Chapter 29

He opened the door quietly, smiling when he heard her moving in the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when he heard something falling to the floor, a loud yelp and a string of curses that made him grin. He approached with caution, leaning on the counter as he looked at her. "I think I'm a bad influence." He said, keeping a straight face when she jumped and turned to face him.

"You scared me." She accused, waving a kitchen knife at him. "And you're late."

"Sorry, the meeting was longer than we expected."

She kept on cutting the vegetables and he raised his eyebrows. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She responded.

He approached her, touching her shoulder, a smile on his face. "Is this the time of the month? I can tell, you know, you're…" He trailed off, his eyes widening at the glare she gave him. "You're not different at all than usual, in fact, you are so much more charming…" He stopped talking again when he saw the tears in her eyes, she averted her eyes and he pried the knife from her hand before pulling her into his arms. "Megan, what's wrong?"

Her tears were warm against his shirt and Megan stomped her foot in frustration. "It'd been a bad day, that's all. My new partner is a nightmare and I'm tired and cranky and no, Bobby, it's not the time of the month." She chuckled a little. "I just wanna crawl into bed and wake up tomorrow."

"You can go to bed if you want to." He smiled, kissing her hair and tilting her head so that he could wipe her tears.

"I can't. Everyone is coming in an hour and a half and nothing is ready." She said, surveying the mess she made in the kitchen. "I don't cook well when I'm in a lousy mood."

"I'll tell you what. You sit down." He positioned her on one of the chairs. "I'll make you some coffee and then you can supervise while I'll finish making dinner. You know you like to supervise and I won't burn anything if you're here."

She smiled. "Make it hot chocolate and we have a deal."

He arched an eyebrow. "Comfort drink? That bad?"

"When you first met me, did you think I was mean?"

"Mean?"

"Yes, mean, evil, bad, insensitive, you know."

"Well…I…why do you ask?" He tried to avoid the question.

"My new partner said I was mean, right in front of the patient." She said quietly.

"Why would he say that?" Bobby handed her the hot chocolate and moved behind her, intent on relieving some of her tension by releasing the knots in her shoulders "No wonder you're stressed." He mumbled, easing the pressure when she yelped.

"You remember we use a chair when we have to carry patients down the stairs." Bobby nodded his head and placed a kiss on her head. "We always secure them to the chair and make sure their hands are secured to their bodies. My new partner insisted that it was hurting the patient and refused to secure her hands. I didn't want to keep on arguing with him, so I allowed it and our patient got into hysteria in the middle and grabbed the railing. I'm telling you if she was any heavier I would have dropped her along with the chair and my so-called partner, I'm having a hard time carrying them as it is."

"A rookie mistake."

"Yeah, but couldn't he wait for us to be alone before calling me names? Am I really that bad?"

He sighed and sat in front of her. "I think people see your professionalism and at first sight it looks like you're cold hearted."

"You called me cold hearted before. Do you still think I am?" She asked, rolling her eyes when he grinned. "I'm serious."

"Megan, after that talk we had at the hospital about why you acted the way you did, I never thought you are cold hearted."

"Then…why did we fight all the time?"

He laughed and traced a line on her cheek. "I think, some part of me recognized attraction and I couldn't let anything happen to you. But you were so stubborn, you never listened to a word I said and I grew very annoyed with you on one hand and very fascinated in the other."

She smiled a little and leaned into his touch. "Thank you…I guess…"

He placed a sweet kiss on her lips before rising from his seat. "Now, what do you want me to do?"

He finished making the lasagna while Megan finished her hot chocolate and joined him at the counter, kissing his shoulder before starting to work on the brownies she wanted to make, feeling cheerful enough to work on them. His eyes lit at the sight of the chocolate and he approached her, resting his chin on the top of her head while she stirred the mixture.

She laughed. "Bobby, the lasagna…"

"I can't. You're distracting me." He pouted.

"Here." She dipped a finger in the rich substance and turned to face him, offering a taste. Bobby swallowed before taking her finger in his mouth, nibbling softly, his eyes wide and dark as he looked at her. Megan had a small smile on her face and she chuckled when he asked for more. She dipped her finger again, but this time brought it into her mouth, watching when his mouth opened and he moved closer, pinning her against the counter. She knew she was playing with fire, but his eyes wouldn't let her stop.

He reached for the bowl and traced a line of chocolate down her neck, leaning to follow it with his tongue. She arched against him, crying out his name, everything fading away as he touched her. Bobby pulled her close before pulling them backwards and sitting on one of the chairs, pulling her on top of him while he positioned the bawl of chocolate on the kitchen table.

She worked on his shirt, unbuttoning it with unstable hands as his mouth kept on teasing her. He gave a startled gasp when she traced his collarbone with her tongue, following a chocolate path from his shoulder to his throat. He pulled her to him, kissing hungrily, tasting chocolate and desire as she moulded herself more intimately against him. He pulled her shirt off her body, throwing it on the floor as he reached for the bowl again, only to find that his hand moved too far and knocked it from the table. The sound of something heavy falling to the floor startled Megan and she raised her eyes to look at him, chuckling at his disappointed eyes.

"Did you drop the bowl?"

"Oops…" He smiled sadly. "I was just getting the hang of it."

She burst into laughter and he held her closer, moving his hands to tickle her. He laughed with her, moving to kiss her, settling his hands in her hair. She laughed into his lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss as their passion induced haze slowly disappeared, leaving them still breathless.

