She shivered as he ran his slender fingers slowly and gently up the soft curves of her mocha colored skin. It had been long. Too long since she had felt the tender caresses of a man without flashing back to the horror of *that* night. These were healing touches that Gloria had denied herself fearing that any contact would bring back the pain and the self loathing that came along with recovering from such an attack.

That was now the farthest thing from her mind; he seemed to know what she needed as he continued his deliberate exploration. With his tongue he bathed her satiny skin tenderly, tracing a path between her warm breasts, relishing the sweet taste of ecstasy on her skin. He sustained a maddeningly slow pace down her body, stopping briefly to circle his tongue around her bellybutton, nibbling gently at the tender flesh. An airy moan escaped Gloria's lips and her legs tightened around his shoulders as his hands enveloped her shape; his thumbs pressed gently on her hardening nipples as he teased down her subtle paunch with his pliant lips.

Hearing the slight hitch in her breath caused a moment of hesitation and worry having been nervous about stirring old memories. This was soon put to rest as he felt her legs relax and gently part beneath him urging him to continue his ministrations. He nestled his nose in the soft curls below taking in her scent before pulling his body up the length of her to capture her swollen lips in a passionate kiss, the gesture to remind Gloria that he meant her no harm, and what she meant to him.

He brought his hand down between their bodies, his fingers grazing against her soft hairs before sliding between her dampened thighs. Gently, she smiled under his lips and her body trembled as a slight giggle escaped her. Taking advantage of the parting of her mouth, his tongue mirrored the action of his finger as he penetrated her wholly drawing out another moan, this one more pleading than the last.

Gloria didn't know when it happened, but he was suddenly inside her. She felt his gaze on her face looking for any sign of discontent as he caressed her cheeks lovingly with his knuckles, his powerful thrusting however, in perfect contrast. As the rhythm escalated, she gripped his shoulders tightly throwing him off balance, his hands landing on either side of her head, his biceps flexing supporting his weight.

He felt his orgasm building deep in the pit of his stomach as Gloria tightened her muscles around his aching shaft. "Oh... oh God..." He quickened his pace, shortening his thrusts as the chanting fed his euphoria bringing him even closer to the edge.

Digging her fingers into the sheets, Gloria cried out as her orgasm rippled through her body. "Oh..God..oh.. Ryan!"

He thrust deeply two more times, his come surging into her before the revelation hit.

"R..Ryan?" The name stuttered from Tim's lips in a mix of sadness and utter betrayal. The shaking in his body no longer from the throws of passion, but from the revulsion and anger seething inside as he stared down into Gloria's own shocked expression.

"What?" Her voice trembled, having only half heard *his* name spill from her subconscious, but the harsh reality hit her as she saw the hurt welling up in Tim's eyes.

He quickly withdrew his now flaccid penis and immediately distanced himself from her. "Aw shit, Gloria," his head falling into his hands. "Aw shit!"

"Tim," she reached out for him but he turned away from her abruptly. "Tim, I..."

"Don't. Don't you even!" He held his hand up to silence her, her voice only heightening his bitterness. "Nothing you can say will _ever_ make this right, Gloria."

She started to protest as he swept her clothes off the floor and tossed them at her. "Tim, I..."

"Just go." The slightest pause on her part was not acceptable. "Go." He pulled on his shorts, and not turning back left the room. There would be no more discussion and the last sound he heard was his front door closing as she walked out, leaving him alone and irate with the name still echoing in his head.

It was bad enough he had to face Gloria tomorrow at work, but he also had to see *him*. Gloria may have come home with him, but in actuality, she slept with Ryan O'Reily.

Part Two

Exhaling one last hit, Tim paused before getting out of his car collecting himself. He needed that one last minute of solitude before going in and facing his day, and perhaps facing Gloria.

Thankfully the walk to the locker room was uneventful, speaking only briefly to the guard on duty at the entrance. Once in the locker room, Tim had barely begun to button his shirt when he felt a presence behind him.

"So,"

He groaned inwardly as he turned to his left and stared at Claire in exasperation as she blatantly disrobed in front of him.

"You left with Dr. Nathan last night." The subtle undertone of jealousy played in her voice. "She was in early this morning, didn't stay the night, huh Timmy?"

Her mocking tone drove deep inside him. He wondered if perhaps it was going to be easier to see Gloria than to put up with Claire's snide remarks.

When she opened her mouth one last time, he realized that perhaps it was going to be an even draw. "What's a' matter Timmy, losing your touch?"

Showing a monumental amount of self-control, Tim slammed his locker and walked out leaving a grinning Claire in his wake.

Fucking Claire, Tim though bitterly.

He brushed by Father Mukada in the hallway on the way to the staff lounge.

"Good morning, Tim." Mukada was about to continue but noticed Tim looking a little bedraggled. "Is everything all right?"

Grumbling inaudibly Tim continued on his way. Unfazed by Tim's answer, not too much out of the norm for his usual behavior, Ray took a big sip of coffee, shrugged and headed to his office.

While glancing over her pending appointments for the day, Sister Pete sipped slowly at her coffee as Tim entered the lounge. "Morning Tim."

"Pete." He replied absently. Grabbing his usual mug he carelessly dumped some sugar and cream in before picking up the pot. He pursed his lips as he noticed how light it was, causing him to look down. As he swirled the dregs at the bottom, he became more annoyed at the lack of coffee.

Tim looked around and grabbed the can of Folgers off the counter, opened it and sighed in disgust as he realized that it was empty as well. As he poured the remains of the burnt liquid into his cup, he realized he wasn't that surprised. It seemed to fit into the events of the last 12 hours.

He turned to leave, bumping directly into Gloria, who unwittingly knocked the contents of the mug onto the front of his shirt.

"Jesus!"

Sister Pete sat back and shot Gloria a questioning look as the younger woman backed away quickly avoiding Tim while he shoved by her. "We're out of coffee." Pete whispered smiling, used to Tim's over dramatized tantrums.

********

Tim muttered under his breath all the way to his office, thankfully not running into any more people. After slamming the door, he walked to his desk and pulled a fresh shirt from the bottom drawer. Roughly he undid the buttons while steaming about his run in with Gloria in the lounge.

Sean Murphy walked up to Tim's office and waited a moment before softly rapping on the window, giving his friend a moment to cool down after hearing the sharp slam of the heavy door. He strode in, not waiting for an invitation, and watched Tim as he fumbled with his clean shirt. Finally giving up Tim left his shirt open wide and slumped down into his desk chair.

"What's wrong Tim?" Murphy questioned after watching Tim's display from the control center.

"All I wanted was a fucking cup of coffee."

"This is about java Tim?"

"I don't remember inviting you in here."

"You let everybody in with that little display just now."

"It's just that... " Tim let his sentence drop off, swiveled his chair around and stared out the window. His eyes came to rest on the man who seemed to be the bane of his existence.

Ryan O'Reily.

Glaring, he stared at the Mick who stood across the quad returning his gaze with a cocky sneer spreading across his face.

Following Tim's eyes, Sean came up behind his friend and laid his hand on his shoulder. Sitting on the edge of his desk he commented, "O'Reily giving you trouble again?"

"Yeah. Something like that," Tim mumbled. Turning back to his desk, he began shuffling his papers around. "I got work to do..."

"Ok, ok.. I can take a hint." Sean squeezed Tim's shoulder before turning to leave the office. As he left he pointed at Tim. "You know where I am if you need to talk."

"Not now Sean. Not now." Tim said distantly. As he heard the door shut behind Murphy, he dropped his head into his hands on the verge of defeat.

Below in the quad, Ryan O'Reily laughed. Tim's theatrical entrance and thirty-second display were more than enough to make his day.

*********

Back in the lounge Gloria sat down with Sister Pete after brewing a fresh pot of coffee, made with the grounds she found in the unopened can in the cabinet above the coffee maker.

