Cleaning took a little longer than she had anticipated. Of course that was probably because once she had gotten to the bedroom, the pace had slowed considerably. Making the bed had taken at least twenty minutes. She had debated whether or not to change the sheets but then she had picked up the pillow Michael had used last night and his scent brought everything back to her in vivid detail.

Once the bedroom had finally been put in order she had moved on to the bathroom. Their towels from this morning still lay on the floor. Sara picked them up and sat down on the edge of the tub. Closing her eyes she let the images from this morning fill her senses.

She hadn't heard him enter. It was only when the shower curtain opened and she saw him step into the shower with her that she realized he was awake. As they stood there looking at one another, Sara felt more nervous than she had last night. There were no shadows to hide in here.

Michael reached out his hand and took the soap from her. He motioned for her to turn around and began slowly washing her back. His hands felt wonderful and all the nerves left her. Once her back was finished, he reached around and began on the front. Although his fingers left their mark everywhere, they didn't linger. When he finished washing her, she took the bar of soap from his fingers and did the same for him.

They both rinsed and Sara turned off the water. She stepped out of the shower and Michael followed. He grabbed the towel she had hanging nearby and began to dry her off. Although his motions were chaste, they were making her temperature rise all the same. Once he was satisfied, he quickly dried himself with another nearby towel that was clearly not big enough for him. She had been about to offer to get him a bigger towel when he tossed the one he had onto the floor beside him after barely using it.

He closed the distance between them then. Her skin touched his and she could feel her heart beat faster. Raising her arms, she placed them around his neck. Reaching up on her tiptoes she brought her lips up to meet his. The moment their lips touched all thought disappeared. The hands that had been gripping her hips now moved to encircle her, holding her tight.

Michael moved so quickly it startled her. He reached down and picked her up, carrying her out of the bathroom and onto the bed. The temperature difference between the two rooms gave her goose bumps and made her nipples more sensitive than they already were.

Michael laid her back on the bed. In the light of the morning, he started from the top and worked his way down. His fingers brushed her newly washed hair from away from her face. He placed a kiss on each of her closed eyes and the tip of her nose. Then he worked his way down the side of her face and let his lips linger at her neck. She knew he had picked up last night that this was a very sensitive area for her and she could feel him smile when he allowed the suction of his lips to linger there and she had let out of small gasp.

As he continued his exploration, her body continued to respond. She had tried to reach for him. Wanting to feel him as well but he wouldn't allow it. When she had tried to say something about this not being fair, he had told her "all in good time." She had been too distracted to understand what that meant at the time and since his mouth had went back to its distractions she couldn't find the energy to argue it out with him.

But true to his word once he reached her toes, he came up to lie beside her. At this point she was having trouble with any logical thought so it took her a moment to realize that he had stopped his ministrations completely. She rolled toward him. It was then she realized how much what he done to her had affected him. He reached for her hand and placed it on his chest. "Your turn," he whispered.

After a few seconds, she got his meaning so she followed his example. She could never match Michael's attention to detail but she could give it her best shot. And she did. He had lain perfectly still for her explorations although she could tell from his face it was taking an extreme effort.

When she crawled back up to face him again he pulled her to him and crushed her lips to his. It was at that moment polite exploration ended and frantic passion began. Michael's hands reached between her legs and made sure she was ready for him. With one hand on her hip he guided her onto him.

She allowed herself to sink down and felt him fill her. She began to move. His hand remained on her hip and helped to guide their movement. As her breathing became heavier, Michael reached down with his other hand to where they were joined.

Sara's head fell back as her muscles contracted around him and with one last thrust Michael followed her.

Sara collapsed on top of Michael and he wrapped his arms around her holding her close. As they came down from their high, he pushed Sara's hair back behind her ear and whispered "I love you."

Pulling herself back to the present, Sara knew she had to get moving if she wanted to make it to make it to Lincoln's on time so she made herself get up and finished what she'd started.

