His nose was wet. So was his cheek. Was she licking him?

What the fuck?

Pete opened his eyes to the harsh light and there Jerry stood, his nails digging into Pete's pectoral as he proceeded to lick every inch of his face. Pete lifted the dog off of his chest and settled him on the bed beside him with a little pat to the head.

That was Jerry, Maisy's dog. This was Maisy's soft bed. This was Maisy's cozy bedroom. He was in Maisy's apartment.

All at once the previous evening flooded his memory, albeit slightly hazy. A dreaded sense of déjà vu washed over him, as he lifted his faintly still-hung-over head from the bed and pushed himself out of bed. Last time he had woken up here it had not ended well and now Pete was determined to stop history from repeating itself.

Pushing open the bedroom door, Pete found Maisy in the kitchen singing softly to herself as she hopped around the kitchen, collecting the ingredients to make French toast. Her lilting voice needed no musical accompaniment as it sailed over the words about searching for "a true fine love" and being finally ready to settle down; and watching her prance around in her black sweat pants and grey ribbed tank the idea didn't sound so bad.

"Not for a couple of years though, right?" Pete laughed as he snuck up behind Maisy, causing her to fumble the tub of margarine she was retrieving from the refrigerator.

"Yeah, no, not for a couple of years." Maisy said bashfully, as Pete sauntered over, laying a kiss on her moderately chapped lips from last night. While he hadn't been left high and dry, they hadn't gone quite as far as Pete would have liked; he wasn't complaining though, as he didn't want Maisy to think he only came over for a hook up.

"It's Steve Miller Band. My dad always used to sing it to my mom." Maisy said, breaking Pete from his reverie.

"My mum probably would've had a stroke if my dad had sung to her." Pete said with a snort then a groan when his cell phone began to ring from the counter. Maisy recognized the jaunty little tune as one of the songs played in the stadium the day Pete took her to see the Hammers. Checking the number he mumbled, "Speak of the devil."

Before he could even so much as utter a greeting, a shrieking came from the other side of the line. Wincing he put the phone back to his ear to reply, "I know I was supposed to call you back…yes I know what it does to your nerves…I'm sorry…" Maisy couldn't help but laugh at how much of a huffy child he sounded like as he spoke to his mother.

"Can I call you back later? Now's not a great time, I'm at Maisy's…Mum…" Maisy laughed as he groaned just like the boys in her class. "Yes, I promise I will… Why, I said I promised I would. Now? … Fine…" He said with a roll of his eyes before looking back to Maisy.

"Maisy, do you want to come to dinner at my Mum's house tonight?" He asked loud enough for his mother to hear before quietly adding, "You don't have to. It's just gonna be dinner, she'll probably kidnap you for the whole night and torture you with questions and embarrassing stories." He said, almost imploring her not to go.

"Tell her I'll bring dessert." She laughed as dipped another slice of bread into the egg mixture. Flopping his head back in dramatic exertion, Pete pulled the phone back up to his ear and put on an faux excited voice.

"Good news, Maisy said she'll come and bring dessert…Ok see you at 6… Love you too, Mum." He mumbled.

"So, you told your mother about me?" Maisy asked with a hint of glee as she set the slices on the hot griddle.

"You are my girlfriend, remember?" Pete smirked

"Yeah, but I wasn't until last night, and she already knows who I am." Maisy pressed uncharacteristically, suppressing a smile.

"Ok, so I told my Mum about you before you were my girlfriend." Pete murmured a bit diffidently, wary of her reaction.

"You told you Mom about me before I was your girlfriend." Maisy said sauntering leaning across counter with a grin splitting across her face, breakfast temporarily discarded.

Pete walked up to the quaint house with Maisy by his side. Never had he thought he would be reluctant to go to a house filled with such good memories.

"We don't have to stay long- or we could come up with some sort of abort mission signal." Pete suggested as they walked the flat stone path to the house.

"Or you can suck it up and suffer through one evening. Consider it atonement" Maisy laughed as she rang the doorbell.