"Tim's a bit gruff this morning." Pete observed sensing the tension in Gloria's demeanor.

Gloria shrugged slightly and concentrated on the design of her mug.

"Do you want to talk about it, Gloria?"

"No." She laughed the undertone of guilt showing through.

"You sure? You look like you could use a friend."

After a brief debate in her head, Gloria decided she needed to get the weight off her chest. "Tim and I..."

"You went home together last night," Pete nodded, trying to gently help Gloria along.

"Yes."

"And?"

... Silence...

"You were patching things up, weren't you? What happened?"

"Well, everything was going fine until..."

"Until the feelings came back from your rape? There's nothing wrong with not being ready, Gloria. It's a big step getting intimate again after that kind of traumatic experience."

"It's not that, Pete. It was great. Tim was great. Patient, sweet, he didn't push anything..."

"So, what happened?"

"I..." Gloria stopped not quite able to admit her wrongdoing. She looked into Sister Pete's eyes glad to find only compassion, but nevertheless dropped her voice to a guilt ridden whisper. "I called out Ryan O'Reily's name."

"Oh dear, Gloria. Oh dear." Pete tried not to let surprise show through as she rested her hand on Gloria's.

Finally, deciding to put an end to the uncomfortable silence, Gloria got up and put her cup into the sink. "I have to get to work."

As Pete watched Gloria leave the room, she absentmindedly let a giggle slip from her lips. Somehow it seemed so appropriate for Tim's *tortured* life. Shaking her head she decided she should find some time to talk to Tim about this. She swigged the last of her coffee while pondering if there really was a subtle way to broach the subject.

Part Three

Pacing back and forth in the shrink's office, Ryan's mind raced with thoughts of Gloria. The weekly meetings with Sister Pete to discuss the obsession did nothing but fuel his burning desire for the beautiful doctor. Time and time again she rejected him; played with his head, with his heart. But Gloria loved him. He knew it. He'd done everything in his power to show her that he sure as hell loved *her*.

At least that's the way he saw it.

Ryan leaned up against the curtained window and turned to face Sister Pete. "I know she loves me." The words stating what Ryan believed to be the truth.

Pete studied Ryan's face, troubled by the amount of credence that played in his eyes. *If only you knew, Ryan. * Her thoughts were interrupted as the buzzer sounded signaling the end of the session. *Saved by the bell. * She sighed outwardly as she showed Ryan to the door. "See you next time, Ryan."

"See ya Sister." Ryan met up with Murphy in the hallway who had been waiting to escort him back to Em City. "Hiya Murphy."

"Hey O'Reily. How's it goin'?"

Ryan fell in step with Murphy and started down hall. "Cyril's having more problems sleeping, but hey... I think Gloria winked at me last time I saw her. I got hard."

Murphy held up his hand. "Uh-uh O'Reily. You don't want to go there. You see, you tell me about Dr. Nathan, and then I gotta tell McManus and Pete what you said." He raised his eyebrows as he spoke, wrinkling his forehead in the process. "And believe me; I don't want to do that."

Ryan bit his upper lip and thought for a moment. "Gotta tell McManus what I say, huh?" A malicious glint sparkled in his eyes. "Well tell him she kissed me too, ok?"

"Enough O'Reily." Murphy's tone getting stern now. "Enough."

"Sure thing, Murph. Just be sure to give him that message." Ryan winked at Sean and smirked.

As they returned to Em City, Tim was just on his way out. He threw Ryan a disgusted scowl as he walked by. Knowing that McManus was already having a bad day Ryan threw his shoulder out, knocking the folders from McManus' grip.

"Damnit!" McManus cursed as he dropped his folders in an exaggerated motion. "Take him to the hole, Murphy!"

"What?" Ryan stood in disbelief; he hadn't really done anything too wrong to Tim. "What the *fuck* McManus?"

"Murphy!" Tim shouted again, waving his hands as he spoke. "The hole."

"Tim."

"Now."

Murphy shrugged at Ryan and led him back out of Em City, under the fluorescent lighting and under the penetrating glare of hatred and exasperation from Tim.

"The fuck's up his ass today, Murphy?" Ryan looked at the hack as they took their familiar path to the hole.

"I don't know, O'Reily." Murphy shook his head as he signaled for Ryan to strip down. "You know the routine."

"This is fucking bullshit and you know it."

Under Murphy's scrutinizing gaze, Ryan peeled his green t-shirt from his lithe frame, the damp air clung to his chest, hardening his nipples. Balling up the shirt, he tossed it casually at the fellow Irishman. Taking his time, he undid his pants and slid them down his slender legs. Then the boxers.

"I don't have all day, O'Reily." Murphy tapped his watch as he waited for Ryan.

Ryan smiled smugly and kicked his discarded clothes across the floor in Murphy's direction as he led himself into the dank cell.

"Tell McManus I hope this made his fucking day!" Ryan's voice rose as the door to the cell slammed shut. "I know it made mine..."

Murphy rolled his eyes and muttered to himself as he walked back towards Em City. "I'm sure you did...."

******

Back in Tim's office, Murphy stood opposite his perturbed friend. "So, Tim. What was that all about with O'Reily?"

"The fucking guy shoved me." Tim busied himself with his files as he refused to meet Sean's eyes, fearing his hurt would well up again and unexpectedly pour itself out in front of all the inmates.

"Tim," Murphy started again. "I saw O'Reily. He barely bumped you, and that was after you shot him that shit look."

"Excuse me?" Tim stood, facing Murphy's larger frame.

"All I'm doin' is asking what that was all about, Tim."

"What the fuck, Sean? Now you're sticking up for that asshole?" His hands waved around, clenching and unclenching his fists. "When did you and he become such good friends? Just because your *roots* are similar doesn't mean he gets any better treatment than the rest of those low lives out there."

"I'm just saying... Don't you think you were a bit unreasonable? I've seen worse things slip by."

"Unreasonable?" Tim's eyes widened as he stared at Sean in disbelief. "They're fucking inmates, Sean. Locked up. They need to learn a little respect." He poked his finger into Murphy's chest as he spoke. "I'm the one in charge around here, not them. They obviously don't have any respect or else they wouldn't be in here."

Sean pushed Tim's arm away apathetically. "Ok, Tim. Relax. You're right." Murphy gave up a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"What? Now you think this is funny?" Tim stormed over to his window, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"No, Tim. You know what; I'll just see myself out. You've obviously got something on your mind you need to think about."

Murphy was almost out of the office when he heard Tim, this time much quieter than his earlier display.

"She called out O'Reily's name." Tim's voice hitched in his chest as he slumped down into his chair and covered his face with his hands. "She... called... "

Sean looked around the office, not quite sure what to say or do to comfort his friend. After a long pause, he finally strode over to the mini-blinds, and with a stern look and a gesture, shooed away a few inmates. He closed the curtains, hoping to give Tim at least the semblance of privacy in the very open area.

"Wow.. Tim.. I don't know what to say." Sean sidled up behind Tim's chair and placed his hands on his friend's shoulders.

Raising his head, Tim stroked his beard and sighed heavily. "Neither do I, Sean. Neither do I."

Murphy checked the clock on the wall. "Tim, ya know it's almost time to go. Why don't you n' I grab some beers or something."

Tim mumbled something inaudible under his breath.

"Come on, Tim. I know how you are. You're going to go home, bottle it up, and then keep taking it out on the inmates." Sean paused to squeeze his friend's shoulders. "It's not healthy ya know."

Groaning, Tim replied after a minute. "You're right. See you in the locker room in about an hour."

"Good idea."

"Just don't expect me to be good company."

"Never do." Sean winked at Tim as he turned to leave.

"Oh, fuck you..."

******

Leaning back, Ryan rested his head on the cool, damp cell wall. "This is such bullshit..." He closed his eyes and gave in to the fact that he was stuck, once again, in the hole for who knew how long.

