The next three months flew by, to Henrik's surprise, but they were filled with a happiness that he had not felt in such a long time that he almost started to wonder when the other shoe would drop. There couldn't be such happiness in his life without there being an opposite sadness, after all, he reasoned with himself. But every time that he allowed himself to have even the slightest maudlin thought, Roxanna would somehow know and give him a brilliant smile or a tender kiss, and everything seemed to feel right with the world once more.

"Are you coming, Henrik? The beach will only wait so long!"

He looked up to see Roxanna standing there, wearing a thoroughly comfortable outfit, a sunhat on her head completing her look. "I just wanted to finish this page, Rox."

"You can finish that page when we get back, you know. The book isn't going anywhere."

She bent over him and looked deep into his eyes, a mischievous smile on her lips. Knowing that he wouldn't win this particular battle, he shook his head and replaced his bookmark, closing the book and closing the distance between them to give her a tender kiss. "Well, the book is now coming with me to the beach. I don't swim, for reasons you know all too well, but I am more than content to watch you frolic in the water."

"As long as you rub sunscreen onto my body. I'll fry beneath this sun!"

He chuckled and nodded, allowing Roxanna to pluck the book from his hands and drop it into her beach bag. "You'd look lovely with sun kissed skin," he said as he got to his feet, following her to the door of their hotel room.

"You'd think so, but I don't tan, never have. I always look like a boiled lobster after even a few minutes in the sun." Roxanna rummaged around in her bag before shoving a pair of large sunglasses onto her face. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," he said as he opened the door for them. This had been a last minute decision, to head down to Cape May, but after Roxanna had seen a picture of the stately homes there, she had bugged him to go, saying that it would appeal to his love of history, and they could also enjoy a day on the beach. Though he hadn't really been reluctant to agree, they had needed a day or two away from the lab, and the spring break to their term had afforded just that opportunity. "I just wish that we had one of those umbrellas to protect us from the sun. It's only April, but the sun is so bright some days."

"It's not like home, no. But I could get used to this, if I had to." She turned to him as he closed the door. "Wherever you are though, then I know that I'm home. Hopeless romantic me never assumed I'd be so besotted by love as to find home in a person and not a place."

He chuckled as he took hold of her hand, threading their fingers together as they walked out of the hotel and down the sidewalk, heading in the direction of the beach that wasn't very far away at all. "Home can be whatever you make of it, I'm learning," he said softly as he squeezed her hand. "We've only another six weeks together."

"I don't want to think about that. I want to think about the here and now. No day but today." He heard her sniff a little, and he tightened his grip on her hand before taking a deep breath. "No, Henrik, I'm serious. I want to live in the moment until we're both in England. Otherwise I might break down in tears every day until we leave."

"All right, Roxanna, I will try to follow your lead. From now until we leave, I will focus on everything that happens in the moment. And in the current moment, I want to kiss you." Roxanna giggled as he stopped them in the middle of the sidewalk, blushing a little as he kissed her delicately. "Now, about the beach?"

"Yeah," she replied as she stroked his cheek softly. "Please tell me you're going to keep this beard? I love stroking it."

"I know you do, but I don't think I'll be able to, since it's hard to be in surgery and keep the field sterile when having to worry about hairs falling into cavities." Roxanna sighed as she nodded. "I suppose that I could change directions midstream and find a different profession."

He watched as she shook her head quickly. "I will allow you to dispense of the beard as long as you continue to do what you were born to do. I have the feeling that you will be a great doctor, able to heal not just people's ills, but their hurts as well. Your calm, steady, presence has filled me with a surety I didn't have this time last year. I can only imagine what it will be like when you're employed at a hospital."

Henrik smiled as he nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed once more by her complete faith in him. "The future that you see for us is always so bright," he said as they started to walk through the sand. Roxanna pulled him over to a clear spot on the sand, crouching down while she tugged out a blanket for them to sit on. Henrik helped her spread it out, and then they were sitting down. The next thing he knew, Roxanna was pulling out a bottle and thrusting it at him.

"Here, start with my back," she murmured lowly as she peeled her top off, shoving it into the bag as she turned away from him. The bathing suit she wore was low cut in the back, and he found himself aroused by the tantalizing show of skin. Fumbling with the bottle, he poured out a liberal amount of sunscreen and worked it into her flesh, trying to ignore the soft groans that fell from her lips at the movements. "That feels heavenly, Henrik. I only wish we were somewhere a little more private so that we could do something a little more…intimate," she said as she turned back to him. "Now my chest?"

He nodded dumbly as he poured out another dollop of the lotion, carefully working it into her skin while trying to keep himself in line. "You're all set here," he said huskily as he worked some of the sunscreen onto his face and neck, watching as she coated her arms and face as well. "Go, swim, enjoy yourself. I'll be here, reading and watching you."

"Someday, I am going to get you into the ocean, darling. I understand why you don't like water, but I miss the times we can't share experiences." Roxanna bent and kissed his cheek softly before sliding her skirt down her long legs and kicking it away from her. "Try not to watch my bum as I walk away from you," she teased as she began to sashay away from him, and Henrik chuckled to himself as he did exactly that, her hips swaying so enticingly that Henrik knew exactly what they would be doing when they got back to the hotel.