After Pete had helped her painstakingly peel all of the apples he had picked up from the market for the apple pie she made, he had gone home to shower and change, though not before complaining about her breakfast cooking skills and taking her out for what he called a "proper English breakfast". According to Pete, Americans just didn't understand the concept of a rounded breakfast.

Finally, he felt relaxed in his dark wash jeans and favorite navy blue pull over after a day and a half in his work clothes. Maisy on the other hand looked beautiful as ever, in a pair of jeans as well but somehow managing to look classier than he ever did in them. He suspected it was the way she carried herself, even if it was done subconsciously. Now trying to seem more confident than she felt, Maisy hoped Pete didn't notice as she checked her appearance in the reflection of the glass door, self-conscientiously adjusting the gold sequined collar of her Peter Pan cardigan.

However, as Maisy was beginning to learn, Pete was smarter than he let on and didn't miss much. "You're nervous about meeting my mum, aren't you?" He smirked.

Rather than put on a fake display of confidence, Maisy balked at him, letting her nerves take over her lips, "Of course I'm nervous, I'm meeting your family and apparently I have a reputation to live up to. There's also the fact that we've been back together less than 24 hours after a week apart which was proceed with just a few hours-"

"Well aren't you a vision!" Nora Dunham exclaimed as she opened her front door. Her blonde hair glowing golden in the dim light from the porch lamp, she looked like a beacon of all that was just, kind, and maternal in the world.

"Ugh, now don't start." Pete groaned as Nora began to smother each of them in warm hugs.

"Oh, you hush!" She scolded with a gentle tap to Pete's shoulder, "Hello Maisy! I'm Pete's mum, Nora."

"I think she figured that out, Mum." Pete said sarcastically, laying a hand on Maisy's lower back to guide her into the house.

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Dunham." Maisy replied, ignoring Pete.

"Oh, call me Nora!" She said with a glittering smile, aimed mostly at Pete, who rolled his eyes.

"We brought an apple pie. Pete enjoyed the irony." Maisy smiled back at him as they were led to the living room, where she spied two other guests she figured to be Pete's brother and his wife.

"Mase, this is my brother Steve and his wife Shannon." Pete introduced.

Maisy shook their hands with a sweet smile. "It's nice to meet you both, and congratulations." She added, nodding to the small baby bump protruding from the petite brunette.

"Thank you." Shannon said politely, rubbing her stomach.

"Well, I've got to finish dinner; I'll be back in a moment." Said Nora.

"Do you need any help?" Maisy asked.

"Oh no, Flower, you're a guest, go sit down and relax with everyone. If I need a hand I'll give one of the boys a shout." Nora replied before scurrying off towards the kitchen.

Maisy and Pete sat down on the couch perpendicular to Shannon and Steve's, an awkward silence descending on the group. Pete was studying the dated floral pattern on the wallpaper when he heard the voice he least expected to hear.

"So where did you two meet?" Shannon asked congenially.

"At work, I teach year one at Thoriver." Maisy explained

"Really?" Steve asked, sounding a mite surprised.

"Yeah, bruv." Pete said with a smile though his tone didn't exactly match his expression. An imperceptible look passed between the two brothers, before silence descended on the group again.

"I love your necklace." Maisy complimented Shannon, attempting to ease some of the tension again.

Running her finger over the smooth gold charm, Shannon smiled. "Thank you; it was a gift from Steve… That's interesting." She said gesturing to one of the chunky silver rings Maisy sported as the young woman spun it anxiously on her thin fingers.

"Oh, it's made from an old spoon. My brother Sam saw I liked a similar one at a fair we went to so he made me one in his shop for my birthday." Maisy explained with a reminiscent smile.

"Hard act to follow, innit?" Pete laughed before the silence descended again, this time lasting until Nora came to get them for dinner.

"All set, flowers." She proclaimed with a sunny smile. That was how Maisy would describe Nora to her family: sunny.

Walking down the narrow hallway, Maisy saw a wall of photos similar to the one in her flat. Laughing as she spotted an embarrassing picture of Steve on a bicycle and an absolutely gleeful Pete beside him.

"Nice tricycle." She ribbed.

"Shut up." He smiled reluctantly at her chuckling before tugging her elbow down the hall towards the dining room, "Come on."