Pressing his back up against the clammy wall sent shivers up and down his spine, and he hugged his knees to his chest. "Gloria..." Ryan whispered the name and instantly, his angle brought him comfort and warmth.

He pictured her perfectly crooked smile dancing across her face. The way she rolled her eyes in exasperation whenever he teased her and the slight twinkle of mischief that followed, the one that she couldn't hide from him. The gesture that gave away her true feelings -she loved it-she loved him and of that, he was sure.

The thought brought him to full hardness against his belly and he sighed aloud as the sensation traveled from the pit of his stomach to his extremities in a warm rush of emotion. Slowly he moved his hand between his thighs catching the first pearl of pre-come that spilled from t he tip. Slowly, he ran his thumb across the head of his cock.

Her fingers-her warm, soft and careful hands touching him gently. Caring. Gloria's hands.

Feather caresses danced down his shaft encircling him in pleasure, winding and dipping, gently twisting and working him. A groan caught in the back of his throat mimicking the gradual motions, slowly seeping out of his tightening chest.

He was lost in fantasy. His right knee dropped and his head soon followed coming to rest on his shoulder as his grip tightened and pace quickened along with the erratic pounding of his heart. She eased forward towards him-he could almost feel her breath on his upper lip.

Furiously he pumped, his left knee dropping as well as he thrust forward, his lips parting, wanting more than anything to feel her full mouth against his as his orgasm ripped through his body her sumptuous curves conforming to him, taking away every discomfort he'd ever known.

"Gloria..." His breath hitched in plea and his body seized, bright flashes of white exploded behind his eyes as his balls tightened and the warm cream jolted from his body and coated his stomach and chest.

As his breathing evened out, he opened his stinging eyes into the cold blackness that surrounded him. For the briefest instant he was tempted to reach out, to feel for her figure in the shadowy darkness, to pull her close and hold her tight in their post coital bliss.

Violently he shivered as the fresh wetness across his body began to cool.

"Fuck..."

He banged his head against the stone wall and closed his eyes again knowing that, at least in sleep his angel would return to him.

Knowing, that Gloria loved him.

Part Four

"Goodnight Sean." Gloria finished tying up her boots before grabbing her jacket from her locker and exiting the locker room.

"Night, Gloria." Murphy waved at the Doctor as he began to disrobe, readying himself for a nice hot shower. Looking around the locker room for Tim, he shook his head dubiously as he noticed Tim slide around the corner from behind some lockers.

"Hiding, huh Tim?" Murphy chuckled at Tim as he tied his towel around his waist.

Tim didn't answer as he felt a little foolish because he had stayed in the entryway concealed from her view by a row of lockers. Only when she was gone did he come out from hiding. The safety of the slamming door closing off communication with the woman with which he had so much to say, and no words to illustrate it.

Sean chuckled again. "See you in the shower."

As Tim watched Sean's form disappear into the showers, he sat down hard on the wooden bench and began to untie his shoes slowly. 'Coward' he thought to himself. Tim continued undressing, carelessly tossing his clothes in a wad into his locker and grabbed a towel and headed towards the shower.

Joining Sean, he turned the water on and sighed as the first streams of steaming hot water began to cascade down his face. "God, that feels good."

"Know what you mean, Tim. So, did you talk to Gloria at all today?"

"No. I've been avoiding her."

"So I noticed."

"You'd do the same if you were in my shoes." Tim grabbed the soap and began rubbing a thick lather between his hands before running them down his chest and over his arms.

"I suppose." Murphy turned and tipped his head back into the jet of water to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. Closing his eyes he enjoyed the warmth massaging his scalp. "So where do you want to go for beers? There's a place downtown called Finnegan's. Good brew, good food."

"I think I've heard of that place. Anything sounds good about now." Tim continued to wash his body slowly, taking a few minutes to clear his head. "Especially a beer."

Murphy nodded in agreement as he turned the water off and patted himself dry before wrapping the towel around his waist again and heading back to his locker. "Better hurry, happy hour's over soon." Sean called out over his shoulder.

Tim scoffed, "happy hour my ass," as he rinsed himself off quickly and joined Murphy.

***** ***** ***** *****

Arriving just in time for happy hour to be finishing, Tim frowned and slid into a back booth with Sean. "Isn't that always the way?"

"Tim, the world isn't out to get you, ya know." Murphy took a large swig off his beer as he studied his friends' melancholy face.

"Then why does it always feel like it is?" Tim looked up and signaled the waitress. "Couple shots of whiskey." He turned back to Sean shaking his head. "Why?"

"I don't know, Tim. I don't know." Murphy sat back and continued to drink his beer wondering what he could really say to his friend.

As the waitress appeared with the shots, Tim swiftly knocked them back one after the other before she had a chance to leave. "Just bring the bottle over, ok?"

The waitress nodded and reappeared moments later with the bottle of whiskey.

"Planning on going in tomorrow, aren't you Tim?" Sean questioned lightly as he watched Tim slam down his third shot.

His voice harsh from the burning of the amber liquid, Tim gruffed as he poured another shot. "I thought you were here for support, Sean."

Sean laughed. "When I said support, Tim, I meant emotionally, not physically carrying you home."

"Some friend." Tim mumbled under his breath.

Murphy rolled his eyes, used to Tim's self-deprecating behavior.

"What's up with you anyway, Sean? Ever since this happened you've been taking everyone's side but mine." Tim's voice rose as he let out his frustration. "If it were you, you know damn well I'd be here for you."

"Keep your voice down." Murphy's brow knitted as he stared at Tim. "I am here for you; you just need to see the other sides to this story."

"Keep my voice down? What are you my mother now?" Tim continued to shout drawing attention from everyone in the bar. "So, why don't *you* tell me the other sides? You know something I don't? Huh?" Tim prodded Murphy's chest with his finger as he stood.

"That's enough, Tim. You trying to get us kicked out of here?" Murphy kept his voice calm and steady as he removed Tim's hand from his body. He knew Tim was drunk, and that it was also going to be a long night. "And no, I don't know anything else."

"Well it sure seems like you do the way you've been defending everyone today. Especially O'Reily."

"That's it, Tim. I'm taking you home. You've had way too much to drink; you just need to get some rest." Murphy laid his money on the table and discreetly grabbed Tim's arm and began to lead him out of the bar, trying to stay on his feet as Tim lurched drunkenly into him.

On their way out of the bar, Tim was still ranting, waving his one free arm around. "Yeah, that's right... go ahead and stare at me... never seen a drunk guy before?"

Murphy pursed his lips in exasperation and practically shoved Tim through the door out into the night air.

"Watch it! You trying to hurt me or something?" Tim turned and appeared to be sizing up his friend.

"Just get in the car, Tim." Murphy opened the passenger door to his car and waited for Tim to sit down.

"No."

"Oh fuck you, Tim." Sean took advantage of his heavier stature and picked Tim up and tossed him into the back seat. "You can stay back there." As he shut the door he could still hear Tim complaining about something. Frustrated but he knew Tim was right. He'd probably be doing the same thing if he were in his shoes.

As they pulled up to Tim's place, he was still laying in the back seat grumbling about failed relationships and how the world certainly was out to get him.

"All right, Tim. Get out." Murphy opened the back door and started to pull Tim's feet from the car.

"I can do it. I'm not an idiot." Tim stated defiantly.

"Fine."

Tim slid himself out of the car, onto his feet and continued on over backwards landing hard on the asphalt beneath. "Fuck!"

Sean looked down at his friend and offered him his hand. Tim glared for a moment, but thought better and accepted the gesture.

Pulling Tim to his feet, Sean put his arm around him and led him to his door. At the door, Tim tried to rummage around his pockets, one after the other looking for his keys. "Where the fuck are they?"

"Let me." Murphy leaned Tim against his door and started to search his pockets for the key.

"You tryin' to put the moves on me, Sssean?" Tim slurred his words, a glint growing in his eyes. "Cuz if y'are 's sha bit to the left."

