Thanks for the ride, Patrick," Sabrina said as she entered her new apartment ahead of Patrick.

"No, problem. It's the least I could do since your car is in the shop and Emma begged you to come trick or treating with us."

"I was happy to come," Sabrina said on a smile as Patrick closed the door. "Emma looked so cute in her costume."

"Yeah, she did. I took a bunch of pictures for Robin."

Sabrina noticed Patrick's frown when he said Robin's name and, against her better judgment asked, "So, things are still tense between you two?"

"Yeah." Patrick then looked around the disarray of the apartment and said, "looks like you're starting to settle in a little."

"Changing the subject..." Sabrina side-eyed Patrick and then went along with his lead. "Yeah, I am. I love Felix, but I need my own space since Puerto Rico."

When Patrick opened his mouth to get her to elaborate, Sabrina gave him a look that said she didn't want to discuss it. Sabrina was glad that she and Patrick were able to regain the friendship they'd built before everything went to hell; however, she was working to try to keep a level of privacy and distance when it came to certain subjects now that they were no longer a couple.

Patrick was reluctantly working his way toward the door. "Well, I guess I should get going. Since Em is having her Halloween party sleepover at Darcy's, I should get caught up on a few things around the house."

"Unless..." Sabrina started, but then stopped.

"Unless what?"

"You want to hang out for a while. I can order a pizza."

Patrick smiled. "I'd like that."

Patrick was having a great time with Sabrina. He was very happy that they were able to overcome all the pain and regain their friendship since her return from PR. He did feel a little bad that Emma was starting to rely heavily again on Sabrina in Robin's absence though, which, he assumed was why Sabrina seemed reluctant to give them 100% only to be "replaced" when Robin returned. He didn't really like the distance, but he accepted it because having Sabrina back in his life was better than the alternative. The three months she was gone was actually worse for Patrick than Robins absence, a fact he didn't like to ponder for fear of the results.

"Thanks for the pizza and beer," he said. "This was fun."

Sabrina smiled her mega-watt smile and replied. "Yeah, it was. Thanks for keeping me company."

"Anytime."

"Well, it's getting late. I have to work the early shift tomorrow, so..."

"Yeah... I guess I should go." Patrick said as he stood up and worked his way thought her maze of boxes toward the door. He'd just pulled the door open and was about to walk out when Sabrina's smoke detector in her bedroom started going off.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed frustratedly. "Maintenance was supposed to fix that and I'm not tall enough to reach the ceiling - even with my stepstool."

"I could look at it for you. Worst case I can take it down and take out the battery until maintenance can fix it."

"Would you mind?"

"Of course not, or else I wouldn't have offered." Patrick closed the door and said, "Lead the way!"

When they got into Sabrina's bedroom, she immediately pulled out her stepstool for him. He climbed up and reached for the smoke detector. When he grasped it and twisted to pull it off, Patrick felt his back spasm and let out an involuntary "Ow!" Sabrina started fussing worriedly over him as he climbed down, opened the battery case and violently removed the batteries.

"Oh my gosh. Are you okay?"

"Yeah" he said on a wince. "I'll be fine."

"I know you Patrick. You aren't fine. Is it your back?"

"Uh-huh. I think I twisted it wrong when I reached up."

Sabrina guided him to the bed and said, "Lay down. I'll go get some ice."

Before Patrick could protest, Sabrina had already left the room. One thing that he had learned from their relationship was not to argue with her when she had her mind set on something. So, Patrick got as comfortable as he could on top of the covers until she came back.

When Sabrina came back, she put the ice on his back and he jumped a little from the cold shock. When Sabrina murmured a halfhearted "Sorry," under her laughter, Patrick smiled despite his pain and responded with a cheeky, "I'll bet you are..."

They sat chatting about nothing impeticular for about twenty minutes until she took the ice off. Unfortunately, when Patrick tried to move, he was hit with another spasm. Unable to hide his pain, Sabrina frowned and said, "I have an idea that might help."

Patrick looked at her curiously when she rolled him over partially and started unbuttoning his shirt. She responded by saying, "Get your mind out of the gutter... I was talking about a massage..."

Patrick smirked and rolled back over onto his stomach. "Do your worst, Nurse Santiago"

Patrick relaxed and let Sabrina work her magic on his injured muscles and found himself involuntarily moaning in pleasure at the feel of her hands on his body. He told himself it was just because she had the magic touch for his back, but he was fooling himself.

Sabrina felt awful that Patrick had injured himself doing a favor for her, so she wanted to make it up to him by massaging the muscle; however, she quickly learned the folly in that idea. She'd worked so hard to bury her feelings for Patrick after their breakup and now she was undoing it all with a few simple touches. By Patrick's reaction, Sabrina could tell that he was as affected as she was, so, she abruptly stopped.

When she backed away, Patrick rolled over and sat up. Since she was sitting on the edge of the bed, when he sat up and put one leg on the ground, he was essentially straddling her.

Sabrina looked into Patrick's eyes as he stared back at her. "Patrick," she said breathlessly, "This is a really bad idea..."

Patrick swallowed and his eyes traveled from hers down the length of her torso, pausing at her breasts, and back up. "A terrible idea..." he replied, right before he kissed her.

The two of them sat there kissing as if they were in the desert and the other person was their only source of water. Sabrina scooted forward as he pulled her toward him. Crushed against his body but unable to get close enough, Sabrina murmured (between kisses), "Your back... This is gonna hurt."

Patrick pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes. "I'm counting on it," he said with a wicked smile. Then, he began falling backward and used the momentum to pull her down on top of him.