~

Sara arrived at the Burrow's house fifteen minutes late. Before she reached the door it opened and LJ closed the short distance between then to help her carry the chips she had bought for tonight. "I'm glad you made it Sara. Dad was getting a little worried."

Sara smiled. LJ had inherited the same over protective streak as his father and uncle. Lincoln might have been worried about her being late, but so had LJ. As they walked in the door she said, "I decided to do some cleaning this afternoon and it took a little longer than expected."

LJ set the chips on the table for later. "Well you're here now so that's good."

Until now Sara hadn't notice the young woman sitting on the sofa. LJ rushed over to the young lady and she stood. "Sara I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Jessica. Jessica this is Sara."

Sara extended her hand, "Nice to meet you Jessica."

"You too. LJ tells me you are a doctor."

"That's right."

"LJ?" Lincoln's voice came from the kitchen. "Can you come help me with the drinks for a minute?"

"Yea. Sure, dad. If you would excuse me ladies," and LJ went off to help his father.

Sara could hardly contain the laughter that was bubbling up. If you would excuse me ladies? She had known LJ for almost two years now and never had he talked like that so she knew it must be for Jessica's benefit. To keep from laughing she turned her attention back to Jessica. "So how long have you known LJ?

"We met about two months ago in a writing class. We've been dating a little over a month."

LJ and Lincoln came out of the kitchen each carrying and armload of sodas. Sara noticed Michael wasn't with them, "Where's Michael?"

"He went to go pick up the pizza." Lincoln looked down at this watch. "It was supposed to be ready five minutes ago so he should be back any minute."

It was then they heard a car door slam. Their pizza had arrived.

~

Michael carried the pizza's into the house and made his way over to the table. Everyone converged and began to dig in. With his hands free Michael reached down and gave Sara's hand a little squeeze, she returned the hello and they joined the rest of the group in piling pizza on their plates.

Since there was a guest tonight they decided to eat their pizza around the table. The couples set beside each other while Lincoln took the end. It wasn't long until the conversation turned to Jessica and her family. She told them about growing up just outside of Boston. She had lived their all her life but had decided she wanted to go out west for college. Her parents had thought Chicago was far enough.

They had just finished polishing off the pizza when Jessica directed a question to Michael. "LJ tells me you are a structural engineer." She glanced at LJ and smiled, "Actually I believe the term was brilliant structural engineer."

"Well I don't know about the brilliant part, but the structural engineer is accurate."

"My uncle is an engineer back in Boston. What firm?"

"Briggs Associates."

"Their here in Chicago?"

"Yes. They're a small firm. Your uncle's probably never heard of them."

This didn't seem to bother Jessica. "You never know. Have you worked there long?"

Michael paused before he answered this question. He wasn't sure he liked where this conversation was going or how much LJ had told this girl. "Two weeks."

"Oh wow. Do you like it better than where you were before?"

Now Michael noticed he wasn't the only one who was beginning to not like the direction of this conversation but he wasn't quite sure how to derail it and no one else seemed to be speaking up. So he decided vague was best, "Yes, you could say that," and hoped she wouldn't pursue it.

Of course that was wishful thinking. "So where were you before?"

All eyes except Jessica's went to LJ but LJ wasn't looking at any of them. His eyes were fixed to his empty plate. Jessica realized Michael wasn't answering her and she looked around. All eyes, including the man she had been having this conversation with were on LJ. "LJ? What's going on?"

When he finally raised his head he was looking at Michael. He didn't say anything, just shook his head no. Michael was trying to figure out what he could say since this girl clearly knew nothing of the family's past when he heard Lincoln say, "Prison."

Simple and to the point, but it had effect nonetheless. Color drained from her face as she focused on Michael once again. He knew that look. She was trying to place him inside that place.

All of a sudden Jessica pushed her chair back and stood. It took LJ a second but once he realized she was making to leave he stood too. He put his hand on her arm, "Jess?"
She briefly looked down at the hand touching her arm and shook her head. "I'm sorry LJ. I…I just need to…" She never finished.

In a trance, she just headed for the door.