She keeps staring at me. It's rather unsettling. That lovey-dovey expression is nearly enough to make my head explode. Though, I must admit, I want to dissect her. I promise to put her back together. I would be disappointed if she never spoke to me again.

I do like when she speaks to me. Her voice is so sweet. I don't normally like sweet things but I like her voice. I like when she whispers to herself, it makes me feel less mad. She makes me feel less mad. When she pulls me to her the madness, the insanity, subsides, if only for a moment.

I do like when she touches me. She's so very soft. When she runs her hands through my hair I can't help but wish it never stop. And when those hands run down my neck and my back I always have to bite back a soft groan. Friends do not groan when other friends hug them.

Sitting here in my lab, across from her, on a couch that she bought, drinking tea that she made, from a cup that she purchased, her stare is unsettling. I know what she wants. I also know that I cannot give it to her.

"Franken?" her voice cuts through my thoughts. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," I look up and meet her gaze, "Marie, why are you still here?"

She lowers her eyes from mine. I've upset her. I don't like to upset her.

"Do you want me to leave?" Her voice is so soft.

"No," I am certain of this, "but why would you stay?"

"To make sure that you're alright, silly,"

That smile warms me to the bone.

"Hmmm," that's irrational. I am fine. The noise is being controlled and I am in perfect physical health.

"Stein," she's moved next to me.

Her knee is touching mine. Is the touching of knees supposed to feel this good? Knees are not well known erogenous zones. Though, I know that many of Spirit's sexual encounters begin with him resting a hand on the targeted partner's knee.

"Stein?" I look at her. Her face is as serious as I've ever seen it. "You know that I care about you, right?"

"Yes," how could I not know? Spirit has been telling me this since our days at the academy. "And I care about you too, Marie. I only wonder how long it will be until I give into the urge to dissect you," I'm expecting to be hit. According to Spirit, women don't like to be dissected. The blow never comes. Instead I hear her laugh. Why is she laughing? I'm being serious.

"I'm sorry," she's trying to stop, "but if you were going to dissect me then I think you would have already done it. You were completely submerged within the madness and yet you still held yourself back until you were with Medusa. You had every chance to drug me, tie me down and do what you wished but you didn't," Her smile and eyes are so warm. "If that's all that you're afraid of, then you're stuck with me for the long haul," She says it as if she's truly happy to be here in my stitched up laboratory. She says it with a laugh and a smile.

"Marie," her name comes off my lips without permission. Her pale, slender hands rest on my own before she lifts one to stroke my cheek. I lean into the gentle caress, almost like a cat. I want to kiss her, but can you just kiss a woman like Marie?

Kissing can be sensual. There are many very sensitive and responsive nerves in the lips. A kiss can elicit the beginnings of sexual stimulation. Many people like to kiss and be kissed. Would Marie enjoy the feeling of my lips on hers? Would she like the way I taste if her tongue were to pass my lips? I bet she would taste like tea and honey.

I raise my hands to cup her face, an experiment. I pull her closer. We're so close; I can feel her breath on my lips. Her eye closes and her lips part slightly, expectantly. I close the gap between us, connecting our lips. Hers are soft and taste of the tea she was drinking, as I knew they would, but there's something else, something distinctly Marie. Her tongue caresses my bottom lip and I allow her in. She's exploring, learning, taking everything in. Just as I fear that I may have to break away, for oxygen in take, she gently pulls away.

Both of us are breathing hard. Her hair is disheveled, I must have done that, and her lips are redder than before.

"Marie?" I catch my breath first, "how are you feeling now?"

"Like a princess!" She clasps her hands before her chest and giggles like a prepubescent girl. "Just wait until Azusa hears about this!"

"Then the experiment was a success," I cross an arm over my chest and tap my chin with the hand of the other. "Marie, I would like to perform a series of experiments over several months, maybe years, with you as the test subject. We could begin where we left off and slowly progress through dinners and sexual experimentation,"

"Wait," she stops me, "are you asking me to date you?"I can tell that she's suppressing a laugh. I wasn't being funny.

"If that is what you wish to call it, then yes," my hand rises to the screw and gently turns it till it clicks. Silence.

"I'll do it!" There is joy in her eye and on her face. "But don't go thinking that I'm an easy lay! You will have to work to get me in to bed!"

I love her abrasive side. I pull my glasses off and pull her to me. My tone lowers, I believe it is called a husky growl. Her cheeks bush a dark red and she swallows hard as I whisper, "We'll begin tomorrow, Marie."

"Right," she barely squeaks out before I let her go and stand to leave.

I smirk to myself as I walk away. Experiment two was a success. Tomorrow I think we'll attempt what the students call 'second base'. Oh yes, I think I'm going to enjoy this experiment. Very much.