A/N: I adore Bathena and I love writing little one shots in my spare time, so it was only natural that I started this collection. The love they have for each other is just so beautiful and shown in such a variety of different ways that I thought it would be fun to use these quotes to bring it out in a fic. I really hope you like this one shot series!

"When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are to become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is." – Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louie de Bernières

"Hey. How's my man?"

"I need to see you."

"I need to see you, too, but I have to feed these kids and the roads are still a mess."

"I need to see you. Can you come out front?"

Bobby ends the phone call before she has the chance to say anything else and, after standing there on the patio for no longer than a second, she makes her way back inside the house and past Michael who is still in the kitchen preparing dinner. She doesn't say anything as she heads for the front door and steps outside as Bobby asked, but she fails to keep from smiling when he gives her a wave from where he stands by his car.

"You came all this way just to see me?" She asks him.

"I would have walked if I had to." He says and she believes him entirely given the events of both their days.

"Hey."

"Hey."

She can't be too sure which one of them initiates it, both of them need it just as much as the other right now, but they find themselves in an embrace and she hums as she squeezes him. Neither of them have seen the other since this entire thing began and, despite her – and no doubt his – best efforts, she was never able to get in contact with him when she had a spare moment to attempt to do so. She was forced to just hang onto hope that he and the rest of the 118 were all right and the earthquake and aftershocks hadn't touched them.

Of course, given he is holding her in his arms right now, her constant hoping hadn't been in vain.

"You know what? I thought about knocking on the door, but I figured that wasn't the best way for your kids to meet me for the first time." He admits when their embrace eventually breaks, causing her to chuckle quietly.

"Yeah, that's probably wise," She agrees, nodding. "How was your day, honey?"

"Oh, pretty standard…" He jokes, trying and failing to disguise just how much of an effect it has had on him. The events of the day have been some he truly hopes not to experience again for a while. "I like your outfit."

She chuckles, dropping his gaze for a second, and when she looks at him again her heart swells at the way he is looking at her with that stupid, lovesick smile she adores on his face. "I was worried about you all day."

"I was worried about you too," He admits. "It was nice…having something so important to worry about. I had to work hard to put it aside to get the job done. I haven't had that in a long time."

Her brain barely has the time to register what he just said to her, never mind form some sort of reply, before the front door opens once again and Michael quickly walks outside. "Excuse me, what is all of this silliness?"

She turns around, having had her back to him, and for a moment she is overtaken by a wave of uncertainty. She studies his face, trying to work out if he is upset or not, but his expression gives her no indication as to how he feels about this. "Hi. I'm-I'm Bobby," Bobby holds out a hand and she unknowingly holds her breath for a second, only releasing it when Michael shakes his hand warmly. "We met a while back at Hen's party."

"Of course." He nods.

"Yeah, Bobby just came to check on me." She explains to him.

"And you have him standing out here after the day he's probably had. Bobby, please, come inside." He says.

"Uh, no, thank you, but maybe another time." Bobby tries to politely refuse.

"Nonsense. I already set your plate." Michael argues. "And, uh…the kids are excited to meet you."

Neither one of them knows what to say when he smirks at them and turns around again, leaving them both standing there stunned, but when Athena looks at Bobby again and sees the look on his face, she shrugs. When he holds his hand out to her, she takes it in her own and they begin walking back towards the house, her other hand running down his arm before he releases her hand and wraps his arm around her shoulders. The warmth of the house hits them when they enter and she closes the door behind them, taking his hand in her own again so she can lead him down the stairs and into the kitchen where May and Harry both now are.

Having completed their task of returning the books to the bookshelf, they are washing their hands for dinner and once they have both dried their hands on the towel they turn around to face them with smiles on their faces. "May, Harry, this is Bobby," She introduces them, gesturing up at him. "Bobby, this is May and Harry."

"Hi." He says, reaching out to shake both their hands.

"Nice to finally meet you," Harry tells him. "Mom seriously just talks about you all the time."

"Harry!" Athena laughs, looking at Bobby. "I don't do that."

"Yeah, Mom, you do…" May gives her arm a pat as she and Harry walk past her on their way to the table.

She rolls her eyes at that, smiling when she hears Bobby chuckle next to her before he runs a hand up and down her back. "Kids," He teases quietly, turning his attention to May and Harry. "Don't you just love them?"

