Thanks for all the faves and reviews and follows! No more chapters until maybe Monday, I am heading to the shore for the weekend! :)

Chapter 6

The morning light filtered in through the windows, and onto the sleeping bodies of Peter and Gwen. They both lay on their stomachs, faces buried in pillows. However, no matter which way he slept, the sun always found a way to shine directly into Peter's eyeballs and he rubbed his face with a groan. He stretched, and looked around, in his sleepy lull realizing that he wasn't in his small bedroom. He was still at Gwen's place. He turned over, and found her snoring softly. Her expression reminded him vaguely of his dream, and he shoved that to the back of his mind. She was not in any danger for the time being, and he was going to enjoy this moment. He needed it, and he'd cling to it, and look back on it when he needed to. This little piece of heaven with just he and Gwen. He smiled, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His touch woke her, and she turned her head toward him, blinking sleepily. "Hi," She said.

"Hi." He answered. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

He pulled her to him and cradled her face in his hands. How he loved those big eyes looking deep into his soul. "I wouldn't change last night for anything." He said.

She smiled, "Me either."

He kissed her forehead and released her, laying back down on his pillows. He did not want this moment to end.

She lowered her gaze to his bare chest, biting her bottom lip. She reached out and ran her index fingers on it in small circles. "You can't stay, can you?" It was more of a statement than a question. It was like his thoughts were hers sometimes. That she understood all too well.

How he would love to lay here beside her in bed. That was what couples did. Two people who loved each other and had lazy weekends, just lounging around. Not someone who had the ability and reflexes of a biologically engineered spider, and not somebody who had made a promise that would haunt him for the rest of his life. She stared at him as he mulled this over in his head. He paused. He owed her the truth, it was what she deserved to hear. He didn't know why he didn't tell her everything before, and it was time to come clean. He rubbed the back of his neck as he talked, "I want to tell you everything. But first, you should know that your father loved you very much." He started.

Gwen was silent a moment, and took a deep breath, "I know. I know he did."

He reached out and took her hand, and she held on tightly to it. He could feel her fingers trembling something slightly, something that happened when she was extremely upset. He'd be as gentle as he could. "The last thing he said to me, was that he wanted me to stay away from you so you'd be safe. I promised him, Gwen."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he put his free hand to her lips."I... I promised your father I'd stay away from you, Gwen. Keep you out of my life so you wouldn't get hurt. I broke that promise last night and I'm sorry. I... I went against my word, and it's because of you. You are my weakness. Your father said I'd make enemies, and I will, and if they get to you, I'd... well that's just the thing. I don't know what I'd do. So, I'm sorry for pushing you away, and I hate myself for it, but it's the way it has to be. And this..." He gestured between the two of them,. "this can't happen again."

She lowered her eyes, but not before he saw small tears start to form. "What about what I want?" She asked, "did you two discuss that on that rooftop?"

He was taken aback by how angry she sounded, but that her eyes still sparkled with tears.

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions and choices. I know my father was trying to protect me. I know you're trying to protect me, but what about this?" She took his hand that she was holding onto, and placed it over her heart. "This is real. What you and I have Peter, it only comes once in a lifetime."

He reached out and cupped her face in his hands. The air was charged between them once again. She melted into his eyes. How he wanted to kiss her in this moment.

"Tell me you don't feel anything Peter." Her eyes pleaded with him to say what she wanted to hear, that he loved her and always would, that he'd buy her a ring and they'd pick out china patterns. That they'd buy a cute little split level and have the picket fence. That's what he wanted to tell her. But it would have been a lie.

He was about to say something, as she waited, lingering on his every breath. But the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. His head turned to the window. Something was going down.

"Duty calls," She whispered sadly.

"I'm sorry." He said. He grabbed her hands and brought them up to his lips.

"I know," She whispered, letting the tears freely fall. It was as if he was sealing their fate by leaving her in this moment, when she was most vulnerable. She backed away from him, pulling the sheet that protected her naked body from the world tightly around herself and brought her knees to her chest..

"Go get 'em, Bug Boy?" He asked.

She gave a small nod.

With a sigh, he hung his head for a moment before pulling on his mask and climbing out onto the fire escape. "I meant what I said."

She glanced up at him. "What?"

"I wouldn't have changed last night for anything."

"And now?" She asked. "This is the aftermath of last night."

He turned back to the window. "We'll talk later. Promise." He said, and jumped.

…...

Peter was always amazed at how dumb the criminals of New York seemed to be. He watched as this low life, clutching the purse of a woman he had nabbed it from two blocks down, ducked into an alley to reveal the contents.

"They say you can learn a lot about a woman from the contents of her purse." Peter said as he crawled down the side of a building toward the man. The man was dressed in a wool hat the despite New York in the summer, and wore a black shirt and black jeans. He had mean, small pig eyes that burned into Peter as he observed him.

"Hey, so you are real." The man said, hugging the purse to his chest. "What are you, some kind of X-Man or something?"

Peter rolled his eyes and jumped down to his feet. He shot his webbing at the purse, snatching it from the man and throwing it over his shoulder. It landed a few feet from the mouth of the alley.

"You're a freak!" The man said, backing up. His small dark eyes were large and fearful.

"That's what your wife told me last night in bed." Peter said.

