(Caution: This chapter contains mature content. Viewer discretion advised.)

I lay there in the dark, tossing about on top of the covers, assuming every position at every angle in which I might trip off to unconsciousness. But my eyes would not close and stay. All I knew was that the man I loved was fifteen feet away in the next room, and we hadn't said anything even close to "Goodbye."

I looked at the Android to see I had been rolling around restlessly for the past hour and a half. Two thirty in the morning, and I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep. And even if K does call in the next minute, I'm whipped, and the trip back is going to be much harder on me than the one that sent me here. I need sleep. I need it now.

Freddie had a bottle of sleeping pills in his medicine cabinet. However, it wouldn't do either of us any good if I knocked on his door and roused him when he himself probably hadn't slept for the past thirty-six hours, at least.

I sat up in bed, remembering a story my mother had told me about a vacation she took in Mexico once. She too was suffering from insomnia at the time, and a local had described this delicious drink to her called horchata, which supposedly would help assuage the sleeplessness. If my memory served, it was basically just warm milk with cinnamon and rice, but according to my mother, it worked wonders, and she slept like a baby thereafter.

"Hey, if it works, I'm in," I muttered to myself. "Freddie, hope you don't mind if I use the kitchen really quick."

So I climbed off the bed, smoothing the wrinkles I'd made in the duvet and snatching up the Relic. Very carefully I opened the door and tiptoed out, nearly tripping over Oscar in the process.

"Why can't you be polite and meow first?" I hissed playfully, scooping him into my arms. "You know I'm blind as a bat without my contacts." I don't know why that cat loved me so much- but then, there's no accounting for taste, especially where animals and their people are concerned.

Freddie's own door was shut. Because my nosiness knows no bounds, I laid my ear up against it, listening for any telltale noises, but all was still.

I set Oscar down on the floor and whispered, "Meet you at the bottom." Then, putting the Relic between my teeth, I straddled the banister one last time and slid quietly down, catching myself before I could fall. I couldn't see any fuzzy, multicolored balls of fur on the sofa; I can only assume Tom and Tiffany had joined their daddy.

With Oscar padding along at my heels, I strode into the dark kitchen, setting the Relic on the counter. I turned on one light over the sink. In the interest of time and my impatience, I decided to forego the rice part and just make a little cinnamon milk.

"Would you like some, too, Cat?" I whispered, quietly putting a saucepan on the stove. "Let's make yours without cinnamon, just in case."

I poured about two cups' worth of milk into the saucepan and turned on the heat. My sleep-deprived brain wandered as I studied my little green-eyed friend. Oscar did look like Cat from Breakfast at Tiffany's. I wondered if that made me Holly Golightly or Paul Varjak, George Peppard's character.

Oh, I'd be Paul, most definitely, because Freddie has to be Holly -the high-handed extrovert with an aloof outer shell belying the fragile soul and guarded, soft heart.

"Here you go, you slob," I said playfully, pouring Oscar a saucer of heated milk. I bent over, humming "Moon River" as I set it down in front of him. In quiet delight, I watched him dunk his whiskers into the saucer, his rough tongue lapping up the warm, sweet milk. With a sigh, I stood back up and turned around-

And almost had a heart attack when I saw a man's silhouette looming right behind.

"GAH!" I screamed, covering my mouth and remembering in the very next split second the only person it could possibly be. I began to laugh, overjoyed that we had a chance to say a proper, heartfelt good-bye and maybe find some closure.

"Freddie, you scared me!"

"Ooo," he murmured dryly, "that's a first." But even in the half-light, I could see the promise of a smile on his out-of-focus face. "Sorry."

I waved my hand. "It's fine. Just wasn't expecting it, that's all. I, um, I didn't wake you, did I?"

Freddie shook his head, came closer. "I was up anyway." I could see he wore his dressing gown, but not much else; his bare chest was quite nicely exposed through the navy blue robe collar. He peered into the saucepan. "What are you making?"

"Oh, just a little cinnamon milk. Apparently it helps you sleep, so I'm trying it. Would you like some?"

He thought about it, and nodded. "You know, that actually sounds nice. Yes."

"Perfect. There's enough for two short glasses in there- oh, I should probably take it off the heat, we don't want too many bubbles. Warm milk, not boiling milk."

"I'm on it," Freddie whispered, shutting off the fire underneath.

