He wanted to climb into her bunk.
She was snoring lightly above Jonas, one bare leg sticking out from beneath the thin blanket, facing away from him so all he could see was blonde hair on the pillow. He smiled to himself, when she snuffled, the exposed leg shifting a little. He moved quietly across the room and adjusted the covers so she'd be warm. He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek, having walked around the bunk to see her face.
They'd been dating for about six months, he was sure she knew the amount of time exactly. The only things Jack knew of exactly were the shift rota and how to put out fires.
He didn't like it when she was on the night shift, it had been a long time since he'd done nights himself and he'd been tempted to fix the duty roster in her favour (well, his favour) and give her as few night shifts as necessary. He could never be unfair to his crew like that and Sam would never accept it anyway. All he could do was accept the occasional shift swap without hesitation if it meant she'd be in his bed that night.
He'd only come by for some paperwork, but had been unable to stop himself from checking in on his crew. On Sam.
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, unable to recall when he'd become such a sap. His ex-wife had given him hell for not caring, not being romantic, all sorts like that. Things were different now. Sam was different. He was different.
He moved back a little and out of the corner of his eye saw Jonas turn over. He glanced down and saw the young man looking at him, eyes sleepy, a yawn starting.
"Not a word," he warned.
Jonas immediately closed his eyes, stifled his yawn and Jack left the station.
The next night she was back in bed with him, his bed. She was fast asleep in his arms this time, blonde hair in his face, her nose squashed against his cheek as he held her close and she too did her best to lie as close to him as possible. One arm was draped over him, and he let his fingertips dance over her bare back in time with her little snores. She hadn't said anything about his little late night visit the night before so he assumed she didn't know. Jonas hadn't mentioned it either which was fine, it gave him the room and the time he needed to work out his feelings for his captain.
He was pretty sure he was in love with her. Not a completely alien feeling, it just left him feeling wary and unsure as to what his next move should be. It had seemed easy enough, had been in the past, but to do it all over again, left him more than a little nervous.
And he was a grown man for crying out loud; not some kid. He had done this before.
"Jack," Sam mumbled into his cheek, shifting in his arms so she wasn't so squashed up, taking a deep breath.
Not so fast asleep.
"Hmmm?"
"What are you thinking about?" she whispered.
He wanted to say 'you' but instead pulled her closer to him, if possible he thought, feeling pale skin all down one side.
"Hockey," he whispered back.
"You're the worst liar," she said, and he half expected her to sit up, initiate a late night heart to heart. They'd been having more of those over the past few weeks, and it would be appropriate, but she just sighed and dozed off again, the little snores starting up almost immediately and making him laugh.
zzzzz
She woke up to find herself tucked up between the edge of the bunk and Jack's hard body. She was still surprised at how hard and well defined he was despite doing mostly desk work as the fire Chief for a few years. She let that be the main focus of her mind as she drifted into consciousness.
When she was a bit more awake she realised that she was in a bunk, in the fire station, with her boss/boyfriend, curled up beside her, one hand tucked beneath him, the other across her. Just like any other night at home, his or hers, and she chuckled to herself. She had no idea what he was doing there, he had no reason to be in the station over night. Unless he just really wanted to be with her.
The thought made her smile.
"Sap," she muttered to the darkness, unsure if she was referring to herself or him and untangled herself from Jack's heavy body, slipping from the bunk. She'd woken with a full bladder, and once she was done in the bathroom, she got back into the bunk and draped herself half over Jack as if they were in her queen, or his king.
When she woke again Jack was gone and sun was filtering in through the station windows. She smiled at the memory of the night before, the blanket had been spread over her and tucked beneath her chin.
Jack was a sap.
She skipped breakfast with the crew and went straight to his house to find him asleep fully clothed on his sofa. She chuckled to herself and went into his kitchen, making them both coffee with the intention of waking him up with a cup. She moved around the large kitchen with ease, having spent a lot of time there in the last few months they were rarely apart which wasn't as cloistering as she had experienced in the past. They were close to something big happening between them.
The L word.
It was close too, if he was crawling into tiny bunks with her during the night.
She jumped when his arms slid around her waist, but settled back in his embrace, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"Coffee?" she asked.
"Please," he mumbled, voice sleepy still.
She turned around in his arms and kissing him.
"Exactly how long have you been sneaking into my bunk at night?" she asked, with a grin.
The shock on his face made her laugh out loud and she didn't bother to hide her amusement.
"I didn't think you'd noticed," he said, his cheeks burning bright red and she didn't think she'd seen him genuinely embarrassed before.
"I woke up last night with you almost suffocating me."
"Sorry."
He dipped his head down.
"I was joking Jack," she said, forcing his head up to look at her.
"It was only once, last night."
"You miss me?"
"I was cold."
"Jack, you spend winters in a cabin with no heating, in Minnesota, and it's currently summer."
"Must be coming down with something," he said.
She shook her head, chuckling again, pulling out of his arms to finish making them both coffee.
"Try again Jack."
"What answer is going to make me look less like an idiot?" he asked, moving to one side while she got some milk out. She smiled to herself, turning to face him and leaving the coffee for a moment.
"The truth."
"I love you."
It was out of his mouth moments after she spoke, and the look on his face made her think that he hadn't quite expected to say it like he had, if at all. She hadn't expected it either and her only response had been a short 'oh'.
He laughed, this time, and they stared at each other for a few quiet moments.
"I love you too," she said, finally.
She'd known it was coming, and she'd expected some sort of fanfare to go with it. Not that this moment was a disappointment, it was more intense than she expected.
And much, much better.
She moved quickly across the kitchen and kissed him, hard, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He kissed back, a little smile on his lips and she pulled away, needing to breathe.
"How long have you known?" he asked.
"Since we started dating."
"Really?"
"Realised I must be in love if I'm willing to date my boss." He nodded at her answer
"I knew before then."
"We really need to talk more," she said.
"We talk enough," he said, "I just needed time to figure this out."
"Okay."
"We need to go back to bed," he said.
"Really?" she asked, with a grin, but also blushing.
"I'll make it an order."
"No need Sir," she said, "I am pretty tired," she said with a laugh.
"Funny."
He kissed her again, and started to undo the little buttons on her white uniform shirt, pulling it open hard when he got frustrated. She had lost a lot of shirts since she'd started dating him.
"I was thinking of putting double bed in my office," he said.
"You won't have room for your desk."
"Oh yeah, because I use that a whole lot," he said, almost dragging her out of the kitchen by her shirt.
She laughed, and let herself be dragged, because she loved him. And because the shirt was already ruined.
Story Notes: Horribly fluffy.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]