"For their sakes, good job we do." She gives him a nudge before grabbing one of the bowls from the counter so she can carry it over to the table. When she turns to go back for another, she sees he has just decided off his own back to help out, but it doesn't surprise her in the slightest. That's her man. He's perfect in every single way, at least she thinks so, and – deep down – she's always known this would be the way things would go the first time she brought him home to meet the family. They'd be mad not to love him.

It takes a little while, but they all eventually succeed in getting dinner on the table and then they sit down in their respective seats. She rests a hand on his knee on instinct once they are all settled and feels him give it a gentle squeeze before Michael looks at him. "Bobby, would you, uh, would you mind saying grace for us?"

"Oh, um…" Bobby stammers, caught a little off guard.

"You don't have to if you don't feel up to it." Athena is quick to reassure him.

"No, I don't mind," He assures her, running his thumb over the back of her palm. "I'd love to."

He begins to say grace for them once they have all taken one another's hand around the table and, closing her eyes, Athena can't help but smile to herself as she listens to him. Michael is normally the one to do this, so for him to give the honour to Bobby – especially given he doesn't know him all that well yet – just proves how much he likes him and has already accepted him. That makes her happier than she can put into words. Him and the kids being so accepting of him and their relationship has made this whole thing so much easier for her to deal with. They think he is amazing and she just knows things are only going to improve from here.

They have to.

"Yes! We win!" Harry cheers.

"You only won because you have Bobby on your team," May grumbles. "You and Dad are hopeless."

"Says you," He retorts. "That dog you drew earlier was terrible."

"It was a leopard, genius." She corrects him.

"Exactly…" He makes a face. "You just can't draw, accept it."

"You know what?" She sets her glass of lemonade down, beginning to stand from the couch.

"Okay!" Athena stops her with a hand on her arm, de-escalating the situation. "I think that's enough."

Bobby chuckles, turning his head in Michael's direction. "Nothing like a bit of sibling rivalry."

"Mmm. There's sibling rivalry and then there's whatever these two have," Michael jokes. "World War Three."

Shaking her head, Athena reaches for her cell-phone next to her on the couch and takes a look at the time. Nearly half-past ten. The time has quite literally gotten the better of them, it was only half-past seven when they started the game. "I think we should call it a night before things have the chance to get any more out of hand," She admits as she sets her cell-phone down again, reaching for her wine glass and downing the last of her drink before standing from the couch and taking her glass into the kitchen. She returns moments later and wraps an arm around Harry, drawing him close. "Besides, I have the morning shift again tomorrow, so."

"It sucks that you can't even have the day off when there's been an earthquake." He grumbles.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, baby, idiots don't stop being idiots just because of a natural disaster." She tells him.

Her words cause Michael, Bobby and May to chuckle before Bobby does the same as her and takes a look at the time on his phone before returning it to the back pocket of his pants. "I should be making a move too," He says, standing from the couch and turning to look at Michael. "I appreciate you inviting me in for dinner."

"Any time." Michael assures him, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"I'll, uh…I'll come see you out," Athena decides before looking at Michael. "Can you get this one to bed?"

Michael nods before she gives Bobby a minute to say goodbye to May and Harry, sheer happiness flooding through her when her son gives him a fist-bump, and once the kids have started heading to their rooms she runs a hand down his arm. He catches her hand and they make their way through the sitting area, heading for the front door again so they can leave the house. The temperature has dropped, she can feel it, and she shivers a little. It was barely anything, but he still drops her hand so he can wrap an arm around her and pull her closer to him. Always such a gentleman, that's her man. It's one of the reasons she loves him.

It takes them less than a minute to reach his car and when they do she turns to him, chuckling when he lays his hands on her waist while she lets her own run down his arms through the sleeves of his jacket. "Tonight was…unexpected…to say the least, but I seriously don't think it could have gone better." She says truthfully.

"Same here," He agrees. "You haven't stopped smiling all night either, so that's been nice."

"I'm happy," She shrugs, taking a step closer to him. "It feels strange saying that given today – before you came, it was the last word I would have used – but I am. Everything in my life feels pretty perfect right now."

"Mine too."

"Is that so?"

"Mhm."

His mouth is on hers in the next moment, warm yet demanding at the same time, and she makes a sound in the back of her throat as her hands move back up his arms. She slips her arms around his neck as she rises onto her tiptoes in an attempt to sort their height issue, her tongue teasing his bottom lip until he gives in to her while his hands slip underneath the hem of her shirt and come to rest upon the warm skin of her waist. Regardless of the growing passion between them, the kiss is still long and slow and neither feel the need to hurry things given both her kids are well on their way to bed now. Thankfully, they are able to take their time.