"I also threw a few drops of honey in there for good measure, so I hope it's not too sweet for you." I took down two glasses from the cabinet and poured the milk. A glass for Freddie, a glass for me. For good measure I dusted my own glass with a little extra cinnamon. My sweet tooth- the one vice I could claim before Freddie entered my life. What a difference one's company makes.

"This is nice, I get to make one more thing for you before I go." I looked at him. "So you can't sleep either, huh?"

He shook his head and swallowed a yawn.

"Did you try- I mean, you've got those pills in there-"

"I know. I took one."

"And it's not working?"

"No. It was supposed to kick in half an hour ago."

"I hate pills. Too much nasty stuff in them."

Freddie rolled his eyes. "They're just sleeping pills, my dear Miss Natural."

"Exactly."

"You're so paranoid."

"Don't blame me. Blame Alex Jones."

"I don't know who that is."

"You don't have to, it's not necessary."

He nodded sagely. "I didn't think so." After a pause, he asked, "So... are you going to tell your family about all this?"

"I would if they would believe me," I said. "But they won't."

"Why not?"

"Because time travel isn't supposed to be a thing. it's supposed to be impossible."

"True," he murmured. "Besides, the chances of you talking to a man who's already six feet un-"

"What?"

"Nothing." He looked into his glass a moment and said, "I think we should have a toast."

"All right." I raised my drink and drew closer. "To what?"

I saw the corners of his mouth turn up in a clever smile. "To the future, of course."

"Yes, to the future." I whispered. "Cheers."

We clinked glasses, our eyes on each other's as we sipped.

"Hey, that's quite good," Freddie remarked. "What did you put in it again?"

"Just milk and cinnamon. It's pretty easy. I bet you could even make it."

"I wouldn't count on it. I've been known to burn water."

I sighed with a sad smile. "Oh, I'm going to miss that."

Freddie took a sip. I couldn't see his expression very well- which was fine by me- but I could hear in his voice he wasn't counting on that. "What?"

I felt my cheeks flush. "The, um... the way you said 'water.'"

"Are you making fun of the way I talk again? Because two can play that game."

"Not at all-"

"De-zar-russ."

"Oh, shut up," I said softly. "I think your accent is beautiful, but the way you say some things, like 'water,' is perfect, I'm sorry, I can't help it."

I thought I saw his eyes sparkle, but it was just the light reflecting off from over the sink. "Thank you, darling."

I shook my head, the blues comfortably settling back in my soul. I had to hug him, if nothing else. I put my arms around his neck and held tightly. "I'm going to miss this so much."

We just stood there a few moments while Freddie let it sink in. I pulled away, lifted my glass again for another sip. Finally he whispered, "So- what else exactly about 'this' will you miss?"

I took a hearty swig, draining the glass, then sighed again. "Oh, I'll miss the cats- Oscar, especially. I'll miss the Deacons, and Rudy, and Straker, and I'll miss- I'll miss you, and the thrill of merely being with you, whether that means we're on the loose in Manhattan and Vegas, or we're just standing here bickering in your kitchen, like now."

My voice grew softer. "And... I'll miss your smile, and your laugh... and your eyes... and your heart."

Oh, great. I've said too much.

Freddie seemed to come closer. "You know, it's, um, funny you should say that," he murmured, setting down his glass. "You see... I already miss you."

"You do?" I whispered. My flesh began to crawl, and my heart to pound all over again.

"Indeed," he replied. "I miss you horribly."

I felt weak in the knees. Biting my lip, I turned away and picked up the saucepan, carrying it to the sink. "What, um," I managed, "what do you miss?"

Freddie strode up behind me, gently putting his hands around my waist and pulling me against him from behind. I could feel his heart beating against my spine.

"I miss," he whispered in a voice tender enough to make me shut my eyes. "I miss the way you bounce along on the balls of your feet when you walk. I miss rowing with you over absolutely nothing. I miss the way your eyes fill up the room whenever you walk in, and they're all I can see- and how you can just be standing there at almost three in the morning, with your hair a shambles and no makeup, ladling milk into a saucer for a cat- and still be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

"There's much more, you know, but most of all, really, I miss... feeling this way."

"What way?" I asked, my voice choked. I was losing it.

He brushed my hair away from the side of my face, and kissed my neck. "Complete."

Oh, God, no. NO. NO!!!

Deep inside, the walls trembled, splitting on every side. I gave it one last try. I summoned up all the strength that remained, drawing on every cell that composed me to break away from Freddie and, with violently shaking hands, place his empty glass in the sink as well.