Sean ignored the comments and quickly found the key and let the two of them into the house. He looked around noticing how disheveled the room seemed to be. *Poor guy.* he thought making a mental note to try to clean the place up a bit before he left.

"Wanna drink, Ssssean?" Tim was already standing at his small bar pouring a shot.

"Nah. Why don't I go brew some..."

Tim spun around. "If you say coffee I *swear* I'll shove that pot up your ass."

"Really. Somehow I doubt that." Murphy raised his eyebrow and gave up on trying to sober up his friend. He realized that maybe another drink wasn't such a bad idea.

Minutes later Tim joined him on the couch, setting the bottle of whiskey on the coffee table along with a shot glass. Murphy reached for the whiskey and started pouring a shot.

"I can pour my own...."

"This one's for me, Timmy..." Sean downed the shot and winked at Tim.

"Fuck you..."

"So, Tim, you gonna talk to Gloria tomorrow?"

"Dunno."

"What'ya gonna say?"

"Dunno."

Murphy sighed. This was not going to be easy, but he knew Tim had to talk. "Look, this was supposed to be me 'n you havin' some beers, and talking. Yet, I'm the one doing all the talking here."

Tim's face reddened as his voice rose once again. "Well? What can I say? She fucking screamed out that fucking prick's name!"

Sean didn't answer knowing Tim wasn't done. Once he got talking he figured he might as well let him have his say.

"I'm the one who was there for her. I did everything right, I took my time, and she was thinking of *him*, of *HIM!* for God's sake."

Murphy thought for a moment. "Ya know, Tim, I hear a lot of I's and not too many she's. It's a two way street ya know."

Tim bit his lip in frustration and took the whiskey bottle and threw it down the hall, shattering it on the bathroom door. "Fine." His words were long and drawn out. "*She* didn't stop me... it seemed like *she* was into it... *she* was practically begging me."

"All right, all right! Tim, calm down a bit." Murphy grabbed his arms and laid them in Tim's lap. "Relax."

"Easy for you to say, your girlfriend didn't call out some other guys name while you were doing it."

"She's not your girlfriend, Tim."

"Obviously." Bitterness spread all over the word.

"And I don't have a girlfriend anyway."

Tim rolled his eyes and continued. "He killed her husband for God's sake, and she screams out *his* name?"

"But it's not O'Reily's fault. You need to realize that. You shouldn't be taking it out on him..."

Tim thought for a moment, stroking his beard as he sat silently. "You're right, Sean... maybe I should take it out on both of them."

"Ah, I don't think that's a very good idea either, Tim."

"What? Now you're on her side?" Tim looked around for the bottle of whiskey hoping for another shot, and sighed disgustedly as he remembered he had thrown it down the hall. "You know what... I'm going to bed." Tim got up and stormed off to his bedroom, stubbing his toe on his doorframe on his way in. "F u c k ..."

Back in the living room Sean bit his tongue and tried to suppress a laugh while shaking his head back and forth. "Tim... Tim... Tim..."

Sean looked around the living room, and started to clean up a bit, taking the shot glass and a few old plates into the kitchen. On the way back he noticed the broken glass in the hallway and decided to clean that up too. He had a pretty good feeling, knowing Tim; he would probably cut himself on it in the middle of the night on the way to puke.

After taking care of the broken glass and sopping up the spilled whiskey, Sean looked in on Tim. He stood in the doorway looking at his friend, passed out on the bed, still clothed, and for the first time that night, quiet. Sean chuckled and went into the bedroom, and covered Tim with the quilt that lay on the end of his bed. "Night, Tim." Sean whispered as he made his way back out to the living room.

He sat on the couch for a moment, looked at the clock and yawned. Realizing how late it was, and how tired he was, Sean pulled the afghan off the back of the couch, and turned out the light.

Part 5

Rolling over in his sleep, Tim caught his feet in the twisted sheets and went tumbling out of bed. As if that wasn't bad enough, when he landed, something poked him sharply in the back. Tim stared at Gloria's bra dangling from his fingers, his anger from the previous night returning.

Without thinking, he reached for the phone and dialed Gloria's number. He listened as the phone rang three times, and was about to hang up as a very sleepy voice answered.

"Hello.... Hello?" She paused not hearing anyone on the other end.

"Why Gloria? Why'd you have to say that?" Tim's voice was full of melancholy.

"Tim?" Gloria answered sleepily.

"What? Did you think it would be *Ryan*?" he answered snidely.

She exhaled loudly into the receiver. "Tim, it's 5:30 in the morning. I have to be up in an hour..."

"Oh, ok, so we'll talk when it's more convenient for you.." He interrupted, his voice rising.

"Goodnight Tim." She snapped as she hung up, fully aware of his inebriation due to his slurred voice.

"Fuck me..." Tim slammed down the phone and turned towards the bedroom door, surprised to see Sean standing there. "What are you doing here?" he stammered having no recall of anything prior to leaving work that evening.

"Ah, Tim, I'll take it that was Gloria?"

Tim didn't answer.

"I really don't think that was such a good idea...." "Ya think?" Tim threw his pillow off the bed seconds before leaning back and smacking his head on the headboard.

"I'd say things would look better in the morning but, well..."

Sighing in resignation while rubbing the freshly forming knot on the back of his head, Tim threw his arm over his eyes. "Get O'Reily out of the hole tomorrow."

"You mean today." Sean chuckled as he tossed Tim's pillow back onto the bed. He didn't catch the gesture Tim was making at his back as he left the room.

*** *** *** *** ***

Staring out the window of the infirmary, Gloria sighed heavily as she noticed Tim's hatchback pull into the parking lot. Trying to turn her attention back to the pile of inmate records on her desk, she did nothing but push them around aimlessly, unable to get Tim's drunken voice out of her head. "Why Gloria? Why?" She didn't know, or at least she wouldn't admit to herself that she knew.

The insidious and crafty inmate had somehow made his way into her heart breaking all the walls she had put up, and crushing all her vows to never feel anything for an inmate except maybe his pulse. Gloria reached for the phone, hesitated, but finally grabbed the receiver and dialed.

*** *** *** *** ***

"Oh, Gloria... I'm glad you called me, I've been worried about how you've been lately." Sister Pete sat at her desk slowly sipping her coffee as she listened to Gloria's saddened voice on the other end. "He called you? Last night?"

Sister Pete shook her head, hearing of the early morning drunken phone call from Tim. "He's probably under a lot of stress from all this. I know, Gloria, it was a bad thing to say, but it doesn't make you a bad person, just a confused one."

Toby turned to look at Sister Pete as he began to take note of what the conversation she was having with Gloria implied. He'd been trying to ignore the snippets as he typed away, but each word out of the shrink's mouth made him more and more intrigued at what was going on.

"It seems you've bruised his manhood, Gloria, and you know how he feels about Ryan. I can imagine that Tim's pretty sensitive in that intimate of a setting, and to hear that, well, he probably didn't know how to react." Sister Pete stopped talking as she felt eyes on her from behind. She turned her chair to face Toby, who quickly turned back to his computer and continued to type away, pretending that he hadn't heard a thing.

"I think we need to figure out why it was Ryan and not Tim on your mind, but why don't we talk about this as lunch." As she hung up the phone she looked back to Toby. "Um, Tobias?"

"Yeah, Sister?"

Sister Pete paused before continuing. "Oh, never mind..."

Toby looked back at the glowing screen as his mind raced to put all the aspects of the conversation together. Soon, it all fell into place and he couldn't wait till lunchtime to find Chris and tell him what he had heard.

*** *** *** ***

Strolling down the dank hallway to the hole, Sean Murphy couldn't get his mind off of Tim, and the state he had been in since the day he found out what had happened. That morning, before driving back to the bar to drop Tim off at his car, he watched silently as his friend filled a small flask and stuffed it in his pocket.

