Ok, ok try not to get too excited.... I know another chappie!!! Well I hope you're continuing to enjoy them, because otherwise it would be pointless! I'll try to keep 'em coming with the promise of seeing more reviews!! I felt this song best desribed how much Peter depends on MJ for support and obviously love. Enjoy!

Bon Jovi-Thank You For Loving Me


Chapter 13: Between The Bell

It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me

I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart
I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me

Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I


Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

When I couldn't fly
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

Amber smiled and laughed at Harry to keep him amused. Meanwhile, her mind was thinking of ways to torture the hussy that ran off with her Peter. Of course, this Harry Osborn was quite attractive. Not to mention, filthy rich. Amber's grin turned devious. Perhaps, she would play with him after she was finished with Peter. If she ever finished with him, that was. She was sure that this time, he was the perfect one for her. If not, maybe she should invest her efforts in this man. If all else failed, once she was rid of him, she'd be rich at the least.

She stared at Mr. Osborn as he went on about something or another; she wasn't paying much attention. Only when he mentioned Peter did her ears perk.

"So, how long have you known Peter now?" Harry questioned.

"About a week or so," Amber answered. "I felt as if I've known him forever though. He's such a great guy. He's a sweetheart."

Harry raised his brows. "We talking about the same guy?" he chuckled, remembering how tongue-tied and klutzy Pete was with MJ around.

"Sure!" Amber grinned. "He's a lil shy but that's cute."

Harry tilted his head, amused and also a little confused. "Cute?"

Amber nodded. "Yeah, he's been amazing to me. I can't help but admit I have a small crush on him," she pulled off a blush.

"Hasn't Peter mentioned MJ to you?" Harry set his cup down, confusion clear in his action.

"No? The redhead?" Amber asked. "He hasn't. Why do you ask?"

"Huh..." Harry's brow wrinkled in thought.

"It's obvious she's still pining for you, y'know?" Amber grinned, wheels turning in her head faster than she could speak.

"What? MJ? Nooo..." Harry laughed. "She's totally in love with Peter."

"You think?" Amber sipped her God awful eggnog. She shrugged. "Looks to me like she still has a thing for you," she trailed off in a singsong tone.

Harry shook his head in disagreement. "Nah, Peter and MJ have feelings for each other. Its so obvious a blind man could see it."

"I don't know..." Amber set her cup down. "So, tell me some more about how you and Peter met," she smiled innocently, yet she was anything but innocent.

**********

They walked quite a few blocks, stopping at a small donut shop for coffee and hot chocolate before braving the cold again. They were for the most part silent as they walked.

There weren't many people around; a few strolling couples and the occasional boyfriend running up the block hoping to catch one last store open for the holiday.

The crowd dwindled down to a few stranglers, as they continued and it was only then that Peter gave MJ any inclination as to where they were going and when they would stop.

They headed up a sidewalk that swerved into a jungle of trees. The diminishing daylight barely peeked through the giant trees of Forest Park. It was also a good 5 degrees cooler in the shade of the giant oaks, birches and cedar beeches.

Peter led her off the sidewalk and onto the crisp, frosted grass. Squirrels and chipmunks scattered across their path as they went. He led her to a small clearing where a large structure became an old wooden carousel as they drew closer. Peter knew it was one of the two last working wooden carousels known and it was a treasure to those who knew of it.

Today, it stood solitary and still. All the happy, laughing kids had abandoned the carousel for Christmas.

MJ came from behind him, a small purple cup in hand as she passed him. She took a precarious step up on the carousel, emitting groans and squeaks in the wood. She spun slowly, finding a seat on one of the anciently detailed wooden horses. "Well, its just you, me, and the horses, Tiger."

Peter sipped his coffee, attempting to warm his insides. He shivered despite the warmth of the coffee. He looked to the sleigh seat behind the horse MJ perched on and sat there. He twirled the cup in his hands, trying to find a good place to start.

"I haven't been here since I was 9 years old. I still remember Aunt May and Uncle Ben talking nonstop about a picnic and a day at the park. We would play catch and have the picnic, lay in the sun, then we'd come to the carousel and ride for hours," he reminisced, looking over the beat up carousel. "That was of course, if I wasn't examining everything I could get my hands on under my microscope."

MJ huffed, a smile on her lips before she brought the cup of hot chocolate to her mouth. After taking a sip, she glanced at Peter wondering if he'd continue.