"That's nice," I gasped. A stupid thing to say, but I wasn't really thinking at all at this point. Cleverness had flown out the window. "Uh, I hope you liked the, the that, um, and thank you again, I'm just gonna go back upstairs now..."

I went to pick up the Relic, still quiet since my tracker was still red. But it was too late.

Because then Freddie began to laugh.

I froze. This wasn't his normal laugh at all. I had never heard anyone laugh this way. It was angry, it was cold, it was insane. And it scared me to death.

Like an idiot, I turned, secure in my myopia, and asked, "What's so-"

"What's it going to take?" he whispered shakily. "What's it going to take, Julia? I'd really like to know."

I swallowed. "I don't-"

"What feat of Hercules must I perform, to get through to you- to make you open your f---ing eyes?"

Suddenly he stood inches away from me, hands clamped down on my forearms, his face hovering so close our noses almost touched. "Tell me, what do I have to do? Is there even anything? Are you just so used to being locked up and shut away that you've forgotten how to show it when you do feel? I mean, if you feel?"

I closed my eyes.

"Look at me."

"No."

"I said, look at me."

"Freddie, please-"

"Please!" He shouted. "Please, what? Please stop? You want me to stop? No. Never. Your heart- you may be content to keep it locked up, but not I. I shall have it. I will take it, if it's the last thing I do. I will make you love me, just like you made me love you."

That made me open my eyes. I felt something crumbling within as I stood there numbly staring into the blazing dark spheres, his words reverberating within my skull. He loves me?

"Perhaps, I should say it again," he hissed. "I love you. Still don't believe me? Did I say it wrong? Or do I need to prove it, prove I'm absolutely f---ing mad for you? Shall I get on my knees and kiss your feet? Because I will. Watch me."

Like a dummy I watched Freddie sink to the floor and kneel. To my blank astonishment he bent over, taking hold of my ankles, and with a shudder kissed the tops of my bare feet one, two, three, four times. Such unbridled insanity tore ruthlessly at my heart. I couldn't take it anymore.

I fell to my knees, begging him, "Freddie, stop this, please, I don't-"

But when he lifted his head, I knew I had lost the battle. I had nothing left to fight him with, especially not now, with tears streaking his gaunt cheeks and streaming from his glassy eyes- two polished black marbles with living bonfires raging within. He took my face in his hands.

"Say it," Freddie whispered. "I want to hear you say it."

I touched his cheek, pressed my forehead to his. Two tears squeezed from the corners of my eyes, as in a soft, breathless voice, I did just that.

"...I love you."

And with those three quiet syllables, it was finished. The walls crumbled, the dam broke, and the unchained, crushing love I had repressed now overtook me in waves too powerful to handle.

"Do you, Julia?" Freddie whispered. "Do you really love me?"

"I love you," I said again, my voice getting stronger. "Oh, God, Freddie, I love you so much..."

My arms went round him, pulled him tighter against me, locked him in a long, passionate kiss- the most innocent one of that night. He entangled his fingers in my hair, his lips smothering mine so that I could barely breathe. He put one arm round my waist, keeping the other hand pressed against the back of my neck so I couldn't break free. His tongue sought mine in my mouth and caressed it sinfully. My head spun, and my body was on fire. There was no room for thought. Only this surge, this wild rush, this sheer madness at last taking over-

Bip-bi-bip BEEP BEEP Bip-bi-bip BEEP BEEP-

I pulled away a little.

Freddie's eyes were confused, and then they widened with worry. "Angel?"

I Iooked down at my tracker, which was glowing blue. All I would have had to do was answer the phone, and it would turn a fine shade of lime green seconds afterward. I looked back at Freddie.

"Excuse me a moment," I whispered. Freddie released me slowly, and I stood, hoisting myself onto the counter. I reached over and pushed the green answer button, my face deadpan. Freddie stood and watched, saying nothing.

"Hello?" K's voice crackled on the other end. "Julia?"

I was silent.

"Julia, is that you? Say somethi-"

Beep.

I took my thumb off the "End Call" button, and looked up at Freddie, whose eyes were in danger of falling out of their sockets, they were so wide.

I shrugged and smiled. "Wrong number."

His mouth split into a surprised, happy grin, and he burst out laughing- but the sweet, rolling laughter I loved this time. Once more we were in each others' arms, unable to say much of anything besides our names and "I love you." There were no more secrets to keep. I had nothing left to hide, and nothing left to give, but myself.

