READING THE AUTHOR'S NOTE IS VERY IMPORTANT!

If you don't read the author's note, you'll most likely miss out on key information such as warning of extended leave, questions/surveys, acknowledgements, or the occasional life update. Moving right along…

Thanks to all you who have reviewed! Your patience in my unannounced absence was greatly appreciated, and I will try to be a bit more regular with the installments of "One Strike".

In response to those of you who inquired about my recent trip to the UK, it was a lovely trip. Most of my family is still there (I grew up in England, though one can't tell from my oh-so Americanized spelling), so it was a wonderfully random opportunity for me to visit home. My niece and sister-in-law are both out of the hospital and doing very well. Thank you for asking!

So here's the new chapter, as promised (it's a bit short...sorry). I'm not sure when the next one will be up, but it might be a while. Things are heating up at work and my job has me globetrotting again. Ah, well. So goes life.

Oh Yeah.

MAKE SURE TO READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END.

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Content of this chapter that you might want to know about:
-allusions to sex
-slight profanity
-description of a lingerie set?

Chapter 3: A Chance Encounter

Syaoran set down the now-empty carton with a satisfied sigh.

"At least I'm full," he said to the air as he got to his feet. The towel fell down around his ankles, reminding him that he was completely naked but for that particularly pink and fluffy towel he had pulled from the linen closet. Syaoran quickly picked the towel back up and wrapped it around his waist, tucking it in firmly so that it wouldn't come undone. It was a trick he'd learned from Sakura four years ago when they'd gone on their honeymoon to the beach. Their first day there, Syaoran had been dismayed to find out that Sakura had replaced his swim trunks with a garish, neon blue Speedo (the kind that looks for all purposes like a pair of underwear).

Sakura had of coursed giggled to no end. However, showing a bit of mercy on her mortified husband, Sakura had finally offered to show Syaoran how to tuck the towel about his waist in a way that it would be secure enough for him to walk back and forth between the pool and the pool-side bar without all the guests seeing him in his minimal swimwear. She had even openly suggested that they ditch the swimsuits completely and go skinny dipping-- this proposal following the one time Syaoran had actually complained about the skimpy Speedo. Though he had choked on his drink at the time of the suggestion, current circumstances made Syaoran willing to suffer the embarrassment of an obscenely scanty bathing suit in order to secure that same offer of physical contact that had been missing from his life with Sakura for such a painfully long while.

Syaoran chuckled halfheartedly at the memory and walked over to the fridge so he could put back the many cartons of cake he had spread across the kitchen counter. He would have to mention the lack of proper food to Sakura so they wouldn't spend another evening eating greasy take-out or, in the worst case, a disturbing number of jellybeans for dinner. The thought of the last time they had been forced to that extreme brought a true grin to Syaoran's face as he remembered the stricken expression on Sakura's face when she realized that she had, for the 3rd day in a row, forgotten to do the grocery shopping and that both of them were too exhausted to actually go out and get something decent to eat. They had spent that evening sprawled out on their stomachs in front of the fireplace as they picked choice-looking morsels from a large jar of Harry Potter-themed Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Jellybeans that Tomoyo had given Sakura for her birthday. Sakura had laughed herself to tears when Syaoran had enthusiastically chosen several of what he had thought were caramel jellybeans, ending up with his mouth full of earwax-flavored ones instead.

Syaoran shook his head, the smile still on his lips, and tossed the empty container on the table into the trash bin under the sink. Their early days, during the first couple years of their marriage, had been absolutely wild, fraught with a variety of newlywed adventures, including their first (and only) pregnancy scare, and the trials and triumphs of the purchase of their 2-story, gloriously suburban house.

A chill froze its way up Syaoran's spine and he shivered, the hairs on his arms standing up. He rubbed his forearms vigorously, reminded yet again of his state of undress and the urgency with which his body demanded a hot shower. Syaoran was about to start up the kitchen side of the staircase when he heard what sounded like shoe-shod footfalls on the wooden flooring of the adjacent entry/family room. He frowned as he quietly made his way towards the dark-wood door leading into the family room. Sakura shouldn't be home already. It was too early, and plus she was on call, which meant she wouldn't be coming back from the hospital for a while. Syaoran hadn't been expecting her home for another three or four hours. Carefully cracking the door open, Syaoran peered into the family room as discretely as he could. What he saw took his breath away…

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Sakura looked at herself in the mirror appraisingly, noting with satisfaction the consistent texture of her skin and the youthful elasticity it mad maintained over the years. Her thoughts still tumbled over the fact that Syaoran hadn't picked up the phone when she'd called to tell him that she was going to be coming home early from the hospital.

Who am I kidding? she thought with a slight frown, running her hands through her wet hair. It's been almost a full month since Syaoran and I…

Sakura clipped the thought short, not allowing the undeniable truth to unfurl completely in her mind. Whether she denied it or not, well-maintained body and skin aside, she and Syaoran hadn't been together intimately—physically or emotionally— in longer than Sakura wished to acknowledge. And it was beginning to show in their interactions, too…

Pushing this from her mind, Sakura picked up her clothes. She gave her reflection a lingering glance, and then crossed the vestibule to the foot of the family room side of the wraparound staircase. The wall to the right of the stairs was lined with photographs from Sakura and Syaoran's years together, each one placed at approximately eye level for whoever was standing on the particular step with which the photograph aligned. Sakura knew the one she would stop at on her way up the stairs. The very center picture, 5 steps from the bottom, with the gold frame and off-white matte: a glossy 4x6 of their hands – hers and Syaoran's – linked together, fingers intertwined. It was a shot from their wedding day which Eriol had taken Photoshop to, grayscaling everything except their wedding rings so that the twin gold bands shone out from the rest of the picture.

Without ever being sure of why, Sakura knew that it was her favorite picture from her life with Syaoran. Without a reason, Sakura had wept inconsolably when Eriol had presented it to her and Syaoran on their first wedding anniversary as a gift.

Without their realizing it, their fingers had begun to slip and they were slowly but surely drifting apart…

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READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE RIGHT NOW OR YOU'LL SERIOUSLY REGRET IT. VERY VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT!

AN: Okay. Now this is the part where it gets tricky, since I need some input from you guys. The more opinions I get on this, the better. And trust me when I say that you'll be making my job a whole lot easier if you'll just leave a review with your answer to the following question.

I know this chapter has been sort of dramatic, with the drama and such somewhat overshadowing the touch of humor I've tried to add to the early chapters of this story. I'm sure you all know what comes next. It is, of course, the encounter, but my question is this:

Do you want the interaction to be more of the dramatized stuff, or do you want it to be more life-like (as in more of the humorous 'ha-ha, look at the silly situation we're in' sort)? I couldn't really decide which way to go, so it's up to you!

I can't stress enough how important it is that I get feedback so that I know where to go. The sooner I get your opinions, the sooner I can write up the next chapter.

I find it really funny that "One Strike" has almost 2,000 hits (wow, that's a lot!). Seems like tons of people come and check out the story, but only the precious and beloved few actually review! That made me laugh when I saw it in my stats the other day.

So anyway, make sure to give me your thoughts. Very very crucial.