He obliged. "When you're a kid, you look all over for a place that's yours, y'know? A place you go and everything feels right. When my Mom and dad were killed, I thought I'd never find a place like that again. Then Aunt May and Uncle Ben took me here and for the first time, in a long time..." he paused, mind replaying his 6 year old self discovering the carousel for the first time. "I had a place I could go when I was sad, and needed to be alone, or to think. This was even my happy place, where everything seemed right and nothing could touch me. When I got on this carousel, it was almost as good as stepping off the realm of existence, like getting sucked into a black hole," he studied MJ, hoping she was understanding what he was saying. "I feel like we're the only 2 people on the planet right now, MJ."

"We're alone and there's no one here to hurt you and there's nothing you can't say to me that won't stay between us. There's nothing you can say that you need to be afraid to say," MJ assured him, touched he thought enough to have brought her here.

"Today, when you looked at me like I was some killer Mary Jane..." he eyed the floor, his heart constricting. "I didn't know whether to cry or beat the wall down till my hands broke."

MJ sighed, shaking her head. She eyed his bandaged hand and then her eyes met his. "Guess you chose the latter."

"Or both," he muttered.

"Peter... I am so sorry you misunderstood my thoughts. I know you would never purposefully hurt or kill anyone. Let alone Norman Osborn! He was always very kind to you. Why would Harry think Spider-Man killed him? I am so disappointed in him!"

"He saw me... Spider-Man standing over his father's body in his room the night he died." Peter revealed.

"Why Pete? Please ... tell me what happened..." MJ pleaded.

"It was the Goblin," Peter spoke, moments later.

MJ strained to hear him. "The Goblin killed Norman?"

Peter nodded solemnly.

"Why? When? How?" MJ fired off. She immediately regretted it, seeing Peter's frown.

"Remember the night Aunt May went into the hospital?" Peter rolled his cup in his hands.

MJ nodded. "Right after Thanksgiving."

"The Goblin attacked her. Gobby figured out who I was. That's why he went after you. He knew ... how much...." Peter didn't continue, eyes riveted to the cracks of the old wooden floor.

MJ nodded slowly. She sipped her cocoa, no longer needing it to keep warm her anymore. She was too stunned to be cold. "How did he know me, Tiger? How does Norman fit into all this?" MJ probed.

"MJ, this goes back further. After the World Unity Festival, the Goblin attacked the Daily Bugle, knocked me out with sleeping gas. When I woke, I feared the worst. I thought he'd unmasked me-"

"So that's how he knew you?"

"No," Peter shook his head. "He wanted me to join him, wanted to destroy NY."

MJ chuckled. "Like you'd ever do that." When he remained solemn, MJ stopped chuckling and her heart pounded.

Peter swallowed hard with guilt welling in his throat for even just thinking of joining sides with that terror. "I considered it. After all the slander in the Bugle about me, people hating me, cops trying to arrest me, calling me a vigilante... I wondered what it take for their respect. I thought maybe I should become what they expected of me. What was the point if no one believes I want to help?"

"Because its right." MJ offered.

He nodded. "That's what I told him, but I was so angry with everyone for hating Spidey, I nearly considered it ... till ... you..." Peter met her eyes, awaiting her reaction. She gazed back, listening intently. "That night of your audition, in the rain, and we kissed."

She nodded softly, afraid to do much else.

"You gave me a reason to hope again. If just one person could believe in Spider-Man; just one person could see past the Bugle write-ups to the good I try to do, than maybe there was still a reason to do what was right." Peter's voice shook with emotion.

MJ hopped off the horse, setting her cup down on the wooden floor. She slipped beside him in the sleigh, putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I'm glad you did decide to do the right thing, regardless of me, Pete."

"But see, when I thought you lost hope in me today, I felt so overcome with rage and fury, I didn't know what to do, MJ. I don't want to ever feel like that again. To think I hurt you..." he trailed off, shaking his head in disgust.

"I'm stronger than you think, Tiger. I understand why you were angry now. I'm sorry you misunderstood. I really am. I could never stop having faith in you or Spidey," she stroked his hair behind his ear. "I love you, the both of you," she gave a crooked smile. "For better or worse, I have faith and love for you both."

Peter returned her crooked smile. "Great, now I can be jealous of myself."

Her smile filled out and she tilted her head. "Something Spidey would say," she sighed in disbelief. "I'd never believe you had it in you, Pete."

