A/N: This chapter isn't really a chapter, it's more an interlude of sorts. It's not smutty, and sort of angsty... I'm working on the next chapter, and have the plot of it all worked out, but I'm having trouble writing it. C'est la guerre, them's the breaks...whatever.

This bit isn't really that good, I'll admit, at least I don't think it is, but I'm a bit fucked in the head at the moment, so...it is what it is. I just felt like I had to update. *shrug*

Disclaimer: I do not own skins. Etc. any and all typos should be shot on sight...probably like me.

(Emily POV)

She's sleeping. It's only mid evening, but she was exhausted, so I let her sleep a while. She's stretched out and naked, her hair splayed out over the pillows, breathing, dreaming... With a content smile on her face.

I wonder to myself, as I'm laying beside her, if I've hurt her...if I've overstepped. I love her, and just feel so intensely for her, that I cannot help myself sometimes. It's like it is in my blood, and I literally cannot stop myself until I hit that dangerous point... Were I feel like I've said something, or done something that's over the mark. I know, in some way, that I'm being completely stupid. She loves me, right? I should know by now, that we fit together this way. Intense... Like we are bound together somehow. But we seem to get deeper into ourselves.

The thing about her knickers... It wasn't that it was an explicit instruction for her to wear them unless I said so... I'd just felt like I'd lost control of her for a moment. I knew enough about Naomi to know that she was her own person, but truth be told, I missed her submissive nature. Her and I... We complemented each other, and fed each other's needs, but now... I felt as though I needed to re-assert myself with her. I was probably being ridiculous, but I felt she was slipping away from me, and I wondered...for a brief moment of doubt, whether it was my own doing. I really felt as if I had gone too far, even though she assured me I hadn't. It was a feeling I couldn't help, and it made me feel a little sick inside. Truth be told, it was burning a hole inside me, and in didn't know what to do about it. Have you ever had something so precious to you that you don't even know what to say, for fear of losing it entirely? Well, in spite of our usual open line of communication, this is exactly how I felt right now.

So, I shuffled closer to her, and gently slipped my arm across her stomach, careful not to wake her. I placed a soft kiss against her shoulder, as a single tear slipped out of each eyelid and slid down my warm skin. I felt myself shake as I exhaled an uncertain breath, gently squeezing her body close to mine.

"I love you so goddamn much, beautiful. I cannot ever bear to lose you." I whispered. "If I do, I'll die inside." My voice broke, and it took another deep, shaky breath.

The beautiful blonde in my bed turned towards me and pulled my body into hers, lips nuzzling at my temple. "Love you, too." She murmured, half asleep. "Not...going...anywhere..."

"No?"

Her eyes flickered open, and she regarded me carefully. Her thumbs slid up my cheeks and brushed them dry of my tears. "Never, baby." She said. "Don't cry, yeah? I'm always gonna be here for you."

I smiled weakly, and nestled my head into her shoulder. She softly stroked her fingers through my hair to comfort me. It was nice, and I felt like it was just what I needed. I closed my eyes, and breathed deeply, as every now and again her lips brushed against my temple, soothing me until I fell asleep.

A/N#2: I'm not sure at the moment when the next chapter will be up. Maybe I need a break from it all... I just don't feel like I have the energy right now.

Until next time...

~GN~ xo