A/N: Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I really do appreciate them.

Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Reign.

Chapter 4: Stop the Bleeding

Christmas day was much more pleasant than its eve had been. Bash rang for her fairly early but Mary had been ready. He loaded her bags in his car quickly and they were on the road before she even knew it.

"That was the quickest departure I've ever made!" Mary laughed at the way the staff had waved goodbye, bewildered.

"I must confess I was hurrying before you could change your mind and choose love over sensibility." Bash kept his eyes on the road while he said it, and his voice was teasing in tone but she could sense an underlying seriousness.

She picked up his right hand from its place on the arm rest. "I won't lie and say that I don't still have feelings for Francis, but I have to do this. It's the right thing to do. I can't let them manipulate me and they have no right to put Francis' happiness before mine."

He glanced at her and then at their hands, fingers entwined. "Do you remember the first time we held hands?"

"Of course!" She laughed. "I was so intimidated by you."

"Intimidated?! I was scared to death, and you were intimidated by me?" His voice was covered in disbelief. "I honestly had no idea if we could be friends after being affectionate with one another and I could see it ending badly. That Christmas eve seems so long ago now."

She remembered that cold night affectionately. She held up her wrist. "I still wear your bracelet all the time."

He didn't answer, but squeezed her hand and flushed slightly.

"Bash, we stayed friends because that's what we were, that's what we are, first and foremost. That will never change. We won't let it." She said it with confidence. "We'll always do what's best for each other."

He simply nodded.

X

The rest of their ride passed in quiet conversation, talking about Mary's classes and Bash's work. It was nice and pleasant and Mary was happy. By the time they reached the picturesque college town she was a bit disappointed that their ride was over.

"Well, we didn't really think this through." Bash said frowning while sitting at a red light.

"What's the matter?" She looked around and she didn't see anything that would make him frown.

"Nothing is opened. All the businesses are closed on Christmas, as will be the on campus restaurants. We won't be able to go out for dinner." He looked thoughtful. "I guess we're stuck with whatever food this bachelor has in the fridge."

Mary laughed as he headed for his hotel. "That could be treacherous. Do you actually cook? I've never thought to ask you."

Bash sounded defensive. "How do you think I've survived on my own?"

"Honestly I haven't any idea. I wasn't being insulting you know; I barely can cook myself. I know how to microwave well." She grinned at him. She was truly just happy that she wasn't going back to her dorm room alone.

When they walked into his tiny apartment she realized that she hadn't been there since that first night when she helped him unpack. She blushed slightly but if he noticed he didn't show it. He was headed towards the little kitchen area.

"Let's see. We have pasta, frozen pizzas, or I could make soup and grilled cheese. None of which seems very much like a proper Christmas dinner." He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's make soup. That sounds cozy." She said decidedly.

"I'm really sorry. I should have remembered that we wouldn't have a good dinner." Bash sounded disappointed in himself as he pulled out a pan and cans of broth.

Mary shook her head at him. "Bash stop beating yourself up about it. What would our alternative have been? Me sit and eat by myself at my parents' house and you sit and eat in the miserable company that is Catherine DeMedici? THAT doesn't sound like a proper Christmas dinner either. I think this is excellent." She tossed her hair in defiance. "Besides I would eat popcorn for dinner if you cooked it." She winked at him.

He was cutting open a bag of pre-sliced vegetables to dump into his soup pot with some oil. "Don't flirt with me while I have a knife in my hand, I might get distracted and slice myself instead of the celery bag!"

Mary laughed at the idea that anyone could flirt with Sebastian DeMedici and actually overwhelm him, let alone that she, his immature best friend could do it. He was a professional flirt and a little hair toss on her part was unlikely to sway him. It was sweet of him to compliment her though.

They worked together in the kitchen, Mary providing entertainment and teasing remarks about his cooking and Bash constructing the soup. He sautéed the vegetables slightly, added broth and noodle, along with some leftover beef he found in the fridge. It wasn't long until the whole apartment smelled like soup.

"Can you butter the bread for sandwiches my lady, or would that be beyond your skill level?" He smirked at the thought.

"I imagine I can handle it." She went to work with the butter but not before throwing a leftover piece of carrot across the counter at him playfully.

He grilled the sandwiches while Mary set the tiny table made for two, with paper towel place mats, plain white hotel dishes and glasses. She realized that they didn't have much to drink besides wine, which it was quite early for, and energy drinks. "Bash, the front desk sells a few groceries right?"

He nodded at her. "Why, what did you think we needed?"

"Oh nothing important, I'll go see what they have." She was out the door before he could protest.

There was a little closet sized room in the lobby that had snack foods, a freezer with frozen dinners, some canned goods, and a cooler with beverages. The selection was limited but she chose a bottle of ginger ale and a bottle of cranberry juice and figured they'd make a festive mix. She also picked a couple single-serve frozen cheesecakes, and paid the poor front desk worker who looked bored out of his mind.

