Final chapter. I hope everyone has enjoyed my little Savis obsession during this hiatus. Only five more days until our show returns!

Again, special thanks to Jabr3317 for the assist!

Davis felt a flutter in her stomach as she heard his words. 'I miss you', he'd said, 'miss', present tense. This realization caught Davis by surprise, she'd assumed that their very short-lived relationship was over and done with the moment Sonny walked out of the locker room. Even tonight, with everything he'd said and done, there was no solid indication that he still had any feelings for her, until now. It wasn't just their friendship Sonny had stayed behind to resolve; he was still missing her, still incomplete without her, all of her. Davis knew she'd be lying to herself if she tried pretending that those feeling weren't there for her, too.

They'd only spent one night together, and under normal circumstances, with anyone else, that would be plenty for Sonny, and occasionally, too, for Davis, but that one night wasn't nearly enough for either of them. That night was a decade's worth of admiration, respect, and love finally, and unexpectedly, overflowing between them, releasing a passion they'd only just realized existed.

Despite the tension the past few weeks, they were here now, both still yearning to quench that thirst once again.

Davis checked her watched, 0100, "Well," she said, standing up in front of him, "we have about five hours before I have to leave."

Sonny looked up at her confused, "We?"

"Yep. We're making up for lost time." She pulled her phone from her back pocket, tapped the screen a few times, then set it down on the coffee table as soft music started playing. Davis held her hand out toward Sonny, "Dance with me."

It was a command more than a question, but she expected it would have the same result, even though Sonny had adamantly claimed once before that he did not dance. If that were true, though, she at least knew him well enough to know that he didn't back down from a challenge, either.

Sonny recognized the tune right away and grinned. Garth Brooks was a personal favorite of his and the song, 'A Friend To Me', was quite fitting for he and Davis. He reached out to grab to her hand and stood to meet her eye-to-eye, meer inches apart.

As their dance began, Sonny kept hold of Davis' hand and drew it close to his chest, then placed his left hand on her hip leaving the small gap between them. Davis had to stifle her laughter at the awkwardness but continued to let him lead. They swayed slowly, matching the pace of the music.

"Me and you

Well we've sure been through

Our share of laughter and regret

Lord knows we've had our bad days

And more than once we've disagreed

But you've always been a friend to me"

By the second verse they both began to relax in each other arms and Sonny pulled her in against him, eliminating their distance and allowing them to fully embrace one another. Davis' body molded to his as if they were made for each other and she rested her head upon his chest, breathing him in. He wanted to say something, anything, but each time he tried the right words were nowhere to be found, so he continued to hold her close, listening to the lyrics and thinking about how much of them was described in the song.

"You've always been

Time and again

The one to take my hand

And show to me it's okay to be

Just the way I am

With no apology"

Moments later the last strums of the melody faded away and they were engulfed in silence. Sonny tightened his grip around Davis, unwilling to let the dance end so soon. She nestled deeper into him and they continued to rock back and forth to their own rhythm.

They stayed this way for a long while, neither wanting to break away first, but Sonny knew that time wasn't on their side anymore. He needed to speak up; to make sure that she knew where he stood as far as their relationship went. If this was going to be their last night together, he intended to do whatever possible to save every moment of it.

Sonny took a deep breath, absorbing every ounce of her possible before speaking, "I should have said 'yes'."

Davis lifted her head from Sonny's chest and leaned back slightly to meet his gaze, instantly missing the warmth of him, "To what?" she questioned.

"You asked if I thought this was worth jeopardizing our careers over. I wanted to say 'yes', but..."

"Sonny..."

"I know," he cut in, the frustration evident in his voice. The career ending ramifications a relationship between an officer and enlisted could have, more so for her now than him, weren't lost on Sonny. "I know there are concerns… about us... so many reasons we should both walk away, but I'm not walking away from you again. On the sub… at the end… the only thing I could think about was you." He paused for moment, unable to gauge her immediate reaction. Speechless, Davis stared deep into Sonny's eyes, urging him to continue, to open up to her. "I want this. Lisa, I want you. I waited too long to tell you and I don't expect you to put your life on hold for me, but, for now, I'm not ready to let you go."

