When he woke, Mac was lying on her side and he was molded around her, his arm over her stomach, holding her close to him. He stretched and kissed her head. She moved back against him, her hand coming around his arm. "Sshhh, go back to sleep, Kenz, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't, I've been awake for a while. I've been lying here enjoying feeling you all around me," she said, pushing her hips back into him. The room had a glow from all of the ambient light coming through the floor to ceiling windows. She'd wondered if it every really got dark in the bedroom.

He took his lead from her and slipped his hand underneath her shirt, caressing her stomach. She turned in his arms onto her back so she could see his face. He kept exploring her stomach, moving further toward her breasts with each stroke. She reached up to stroke his cheek. He leaned down and gently kissed her, his tongue pushing for access to her mouth. When she opened her mouth his tongue was immediately stroking hers. He stopped kissing her, but kept his forehead pressed against hers. "I love you," he said.

"I love you, Billy. I want to feel you inside me, are you ready?"

He was smiling at her when he said, "I can't wait. Are you ready?"

She nodded and pulled him so he was lying against her, his mouth on hers.

He moved to lie between her legs, resting his weight on his elbows so he could touch her. With one finger he traced her eyebrows and down her nose to her mouth. She pulled his finger into her mouth, her tongue wrapping around the digit, staring into his eyes. She suckled his finger, causing him to close his eyes, concentrating on the feeling.

She was enjoying watching his reactions. She wanted him to feel so good. One hand slipped under the waistband of his sleep pants. She wanted to make him feel good.

When he felt her hand on his ass he opened his eyes. He pulled his finger from her mouth and pushed his hand under her shirt, teasing his way to her breast, his fingers scissoring the nipple, causing her to arch into him. "Feel good?"

"Very," she said smiling. He played with her nipple and nipped at her breast through her shirt, but he desperately wanted her out of her shirt.

He sat up and said, "lean up a bit." He pulled her shirt over her head and threw it off of the bed. He was sitting there staring at her. After a few moments he said, "you are so gorgeous."

Her hand made its way to her breast where she was tugging on her nipple, and twisting it gently. "Thanks." His hand replaced hers on her breast. "I love when you touch me, it feels so good, Billy."

Another way he'd forgotten how she was unlike all the other women he'd ever been with. They would stop talking to him, or the time between sentences would be long, but not Mackenzie. She was loquacious by nature and sex seemed to encourage more communication. Will loved to hear her talk, any time, but especially when they were making love. It gave them one more connection. "Good thing I love touching you."

She took hold of the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, throwing it on the floor with her shirt. Her hand went right to a scar on his shoulder. She sat up and kissed the scar. Yet another thing he'd forgotten about. One of the first times she saw him without a shirt she'd asked about the scar and that started what would become how she knew about his troubled childhood and the hell he was put through by his father. Every time she saw him without a shirt, she would always kiss the scar. She kissed her way across his shoulder and to his neck, where she nipped gently. He was touched that she remembered about kissing the scar on his shoulder. She was the first person he'd told everything. There were others that knew bits and pieces, but he was comfortable enough with her to be able to tell her everything. It hadn't been easy, but she sat there with him any time he wanted to talk about his childhood. She'd hold him and make sure he knew he was safe and listen to anything he wanted to talk about. She knew how hard it was for him to tell his stories.

She placed her hands on his cheeks and made sure she had his complete attention and said, "I love you. I've got you. You're safe."

She could see tears in his eyes. She used to say that to him before.

"I love you, so much, Kenz, he whispered and kissed her, sealing their bond.

"I love you, too." She laid back and pulled him against her again. His mouth trailed kisses to her ear while his hand caressed across her chest and pushed his hand underneath her pajama bottoms, his hand coming to rest on her hip. She ran her nails down his back, and pushed her hands back onto his ass, pushing his pants down a little. She needed him out of his pants; she wanted to feel him pressed against her with nothing between them. "Billy, these need to come off, now," she said pushing at his pants.

He lifted himself off of her enough to reach down and push his pants off, with her help. "Your turn," he said, keeping himself off of her so she could push off her pants. She lifted her hips enough to move the fabric from under her and he helped her remove her bottoms and threw them onto the floor with their other clothes. He kissed her and ran his tongue along her cheekbone, stopping to nip at her ear and pulled the lobe into his mouth.

"Billy," she whispered and flipped them over, she was now straddling his hips, her hand on his erection. She knew she wouldn't be able to play with him right now, so she was simply holding his cock.

His hands were on her breasts, his thumbs rubbing her nipples.

"Fuck, that feels good."

He sat up and pulled a nipple into his mouth. She moved one of her hands into his hair, holding him against her breast. He stroked his way down her body, his fingers finding her wetness and spreading it around.

"You always know what I need, how to touch me," she said.

He flipped them back over so that Mac was resting against the bed. He let the nipple pop from his lips and kissed his way to her belly button, where he stuck his tongue in and nipped gently. His reward was her giggles. He didn't think anyone knew how ticklish Mac really was besides him. He pushed one finger into her, immediately stopping her giggles and making her moan. She reached for his hand and he linked their fingers, looking up at her.

