Nora knocked on the door. When it slid open, she was face-to-face with Leonard. Both of them were still in their cadet reds.

"Is he still here?"

"He's still here," Leonard said, "and I wish you'd go help him, because he's got his crap all over my bed. It's getting to me."

Nora smiled and made her way to the bedroom to find Jim with a suitcase open on his bed. It was empty. He stood staring at Leonard's bed, which was covered in Jim's clothes and other personal belongings.

"Hey," she said as she entered.

"You're late, Bitsy."

"Yeah, sorry. That exam took longer than I thought it would. I'm here now, though," she said with a smile.

"Not a moment too soon. I have no clue what to bring to make it all fit in one suitcase."

"So, bring two."

"Guys don't need more than one suitcase."

"For two weeks they do."

Jim just shook his head.

"All right, then," Nora said. "What can you live without?"

Nora and Jim packed, unpacked, and repacked his suitcase twice before they get it all to fit.

"Good luck getting it back home," Nora said.

Jim's face fell. "Hadn't thought about that. Maybe I do need two."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Where's your other one?"

"I only have one. Hey, Bones!" Jim walked into the living area where Leonard was sitting on the couch with his feet up, crossed at the ankles on the small table in front of him. "Bones, can I borrow your suitcase?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, man."

Nora helped Jim pack the two suitcases. He stood back as she closed the second one easily.

"There you go," she said.

"Thanks, Bitsy." Jim pulled Nora into a hug. "I'm gonna miss you for two weeks."

"I'll miss you, too."

He pulled back and kissed her forehead. "I'm running late, and those guys are waiting on me. Would you mind, uh..."

"Cleaning up your mess?"

"Yeah," Jim said, almost as if he hated to ask, but Nora knew he was really hoping she would agree.

"Go," she said. "I'll clean up."

"You're an awesome sister," he said hugging her tight.

"I know it."

Jim walked past the couch and clapped a firm hand on Leonard's shoulder.

"I'm heading out," Jim said.

Leonard stood. "Have a good trip. Don't drink too much. You won't have me there to save your ass."

Jim laughed, but became serious as his eyes flicked toward the bedroom, then back to Leonard.

"Look out for Nora while I'm gone."

"Yeah, sure."

"Don't you two sit in your rooms all day. She likes to go out. Take her into the city. Let her play tourist for a while."

"Jim..." Leonard wanted to tell Jim about his feelings for Nora. He knew he should, but something stopped him. "I'll take good care of her, kid."

"Thanks, Bones."

Jim left, and the door slid shut behind him. Leonard locked it and walked into the bedroom where Nora was folding clothes and moving things from Leonard's bed to Jim's until she could get them picked up. She didn't see Leonard walk up behind her. He reached around her waist and pulled her back against him. She smiled, and one of Jim's shirts hung loosely from her hand as her arms covered Leonard's. He kissed her neck.

"Jim's gone," he said.

"We're finally alone?"

"Just us, darlin'. Anything in particular you wanna do?"

"Honestly? I just want to be in your arms. So, whatever we can do that accomplishes that."

"We could watch a movie," he said.

"That sounds good."

"Or I can put on some music and we can just relax."

"That sounds really good," she said with a smile. "Just let me finish here. I want to have this all done so I don't have to worry about it later."

Leonard removed his arms from Nora's waist and started picking things up from the bed to help put them away. It didn't take them much longer, and Nora felt butterflies when the realization hit her that she and Leonard were truly alone. No roommates. No classes. They would even be sleeping in the same bed.

She tried to remember to breathe when he took her hand and led her to the couch. A few taps of his PADD, and the room was filled with soft music. He sat back and put an arm across the back of the couch, behind her. His other hand moved hair back from her face. He could see the nervousness in her eyes.

"You okay," he asked.

His fingers softly stroked through the ends of her hair and over her jaw. His lips were so close that Nora just need lean forward and they would be kissing.

"I'm nervous," she said.

"You don't have to be. We won't do anything you're not ready for."

Nora's eyes fluttered shut. "Len... I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"I'm... I've never..." Her eyes opened, but she couldn't keep eye contact.

Leonard smoothed his hand down the back of her head. "You're a virgin?" Nora nodded. "That's okay, sweetheart. It's not a bad thing."

"I just don't want you to be disappointed with me."

"I don't see that happening," he said with a smile.

"My mom always told me that I deserved an honorable man. She laid out these standards... things I should look for. I've dated a few guys, and I knew that they didn't meet those standards."

"Maybe I should be the nervous one. I'm sure 'grumpy divorcé' isn't one of those standards." His hand slid from her face, down her arm, and he laced their fingers together.

"No, but you make me feel special. You make me feel like I'm worthy of your time. You make me feel safe... except for when you have me pinned against a bookcase in the library," she said with a grin. "That feels pretty dangerous."

"I don't think anyone has ever called me dangerous."

"Then you must never have looked at them the way you look at me."

"That's a possibility."

"I'm probably saying too much," she said, "but I need you to know where I stand. The more I'm around you, the more I can honestly say that I'm falling in love with you."

Leonard let her words sink in before responding. "That word doesn't come easy to me. It did once, and it fell apart."

"I can understand that."

Leonard removed his arm from the back of the couch and put his hand to Nora's face. His thumb brushed over her cheek.

"But I miss you on days I don't see you," he said. "I get happy when you show up unexpected. And those dreams I told you about?"

"Yeah?"