Bobby leaned her head against his shoulder, caressing her hair. "I love you." He whispered, finding no point in hiding his feelings anymore. "I loved you since the moment you gave me that cup of tea. When I was yelling at you I loved you even more because you yelled back at me, does that make any sense? I loved you when you pushed me away and that's the reason I refused to go." He took a deep breathe. "Are you crying?" She nodded her head, her face buried in his neck. He tightened his hold when she didn't speak and closed his eyes. "Say something…anything…"

Megan took a deep breathe, her entire body shaking as she fought for control. She couldn't define her feelings only that she was content and scared out of her mind at the same time. She knew his feelings, she knew he loved her ever since the night he told her he had a gambling problem, but he was quiet about it and she was grateful. She knew her feelings, but could she voice them out loud? She refused to let the past dictate her present. He was different, they were different, everything about their relationship was better. Their friendship was stronger, their passion higher. "I love you too." She whispered and the sudden smile that illuminated her face erased every doubt she ever had.

He cupped her face with his hands, not bothering to hide his bright eyes before he kissed her, his lips warm and inviting. She drowned in the kiss, taking and giving, their breath mingling together.

The smell of something burning disturbed the lazy exploration and Megan tore her mouth away from his and sighed. "Bobby, why did you put the lasagna in the oven?"

"Wasn't I supposed too?" He chuckled, caressing her shoulder.

"You were supposed to set the timer." She rolled her eyes and got up from his lap, moving towards the oven. Bobby smirked at the sight of her with her hair all messed up and wearing nothing but her bra and jeans. The doorbell ringed and he jumped to his feet, quickly unbuttoning his shirt and picking up hers from the floor. He handed her the shirt, kissed her and walked towards the door.

"Sparky! Sue!" He greeted then enthusiastically, wondering why they couldn't cancel so that he and Megan could have a private dinner, maybe in bed.

"Crash." The couple walked inside, smiling. "Trying the wild look in your hair?"

Bobby hastily tried to straighten his hair when Sue raised her eyebrow. "Is that chocolate on your neck?" His red face spoke volumes and Jack tapped on her shoulder.

"Megan is in the kitchen, laughing hysterically." He said, grinning at his best friend.

Bobby scowled at them before rolling his eyes. "It's not that funny!" He shouted and Megan emerged from the kitchen, her hair much more in order and the phone in her hand.

"The lasagna is ruined and someone practically dropped the desert." She winked. "I think the Italian restaurant should do the trick."

Jack and Sue nodded their heads and Sue pulled out her blackberry. "I'll tell Lucy to drop by the deli and pick something nice for desert."

Dinner was successful despite the burnt lasagna and ruined brownies. They ordered all kinds of Italian food and everyone settled in the living room for desert when Jack cleared his throat and rose from his seat, pulling Sue to stand at his side. "We wanted to share some news with all of you." The room was silent and Sue grinned when Lucy's eyes widened and she gasped quietly. "Two weeks ago, I asked Sue to marry me and to my…great surprise…" She smacked his forearm. "She said yes."

The room erupted with cheers but Lucy's squeal was the loudest. "Two weeks? Why haven't you said anything? Oh my god! Congratulations!" She jumped on her feet and hugged them. Everyone talked at once and the women all adored Sue's engagement ring.

"Why did you wait for two weeks?" Tara asked and Sue and Jack shared a look.

"Well, we wanted to set up a date before we'll tell anyone."

"And we wanted to make sure our friends were alright." Jack said, toasting Bobby and Megan with his glass of juice. Bobby smiled, an understanding passing between the best friends as he pulled Megan into his arms, leaning against the wall as they sat together on the carpet.

"Well? When is the big day?" Lucy could barely contain her excitement.

"Well, somewhere in the middle of May will work for us."

Lucy's smile broadened and her eyes seemed to lose focus. "Oh…a spring wedding." She mumbled. "We have so much to plan, Sue; the dress, the reception, the church, the food…"

"Someone, make her stop." Myles rolled his eyes, sending a look towards Peter who just shook his head.

"Trust me; I've tried several times, it's impossible to stop her when she's like that."

"…the flowers…"

Megan laughed, leaning her head against Bobby's shoulder and he leaned his head on top of hers, smiling when their fingers intertwined.

It looked like Myles never wanted to end their kiss, desperately holding her close as his mouth explored hers. Tara sighed into his mouth and felt him smiling before he pulled away from her. He rested his head against her forehead and sighed. "I should go."

She nodded her head. "You should."

"Goodnight." He whispered and kept her in his arms, his eyes taking in her flushed face and red lips.

"How many times have we said it already?" Tara giggled and Myles grinned, raising a hand to caress her cheek.

"I lost count." He admitted, his resolution to take things slow crumbling yet again as he needed to leave her side.

They have been dating for almost three months now and he admitted he enjoyed taking things slow, he felt like he didn't miss anything that way. Still, every time he had to leave her side at night was heart wrenching. Tara leaned her head against his shoulder and he sighed, tightening his embrace.

"Myles? Do you think they know about us?" She asked

"Yes, they do." He said quietly. "Jack and Sue know for sure, but they are keeping it quiet. We can't use the same loop hole they used, we're both active agents." He sighed. "I do hate the charade." He admitted and she nodded her head.

"I know but moving to another unit? We're family; I can't even begin to imagine it."

"That's why we're keeping it quiet." He said, caressing her hair. "I really must go, it's getting late."

"Goodnight, Myles." She whispered, leaning into one last kiss.

"Goodnight, Tara." He mumbled to her lips. "Are we still on for tomorrow night?" He asked.

She nodded her head. "A quiet night with your cooking, how can I possibly refuse?" He laughed and she grinned at him. "Can I choose the movie?"

He pondered the thought for a moment. "Alright but bring a box of Kleenex with you since you finished every single one I had at my place."

She rolled her eyes. "Do I have your permission to bring a sappy, girly movie?"

He kissed her lips tenderly. "Goodnight, Tara."

She smiled as she watched him walking towards his car. "Night, Myles, sweet dreams."