Oh, it was so over.

Our lips met again and again, each kiss hungrier and more desperate than the last. I could already feel Freddie sigh heavily, his flesh heating up even as I held him. Feverishly I undid the loose knot in his belt and pushed the robe off his shoulders while he tore my nightgown off over my head. He ran his hands up and down my body, squeezing all the places that made me quiver inside. The blue glow of the tracker turned red again and reflected off Freddie's flaring eyes, making him look almost devilish.

Freddie hoisted me up off the counter. Taking his cue, I wrapped my legs tightly round his waist and clenched my hands in his hair. Showering me with breathless kisses, Freddie carried me up into his bedroom. Very carefully he set me down against the soft covers. The bed sank in around me as he crawled across and knelt against me, straddling my hips.

He put his hands on my waist, smiled when I gasped involuntarily. Leaning down, he held on firmly to my sides and kissed my belly, then let his hands move up to feel my breasts while he sucked on my neck. I shut my eyes and moaned rapturously, my breathing almost matching his.

Suddenly he took hold of the tracker itself, and smiled wider. One sharp tug, and he snapped the tracker away and tossed it into the corner. Before I could say anything, he pushed me down against the sheets, buried his face against my naked breasts, and mumbled something about it being in the way. I held his head against my bosom while he bit and moaned and sent my brain into yet another tailspin.

His boldness was contagious. I kissed his shoulders, his hair, his gently perspiring face, whispering his name as I came up for air. The scent of his body, that musky licorice fragrance, filled my nostrils, whetted my new appetites. My hips ground up against his, and felt the hot bulge of him aching to be free. It wasn't enough. Closer. Closer. I had to feel more of him.

Blindly I fumbled at his shorts, but my hands shook so that I couldn't quite push them down, when he laughed and did it for me so that in no time I lay there with this naked man on top of me, this man whose inexorable hands were awakening parts of me I didn't know I had. I hardly knew my own hands as they explored his lithe, sweet body, and returned to that same place I had shrank from only yesterday. I knew what to do now. Just like he showed me. I do learn so very quickly.

"Spread your legs," he panted suddenly in a muffled, hoarse voice. "I can't wait anymore."

For just a moment, what little resistance was left made me hesitate.

Freddie put his hands on my knees and ordered, "SPREAD. YOUR F---ING. LEGS."

With that he forced my legs wide open and knelt down between them. He kissed my breasts and lips, then grabbed the waistband of my underwear. What happened next almost moved too quickly. In a matter of seconds, he ripped off that last vestige of clothing, leaving me completely vulnerable.

"Be gentle with me, my prince," I heard myself moan.

Then before I had a chance to breathe, to prepare myself for the attack, he let out a long, hungry sigh and here he came.

Freddie entered me as carefully as possible; he knew I'd never done this before. But he was so big that the feel of just this first penetration completely devoured me. In a winded, orgasmic voice I didn't recognize, I cried, "Oh ... it's so much..."

But the true madness set in once he started thrusting. He wasted no time. Over, and over, and over, and over, as I cried out with every slow, passionate stroke and he groaned deliciously into my ear. It only really hurt the first time- and even then, not enough where I wanted him to stop. Far from it. Nothing in the world should have felt this good.

All of a sudden, without a word, he edged himself out of me, gritting his teeth around a moan when the searing tip grazed my thigh.

"Did I hurt you, darling?" Freddie whispered finally. His lips nuzzled my neck.

"Oh, no," I gasped. "I'm all right... Are you?"

"For the first time in my life... yes." He kissed my jaw, then propped himself up and kissed my lips with a frantic gentleness.

"I love you," he said. "I love you so much, Julia."

I bit my lip. "Then... why'd you stop?"

Freddie's eyes opened a crack. "Hm?"

"Why did you- I mean- did I do something wrong?"

"No, darling, no, it's just I- didn't want to get too carried away."

"Why not?"

"Because it's your first, and uh- just yet I don't think you could handle..." He trailed off.

"Handle what?"

"Look, angel. I know me. I know what I'm like, and I know how you are, and I know what will happen if I don't rein myself in a little, and- I just don't want to hurt you." He kissed me again. "I really don't mind taking it slower for-"

"Who said anything about taking it slow?" I whispered, sitting up a little.