"Well, you figured me out, so I can't be all that good at concealing it. The Goblin did too." Peter shrugged.

"On Thanksgiving I confronted him, denying his offer. He attacked me with razor bats. The cut on my arm- the cut Aunt May noticed-"

"I remember," MJ interrupted, the day coming back to replay in her memory. "We thought we heard you upstairs, but there was no there."

"I was ... stuck to the ceiling praying no one would look up," Peter sighed.

"Then you showed at the door and when we sat. Aunt May noticed the cut; you said it was a bike messenger that had knocked you down," MJ's eyes narrowed, her hand slipping from his shoulder. "Wait, I remember Norman reacting to your cut. He nearly flipped! He stormed out of the room so fast, and Harry got so upset."

Peter could see her mind figuring it out. "Aunt May was attacked and I called you when I knew the Goblin was going after people I care for. I rushed to the bridge to save you..."

"And you did! And the children." MJ reminded him.

He nodded, still somber. "When the Goblin took off with me, we fought. I was damn near dead, MJ. He had me cornered, beaten the life out of me. Unfortunately for Gobby, he liked to brag too much. He threatened to hurt you again, kill you slowly-"

Mary Jane shivered, huddling closer to Peter.

"I'd never let anyone hurt you. I fought back, and Goblin ... revealed himself to me," Peter struggled to keep the still raw emotion in check.

"As Norman Osborn," MJ finished stunned.

Peter nodded silently.

"Oh my God..." MJ's eyes darted across the floor, a mix of emotions ranging from fear, loathing, anger, and utter sadness for Harry.

"Norman talked to me, trying to tell me the Goblin made him do these things, like a Jekyll/Hyde syndrome. I believed him, still do. I don't know how or why. He asked me for help, asked me to be like a son to him..." Peter choked, wishing he had meant to really get help. "My spider sense went off, his glider was behind me. I jumped and the glider impaled him."

MJ gasped, eyes squeezed shut. "Oh Tiger..." she put her arms around him, more concerned for his comfort than for her own sanity.

"He made me promise not to tell Harry. I owed them both that much. So when I brought his body back, Harry saw Spider-Man standing over his dead father. I can't blame him for thinking I killed him. In a way, I did." Peter drowned in guilt, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Tiger, he killed himself. He killed the Oscorp board members, tried to kill others, myself included. He also tried to kill you again, only killing himself by mistake! You can't blame yourself for saving yourself. Norman was beyond help..."

"We don't know that,"

"So you should've died instead?" MJ felt tears well in her eyes. She pulled back so her eyes met his. "Peter, you're such a good man. Even after all that Norman did, you still wouldn't wish death on the man. There was nothing you could've done. You can't feel responsible for something you couldn't have changed. You can't bare the weight of the world on your shoulders everyday, all alone."

"But I have to. It's my gift, my curse, its who I am, Mary Jane. I am Spider-Man. Not me and Harry or me and Aunt May or-"

"You and me?" she finished. Before he could speak, she started again. "You don't have to do this alone. I want to be here, just like I am now. I want to help, Tiger."

"Don't you see how dangerous it is, MJ? Because of me, you and Aunt May almost died." Peter shook his head in protest.

"But we're not. We're alive because of you. If you had helped the Goblin instead or did nothing at all, we might all already be dead," MJ tried talking some sense into him.

"It's my cross to bare. With great power, comes great responsibility," he stated, eyes glazed with sadness.

MJ studied him closely, head tilted. She leaned into him, putting a gloved hand on his bandaged one. "There's something more, isn't there? There's something else you're not telling me yet. Some reason that makes you feel this way, makes you think its your responsibility to be a puppet for this city."

Peter shivered under her ability to see right through him, to see all the pain and emotion he kept locked deep inside. He stared at her black-gloved fingers gently playing with the tie of his makeshift bandage. He didn't know what to say, didn't know how to respond. He only knew he wasn't ready to admit he'd killed his uncle, and bared all the responsibility of it.

MJ saw him close up right before her eyes. He shut down completely and she knew she'd touched base with the very thing that compelled him to be Spider-Man and perhaps what also kept him from giving in to his love for her. She so desperately ached for the knowledge of his fear and guilt, what drove him to this. But, she'd have to be content with what he told her for today; she knew it was a big step for him. She nodded in understanding, letting out a deep breath. "When you're ready to tell me the rest of the story, 'll be right here."