On her way back through the lobby she spotted a huge floral arrangement near the elevator and after glancing around to make sure there were no witnesses she carefully pulled out one of the roses and hurriedly returned to Bash's door.

When she knocked he opened the door and laughed out loud. "Where did you get that rose? Are you trying to get me evicted?"

She glided past him with grace declaring "Well they ARE there for the guests' enjoyment are they not? And you ARE a guest."

He laughed and nodded in agreement.

It was so good to hear him laugh. He always seemed so serious that it was hard for Mary not to worry about his happiness. She pulled a glass from the cupboard and trimmed the rose to fit the glass, filled it with water and placed it on the table where Bash was serving the soup. She filled the glasses with her cranberry-ginger-ale-concoction.

As they sat down she noticed his raised eyebrows. "What? I think it looks sweet." She hoped his raised eyebrows weren't disapproval.

He smiled. "You're sweet Mary, and only you could be so pleased with a tiny Christmas table donned with beef soup."

"You know this was always how I dreamed of starting life." She said while chewing her sandwich thoughtfully. "A quaint little table, flowers, simple meals, a tiny apartment, and of course the man of my dreams to share it with."

Bash smirked at her. "Well I'm more than willing to share it with you but I have to say that your dreams are quite contrasting to the elegantly catered meals and fully staffed kitchen that you are equipped with."

"Oh you. Yes, you would be any girl's dream. And that's just the point; I never wanted all that fuss. I just wanted a normal life. The kind where my husband and I would work together to achieve things, never having to fight over fortunes or politics." She sighed as she ate her soup.

He watched her thoughtfully and they ate in silence for a few minutes. He tried to formulate the right words, words that a friend would offer. When he finally spoke he sounded earnest and his words came carefully. "Mary you know that you'll never quite have that life that you pictured. You'll be able to have that happiness though. You will find a husband who will want the same peace that you do. Your inheritance doesn't have to be a burden to you. It hasn't yet has it?"

She nodded in understanding. "It hasn't, but honestly hardly anyone besides your family is aware that I've inherited anything. My friends just assume that I'm a regular rich kid, but that my money is still my parents'. I'm always hesitant to share that information because I'm afraid to see how it will change my relationships if they think my money could benefit them in some way. People change when money is mentioned. I imagine that dating would be the same way."

"Well in theory, you don't have to date anyone right away you know? I know that Catherine was rushing your relationship with Francis, but in truth that was her agenda and it benefited you a lot less than it benefited him." Bash rolled his eyes in disgust about the whole deal.

Mary groaned. "My mother will probably disagree. She was in favor of the relationship because there are laws that could cost my parents' companies millions of dollars when they are passed. Having a senator in the family would be very financially beneficial in the long run." She leaned back against her chair in frustration. "I'm not looking forward to taking her call on this one."

He finished his soup and decided that a change of subject was in order, so after they cleaned up the table he suggested they eat dessert on the couch with a movie. Mary was grateful. She was relieved to fill her day with the immediate than contemplate the opposition she'd face in the upcoming days.

Bash's couch wasn't very large. It was clearly built for two but they settled in comfortably, with his feet up on the coffee table and hers curled up and to the side as she leaned toward him. They flipped through the pay per view options and finally settled on a comedy. The laughs were coveted.

Mary caught herself watching Bash more than the movie and she wondered at how luck she was to have him. She really couldn't have asked for a better friend. His brown hair was messy and falling into those deep blue eyes that seemed to speak volumes about him as a man. He glanced at her just as her hand was reaching up to run through his hair she stopped herself.

"You're not even watching this." He looked at her curiously. "It's funny you know, if you pay attention."

"I was watching. I just got distracted. You're so.. so beautiful." She wasn't trying to be coy; she just was making a statement.

"If you're trying to hit on me Mary, beautiful typically isn't the compliment a man wants to hear." He teased her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her back into a comfortable movie-watching position.

"I wasn't hitting on you!" She laughed at the absurdity of her choice of compliments and how it must have sounded. "Don't get me wrong, you're incredibly attractive. But I was just making an observation about how hard it is to look away from you."

"Mary, you're making me blush. Now watch the movie before we both get distracted." He looked at her sternly and she tucked herself farther into him.

His closeness was warm and her heart beat quickened just from sitting by him. She really tried to pay attention to the movie but it was hard to forget that he was so near. She was fairly certain that she could think of a dozen things they could be doing that would be more exciting than the movie.

After the film was over she looked at the snow falling outside and declared that she'd rather watch a second movie than go out in the cold. He laughed and agreed. This time she picked a romantic movie that he protested against but finally agreed.

If she was completely honest she was happy for him to be bored during the movie. His ability to pay attention to the screen rather than her was starting to perplex her. She had never considered herself a girl who clamored for attention but this lack thereof was intriguing her.