It wasn't the first time he'd seen Tim resort to drinking heavily when faced with a problem, but he was treading on thin ice as it was. Sean did not want, or need, to see his best friend fired for his personal life getting in the way of his work.

Approaching the heavy door, Sean pushed the thoughts from his head, realizing that at least Tim had taken one step in the right direction: reluctantly freeing O'Reily from the hole.

"Time's up, O'Reily." Sean slid the window open and looked in to see Ryan pulling himself up off the floor.

"You're gonna have to come up with a better punishment than that, Murph, cuz that month went by real quick." Ryan half-smiled as he joked with the C.O.

"I could leave you in here, ya know." Murphy grumbled as he opened the door and threw O'Reily his clothes.

"What'd ya do? Charm McManus into letting me out of here?" Ryan winked at Murphy as he bent down slowly to retrieve his crumpled clothing.

Sean stood at the door seemingly threatening to actually leave O'Reily there for a bit longer. "Your choice, O'Reily."

"Touchy, touchy...." Ryan snickered and grinned widely as he slid his thin greet tee shirt over his lithe frame. "Something buggin' ya, Murphy?"

"Nothing that concerns you, O'Reily. Now hurry up."

*** *** *** ***

Walking back through Em City, Chris and Toby looked up at Ryan from their chess game as he walked by, cocky as ever. He was about to continue on when he noticed the smirk plastered to Keller's face.

"What?"

Keller spoke slowly, drawing his words out, taunting the unknowing Mick. "I know something you don't know...."

Curiosity piqued, Ryan grabbed a seat from a neighboring table, placed it backwards and swung his legs around, straddling the back of the chair. Folding his arms casually across the top he stared at Keller. "Oh yeah? What's that..."

Keller ignored the question. "Quick month, O'Reily, barely had time to miss you."

"Ya missed me k-boy? How sweet..."

"I said barely...." Keller's voice trailed off as he turned to Toby. "So, you think we should tell him?"

"Don' know... what do you think it's worth to him?"

Ryan looked back and forth between the two men impatiently. "Tell me what?"

"I dunno..." Keller answered, preoccupied with a big sly grin.

"Fuck you, Keller." Ryan turned to Toby, hoping to get more information out of him. "What's he talkin' about, Beecher?"

Chris went back to the game and studied the board. "Your move, Toby..."

Beecher continued to look at Ryan as he rolled a pawn between his fingers. "Well..."

Under the table, Chris grabbed Toby's leg firmly and whispered. "Wait, find out what it's worth to him."

Figuring the game had gone on long enough, Toby's voice grew a bit irritated. "He has a right to know... it is about him."

"Know what?" Ryan started to get up, annoyed at the head games going on between the three men. "I don't fucking need your shit right now, guys."

"See ya, O'Reily."

Toby shot an exasperated look at Keller. "Stay out of this, Chris... You're going to want to hear this O'Reily. It's good."

Ryan sat back down, turning to face Toby, and ignoring Chris' mock hurt look.

Toby leaned in and signaled for Ryan to do the same, lowering his voice as he spoke. "You wanna know why you went to the hole?"

"I know why." Ryan interjected. "McManus is a fucking idiot."

"Huh, ain't that the truth... " Keller muttered under his breath.

"But more so lately, don't you think? Didn't you catch that scene in his office the other day?" Toby tilted his head up towards the second level of Em City as he spoke.

Ryan smirked. "Yeah, made my fuckin' day."

"So, there I was in Sister Pete's office this morning, just typing up some stuff... and she gets a call from Gloria..."

Instantly Ryan interrupted at the sound of his angel's name. "Gloria, huh?"

"Yeah, now, I can tell it's something good because Pete kinda turned away as she started talking."

Tim walked by just at that moment and shot all three men a glare, his eyes resting on Ryan just a bit longer than the other two causing Toby and Chris to grin widely.

Ryan sneered at McManus and looked back at Toby, then to Chris, suddenly realizing they must have some really good dirt. "What? You got some dirt on McManus?"

Toby looked around and nodded his head towards his pod. "Maybe we should continue in there... "

"Sure..." Ryan knew this had to be good, especially if Toby wanted them out of the open area. The three men walked over to the pod.

Upon entering Keller leaned up against the bunks and casually folded his arms in front of him, still grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

Toby pulled his chair up and sat down, leaving Ryan standing near the door. "So, I'm in Sister Pete's office..."

Ryan interrupted. "Yeah. I got that already."

Toby raised his eyebrows and spoke. "Do you *want* me to continue?" Keller chuckled quietly in the background as Toby cleared his throat. "So, I'm in Sister Pete's office and the phone rings, its Gloria." He paused tilting his head at Ryan. "Now mind you, I only heard a one sided conversation, but..."

"But it's really good...." Keller finished the sentence for his lover.

"Shut the fuck up, Keller, I want to hear this."

Keller put his hands up in defeat and went back leaning quietly on the bunk. "You sure do..."

"I overhear Pete talking about Tim, and from the tone of her voice, Gloria must have been angry. Right off the bat it seemed like Pete was defending whatever Tim did though, saying 'you know how sensitive he is to begin with...' or something like that... 'And combined with the intimate circumstances....' " Toby paused to take a breath.

Clenching his fists, Ryan's eyes narrowed his face a mask of jealousy mixed with anger. He knew what Tim and Gloria were doing, and she was *his*.

Toby continued, ignoring the look on Ryan's face. "Pete went on though... 'It would be a bruise to a man's ego under any circumstance, but bringing Ryan into it...' then she turned and looked at me, and I just went back to what I was doing. Then she says 'we need to focus on why it was Ryan, and not Tim,' then she says she'll talk to her at lunch. Must have realized I was listening..."

Toby stopped talking as he and Chris watched Ryan's face fade from one of anger to one of extreme smugness. He smiled. "I knew she loved me."

Keller began to laugh, finding the entire situation incredibly funny; so many people were going to be fucked up by this.

"Ryan, you don't know exactly what happened. Like I said, I only heard one side of the conversation."

"Oh come on, Toby." Ryan chortled as he continued. "What else could have happened?"

"Uh, I don't know." Toby searched for another possibility giving the good Doctor the benefit of the doubt. "Maybe they were...."

"Fucking, Toby, fucking." Keller made sure to stress the words. "They were fucking, and Gloria called out O'Reily's name." Turning to the thin Irishman, he held his hand out anticipating a high-five. "Way to go, O'Reily."

Ryan reciprocated the gesture. "I gotta go find Gloria."

"How the hell ya gonna do that? Just walk down there?" Toby questioned.

Picking up where Toby left off, Keller felt the need to throw in his two cents. "Murphy won't buy your 'I'm sick' shit again, think that one's just about run out."

"Yeah..." Ryan paused to think, running any number of ideas through his head, but none of them seemed like they would work.

Keller slid up next to O'Reily and leaned in as he spoke. "I got an idea...."

"Oh god, this should be good." Toby mumbled under his breath.

Keller pointed a thick finger at Toby. "You... stay out of this."

"Whatever, Chris." Toby grabbed his laundry and headed out of the pod. "I have shit to do anyway."

Ryan turned to Chris, noting the widening grin on his hawkish face. "So, what's the idea k-boy?"

Keller chuckled and threw his arm around Ryan's shoulder. "Let's take a walk n' I'll tell ya...."

Part 6

"Come on Keller. Hit me."

"I'd fuckin' crush you, O'Reily."

"How 'bout lettin' Beecher do it?"

"Nah, this was your idea Keller...Get on with it."

Toby, who had thought the idea a very, very bad one to begin with, stood in the corner of the gym, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Yeah, this was your idea Chris..."

"For Chrissake Toby, shut the fuck up!"

Ryan shook his head. "You two are really fucked up, wanna save your lovers quarrel for later, I gotta' go see Gloria."