"I need to feel you in me, Billy."

That's where he wanted to be, so he positioned himself and pushed into her, then held himself still.

"God, Billy, I'd forgotten how full you make me feel."

He leaned down and asked, "are you okay?"

"Stay still a minute. These muscles haven't been used in a long time." He smiled at that and she added, "we can talk about it later, promise," and squeezed his cock. "Slowly," she said.

He did as she'd asked. He began moving very slowly, letting her adjust to both him and evidently the fact that she hadn't had sex recently. He'd definitely be asking about that later.

She started to reach down, but he intercepted her hand and touched her clit with his fingers. "Jesus," she moaned, her head arched back against the pillows.

He knew that this first time they weren't going to last very long. It had been too long since they'd been together and neither of them had dated anyone recently, or at least hadn't had sex recently.

He massaged her clit and was thrusting just a bit harder than before. "I'm close," she said.

He leaned down and kissed her. "Me, too. I'm going to come when you do," he warned.

"Do it, Billy," she said a smiled at him.

"You know now every time you say that to me in the studio I'm going to get a hard on," he teased and thrust with more force.

His fingers dancing around her clit, teasing, hoping to prolong the feeling when all of a sudden she screamed, "fuck," and began coming. She was shaking and holding onto his arms tightly.

He managed to thrust a few more times before he came and collapsed on her. When he realized he was probably crushing her he lifted himself up and turned over, pulling her against his chest.

Once he was settled on his back she pushed herself up and kissed him. "I love you," she said when she pulled back.

"I love you, Kenz."

"Go ahead and ask," she said, settling back on his shoulder.

"We don't have to talk about it," he said, giving her an out.

"Last man, or last person?" she asked, wanting to know what he really was after and not taking the out he gave her.

"Will you tell me both?" he asked, hedging.

"Greedy boy," she teased. "Last man, Wade. Are you sure you want to know last person?"

"How long ago?"

"Right after Wade," she explained.

"Do I know the woman?"

"You do," she said.

"Sloan?"

Mac smiled and said, "yes, it was Sloan."

"I didn't know Sloan was bi-sexual."

"She's not, she was curious, that's all," Mac explained. "She freaked out afterwards."

"I could see that happening," he said. "You guys are okay, though."

"We are, we worked through it and she figured out that she really was straight."

"Did you ever have any doubt?" he asked, running his fingers through her hair.

She thought about his question, picking up his other hand, playing with and linking their fingers together. "No, not really. I wasn't expecting anything. She'd come out of a bad relationship. Not my smartest move, but when she had her tongue in my mouth, begging me to help her, I couldn't not, you know."

He had his hand in her hair. He kissed her head and said, "I know. How long did it take for her to freak out?"

"After I made her come."

"Did she make you orgasm?" he asked.

"No. I don't know if I was too worried about it being Sloan's first time with a woman, or if it was because it was Sloan…I don't know."

"Sshh, it's okay," he said when he felt her tense. "Relax, Kenz. Don't worry. It sounds like Sloan was rebounding and didn't know what she wanted."

"She didn't."

"Thank you for telling me," he said.

She nodded her head against his shoulder. He kissed her head again and said, "sleep, Kenz." He really didn't need to tell her as her eyes were already closing of their own accord.

The next time he saw her wake up was a couple of hours later. She snuggled up against him. His hand was again in her hair, caressing. "Are you hungry, Kenz?" he asked, looking at the clock. It was early yet. When she didn't respond he lifted his head to look at her again and her eyes were shut. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes.

He woke when he felt her move off of him and get out of bed. He saw her grab his t-shirt and pull it on en route to the bathroom. When she got back he was sitting up in bed.

"Good morning," she said walking back to the bed.

"Morning, Kenz. Are you hungry?"

She stood by the bed and thought about his question. He smiled at her and said, "are you okay? You're not nauseous are you?"

"No, no nausea, but I'm not sure if I'm hungry or not. I should eat something since I can't remember what I ate last."

That got his attention. He moved so he was sitting on the side of the bed and he pulled her to stand between his legs, not letting go of her hands and looking up at her he said, "that needs to stop."

"I know."

"Promise me, please, Mac."

She saw that he was worked up and now worried about her. He was a born worrier and she needed to take better care of herself, for both of them. She leaned down to kiss him and said, "I promise. What's for breakfast?"

"Anything you'd like. The kitchen is stocked. Want to go take a look?"

She nodded and he got up. She had to smile; his hair was sticking up in the back in every possible direction. She, all of a sudden, got a picture of what his son would look like and it gave her pause. He turned around when she stopped walking and cocked his head at her. She smiled and reached to hug him, her arms going around his neck. "I love you," she whispered in his ear.

"I love you, too. You okay?"

She pulled back so she could see his face, but stayed in his arms and said, "perfect."

He smiled and said, "come on, let's find you some food."