The meal passed pleasantly enough with Nora leading most of the conversation, asking Maisy questions about how she was finding London and Shannon how the nursery was coming. Maisy could tell there was tension between the two brothers and maybe even Shannon, but Nora held such a strong maternal force any squabbles that might have begun to erupt were squashed with one pointed look.

Soon Maisy and Shannon found themselves seated on either side of Nora in the living room, going over old family albums while the boys did the dishes.

"Ouch, what happened there?" Maisy asked as she saw a picture of a young Steve displaying a smattering of bruises and cuts.

"Oh, that was after a particularly nasty fight, I think." Nora answered a hint of sorrow in her voice. Shannon stiffened beside her and rubbed her stomach.

"You knew about the firm?" Maisy asked stunned.

"Of course I knew- a mother always knows what her boys are up to." Nora said with a smile, "Especially when one starts a firm."

"So Steve started the firm?" Maisy asked perplexed. From what she had seen of the man today he seemed quite reserved. Though, when she thought about the annoyed spark behind his eyes as Pete goofed around at dinner she could start to envision it. Shannon started to squirm uncomfortably as Nora thought of her words and Maisy gathered that the firm was a sticking point for her.

"Steve was very angry after their father, Geoffrey, died. He lost him just when a young man begins to need a good male role model- though I'm not sure he would've gotten it." Nora said as a quiet aside. "He didn't deal with it well, even though the two never got along. I think he needed an outlet of sorts. He was angry at the world- for their father, probably at me some. I think it was a lot of things."

Nora's fingers traced over Pete's face in the same picture; only about 15, beaming, with his older brother's arm slung heavily around his shoulders. "I think it surprised me more when Pete began to get involved. He'd always loved soccer and looked up to Steve, but he was always so much more …sensitive than Steve was."

"Sensitive?" Shannon scoffed in surprise at Nora's words, while Maisy gazed intently at the older woman, seeming to understand what she meant.

"I know it sounds silly," Nora smiled then gazed back at the photo speaking softly, "But Pete wasn't searching for violence when he joined the firm, or even when he took over after Steve quit." She determined with a shake of her head, "I think he was looking for something else…" Nora finished, sending another warm smile towards Maisy.

"Those boys are taking too long; I should go check and make sure they haven't drowned each other in the dish soap!" Nora said with a bright laugh, leaving the two women on the sofa to ponder her words.

Before long Steve and Shannon left and Maisy and Pete decided to follow, though not before Nora gave them each enough leftovers to last them half the week.

"Thank you so much for having me." Maisy said with an affectionate smile. There was something about Nora that reminded Maisy of her own mother, and satiated the light ache that distance between the two had created.

"Oh, it was wonderful to meet you, Maisy!" Nora said with a face splitting grin and another kiss to her cheek, "Do come back, we'd love to have you!"

"And you!" Nora said turning to her son with mock anger, "Nice of you to actually bring one around, I like her." She said with a playful nod towards Maisy before pulling her youngest in for a hug.

"Mum…"He groaned as he pulled back and saw her eyes beginning to water, "I talk to you tomorrow!" He laughed.

"I know, I know" She smiled waving them away. "Off you go, then." Nora commanded giving Pete's rear a smack as they walked away, the way mother's do.

"Oi!" He cried like an embarrassed teenager before shaking his head and leading Maisy to the car. Waving as they left Maisy turned to ask Pete a question,

"Why was your mother so happy you brought me?" She asked perplexed. Pete smiled, pulling the car around the corner.

"'Cause you're the first one I brought home."

"No way!" Maisy laughed, believing it to be an outright lie.

"I'm serious, not a-one!" He stated, enjoying the shock on her face, "Why's that so hard to believe?"

"I dunno," Maisy mumbled, pulling her sweater a little further over her, "I've seen the way the women at work fawn over you," Pete cast a salacious grin towards her at the undercurrent of jealousy in her voice, prompting her to respond spitefully, "including Francine Howard." She added with a wagging brow. Mrs. Howard was the elderly receptionist, who was rumored to have been with Thoriver since it inception in the late-nineteenth century.