Keller drew his hand back. "Okay, you asked for it." As he took a handful of Ryan's tee shirt to aid in the connection, Ryan seemed to finally notice just how large his fellow inmate's biceps actually were. Noticing the considerable change in the Mick's expression, Keller released his hold and lowered his arm. "Maybe this ain't such a good idea."

From behind him, Ryan could hear Toby let out a quiet chuckle. "Nah, I can handle it," he cut in defensively.

"Okay," Keller drew back again. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

As the white knuckled fist drew back for the final swing, Ryan quickly held up his hands. "Wait! Maybe Beecher *Should* do it."

Keller laughed purposely dragging his eyes skeptically up and down Toby's thin frame. "I thought you wanted to get hurt, O'Reily."

"Fuck you Chris."

"Fuck you Bitcher," Chris snapped back.

Toby glared back at his lover, unamused.

"Go ahead Beecher, " Keller needled. "Hit him. Show him what you got... or what you don't got."

Growing more and more annoyed with each word out of Keller's mouth, Toby made a sudden grab for Ryan and spun him around by his shoulder.

"Nothing personal, O'Reily," was the last thing that Ryan heard before Beecher's fist connected furiously with his jaw, sending him slamming into the concrete wall a few feet away.

"Fuuuck..." Ryan slumped down on the gym floor, bleeding from the back of his head and lip.

Surprised and a bit impressed, Chris glanced over at Toby before making his way over to Ryan. With one hand he lifted Ryan's chin. "He's out," he commented simply letting his head fall limply back to his chest. "Who knew you had it in you Beech," he laughed.

Toby stood next to Chris feeling a little guilty as they stood over the fallen Irishman. "Think he'll be pissed?" Toby mumbled.

"Shit yeah," Chris snorted.

Toby looked guiltily at his friend as the blood trailed down his neck staining his shirt. From behind, Chris lay a firm hand on Toby's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Awe don't worry Tobe, he probably won't even remember."

As Toby turned to him, Chris grabbed his crotch and winked lewdly as he led him out of the gym. "Come on Slugger, let's put some of that pent up aggression to good use."

***** ***** ***** *****

Out of habit, Murphy kicked open the door to the gym and took a quick glance around making sure everything was kosher before continuing on. If it weren't for the small moan coming from the corner he never would have noticed Ryan O'Reily semi-conscious and battered form.

Rushing over, he knelt down in front of Ryan taking his chin into his hand. He thumbed the pale white skin as he turned the Mick's face back and forth surveying the damage. "O'Reily..." He waited for an answer. "O'Reily, can you hear me?"

Only a small moan escaped his lips. As the full weight of Ryan's chin rested in Sean's hand, he pulled at his lapel, grabbed his microphone and radioed for medical assistance.

***** ***** ***** *****

"Can't you see I'm rolling here?" Hill glared at Jaz Hoyt as he made his way to the table where the sated pair of Beecher and Keller sat playing chess. "So, ya hear what happened to O'Reily? Hacks found him out cold in the gym."

Keller absently stroked his chin, pondering his next move. "Ya don't say..." Watching Beecher fidget nervously out of the corner of his eye, Chris nudged him sharply under the table.

"They said it looked like somebody cold-cocked him." Hill glanced at the pair waiting for their reaction.

Unable to resist further provocation, Keller smiled at Toby. "Any idea who did it, Beecher?"

Toby glowered at Chris and mumbled under his breath, "Why I would I know?" He quickly looked back down at the board and made his move.

"Oh, thought you guys went for gym time together, that's all." Keller studied the game and grinned as he flicked Toby's king from the board. "Checkmate!" He announced smugly.

After a minute or two of silence, Augustus slammed his hands down on his wheels. "You two are really fucked up."

Beecher watched as Hill rolled away to another table before turning back to Chris. His eyes narrowed as he questioned Keller. "What the fuck did you do that for?"

Keller smiled mischievously as he pushed away from the table. "Seeing you squirm turns me on." He rubbed his growing erection against Toby's shoulder on the way to their pod.

Toby couldn't help but smile before trailing after him.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

In his office, McManus slammed the receiver down hard onto the cradle. "Fuckin' O'Reily."

Part 7

Lying back in his hospital bed, Ryan awoke slowly to the harsh smell of ammonia mixed with the sweet smell of Gloria's perfume. Reaching out, he blindly took hold of the first solid object his hands came into contact with; Dr. Nathan's soft wrists. "Gloria?" Ryan breathed weakly, trying to pull himself into a sitting position.

"Shh..." She twisted free of his shaky grasp but leaned in, just inches from his drowsy face. "Lay still." Her words were soothing. "You have a concussion. I have to check you out."

Ryan's head rested back easily on the pillow as Gloria looked deep into his distant eyes with a small pen light. As she leaned in, gently touching his eyelids, Ryan surprised her by trapping her in a tight grasp and kissed her deeply.

"Get off her, O'Reily." Murphy's booming voice startled Ryan as he pushed between the two freeing Gloria.

Ryan smirked as Gloria broke free, smiling smugly. "How's McManus?"

Gloria stumbled back, clutching her mouth as the door swung open and Tim McManus walked in right then.

Looking from Ryan's smug face to Gloria's flushed cheeks and over to Sean's discouraged expression for explanation, Tim erupted. "What the _fuck_ is going on here?"

Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, leaving small trails of lipstick, she picked up O'Reily's chart a little too abruptly. "Nothing, Tim."

Just knowing Gloria was covering something up, Tim looked to Sean and his gut turned as his feelings were validated as he saw his friend shaking his head discreetly. Throwing his hands in the air, Tim whined, "Au, Gloria..."

"What are you doing here anyway, Tim? I have patients to take care of."

"Yeah, like me..." O'Reily grinned arrogantly.

Murphy took a step closer to the bed. "Quiet O'Reily."

Gloria began to wrap the blood pressure cuff around Ryan's arm. "Maybe you should leave, Tim."

"Why? So you two can be alone?" Tim huffed as he spoke.

Murphy interjected sternly. "Tim..."

Gloria's eyes went wide. "Get out." She hissed, highly insulted at what Tim was implying.

"Hey, McManus, aren't you supposed to leave your looove problems at home? Not too professional if you want my opinion..." Ryan bit back a laugh as he saw Tim's face twist to a mask of sheer rage.

In a flash, Tim was on top of Ryan in the hospital bed, grabbing at his shirt, twisting the thin cotton sharply at his neck. "Fuck you, O'Reily. Fuck you!"

Ryan turned his head away avoiding the light shower of spit spraying from Tim's mouth as he shouted.

Suddenly Tim felt a strong grasp around his midsection pulling him roughly from Ryan's prone body. "That's enough, Tim." Murphy warned firmly as he dragged Tim from the bed and towards the door.

"You can be sure Glynn will find out about this." Gloria yelled after Tim as he disappeared around the corner.

Grabbing quickly for the doorframe, Tim pointed at Gloria warning her. "I wouldn't do that, unless you want him finding out about you and O'Reily."

From behind, Sean grabbed Tim's collar and pulled him out into the hallway, while in the hospital Ryan lay laughing loudly. Tim tried to wrestle free, egged on by the mocking laughter, but found himself being pushed up against the wall under Murphy's weight.

Pressing his well-built body firmly from shoulder to thigh, Sean held Tim at bay with an unyielding stare. Keeping his body connected with Tim's, Sean hissed vehemently. "You just can't leave it alone, can you? If Glynn does find out I'm in as much trouble as you are." He drew his last words out. "So cut the shit, Tim."

"I don't need this, Sean." Tim tried to push away, but was held back even more forcefully.

"I don't need this either Tim, and that's the point. You can't be bringing this in to work." Murphy glared at him one last time to make his point.

"Get your hands off me, Murphy. I'm *your* boss." Tim smoothed his shirt as his friend reluctantly let him go.

"Well you sure don't act it sometimes." Murphy's voice was full of aggravation.

Tim just waved him off absently as he took off down the hall still steaming from his latest encounter with Gloria and O'Reily.