Will fixed them breakfast and they retired to the couch, turning on a movie that neither one of them really watched. It simply was an excuse to lay in each other's arms on the couch, not that they needed an excuse. Will lay with her until he had to use the bathroom. On his way back he decided to start part of dinner in the crock-pot. When he'd finished that task he went back to the living room to sit in the chair and watch her sleep. He'd turned on the fireplace and grabbed a book to read.

Several hours later he was in the kitchen when he heard, "what is that wonderful smell?" from the doorway. "Wait, I know that smell," she said. "Is that drunken mushrooms?" she asked smiling.

"Want a taste?" he asked taking a couple of mushrooms out of the crock-pot. He held up the fork for her and blew on the mushroom to cool it down a little. He offered her the mushroom and she took it into her mouth, chewing with her eyes closed.

"These are so good. I could eat nothing but them, but I bet you've got something planned."

He smiled at her. "You're right. There are steaks marinating in the refrigerator and potatoes to bake."

"That sounds great," she said.

"There's also ice cream," he added.

"You think I'll have room for ice cream after all that?"

"Okay, how about a midnight snack, then?" He was determined that she was going to eat and get healthy again. She'd lost weight that she didn't need to lose. He was going to make sure she ate every meal. No more skipping or eating on the run, or grabbing one of Don's protein bars.

"Maybe. Can we talk some," she asked taking his hand.

"Always. Shall we go sit in front of the fire?"

She nodded and led him back into the living room. They sat on the couch, close together.

"Are you okay," he asked.

"I know I've got you worried." She found out how worried when he didn't say anything. "Wow, I've got you really worried, I'm sorry."

He touched her face and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, but he didn't remove his hand from her face and he was concentrating on her, intently. "I've never seen you sleep this much and I've never seen you wake up screaming. I am worried about you."

"When I was in the Middle East I'm not sure I slept through even one night completely. You had to be able to move with a moment's notice, let alone a lot of the time we were sleeping on the ground. A word to the wise, never suggest going camping to me," she said.

He smiled and said, "no camping, got it."

"Any way, sleeping four hours a night might have been a lot considering the circumstances."

"And you never let yourself recover from that, right? The dreams, they are about the time you were there?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk about the dreams, or try to talk about them? No pressure and only if you want to, Kenz."

After a few moments she said, "I think you are going to be the only person I will be able to talk about the dreams with, but not yet, okay. I'm not there. I need to think about what I need to tell you to make you understand, does that make sense?"

He squeezed her hand and said, "that makes perfect sense. When you're ready I'll be there to listen."

She leaned in to kiss him and said, "thank you."

He pulled her onto his lap and held her close. "Anything you need, Kenz."

She pulled back enough to see his face. She placed both of her hands on his cheeks and rested her forehead against his. "I'm going to be fine, Billy. It will take some time, but I'll get there, I promise."

"All I want is for you to be okay."

"I know you're worried, Billy, and I get it, I do. I know I'm going to need your help, but I've got to do this my way and in my time, okay?"

He nodded. "I know I can't push, but know that's all I want to do. I want you better, as soon as possible."

She kissed him. "I love you for it, Billy, but I've got to do this on my own time. I want to be better, I do. I want us to be able to get on with our life together, but I need to take care of my past, first. I can't rush that. If I tried to rush anything it may not let me put it away completely. Does that make sense?"

He thought about what she'd said and finally nodded his head. "Yes, that makes sense. I want you to promise me something."

"What's that?" she asked.

"If you feel I'm pushing you too much, or say something you aren't ready to talk about, you've got to tell me, okay. We're really good at reading each other at the studio, but we're not there yet at home. We will get there, but it's going to take time."

She smiled at him and said, "I've never had a problem talking to you. If I feel that you're pushing too much, I'll let you know, and I also know you won't be doing it intentionally."

"Never," he quickly added.

"It's okay, I know," she said, trying to help him relax again. "Enough seriousness," she said and scooted closer to him, half in his lap.

Will put his arms around her and pulled her fully onto his lap. "Agreed," he said and quickly kissed Mac, "enough seriousness for now. What do you feel like doing?"

"Taking a hot bath, you interested in joining me?"

"I'd love to. You want bubbles?"

"Of course, you have to have bubbles," she said.

That made him laugh. "Okay, one bubble bath coming up," he said, standing up with her still in his arms. He carried her into the bathroom and let her slide down him so he could prepare their bath.

He started the tub, adding a copious amount of bubbles, and then turned to her, and began undressing her. Once he had her undressed he quickly undressed himself and asked, "you want front or back?"

"Front, please," she said. He offered her his hand and helped her into the bubbles and then he slipped in behind her and rested her against his chest. "This feels great, Billy." He could see she had her eyes closed. When the water got high enough he turned off the taps.

His hand was resting on her stomach, his finger drawing random patterns. "This is perfect, Billy."

He closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the feeling of the hot water, the bubbles and more importantly, Mackenzie in his arms. The awkwardness of the week had gone. They still had things to work through, but he knew they'd get there, together.

The End