Time

Eddie put his key in the door to the flat he shared with Fiona and opened it. He walked inside, tired, but happy. He and Pippin had solved a very complicated extortion case today, one which had even Superintendent Johnson stumped. It had taken long hours, but seeing the look on Nathaniel's face had made it worth the trouble. A mixture of shock and envy with perhaps even a little admiration thrown in. Very unusual for his meticulous, intelligent and very difficult to please boss.

As Eddie walked into the living room he saw Fiona standing in the middle of the room with a glare on her face. He had been about to happily greet her, but paused as he knew that look meant trouble.

"What's up?" he finally asked with one of his disarming grins.

"You've been enjoying yourself." The blonde replied with an acidic tone. His attempts at jocularity were not well received.

"I called you and told you I'd be late. It was a tough case."

"Tough case? Oh yes, I'm sure. One of Inspector Pippin's 'emergencies' at his gentlemen's club I'll bet!"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Blondie!"

"It's three in the morning Eddie!"

The detective looked at his watch. Damn. The night had really gotten away from him. His deal with Fiona was that he would call to say he would be late but would call again if late turned into all night. Now he understood why she was upset. It had been hours since he called and his cell had run out of juice. She hadn't been able to reach him.

"Sorry…" Eddie mumbled, feeling ashamed of himself and guilty over causing her worry. "I lost track of time."

"Where the hell have you been?!" Fiona cried, tears forming in her eyes as the anxiety she had felt all night finally broke. "I stayed up late to eat with you! I had a terrible day and I thought… I was afraid… damn it Eddie!" The tears flowed down her cheeks as her fear finally came fully to the surface.

Eddie felt terrible. He knew how tough it was on her that he was a cop. And he certainly didn't make it easy. "I am really am sorry." He soothed her, with great sincerity as he embraced his girl.

"No I am." Fiona sobbed into his shoulder. "I know what you do is important. The last thing you need is me making your life miserable."

Eddie lifted up her tear-stained face and smiled down at her reassuringly. "You don't make my life miserable. Far from it. When I come home and see you… whether you're smiling or yelling, you always look so beautiful. No matter how tough my day was that always makes it worth it."

Fiona eyes lit up at him and she smiled prettily through her tears. "Really?" she asked, her tone somewhat girlish and hopeful.

"Oh yeah." Eddie grinned widely. He leaned his head down and kissed her softly on her lips. "I'll never forget to call again." He stated as the kiss broke apart. "I promise."

Fiona giggled and wiped her eyes before kissing him back. "Don't make promises you can't keep wanker."

Eddie ran his hands through her luxurious hair. "I'll keep it. But I am sorry I worried you." His grin turned just slightly wicked. "You can even punish me if you want."

"Hmmm." Fiona winked at him. "That brings some interesting thoughts to mind." She backed him up against the couch, pushing him down on the cushions before jumping on top of him. Her lips met his in a much more fiery kiss than the one they had enjoyed just a moment before. Fiona's body came alive against Eddie's as their passion increased.

Eddie took her in his arms, smiling happily into the kiss.

It had been a strange six months. Since Fiona had nursed him back to health after his accident, their relationship had changed. The fear and awkwardness they had sometimes felt had disappeared and been replaced by a strange sort of joy, one neither had ever experienced before. It had not taken long after that for the girl he had once claimed to hate to transform into the one he truly loved. And as the two were now being completely honest, they had both admitted that the line between hate and love was actually much thinner than it would seem. They had been in love with each other from the beginning. They just didn't know how to deal with it, so hate, in a strange way, became easier than love.

But all that was past now. Since he and Fiona had admitted their true feelings, he was constantly amazed by how affectionate and playful she could be. It was a new side to her, one he had only glimpsed at before. She was not naturally reserved and icy. Being in love allowed her to express her more youthful, feminine side. And it made him love her all the more. He loved the feel of her luscious body next to his, of her full lips against his own, and of course, the phenomenal pleasure they both experienced. He had never had this in his life and now he wondered how he had ever lived without it. Without her.

Fiona was blissfully happy as well. Of course Eddie was a challenge in ways that Nigel and her other boyfriends never were, but she found that she loved that challenge. She could do without the late nights home and the worry she felt when he was on a dangerous case, but she respected what he did and loved him for his dedication. She still loved fighting with him though, especially when one of their arguments ended like this. He made her feel safe and protected but also excited and alive. Fiona had never been as honest as she was with Eddie. She did not have to hide or pretend, there was no pressure to be perfect or polite. She could yell or soothe, she could throw things or smother him with kisses. It didn't matter because he was just Eddie and she was just Fiona. No pretenses, no insincerity. Just them.

She pulled back a little and smiled at him, a smile full of love, wonder and happiness. He returned it with one of his own before picking her up and carrying her into their bedroom. She knew tomorrow was his day off and she made a pretty good idea she would calling in sick herself in the morning. They had a lot of time to make up for.

Author's Note: I don't usually do notes, but I would like to thank two very loyal reviewers, Veniceit and Nigaraweasel. You kind, thoughtful words made it easy to continue to post chapters. I hope you enjoy this conclusion to what turned into a bigger project than I expected.

I also want to thank the people behind the show. I discovered Keen Eddie many moons ago on Fox during its original run. I was blown away by how good it was. Back then it was rare for me to find something I truly enjoyed to watch. These days it's almost an impossibility. I can only imagine how terrible it must have been to have such a wonderful, well-conceived project be allowed to languish for no reason other than it contained no 'real life' people acting inappropriately or clichéd teen characters whining about their 'difficult' love lives. But I guess the fact so much promise was left unrealized in this terrific show inspired me to add a little of my own efforts, insignificant though they may be. Should any of you fine folks trip over this little collection of snippets in your wanderings, please allow me to express my compliments on your fine work.

Things wrapped up quickly since last time, huh? Well this is now over three years in, albeit with a major hiatus due to an injury I suffered, so maybe quickly is not the way to describe it. But my goal was to write the moments that happened to these two between hate and love as the title suggests, and the hate part was pretty much gone a while ago. As for the words which happened between Fiona and Eddie when they finally admitted things, I wanted to leave a little mystery for the reader. Not to mention keep a few things private for Eddie and Fiona. Behind closed doors and all that. I thought that sort of narrative was too involved to sum up in a short chapter as well. I've already broken the rules I set for myself when I started(less than 1000 words, no cliffhangers) by having a couple 'trilogies'. Maybe I'll write a longer story which goes into the six months we've skipped over here.

As this chapter mirrors the very first one, Routine, I also thought this was a pretty good place to give them their freedom from the torture I've been putting them through, lol.

I may post a new chapter or two here, but not with any regularity. I'm starting on some new projects in real life and won't have a lot of time, but if inspiration strikes…

Anyway, for all you readers (all 3 of you, ha ha!) thanks for reading, and I wish you well in all you do.