*** *** *** ***

After watching Murphy drag Tim from the infirmary, Gloria composed herself and sat down on the edge of O'Reily's bed. "Ryan, you can't do that..." She started, not really sure what to do about what had happened.

"But you want me, Gloria. I know you do..." Ryan looked up into Gloria's dark brown eyes with his own pleading gaze.

"I... you know I can't do that Ryan, no matter what I think." Gloria fidgeted, wringing her hands together, her emotions warring inside her. She absently rubbed her finger where her wedding ring used to be, thinking about Preston, Tim and unavoidably, Ryan O'Reily.

"I knew you loved me...." Ryan's voice trailed off as he reached out to cradle her hands in his.

She hesitated; a split second spent wondering what if, but drew her hands back, and stuffed them into her pockets. "Ryan..."

"Shh..." Ryan pushed his finger to her supple lips boldly. "I know..."

Part 8

"Tim?" Sean moved slowly into Tim's office closing the door behind him with a slam, still a bit jaded from their earlier conversation. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, sit down." Tim gestured lazily to the chair opposite his desk as he took a swig from his small flask.

Sean frowned and answered tersely, sensing his friends impending intoxication. "I'd rather stand." After a minute of watching Tim push his papers around his desk with a pencil, Sean broke the silence. "Well? I'm listening..."

Tim took another drink from his flask, grimacing as the liquid ran down his throat. He looked as though he was about to speak, but stopped short as his head dipped to his chest somewhat drunkenly.

"Christ, Tim. Did you call me in here to talk, or to watch you get drunk?" Murphy's voice oozed with irritation, fed by the frustration of Tim's antics. He grumbled under his breath when he noticed Tim seemed to have no intention of starting the conversation. "Why do I put up with this?"

"What?" Tim's head snapped back up and looked dazed as Sean stood rocking back and forth on his heels, his dark eyes boring holes into Tim's blue ones across the desk.

Murphy cleared his throat and spoke loudly, enunciating each word. "I *said* why do I put up with this?" He gestured at Tim and the flask as he spoke. "Why do I even bother trying to help you? You don't listen, you don't think... shit, Tim, and you need to slow down." Murphy's tone softened, the edge in his voice dissipating as he watched his friend self-destruct.

Tim looked at Sean trying to figure out his angle. In the background he heard him talking but was distracted as he thought about the question. Why did Sean put up with him? Anybody else would have been downright furious with him by now. Hell, Sean was right. He didn't listen, and he didn't think, didn't seem like such a bad idea to slow down either; shit, he called Gloria in the middle of the night, and then attacked O'Reily earlier that morning. He was spinning out of control and he couldn't stop it, worse yet, he didn't even know how.

Feeling Sean's eyes on him, Tim stopped thinking and tossed the flask violently into his desk and closed the drawer with a slam. "Why *do* you put up with me, Sean? How could you possibly want to hang around me with all the shit I've put you through? It's crazy!"

Murphy shook his head. "Damned if I know...." He half-smiled at Tim's reaction as he saw a slight flicker of disbelief cross his face. "Because you're my best friend, Tim, and best friends put up with shit. Tell you the truth, I'm just getting a little sick and tired of the way you've been acting lately. That's all." Sean lowered himself on to the couch near the desk. "I mean, is she worth all this? Do you really love her?"

Looking at the ceiling, Tim sighed. "I don't know. I really thought things were going to be right this time." Pushing his chair back, he stood up and started to pace around the small office. "I blew it with my wife... and Diane... shit... Diane, she ran off to England and married a guy she hardly knew! We *had* something there, Sean, I just know we did. Then Gloria..." Rubbing his goatee, he continued sadly. "We were giving it another try...."

"But is she worth it?" Sean raised his eyebrows, wrinkling his forehead as he questioned Tim, noticing he was skirting around his queries.

"Yes... no.... I mean... I don't know, Sean." Tim sighed heavily and dropped down on to the couch. He leaned back against the arm and turned to face Sean. "One second I think she's it, we're getting along, we're working things out, then *boom*! She's calling out O'Reily's name! I want to look past that, I really do, but I can't." Tim stressed the last words. "I just can't."

Sean reached out and laid his hand on Tim's forearm. "You shouldn't have to."

"But..."

"But what, Tim? Who's to say it doesn't happen again? It's obvious her mind isn't totally into this." He squeezed Tim's arm as he spoke. "Now don't get me wrong, I like Gloria, she's a great lady, but maybe it's not meant to be. Don't look so hard for it Tim, the more you pursue it the farther it gets pushed away." Murphy stopped, reading the perplexed look on Tim's face. "What?"

"Hmm?" Tim brought his attention back to the conversation at hand. He'd gotten distracted again, this time trying to balance out each side. On one hand, he did really like Gloria. She was beautiful, kind, down-to-earth, but on the other hand, Sean was making some valid points. What if she did say it again? He knew damn well he couldn't take that a second time. She had been through a lot, and though it wasn't really her fault, he just didn't know if he could trust her with his heart. He needed time to think, to sort it all out. "Say, what are you doing later? Let's go get some dinner or something."

Sean nodded as he got up to leave. "As long as there aren't any drinks involved... you've already had a bit too much today." He chuckled as he left the office, his mood a bit brighter than earlier hoping he'd given Tim some good points to think about.

*** *** *** ***

Ryan sat on his cot, fully awake now, and getting quite restless just sitting around. It was apparent by this time that he wasn't going back to his pod that night; they were keeping him there for some kind of 'observation' even though he felt fine. Then again, it was more time spent with Gloria, and time spent with Gloria was a precious commodity to him.

He swung his long legs off the bed, and plodded over to her office door. Leaning against the doorframe casually, he quietly cleared his throat, trying to get the doctors attention.

"Ryan, what are you doing up? You need to rest."

Not answering, Ryan quietly walked in to the office and started picking up Gloria's stuff, fiddling with a pen, shaking a solitary snow globe, and finally poking at the skeleton standing in the corner of her space. "This how you treat all your patients? I hope I'm better fed than this guy."

Gloria pursed her lips and tried not to smile as Ryan continued to play with the bones. Growing bored, he strode over to the corner of Gloria's desk and sat down, one leg dangling just above the floor, the other pulled up providing a perfect resting place for his chin. "You have something to tell me...."

"Really? What would that be, Ryan?" Knowing full well what it was Gloria still couldn't bring herself to admit it to his face.

"Oh, I don't know." Ryan picked at his nails waiting for Gloria to continue. "Maybe something about you and Tim."

"Yeah... me and Tim..." Gloria paused trying to figure out how to say it.

Ryan spoke, his voice becoming a bit heated. "I can't believe you went home with him! He fucks anything with two legs... hell, I've seen him look at me a little funny sometimes..."

Gloria couldn't help but laugh, making Ryan smile. "You know you're beautiful when you smile." Leaning in, he cupped her chin in his hand and began to slowly stroke her cheek with his thumb. His grip tightened a bit on her soft skin as she tried to pull back. "Why are you fighting it, Gloria? Huh?" Gloria didn't answer. "You know I'll do anything for you... I've already shown you that."

Gloria shook her head. "What? Are you threatening Tim now? Go back to bed, O'Reily."

Ryan tipped his head back and chuckled. "I don't have to threaten him. I've already won." He caressed her cheek one last time and spoke huskily, whispering into her ear as he got up. "Night, Gloria...."

Walking back to his cot, Ryan could still feel Gloria's eyes on his back. Taking advantage of that, he began to slowly undress, peeling his shirt from his lean torso, running his fingers slowly up the angry red scar that covered his lower abdomen. Then his pants, dragging out the motions of unbuttoning and unzipping, grinding his hips as he slid the prison blues over his thighs and down to the ground.