Believing that Sonny still had feelings for her was one thing, but, for Davis, to actually hear him say it out loud, without reservation, was more than she expected from him tonight. This was a version of Sonny Davis had never seen before; the side that he kept locked away, at least, he had for as long as she had known him. For ten years she'd watched him go through one very casual relationship after another, none lasting more than a few days, and never so much as admitting to actually liking any of them. But, here, with Davis, he was all in.

Still slightly overwhelmed with his raw honesty, she began to loosen the grip she had around his neck. Davis ran her hand along his shoulder and down Sonny's arm; the feather light touch sending a surge through him. As she reached his hand, she intertwined her fingers with his, "Then don't let go."

Sonny let out a sigh of relief as a smile crossed his face. He leaned toward Davis, placing his free hand under her chin, guiding her to closer to him, until their lips finally met. It was light, at first, slow and meaningful, as they took their time rediscovering one another. Senses heightened by passion; each scent, touch, and taste were familiar and just as intoxicating as it had been the first time. The kiss deepened with ferocity, both desperately seeking to find what they'd been missing the past few weeks.

Breathless, Sonny and Davis reluctantly slowed their momentum and parted their lips, yet staying impossibly close to each other, they immediately ached for more. Sonny grinned as he watched the blush color rise in Davis' cheeks. She looked up to meet his gaze; a recognizable mixture of longing and sadness in his eyes and she knew he would be seeing the same in hers. He leaned in towards Davis and she nuzzled her nose against his, both absorbing all they could of the other.

Sonny brushed his lips against hers once again, eager to continue this exploration, but Davis bowed her head back, just out of his reach. He watched, questioningly, as she gave a mischievous smile and took a step backwards, separating their bodies. Sonny stared at her intently, observing each move she made in silence. She took another step back. Her fingers still locked with his, Davis gave a light tug, encouraging him to follow.

Releasing the breath he was unaware he was holding, Sonny stepped forward, pursuing Davis towards the bedroom.

0530

Davis slowly untangled herself from the labyrinth of clothes, blankets and limbs to climb out of bed, careful not to wake Sonny. After everything that was said last night, leaving him now would be the hardest thing Davis would ever have to do, but she knew it had to be done. For now, Davis' journey was taking her on a different path, one that wouldn't allow Sonny to be in her life, not the way she wanted, anyway. OCS was something she needed to do, though, to prove to her herself that she could make it; to overcome the sigma of women in the military, as well as the hardships of her own upbringing.

While she dressed and gathered her already packed bags, Davis paused for a moment to watch Sonny sleeping in her bed. She wanted to soak in this image of him, unsure if this was the last time they would be together. She looked down at her wrist, where Sonny had placed his bracelet; she'd been absentmindedly tracing her fingers over it for the past several minutes.

Sonny began to stir and blindly reached out across the bed, expecting to find Davis beside him, but jolted awake as he felt the cold emptiness in her place. He scanned the room and found Davis standing by the door, bags sitting beside her, staring back at him. A twinge of pain of rushed through him as he realized what was happening. Davis was leaving; he hadn't expected her to stay, but it was all too real now. This was her path, one she needed to see through.

"Howdy," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Davis sniffled and smiled at his cheesy greeting. "Howdy" she replied, nervously. Sonny waking had caught her off guard; she wasn't prepared to say goodbye to him.

"Come here," it was almost a demand from him, but she conceded. As she approached, he took her hand and guided her down beside him, wrapping an arm around her. "I meant what I said last night; I'm here for whatever you need… or want."

She pulled out of his embrace to look him in the eye, "Sonny, I..."

"Me, too," he interjected. Reaching out he cradled Davis' face in his hand and stroked her cheek.

She covered his hand with hers, turning to kiss his palm, then gliding her fingers across his beard softly one last time; she kissed him passionately before standing to leave. As she reached the door and picked up her bags, she looked back to offer him a sad smile.

He knew she had to go, for herself. He knew a part of her was terrified of leaving Bravo, the only real family she had ever known. He knew how much she cared about him. He knew there was a part of her that wanted to stay, to give them a chance.

And he finally knew just how much he loved her.