Miss You IV

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters

A/N: Okay, here's another chapter, finally :o)

Hope you all like it!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was late that night when James finally got home, and Ainsley was asleep on the couch, with Chester curled up in her lap. He set his briefcase down by the door and knelt next to the couch, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face, "Ainsley", he whispered

Her eyes fluttered open, and he could see that she'd been crying, "Hey, what's wrong?", he asked, stroking her cheek lightly

She shook her head, "Nothing", she lied, "I missed you"

"I missed you too", he leaned in and kissed her softly, "Who's this?", he asked, gesturing to the puppy that was still asleep in her lap

She smiled, "Oh, this is Chester. Sam and I went down to the Humane Society today and adopted him"

His expression hardened, "You went with Sam?"

Ainsley blinked, "Yeah, I know you wanted to go, but you've been so busy I thought you wouldn't have time"

"So Sam offered to take you instead.", his tone was flat

Ainsley sighed, "Yeah he did, is that a problem?"

James shook his head, pulling back from her and standing up, "He seems to be doing a lot of things with you lately"

"He's my friend", she answered, a little indignanty

"Is he?" James shot back raising his eyebrows, "He wants to get into your pants Ainsley"

She gave him a look, "Oh, so anyone who cares about me and wants to spend time with me must only want to get into my pants?"

"You think he cares about you? Did he tell you that?", James' voice was raising several octaves, which was something it never did

"He doesn't have to tell me. He enjoys spending time with me, we've been friends for years. I know he cares about me"

James rolled his eyes, "You're a beautiful girl Ainsley, of course he enjoys spending time with you"

She laughed bitterly, "It doesn't seem like you do"

He ignored that, "Are you honestly telling me that in all the time he's spent with you he's never given you any indication that he's attracted to you?"

Ainsley hesitated, "James," she took a deep breath, "no I can't"

He sighed, "You have feelings for him too, don't you"

She looked down at her hands but didn't respond, and even with her head turned down, he could see the tears in her eyes.

"So you're just going to let him make you his whore?"

Ainsley looked up at him, her cheeks red and her eyes swollen, "If that's what you think of me then maybe I should leave"

He buried his head in his hands, "I didn't mean to say that Ainsley"

Ainsley stood up taking Chester with her and grabbing her purse off of the counter, "The damage is done James. I think I need to leave for a while"

"Ainsley…", he started, but she was already gone.

Sam opened the door to find Ainsley standing on his doorstep with Chester in her arms and tears streaming down her face.

"Ains?"

"We had a fight," she started, shakily, "we had a fight and I left"

He pulled her into the house and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her as tightly as he could without crushing Chester. He kicked the door closed and guided her into the living room, sitting back on the couch and pulling her into his lap. Ainsley relinquished her hold on Chester, letting him hop down onto the floor, and turned, wrapping her arms around Sam's neck as his wound around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"It's okay", he murmured, "you can stay here as long as you need to"

She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down, and he could feel her hot breath on his neck as she let it out. She pulled back slightly, looking at him with glistening green eyes and he reached out and ran his fingers through her silky hair, brushing it over her shoulder affectionately.

"Do you want to talk about it?", he asked gently

"He was mad that I went to the Humane Society with you", she paused pensively and he remained quiet, allowing her to continue at her own pace, "he asked me if I had feelings for you, he wanted me to say I didn't", she took another deep breath, "but I couldn't. I couldn't say that."

Sam nodded understandingly, feeling his heart leap at her admission.

Ainsley suddenly looked down at her lap, "I'm sorry Sam. I ran off when you kissed me, and now I show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night, expecting you to take care of me"

"Hey," he lifted her chin so that she was looking at him again, "I'm glad you came here Ainsley. I like taking care of you"

She smiled at him and reached up, touching his warm cheek with her hand before leaning in and pressing her lips to his softly.

Sam moved one of his hands from her waist to cup the back of her neck and she leaned into him, deepening the kiss. When she pulled back, her eyes were sparkling and Sam couldn't contain the huge grin that spread across his face. He patted her bottom lightly, "Come on, you're probably exhausted. You can have the bed"

She let him help her up and followed him to the bedroom.

"Do you have any clothes with you?", he asked, opening one of his drawers

She shook her head and he handed her one of his long, button-down shirts and the smallest pair of shorts he could find before turning to head into the living room. Ainsley grabbed his arm, "Sam, sleep in here with me"

Sam nodded, knowing she didn't mean it in a sexual way; she just needed someone to hold her.

Ainsley went into the bathroom to change and emerged a few minutes later in his shirt, with her clothes and his shorts folded in her arms, "They were too big," she explained, "they kept falling down"

He nodded, trying not to stare at her bare legs as she placed the clothes on a chair and joined him in the bed, scooting across the large mattress until she was in his arms. He stroked her back soothingly, kissing the top of her head, and she slid her hands under his tee-shirt to feel the warm skin over his shoulder blades.

"Goodnight Sam", she sighed, nestling her head against his chest.

"Night Ains", he rested his head atop hers, inhaling the scent of her hair, and feeling more content than he ever had.