As one hand rests on the back of his neck, keeping him where she wants him, the other ventures up into his hair and she has no qualms about leaving him dishevelled. She allows her fingers to run freely through the strands as his mouth moves over hers, curling them into them and letting her nails run along his scalp every now and then, and when he pulls her further into him she grins into the kiss. "You are a terrible influence on me, you know that?" She breathes, pulling away for a moment to catch her breath before kissing him again.

"Oh, sure, Sergeant…" He smirks, moving her backward until her back hits his car. "I'm the bad influence…"

She indulges him for a short while longer, permitting not only him but herself to savour the moment, before she brings a hand to his chest and pushes him back a little, bringing their kiss to an incredibly reluctant end. "As much as it kills me to do this, I…I actually should be calling it a night, I think." She tells him breathlessly.

"I understand." He assures her, running the back of a finger down her cheek and kissing her once more.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course. I love you too."

"No, I mean," She steps further into him, wrapping her arms tight around him and resting her chin upon his chest as she looks up at him. "I really love you. I want things with you that, not too long ago, I swore I never wanted again. May and Harry already think you're wonderful, I think Michael has already claimed you as his new best friend, and…I don't know…I don't see this as just another fling. I don't want you going anywhere."

He smiles. "Yeah, well, that's not something you have to worry about. I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."

"Good," She whispers, closing her eyes when he kisses her nose. "I gotta go get some sleep."

"You do," He stamps a kiss onto her forehead. "Be safe out there tomorrow, okay?"

"I will." She rolls her eyes playfully at his overprotectiveness, adoring him for it at the same time.

When he takes his arms from around her, she moves out of the way so he can get into his car and starts to make her way back towards the house. She stops just before she gets there and waves, watching him pull out of the drive before heading inside once his car is out of sight. Unable to keep from yawning, she brings a hand to her mouth as she walks down the stairs, and she sees that Michael has returned from putting Harry to bed and is now settled on the couch again. "You want another glass of something before bed?" He asks.

"Nah," She shakes her head. "Honestly, I have no idea how I even managed this long. I'm exhausted."

He chuckles under his breath. "You go to bed. I'll sort the dishes."

"You sure?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Go before I change my mind." He teases, pointing in the direction of the bedroom.

She smirks at his teasing before doing as he said, stopping just before she makes her way inside the room and turning to him. "I want to thank you for what you did tonight," She tells him. "Bobby and I appreciated it."

"You don't need to thank me." He frowns.

"I do," She argues. "You're being amazing about all of this and that makes it so much easier for me."

"He's a good guy and he makes you happy," He points out. "And if you're happy then everyone's happy."

She laughs at that. "Can't argue with that. I mean it though, thank you. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome," He replies. "Now go get some sleep."

She decides not to respond with words, choosing instead to actually enter the bedroom this time and close the door behind her before starting to get ready for bed. It takes her longer than she would have liked, what with her having to remove her make-up and everything, but eventually she is in her pajamas and getting into bed. She groans with relief as her head hits the pillow and she pulls the quilt up to her chin, her eyes falling closed as she allows herself to relax completely for the first time in however many hours. She is exhausted, she aches, and the last thing she wants to do is get up in a couple hours, but she refuses to complain at all.

Her happiness outweighs all that.

There was a time, not all that long ago, that she honestly thought her relationship with Michael came to an end and that was it. Of course, there was the fling, but she entered into that knowing full well she didn't want to pursue an actual relationship. All she cared about was the intimacy side of things. Not with Bobby though. The intimacy side of things with him is outstanding, she can't lie, he fulfils her every need and more, but that side of things isn't the only thing that matters to her. She adores him. She actually sees a future with him, a very real future, and he has proven to her in not-so-subtle ways that he is on the exact same page as she is.

She knows they need to take their time with things, not only because she wants to make sure there are no mistakes but also because she has two kids to think about, but she knows exactly what she wants from him. Somewhere down the line, she hopes to be married to him and for them and the kids to be a proper family. She craves that stability and that routine and she wants that for both her kids also. She wants to be content.

Bobby can offer the three of them that, she has no doubt.

For the time being though, she is more than comfortable with the way things are between them.

Her life is perfect at the moment and she is more than willing to wait for the better things still to come.

More than willing.

A/N: Thanks so much for taking the time to read! I would be so grateful if you left a review to let me know what you thought. See you soon!