"Christ, just what I need." Pete laughed, before turning a bit somber, "Speaking of unwanted attention, I think I know what you mean, with Philip Miller that is. Something seemed off with him during football. I tried to help him when he cocked up a goal, but he just stood there. I could tell he was listenin' to me. Then, he was still as a statue for the rest of the game." Pete said, trying to decipher the boy's peculiar behavior.

"Something's going on with him. His sister Kayla is about fifteen or so and she normally picks him up after school. I think on Monday, I'm gonna ask her to stick around." Maisy decided.

"What about the parents?" Pete asked, unsure how much help a fifteen-year-old girl could be when it came do concerns about her younger brother.

"His info said his mother died a little over two years ago, I guess. They live with the father but I've only met him once on the first day of school, and he didn't even bother to really introduce himself." Maisy explained.

"Is Bovver gonna go into a tailspin of his own now that you've missed two weekend matches straight?" She suddenly thought, realizing it was football day. Pete instantly tensed at his friend's name, prompting Maisy to reflexively reach over and gently scratch the nape of his neck with her short taupe colored nails.

"If Bovver wants to face off with Nora Dunham, he can have at it." He replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Well at least he gets custody of you tonight, maybe that'll settle him down a bit." She said with a knowing smile.

"Fuckin' hope so." Pete mumbled. "I'm still comin' back to yours after though, right?"

"Of course, baby." Maisy murmured, taking in the strong line of his jaw as he concentrated on the road in front of him.

As he instinctively set a hand on her leg rubbing soft circles, she realized that she could deal with him being in the firm. All of the pieces of him, even the bad, added up the beautiful man sitting next to her. Would she like the worry and anxiety it was sure to bring her? Probably not. Was he worth it? Probably. Tucking a piece of shaggy hair behind his ear, she gave him a smile.

"You're where I want to be." She whispered.

Now curled in bed reading, Maisy was biting back the urge to check her phone for what felt like the hundredth time. Pete had said he would be by her apartment before midnight and it had just gone 12:45 AM. Feeling the panic rise in her throat from replaying all the words she had read, she instead closed her eyes taking a deep breath before falling back into her book.

She should've known she was doomed to take Pete back when she had dedicated three nights of the week they spent apart, researching football and hooliganism in the week they had been apart. Within minutes she had come to regret it- there might have been something to the phrase "ignorance is bliss".

Now knowing how those all mysterious bruises had come to form, they set Maisy on edge. Though she never would voice her concern as she didn't want to be cast as the nagging girlfriend not even a week in, Maisy would sometimes find her mind drifting and drawing up images of his blood strewn across back alleys, his broken body deserted on dirty streets after a fight gone too far.

The shrill ringing of Maisy's phone distracted her from her thoughts. Heartbeat racing she lunged across the soft comforter, her disappointment at seeing her parent's number only lasting seconds before the panic resumed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Baby!" Susan Thompson's warm voice called from miles away.

"Mama? What's going on? Why are you calling so late- is everyone ok?" Maisy questioned, rattling the sleep from her voice.

"Oh Mase, I'm sorry, I keep forgetting about the time difference. Poor baby, did I wake you up?" Susan's voice soothed.

"No Ma, I'm fine, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just miss you! How you doing over there, baby?"

"I'm doing OK, my boys are all doing good!"

"I'm sure he is." Susan said dryly.

"Mama!" Maisy admonished, failing to suppress a chuckle, "How's everyone doing?"

"Good, Sam and Abe just left- wore me all out. I swear your brothers are more trouble now than they were when they lived here. Sarah's upstairs all pouty over one thing or another. I think she misses you." Maisy snorted at the prospect of her younger sister missing her.

"She does!" Her mother insisted.

"I'm sure." Maisy laughed. She was quite certain that her younger sister was more than happy to be the only one left in the house with her parents. At fifteen, a good twelve years younger than her oldest sibling, she had never felt like one of the gang. There had been a lifetime of birthdays, Christmases and vacations before she was born, bonding the four elder children closely, and leaving a bit of gap between them and the young girl. For a long time Maisy had also had trouble with her position being usurped.

"You know who really misses you, though? Your Papa" Susan admitted.

