is at times my life. No matter what happens, you don't budge, you don't give. You're something to hold onto when I don't know if I can look at one more accident or deal with one more injured or dead weekend warrior. Matt's always been my rock but he's got Robin now and his kids. They are his foundation more than I am. I'm still there for him whenever he needs it because I know him better than anyone, even Robin. But it's hard for Matt to always be there for me when he's got a herd of rangers, a wife and three rugrats to be strong for."

He felt her begin to relax as he talked quietly to her. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek again and then placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck. He saw her close her eyes and heard the hitch in her breathing and her body give a little shiver. He almost knew instinctively that it wasn't from fear but from a shiver of pleasure. He felt her relax a little more. He gently kissed her neck again, whispering to her. "I love you Miss Atheron." He gently put an arm over her side and pulled her up against him. She tensed for a second until he shhhhh'd her softly. "Rest. I'll do my best to keep the nightmares away."

She blinked the tears back from her eyes and she wrestled with her screaming brain for a moment until the warmth of him against her seemed to soak into her own body and begin to relax some primal part of her, not to mention her muscles. His arm laid carefully over her middle made her feel as though someone had just put a protective shield over that kept away the outside world for awhile. Her attention focused down to nothing but him and the feel of him against her through the blankets. Her brain fought to keep her awake but she felt her muscles begin to relax and she soon felt herself drifting into a sleep that pulled her under into the deep darkness where nothing could touch her.

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Cody felt her relax and heard/felt her breathing even out and deepen. He laid his head on the pillow next to hers and slowly drifted off after he was sure she was deep enough in sleep that nothing should bother her. It was something he knew she needed more than anything at the moment.

He could smell the scent of her fresh washed hair and scent of her body that was almost erotic. He slipped into sleep himself, content to get some rest when he could now that there was no tossing and turning, thinking of the words written on that piece of paper and wondering if it was real. He knew it was real. He had gentled the 'wild horse' enough that he could finally touch her with little more than a flex of her muscles tensing. As he drifted off to sleep, he could only hope that someday it would dwindle away to receiving no reaction other than pleasure to his touch.

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Whelp, that's all I have and have had written for some time. I'm kind of in a writters slump. If anyone has ideas of where I might take this further, let me know...I'd love to write more but the muse has packed her bags and left the building for the time being.... Thanks for any reviews and I'd love to hear from anyone that has at least in some aspect enjoyed the story so far.