Freddie's eyes widened. "Uh- I mean, I suppose I more or less sort of assumed, um-"

"I can take it, Freddie," I murmured quietly. "Whatever you do to me, I can take it. Come on. Show me."

"Julia, I'm not kidding-"

"Neither am I."

I did not know where this kind of talk was coming from, but I liked it- and apparently, so did he. The kisses became much more insistent, his temperature rising higher. Our hearts were racing once again. And the look in his eyes nearly killed me.

"This is your last chance," he growled.

"Show me, my prince," I goaded him, nibbling his ear. "Show me what you can do."

Freddie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Very well. Have it your way."

Just then he kissed me hard, this time biting my bottom lip before he pulled back. Lips gave way to tongues in a matter of seconds. Putting both hands on my breasts and squeezing, he began to moan deep down in his throat- a literal purr. He apparently was, in fact, far from finished with me, from the way he drew back, letting his hands and mouth slide slowly down my body as he pulled away, and knelt before me, leaning over my bottom half.

I whispered, or started to whisper, "What are y-" but my question was drowned in the waves of ecstasy that crashed down upon me when he began doing things to me I never dreamed could be done. Oh, those hands- and that tongue. I clawed at the sheets and heaved his name; it was the only thing I knew how to say right then. It was so dirty, so erotic, I should have been ashamed, but I couldn't get enough of it.

"Now me," he ordered. "Do it to me."

He rolled onto his back, providing me easy access. I wasn't afraid anymore. Licking my lips, I closed my eyes and bent down.

Freddie began to groan so passionately, shouting my name as I dizzily obeyed. There I knelt, my hands gripping his waist, clinging to him for dear life as I performed this act upon him. Soon his hips started to buck, and his moans sounded almost painful. But I wasn't finished; in fact, that only made it hotter. My head moved up and down with him. This is what he did to me. That night, I was a slave to his body, and he was a slave to mine.

Suddenly he reached down after at least a full minute of this and grabbed me by my hair, pulling my mouth away from him. Next thing I knew, he had rolled over to be on top. I opened up, thinking I was ready, but I wasn't. However gentle he had been the first time, there was no such care taken now as he pushed roughly inside, the sensation making us cry out in almost one voice. All I could do was let him drive himself into me and pray I didn't lose my very soul to this man- the only thing I could claim as all mine any longer.

That was when it happened the first time. Throwing my head back, I screamed. Oh, God. This sweet pain, this beautiful agony, this explosion bursting inside me- it was more than I could stand. I had no idea it was anything like this. In all my wildest, most sinful dreams, the fantasies I'd kept so quiet paled before this ecstasy.

But then he started whispering.

Freddie hissed, "Do you... love me?"

I could barely get the word out. "Yes..."

"I can't hear you."

"Oh, yes," I moaned.

"Louder."

"Yes!"

"Then why do you wa- ahhhh... wanna leave me?"

That was too complicated a question, all I could was shake my head and say "No..."

"What?"

"No!"

He was thrusting faster now, and harder. "Swear to me, Ju- ohh... Julia. Sw- swear you -ah- won't go."

Freddie seemed to forget how to be gentle altogether. It wasn't just passionate; now it was brutal. Almost violent. He held nothing back. Now, it hurt- but still I wanted more. I wanted everything he had to give. Faster. Faster.

"SWEAR TO ME!" he shouted.

I gasped, "I- I swear!"

"Again," he moaned.

"I sw- swear. Yes, I sw- Yes. Yes."

"AGAIN!"

I swore again. And I kept swearing. I couldn't help myself; I was his to command. The pace verged on unbearable, and Freddie pushed so hard now the bed was ramming against the wall. My nails dug deeper into his flesh, clinging to him as though the force would split me in half should I dare let go. This man was breaking me, reshaping me, turning me into something I never thought I could be. And I in sweet, agonizing surrender, happily gave in to him.

It was here I climaxed a second time, and if possible it was even more incredible than the first. I would have screamed again, but I didn't have the strength. It was over. He had consumed me. There wasn't anything left of me that didn't belong to him now. I was his creation- his monster, just as he was my monster. I was now, quite literally, his Harley Quinn, happily chained and bound by love, the proud possession of my own personal Mr. J.

At long last, I felt his body shudder fitfully in my arms. He breathed my name one more time. The moment had arrived. I shut my eyes and dug my fingernails into his back to make sure he was taking me with him. Freddie clenched his teeth and with an enraptured cry gave it up.