"He does?" Maisy questioned, unbidden tears prickling the edges of her eyes.

"Of course he does! He doesn't say it in so many words but he's already got your whole itinerary set for when you come home." Maisy rolled her eyes at what seemed like a classic "Papa" move. "Speak of the devil- Thomas! Thom-Thom! Maisy's on the phone!" Her mother hollered into the mouthpiece, in apparent disregard for her daughter's hearing. "Just a minute, baby, here he comes."

"Hello?"

"Hey, Papa! I heard you miss me." Maisy laughed as she heard her father guffaw a bit on the other end.

"I wouldn't go that far…" He answered with a chuckle. "How's your apartment working out? You fix that thermostat problem yet?" Maisy tugged the brown and cream wool sweater her mom had knit her further down her arms, pulling Jerry into her for extra warmth.

"Yup, I did just what you told me and now it's warm as the gulf in here."

"Maisy-Mouse you are the worst liar!" Thomas accused, "Why don't you see if that Patrick fellow can help?" Thomas asked, knowing full well Pete's name. He knew it so well, in fact, that he had used the WiFi his eldest son Sam had set up for him to do some google-ing. Maisy had sighed of relief when Sam called to say the preliminary search came up clean.

"I know you know that's not his name." Maisy said.

"All the same you should ask him." Thomas sighed, knowing how stubborn his middle daughter could be and the likelihood of her asking someone for help. "It's gotta be late over there, I'll talk to you later Maisy-Mouse."

"OK, 'night, Papa. Love you!" Maisy proclaimed with a giggle, imagining her father rolling his eyes.

"Night Mase, love you too." He said begrudgingly before hanging up the phone. Maisy set the phone down, pulled the cream colored comforter under her chin, and glanced at the clock again, waiting, as sleep gently overtook her.

A loud, heavy thud woke her up. Maisy lay rigid in her bed, praying the slumbering pup beside her wouldn't wake and start barking. Staying stock still in her bed she waited to hear them continue farther but the apartment remained quiet. Then, she heard them. The steps were slow and hesitant as they moved through the living room, pausing by what she guessed was the kitchen before slowing continuing towards the bedroom.

She tried to think of what to do- should she try to run? She would probably never make it past the intruder, she realized.

Hide somewhere in the room? Under the bed? She thought but came to the same realization, it wouldn't work. Her room was too small, they would find her.

As the footsteps stopped just outside her bedroom door she realized all those ideas were moot anyways, she couldn't do anything by lay beneath the covers frozen in panic. The door inched open and Maisy held her breath until she heard he intruder release his in appreciation of the sight in front of him.

Maisy jumped out of bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck feeling a combination a foolishness and relief.

Stumbling back a step, Pete let out a grunt. "I thought you were asleep."

"I thought you were a burglar." She confessed into his throat. "It didn't sound like you're normal steps." Pete let out a chuckle,

"Well, I've got you now, babe." He said comfortingly, stroking her auburn curls. Maisy nuzzled her cheek against his collarbone, taking comfort in the strength and security she felt with his arms around her. Pete could feel her heartbeat and breathing begin to settle even as he held her tighter to his chest.

"Alright, Love?" He smirked, pulling her back to lay a sweet kiss on her lips. Soon Maisy's lips were more insistent than he was prepared for, lighting all his nerves on fire. Maisy's arms tightened around his neck to leverage her hips into his. Pete tried to stifle a moan at the rushed contact.

"Mase, you're making it really hard to be a good guy here." He breathed as her kisses trailed across his jaw to gently nip at his earlobe.

"Do you love me?" Maisy whispered.

"So much," He murmured against her hair. Maisy drew her eyes warily up to his.

"Then show me." She said softly. Pete restrained himself for a mere second before clasping his hands on either side of her oval face, her sweet scent washing over him as their breathe began to race. Pete picked her up, coaxing her into wrapping her legs around his midsection as he walked over to the bed.

Maisy fell back onto the bed, laughing as Jerry finally jolted awake then scampered into the living room.

"Good dog." Pete murmured as he took his turn nibbling on Maisy's neck.