Peter felt grateful to have his burden shared and yet ached with the guilt that it had to be MJ who was on the receiving end. She deserved so much more, so much better. He gave a small half smile and reached for his coffee. "Thanks, Red."

A bitter wind sliced through the air, making them both shiver. She turned his hand over in hers, examining the blood stained bandage. "Have you taken care of this?"

He shrugged indifference. "Just a reminder of how I let my temper get the better of me, it'll heal fast."

MJ began untying it. "Not if you don't take care of it properly. Super powers or not." She pulled the handkerchief away to reveal red swollen gashes across his knuckles. She touched them gingerly, her face contorted. "These look very painful."

Peter looked at his own hand without much concern. "MJ, I'm sorry for grabbing you like that before. I'll never forgive myself for hurting you. I never should've done that, I could've-"

"Hey, would you stop already," she hushed him. "Peter Parker, you have enough guilt buried inside you to drive a person insane! The last thing I want is to make you feel any more guilt, especially for something so trivial. You grabbed my wrists, big deal. I-"

"But-"

She put a finger to his lips. "I am fine. Your temper got the best of you and all you did was grab me. It's not like you socked me in the face. Even still, you managed to control yourself to some extent. I'm not hurt, I forgive you and if you don't forgive yourself, I'm gonna sock you in the face," she demanded.

He grinned at how she took control of the conversation. "Maybe it would make me feel better if you did."

"Don't tempt me, Parker," she beamed with a gleam in her eye. "I just might. Especially, if you don't put a damn smile on your face and enjoy the holidays," she slipped her scarf off her neck, rewrapping the wound.

"Your scarf," he pouted.

"Buy me a new one," she tucked the handkerchief in her pocket. "You need a new bandage. The other is soaked through."

He warmed at her gentleness. He smiled deeply at her, his heart doing flip flops as the wind rustled the few strands of hair that escaped her clip. A long red strand blew against her face. He reached out with his good hand to brush it away from her teal eyes. His hand lingered at the corner of her lips, brushing away traces of cocoa from her lips.

Her eyes looked up from her task to stare at him in wonder. He was smiling widely, dimples bright red from the cold. She felt her insides quiver knowing that smile was for her alone.

"You had some cocoa on your lips," he explained, hand still residing at her cheek.

"Oh," she grinned, tying off the makeshift bandage. "When we get you home, we'll have to take care of this properly."

"Uh huh," he replied seemingly distracted, lost in her gorgeous eyes. His fingers absent-mindedly stroked her skin.

"Feeling better now?" MJ blushed under his intense gaze and touch.

His other hand came up to cup her other cheek. He leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and listened to their labored breathing for a moment. He felt his heart expand when her arms embraced him, pulling him that much closer to her. "Thank you, for believing in me."

She wished for nothing more than to kiss him now and never stop. She knew that he sought comfort right now and she wasn't sure what else to do other than to hold him close.

He moved his forehead from hers, to rest on her shoulder. He breathed in her sweet scent. A sense of peace settled over him. He sighed heavily, wishing he could spend everyday like this with her. Her hand roamed through his brunette locks, comforting him. He snuggled deeper into her neck, lips pressed against her collarbone. He felt the warmth of her skin on his lips and he yearned to kiss her.

She rested her cheek against his soft hair, relishing in his close presence. She stroked the nape of his neck, fingers tangling in his brunette locks. She closed her eyes and smiled when his lips tickled her throat. She yearned to know what his lips could do to the rest of her.

Minutes later he finally lifted his head from her sanctuary and gave a weak smile. "We should head back. Aunt May 'll have a cow if we miss dinner."

MJ agreed, a small smile of her own on her lips. "That she will," she stood, grabbing her cocoa which was quite cold now. She raised her brows and stepped off the carousel. "We have plenty of presents to open too."

Peter watched her walk off to throw her cup away. He looked around at the carousel and admired the rickety, old structure once more. It was his salvation for many years in his childhood. His eyes scanned the forest for MJ, falling on her red head as she tossed her cup away. Perhaps MJ could be his new salvation?

He stood, cup in hand. One last glance at the wooden horses and he hopped off into the grass. He followed MJ's footprints to throw his cup away and met her at the entrance of the forest. "Ready?"

She wrapped her arm around his and smiled. "Ready, Tiger."