When he had finished, Freddie's elbows buckled, and he collapsed against me, chest heaving. He let his head rest a moment against the side of my face. The only sounds I could hear were our hearts slamming against each other's, while Freddie's and my labored breathing gradually slowed. I put my hand in his damp, curling hair and gently ran my fingers through it while he looked deep into my eyes and kissed me one more time.

"Oh, Freddie..."

In another life, I might have called this love bordering on toxic, smothering, perhaps even a little psychotic. But that night it was enough for me to know that what I felt burning in my heart was indeed love, of a power and magnitude I never conceived was possible.

Very slowly my prince pulled away and rolled off. His fierce, relentless body was bathed in sweat, and even now he was trying to catch his breath; that last had taken a lot out of him. Still he stayed close to me, letting his fingers play in my hair while I lay there and attempted to understand what just happened.

For a moment or two I couldn't move. I felt like every ounce of energy had been leeched from my body. Freddie kept watching me; he let his hand drift from my hair to the side of my face, sliding against my throat, across my collar bone until finally it came to rest gently upon my breast. I closed my eyes and exhaled.

Freddie kissed my cheek. "Are you all right now, Julia?" he whispered.

I shook my head, a pleased little smile spreading across my face. I began to laugh suddenly.

He frowned, confused. "...What is it?"

"...Just wondering," I whispered. "What the neighbors must be thinking..."

He chuckled a little. "They're thinking, 'Oh, my God, what an absolute vixen he's got there.'"

I shrugged. "I learn."

"Yes, but, I mean... wow."

"Wow is good, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

"How good?"

"A 'more than worth the wait,' kind of good. Had I known it would be like that... well, let's just say you got off easy for a long time."

"Did I?" I smiled wider. I put my hand on his fuzzy chest, feeling his heart beat softly against it.

Freddie touched my lips. "How about you?"

I pretended to mull the question. "Oh, it was fine-"

"Fine?!" Freddie thundered playfully. "My dear, you should have seen the way your eyes rolled back in your head as you meowed for more."

"Was I meowing?"

"It's the cutest thing, you make sexy little meow sounds when you're in the throes of orgasm. Fine, my ass-"

He would have said more, but I leaned up to stop his mouth with mine, pulling away to say, "I love you, and you know I'm messing with you. It was- oh, God, it was beyond anything."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah- and your ass is indeed quite fine, by the way."

Freddie's lips curled into a grin. "Come here," he hissed, seizing me in his arms. I shrieked and struggled in his grasp, as we wrestled a while like clumsy kittens rolling back and forth across his bed, laughing freely.

Suddenly Freddie stopped and held me still. His beautiful eyes shone in the dark. "Did you mean it?"

"Yes, I really do think your ass is-"

He laughed. "No, you goose. I meant- I meant, what you swore. Did you mean it? That you won't go?"

"I won't leave if you won't leave," I said.

"Angel, I'll never leave you."

I touched his face. "Never?"

"Never, ever. You complete me. There's no way."

I smiled, basking in the warm rays of his love. I let the words roll back and forth in my head. "You complete me." This man beside me, who had been my obsession, my friend, and my nemesis, now my lover. All in less than two weeks- thirteen days, by tomorrow.

"But you," Freddie asked again, "you won't leave me?"

"Never," I whispered firmly.

"What's that?" he said, his words quivering.

I lifted my head and looked straight into his eyes. "I'm yours."

As soon as I said this, he gathered me to him and held me tightly. "My Julia," he sighed, his voice thick. "My beautiful Julia..."

I choked back tears of joy as I held onto him, praying he'd never let go. Dr. K was forgotten. My family was forgotten. My old life, my world, my plans, my future, were forgotten. Freddie was all- my beginning, my end, and everything in between. I knew nothing except that I loved him and I wanted him and I needed him more than anything else in the world, and nothing could keep me away from him as long as he loved me back.

It occurred to me, that I perhaps didn't have to go home. Perhaps, I never had to. I was already there. Home was wherever my dear prince happened to be. And here in Freddie's arms, listening to him breathe, his heart thumping just inches away from mine- if this wasn't home, then nothing was.

We had worn each other out. One final kiss, two final "I love you"s, then Freddie rolled onto his back, and I curled up right beside him, sliding my arms around his warm chest.

"Sweet dreams, my love," he whispered.

"Sweet dreams."

Together, we drifted away into a quiet, dreamless sleep, my last joyous thought being, Home at last.