"I just want to get out of here." The man said. "Look, I'm sorry."

"You want to get out of here? I'll get you out of here." Peter said, and cocooned the man in his webbing.

"My, what a nice surprise." A voice came from behind him. Peter didn't want to turn around. He knew the Black Cat was there. He glanced over his shoulder and found her with the purse in her arms.

"Don't." Peter said. "Don't take it, I will send you to jail again."

Felicia looked hurt. She pouted, but somehow was still able to show those dazzling white teeth. "What, you don't trust me?"

"Not as far as I can throw you."

"Well, we'll have to change that, won't we?" She smiled again, and dashed to the mouth of the alley.

"No! Dammit!" Peter declared and started after her. "FELICIA!" He cried.

She had made it all the way to the street. She paused for a second, looked at him, and kept on going. Peter swore loudly, not only mad at himself for revealing he knew who she was, but mad he didn't hit her with the webbing the first second he saw her. He tracked her from above, swinging from building to building. She did her best to weave in and out of New York's patrons. As she slowed, he watched her from the roof of a building... as she handed the purse back to the woman it belonged to.

Well I'll be damned...

Felicia turned and smiled up at him, motioning for him to follow her. What choice did he have? She went down another alley and he followed closely behind. She turned then and looked up at him, crossing her arms. "How did you know my name?"

Peter jumped down to the ground and looked at her.

"I have my ways." He said.

She didn't push him on the subject, but walked to him once more, seductively, and for the first time, he noticed a pair of dagger like heels that were at least five inches long at the end of her black patent leather boots. "Odd shoe choice." He said.

"A girl's gotta be fashionable. Caught your attention." She placed her hands on his shoulders, and he was more stunned that he let her do this. What was it about this woman that he let get dangerously close to him? She could have ripped off his mask, and he'd be standing there, en captured by her boots... that held long fabulous legs. He thought back to Gwen then. She had nice legs too. And she was waiting for him back at her apartment while he was out here with this woman.

"Thanks for the help," He said with a salute.

Her hands were still on his shoulders, and he shot himself up onto the wall and out of her grasp.

"You're leaving already?"

"I've got a big city to protect."

"I want to help you."

"Then stop robbing banks."

"I am. I'm done with that. I want to do good. That was a rush today. Knowing your better than half the scum that walks this city. I want to help you with that."

"I work alone."

"Why?"

"It's just the way it is."

"Are you scared we might be good together?"

He didn't answer her. It was obvious that she was gorgeous and she knew it, and she knew that he liked that.

"I make you nervous." She said, her smile lighting her face.

Peter was getting mad. He didn't like being outted by this stranger. So what he thought she was attractive? Gwen was a few blocks away, Gwen, who he had just made love to, Gwen, who was the complete description of a soul mate.

"Is there another woman in your life, Spider-man?"

"None of your business."

"There is!" She gushed.

Something perked his head up. There was scuffling a few alleys down. "Shut up," He snapped at her and listened. There were loud voices, and a faint cry for help. Dammit. When would people learn to stay out of alleys? He swung himself out of there, and he could hear her below scrambling to keep up with him on foot.

"Stay where I can see you!" She shouted.

Yeah, and by that time, this poor soul would either be robbed or dead or shot. He hustled and landed silently at the back of the alley. A young woman was being held on the ground at gun point, and his breath caught in his throat. Two men were holding her legs apart, while a third was about to slip inside of her.

Jesus.

The girl looked no older than thirteen, and she looked terrified. Her eyes found his, and they grew wide with hope.

"Get ready for a warm surprise, baby." The man said, about to lay on top of her. Peter gritted his teeth, shot out his webbing, and threw the man against a brick wall, knocking him out cold. Peter hoped he had broken a specific organ as well.

Felicia ran into the alley and jumped on one of the men. She left the poor girl on the ground wide open and exposed, and fact that the third man was about to take advantage of, until Peter shot out his web into the back of his head. Peter somersaulted through the air to land in front of the girl on the ground, just as the man pulled out a gun and fired.

It was if things were happening in slow motion. Peter had no chance to sling his web at the gun. It happened too fast. He had just landed over her when the shot rang out, hitting him in side. Peter gritted his teeth through the pain, and got a better look at the goon. It was bigger, and it looked to be some kind of custom made piece.

There was no rest for him. There was no laying down and dying here today. He sprayed webbing over his side, to keep himself from bleeding to death, and turned back to the man who was ready to fire at him again. Peter reached his leg up and kicked the gun out of the man's hand, and followed with kick to his teeth. The man fell to the ground unconscious, but still Peter loomed over him, furious. His side was aching, he was so pissed that they'd try to rape a small girl, he didn't know how to handle Felicia, and Gwen was still waiting for him...

"Spider-man!" Felicia said.

Peter turned. She was bent over the girl. It seemed like Felicia had been calling him for awhile. He walked over to them. The girl had her head in Felicia's lap, sobbing quietly.

"Is she okay?" Peter whispered.

Felicia nodded. "I'll take care of her, you go get that wound checked out."

He gave a nod. It was the only thing in the past few hours that made sense. He turned to go, and looked back at her. "You sure you got this?"

"Go." She told him.

Peter nodded, extended his arm, and headed toward Gwen's apartment.