Maisy grabbed at Pete's waist, tugging both his pullover and tee off in one fell swoop. Maisy pulled him back with her, cradling him between her legs as she ran her hands over the newly revealed flesh, the toned muscles of his back tensing under her fingers as he moved over her.

Pete returned the favor, gently pulling the handcrafted sweater over her head. He glanced down and gave a deep growl at how perfect she looked spread below him, her chest rising and falling with her shallow breath, the ivory satin of her bra against the slight flush spreading across her chest. He moved forward lowering some of his weight onto her and couldn't help but groan at the feel of the woman he loved, soft and warm beneath him. A gasp escaped her mouth, her hot breath warm against his cheeks.

"You ok?" He panted. Maisy tightened her legs around his waist at his words and raked her fingers through his hair.

"I'm perfect. You're perfect." She moaned as he began to move again. "Oh, God!" Pete tried to restrain himself, remembering trading "first time" stories with her. Hers had not been great, fumbling around in the back seat of a truck on the way home from Prom.

Determined to leave a different impression, Pete's roving hand clasped onto her hip, drawing a shiver out of Maisy at the intensified friction. Maisy reached for his hands, holding each in hers above her head, before giving a trust of her hips, prompting him to flip them over.

Pete could tell she was blushing again, just by the tilt of her head. Maisy bit her lip before leaning down to kiss him, her red tresses falling over him like a ruby curtain.

Maisy grasped his jaw in her hand, gently tilting it upwards so she could kiss and nibble her way down his throat, to his collar bone, then his pectoral.

"Jesus, fuck!" He growled with an involuntary buck of his hips. Maisy gave a happy hum before moving farther south.

"I do love you, Maisy." Pete whispered, her smile appearing even brighter in the moonlight. "More than I've ever loved anyone else."

"Look at you, my big, bad Hooligan- professing his love in the moonlight." Maisy giggled as Pete's body ground against her soft cotton shorts, doing its own professing.

"Oi! No laughing when I'm 'bout to make love to you." Pete gently chided between kisses.

"Just…be nice and gentle with me." She entreated him, even as she reached to undo the button and zipper of his jeans, leading him to think she meant more than physically.

"I'll take care of you, I promise." Pete vowed, slowly shrugging off his jeans. Placing hot kisses down her neck and across her chest, he gently coaxed her back onto the bed. His hands grazed lower still, clasping the elastic of her cotton shorts. Pete looked up for her consent and grinned at her visible blush, followed by a coy nod.

Pete rid Maisy of her shorts and panties as she pulled at his boxers, anxious to have nothing separating them. Pete settled back between her legs, propping himself up by the elbows, his arms underneath her shoulders so he could frame her face with his hands and lay gentle kisses on her soft lips.

"I promise." He repeated

Maisy's breath had even out a while ago, but he couldn't sleep. Looking down at her, Pete grinned. She lay on her side, her soft hand on his chest and below her cheek, completely exhausted. He couldn't blame her as his body ached to the bone.

He felt like a downright nancy, feeling so much after sex. Maybe it was because it was with her and he loved her. He'd never had sex with someone he loved before and he'd never experience this type of serenity afterwards.

Goosebumps broke out along her skin as he stroked her arm, the ivory skin glowing in the moonlight that flooded the room. Pete pulled the heavy covers further over their still bared skin.

"I'm not cold. They're from the way you're looking at me." Maisy murmured, surprising him a bit, as she opened her eyes. "Nobody's ever looked at me like that."

"You deserve it." Pete whispered, trying to convey all of the emotion he was unable to speak through his eyes.

"I know, Baby, its fine." Maisy said caressing his stubbly jaw, recognizing the emotions laying just beyond his tongue, "I feel all that too."

A/N: Another chapter done! So…they did it :) I've never written that kind of a scene so…yeah :*). That's for the reviews you all gave they made me so happy! I'd love to hear more from all of you. I'm trying not to make Maisy all Mary-Janey or whatever, but a major part of her story, is going from a girl whose lived in a small town her whole life, to a more urbane woman and that journey.

Please review and tell me what you all thank and once again, THANK YOU for reading :D

Love, Melinda!