The marble headstone is cold against his back despite the warmth of the day. Sunlight filters through the trees dappling the ground of the cemetery. The grass beneath him is thick and green. Staring at nothing in particular, he twirls a wilted daisy through his fingers, the limp stem occasionally tangling between his long fingers. He drops the flower and pulls his left leg up. His right hand gently kneads his right thigh. In the distance, he hears a car door close. Leaning his head back, he closes his eyes. Soft footfalls whisper through the grass and a scent he hasn't smelled in years tickles his nose.
"Who tattled?" he asks without opening his eyes.
He hears the soft rustle of fabric as she sits down beside him. "Wilson. He's worried about you."
Opening his eyes, he turns to look at her. Her hair is longer, falling over her shoulders to her narrow waist. It's still blonde but straighter than he remembers. Her eyes are the same, though, as she looks at him. Her eyes are blue-green with flecks of gold surrounded by dark lashes and still able to see right through him to his soul. She tilts her head and pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Her jeans are worn through over her right knee giving him a glimpse of the golden skin beneath.
"Wilson is such a girl," he says. "I have the pictures to prove it."
She doesn't respond and he looks away. Reaching down, he tugs at the grass, pulling a handful of blades free. He cups them in his hand before tossing them away.
"So, what brings you to Virginia?" he asks, squinting at a tree in the distance.
"You."
The one word hangs between them.
"You hate me," he responds squinting harder at the tree.
"Wilson told me what you did for him," she tells him. "That you took care of him, gave him your Vicodin, helped him when no one else would."
"Because he wanted to do a crazy treatment. He knows those are my specialty. Did he show you the pictures from our little vacation?"
She laughs softly and he looks at her.
"I'll take that as a yes," he smiles.
"I talked to Robert," she says.
He waits. In his mind, he hears her tearful accusations. You ruined him. There's no way back for either of you.
"He's happy," she tells him.
"Ruined but happy. Not bad in the grand scheme of things, I suppose."
"Surprisingly not ruined. Just happy. It's good."
"So you didn't come to lecture me about Wilson or Chase. Are you here to lecture me about what I did to Cuddy's house? Because I did my time in the big house for that."
"I'm not here to lecture you at all."
He looks at her and she looks back. The familiar tug of desire pulls at him as he stares at her.
"Eric offered me a job. I'm going to work in the ER again," she informs him never taking her eyes from his.
"Not on my team."
"You have four people on your team," she reminds him.
"I could fire Taub."
She laughs. "No. It's better if I don't work for you."
"Why?"
"You can't date a subordinate," she tells him. "Eric says it's a rule he added after you went to prison."
"Are you and I going to date?"
"Yes."
He nods. "We did have fun watching the monster trucks."
"We did."
"That dinner was a disaster. I'm not going anywhere that requires us to dress up."
"Okay," she says.
Sighing, he looks off into the distance and reaches out to take her hand.
"Are we going to have sex?" he asks still staring out at the trees in the distance.
"Yes."
He can hear the laughter in her voice so he looks at her. "Seriously?"
She smiles and nods. "Seriously."
Reaching up with her free hand, she strokes his cheek and leans toward him. His eyes flutter closed as her warm lips touch his. Turning slightly, he touches the tip of his tongue to her mouth. He sighs as her tongue slides along his into his mouth. For several moments, he kisses her, tasting her, feeling her skin heat up as it brushes against his. He tightens his grip on her hand before pulling back from her.
"Why?" he asks. "Last time I talked to you, you told me you were an idiot because you loved me."
She shrugs. "Everybody lies."
He laughs and kisses her again.