"Some weren't much more than what we're doing now. I just want to be with you, Nora."

"That's not love?"

"I didn't say that it wasn't."

Leonard leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Nora's lips. She put her hand to the back of his head and held him there. He finally reached around and removed her hand, but held it in his.

"Why don't we go into the city for lunch today," he said. "We've got two weeks to be alone in either of our rooms. Let's get out today."

"That sounds nice."

"You want to change out of your uniform?"

"Yes," she said.

They spent the rest of the day in the city, acting like a real couple. Leonard held her hand wherever they walked. Nora fed him his dessert after lunch.

"I feel like a child," he said.

"At least I'm not pretending the spoon is an airplane," she said with a grin.

He opened his mouth as she brought the spoon toward him, but suddenly took the bite herself. She pulled the spoon out slowly between her lips, and Leonard groaned. He grabbed the spoon and kissed her.

"I think we should just feed ourselves for now," he said.

The look in his eyes told her it was probably a good idea.

Leonard bought a blanket from one of the stores they passed, and they took a ride on the trolley to one of the city's hills with a view. He spread the blanket beneath a tree and lay on his back. Nora lay down next to him and he cradled her in his arms. A contented sound vibrated deep in Leonard's chest as his hand casually rubbed up and down her arm. They were quiet for a long time before Leonard spoke.

"I could get used to this."

"We've got two weeks of this," Nora said. "Just us."

"Us and everyone else on this hill."

Nora sat up a little and leaned on her elbow, looking down at Leonard. "Are there other people on this hill? I hadn't noticed."

Leonard grinned. "You gonna kiss me like there's no one around?"

Nora leaned down and gently touched her lips to his. He kissed her back and they both opened up to it. They kissed slowly and deeply. Leonard's tongue occasionally slipped in to glide along Nora's. He finally took Nora's face in his hands and pulled her back.

"Something inappropriate is going to be very visible if we don't stop," he said.

Nora smiled and returned to her place at his side. They lay there for another hour as clouds rolled in. Leonard suggested they go somewhere indoors, but Nora didn't want to leave. It was so peaceful. So relaxing. Eventually the sky opened up and the rain poured down. People scattered in every direction. Leonard moved to get up, but Nora, quicker than Leonard would have expected, straddled his waist and grabbed his wrists, holding him to the blanket.

"What are you doing? We're gonna get soaked," he said.

"I know." She kissed his neck.

"You know, I can easily get out from under you."

"I know that, too," she said.

She kissed his neck as the rain fell down on them. She kissed back to his mouth and he roughly grabbed her around her waist and flipped her onto her back. He found her hands, and pinned her wrists to the blanket. He kissed his way down her neck, letting his tongue trace a line over her skin. The trail continued as he kissed down her body, over her drenched shirt, until his hands reached the hem and slipped underneath. He slowly raised her shirt as his hands slid up and he placed open-mouth kisses all over her stomach. Nora's hands fisted in his wet hair.

"Leonard..."

He pulled her shirt back down and moved back up her body. He licked at her neck, then kissed her lips before staring down at her as he watched her breathing heavily.

He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Your eyes are dilated." He kissed her neck, his lips lingering for a moment before he moved back to her ear. "And your pulse is racing." He pulled back and stared at her for a moment. "You ready to go home?"

Nora nodded. Leonard stood and reached out to help her from the ground. He collected the blanket, completely soaked with rain, and balled it up. He tossed it into a trash receptacle as they left the area.

The rain was over by the time they made it back to the dorms. Leonard opened the door and let Nora in first.

"You go ahead and shower," he said. "Get out of those wet clothes."

"What about you?"

"I can strip down to my boxers and wrap a towel around my waist."

Nora's breath caught, and her eyes unconsciously flicked below his waist. Leonard tried to hide his grin.

"Go ahead," he said.

Nora grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and took her shower. As she washed her hair, she remembered Leonard's mouth on her. His hands on her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She stepped into the living area drying her hair with a towel. Leonard had a towel wrapped around his waist, his chest bare. He headed toward the bedroom when he saw her.

"I made coffee if you want some."

"Thanks."

Leonard slipped into the bathroom while Nora blow dried her hair, then made herself a cup of coffee. She sat on the sofa with the warm mug and sank into the cushions. She lay her head back and closed her eyes. The next thing she knew, she felt the mug being pulled from her hands. She opened her eyes and saw Leonard standing in front of her in a pair of boxers and a fitted black t-shirt, putting her mug on the table.

"I guess I dozed off," she said.

"We had a busy day. Exams, walking through most of the city, making out in a storm."

Nora smiled up at him. "You loved it."

"You want the truth?" Nora nodded, so he continued. "I thought you were nuts... but it turned out pretty good." He smiled when he saw the blush on her cheeks. "At the risk of sounding like an old man, I'm kind of tired."

"Me, too," Nora said.

"You wanna call it a night?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Leonard extended his hand and helped her from the couch. "Leave the mug," he said when he saw her reach for it. "We'll get it in the morning."

He pulled her along into the bedroom before releasing her hand. She removed her pants, admitting that she wouldn't be able to sleep with them on, as Leonard pulled back the covers. They both climbed in and Leonard maneuvered them so that he was flush against Nora's back, his arms holding her close. She leaned back into him and he kissed her cheek before settling into his pillow.

"Nora..."

"Yeah?"

He nuzzled his nose into her hair and breathed deeply. "I do love you."

"I love you, too, Len."