A little into the movie she noticed he was running his thumb in patterns on her arm, and it was more than enough to send sparks over her skin with excitement. Her heart raced, wondering what he was thinking. She was officially single; they no longer had to worry about Francis or obligations to him. She couldn't see why they needed to hold back if that was what Bash was doing.

When she just couldn't handle the standstill they seemed to be at she yawned a little and stretched out, laying her head on his end of the sofa, across his lap and turned into his midsection slightly so she could still see the TV or at least pretend to. "Mmmmm." She hummed in sleepy comfort.

She felt his breath catch in reaction and felt him shift a bit underneath her in adjustment. He rested his free arm on her leg and settled in to their new found position in what would appear perfect comfort. A few minutes later though she felt his gaze on her.

Mary feigned a yawn while stretching slightly, arching her back and breasts upward for effect. She knew he was watching and she felt him shift again. He cleared his throat and his hand was rubbing her thigh.

"Mary, I know what you're doing." His voice was gravelly.

She looked up at him with a sweet smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She turned farther into him and sat up slightly so that she was in range to kiss if he felt so inclined.

"If it comforts you any, you're succeeding because I do want you but honestly I don't want to be the man who sleeps with you the minute your first and only failed relationship comes to an end." He looked at her with pained eyes. "Can we please take this slow?"

She groaned in complaint. "I'm offering myself up, not because I'm suddenly available, but because you're what I've wanted for a while now. This isn't a spontaneous decision for me Bash. I've always had feelings for you."

He pulled her up into his lap and buried his face in her shoulder. "I know, and it's taking me every last ounce of willpower to do this but I feel it's best if we take some time. Date. Make sure we really want to be more than friends before we gamble with our relationship."

She sighed and collapsed into his hug, trying to resign herself not to be electrified by his touch. "I understand. I do. But it doesn't mean that I don't want more."

He laughed darkly. "It doesn't mean that I don't want more either."

He rubbed the back of her neck and his lips met hers in a gentle kiss.

"I should take you to your dorm." He hugged her and when he released, she unfolded herself from him.

"Wait! I never gave you your gift!" She exclaimed, running to get her bag from the coat rack.

When she returned she handed him the little box, which he opened to find a watch with a leather cuff style band that was embossed with intricate designs including a compass, a sparrow, and Bash's initials.

"It's to match the bracelet you gave me.. The watch has a built in compass so that you never have to struggle to find your way back to me. Or home." She blushed a little when she realized the significance of her words. It hadn't seemed as huge when she had planned the gift. She hoped it wasn't too much.

"I love it Mary, it's perfect. It really is." He smiled and put it on immediately. "I have a gift for you too."

He handed her an envelope and she was instantly curious. He talked as she opened it. "When I bought these tickets I originally wondered if we'd have to lie to Francis in order to use them but now it seems like it worked out perfectly."

She opened the envelope and inside were two tickets for a Broadway play she had always wanted to see. She had mentioned months ago that her mother had always promised to take her as a kid and never had followed through. He had listened. Tears glistened in her eyes as she tried to blink them back.

"You are literally the sweetest person that I've ever met, you know that right?" Mary hugged him tightly. "Sometimes I think you're the only person that understands me."

"The feeling is mutual Mary." He sighed.

When he drove her back to campus they held hands and she was ready to get out and go back to the reality that was school. He carried her bag to the door for her and waited until she had unlocked it before setting it down next to her and reaching a hand around her waist to pull her in.

His lips were warm and pressing urgently, as if all the energy that he had compartmentalized over the past few hours had suddenly released when he knew that she was safely back her door. His hands ran wild, the one on her hip drifting up under the back of her shirt, kneading into her lower back holding her in place, as if there was anywhere else she would have preferred to be. The other hand tugged in her hair slightly guiding her chin up as he kissed up and down her neck, in a way that might have been thought inappropriate if anyone would have witnessed.

Mary moaned, louder than she had intended, and it shocked her own ears to hear it but it only fueled him farther. He came back to her mouth, kissing her deeply. When he finally pulled away she was leaned against her door frame with his arm up above her head seeming to either hold himself up or protect her from the weight of the building which might have fallen on her from the way the earth seemed to be quaking under her feet.

He pressed his forehead to hers and gently kissed her swollen lips that were even more crimson than her cheeks.

"When it's time for us to go farther we will." He almost growled at her in frustration. "Trust me Mary; you won't ever have to persuade me. Just your smile is seduction enough." He kissed her again and left, promising to call her the next day.

She spent the rest of her evening tossing and turning. She relived the kiss in the hallway over and over again. It was almost possible to feel his mouth on hers; her lips still burned from the heat of the moment.

She finally reached for her phone and sent him a text.

I can't stop thinking about you – M

I can't stop thinking of ways I want to be inside you. – B

Bash!

Me too. – M

A/N: *sigh* Mash is lovely. All is well for now anyway, but we all know life is never that simple for Sebastian.