In her office, Gloria sat chewing on the end of her pen, completely entranced by Ryan's impromptu display. She knew he was doing it for her, and she knew he was only doing this because she was watching, but yet she couldn't drag her eyes off his trim body as he bent down slowly, deliberately giving her a better look of what he had to offer. Gloria snapped back to attention as her mouth was suddenly filled with something wet and sticky. "Oh fuck!" She wiped her mouth on her coat realizing she'd chewed through the end of the pen, blue ink now covering her once red lips.

Back in the hospital, Ryan stood at the edge of his mattress, casually stretching out, readying himself for the night.

"Oh just go to sleep O'Reily. I don' need to see that ...."

Flipping off the inmate in the next to him, Ryan slid between the cool sheets, and rolled onto his side. "Fuck you, Alvarez."

Part 9

Sean pushed his plate away from the edge of the table and sighed satisfactorily as he watched Tim finish the last few bites of his steak. When Tim finally looked up at him from the candle lit table, Sean smiled. "Nice place."

Tim laughed as he delivered his next line. "So, ready to go back to my apartment?"

The statement itself wouldn't have seemed unusual but as Tim wiggled his eyebrows lewdly, Sean practically choked in surprise. "Wwwhat?"

Chuckling Tim signaled to the waiter for the check. "This is my third date restaurant," He said nonchalantly, "no one seems to be exempt from its charms."

Tim eyed the bill and reached for his pocket. Across the table, Sean sat smirking as Tim finished calculating his half. Wrinkling his brow, he looked up and announced, "Twenty-two... no wait, you had the extra side.... Twenty-four...." Tim looked up at Sean and noticed he hadn't reached for his wallet. "What? Dinner's on me?"

"You can't expect me to pay that can you?"

Tim's expression changed to one of concern. "What's up Sean? You having money problems? I didn't know..."

Sean broke into a huge grin as he laughed. "Hah, no, Tim, I just thought..."

"Thought what?" Tim asked skeptically, seeing the mischievous twinkle in Sean's eyes.

"This *is* your third-date restaurant isn't it?"

"Yes." Pursing his lips, Tim rolled his eyes and shook his head dubiously as he withdrew more money from his money clip. "It's on me..."

On the way to car, Tim couldn't shake one nagging question. "Sean what really happened in the infirmary this afternoon?"

"I thought you knew, Tim. You sure acted like it."

"I..I just need to be sure." Tim stopped under the yellow glow of the parking lot lights, and placed his hand on Sean's shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry for how I treated you earlier."

Sean smiled at his friend. "No need to explain." Taking Tim's hand from his shoulder, he placed it between his own in a tight handshake. "I had a great time tonight, see ya tomorrow, kay?"

Tim nodded his head as Sean slapped his shoulder and got into his car. Leaning up against the cool lamppost, he watched as Sean's car pulled out of the lot and sighing inwardly, he was lucky to have a friend like Sean.

*** *** *** *** ***

"Gloria... Gloria..." Ryan chanted her name over and over, as she stroked the tip of his shaft against her moist entrance. "Please..." He begged in a broken whisper.

Gloria's glossed lips turned into a coy smile. "Say it again, O'Reily."

"Oh fuck.. please Gloria, please. It's been so long," Ryan pleaded shamelessly as he reached for her.

Grabbing his hands she thrust them under her knees, restraining him in one quick motion.

Ryan groaned in frustration. "Let me touch you..."

"Soon Ryan, soon..."

Ryan sighed in resignation as Gloria continued to tease her clit with his dripping cock.

Ryan worked his hands free and latched them on to her hips. Before she could protest, he grabbed his thick erection and guided it towards her swollen lips.

She smiled at his persistence, and arched her back as she allowed him to fill her completely with one thrust. "Ryan..." she cried out. "Oh yes.... O'Reily..."

"O'Reily?"

"O'Reily..." Ryan blinked his eyes open, and instead of finding his angel in front of him, he was greeted by Prestopnik's concerned stare. "Are you alright, kid? You were thrashing around a bit."

Ryan scowled. "I'm fine." Feeling the wetness in his boxers, he turned away from the doctor, embarrassed by the obvious flush on his cheeks and the stain on the sheets.

"Get some rest, O'Reily." On the way out, Prestopnik tossed a fresh sheet to Ryan.

Ryan groaned as he looked to the bed beside him and received a lascivious wink from Alvarez. "Oh fuuck.."

*** *** *** *** ***

"Mornin', Timmy." Sean placed a fresh cup of coffee on Tim's desk before closing the door behind him. "How ya feelin' this mornin'?"

"Not hung over for once." Tim proclaimed holding up his cup.

"That's a good thing right?"

"Seems like recently when we hang out, I don't need to drink to have fun.... Or to get rid of my problems."

"That's what I'm here for, Tim."

"You free tonight?" Tim asked hoping he didn't seem too clingy.

"Yeah, I guess, what'd ya have in mind?"

"I dunno, maybe dinner again and a movie?"

"Oh, I get a movie this time?" Sean grinned.

Tim chuckled, "At this rate I'll be broke in a week!"

"But I'm worth it." Sean smiled as he left the office. "See ya later, Tim."

*** *** *** *** ***

As Murphy passed by their table, Beecher jumped up. "Hey Murphy. Any word on when O'Reily will be back?"

"I heard Dr. Nathan is holding him for tests."

Once Murphy was out of earshot, Chris patted Toby on the shoulder. "Don' worry, Beecher, you didn't hurt him. O'Reily's pretty tough."

From the next table, Rebadow interjected. "Murphy said tests, I wonder if his cancers coming back."

After Rebadow turned back to his game, Chris smiled brightly. "See Tobe, you did him a favor. If you hadn't hit him so hard they might not have spotted it. Feeling a little better Toby relaxed until Chris continued, "Either that, or you hit him so hard it came back..."

"Fuck you." Toby whipped a pawn across the table, got up and left, leaving Chris laughing.

"All ya gotta do is ask..."

At the next the next table, Busmalis turned to Rebadow; "Those two are really fucked up."

Part 10

Placing his hand on his stomach, Sean exhaled loudly and pushed his plate towards the center of the table. "Now that's some good cake, my friend."

Tim nodded in agreement as he forked the last bite and chewed thoughtfully. "You're not kidding.... So, ready for a movie?"

"Yeah, got anything in mind?" Leaning across the table, Sean wiped a solitary smear of frosting from Tim's stubbled cheek as his friend looked curiously at him. Wiping his finger on his napkin Sean explained the touch. "Frosting..."

"Oh..." Tim hoped his face didn't flush as he sighed, suddenly aware of the warmth Sean's touch left on his cheek. Blinking his eyes, he collected his thoughts and continued. "So, um, what movie do you want to see?"

"Dunno... any idea what's playing?" Sean asked as he perused the bill, figuring that maybe this one could be on him seeing as Tim had been such a good sport about the last dinner. He chuckled to himself quietly as he remembered their banter from the night before.

"What's so funny, Sean?"

Tim's voice broke Sean's thoughts and he looked up from the check. "Oh, nothing... dinners on me tonight, 'kay." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Fine with me, just don't expect me to put out after the movie." Tim playfully punched Sean on the shoulder as they got up to leave. "By the way, what movie are we going to? I heard Shaft was pretty good."

"Nah, seen it. Was pretty good though.. How 'bout The Gift?"

"No way, the guy who plays the Sheriff is pretty creepy. Reminds me of someone, I just don't know who." Tim thought for a moment, but couldn't bring the guy's name to mind, "Oh well, why don't we just go back to my place? I've got a bunch of movies..."

"Sounds great, Tim. I'll meet you there, I'm just gonna stop at the store first."

"No problem. See ya soon." Tim waved as he got into his car and headed towards home.

About half an hour later, Sean pulled up in front of Tim's building. After parking the car, he sat looking up towards the lighted windows on the second floor, watching Tim's shadow move back and forth behind the curtains.

He thought about how Tim seemed to have loosened up a bit over the last few days; perhaps taking his advice and slowing down, realizing that Gloria wasn't everything. Sean hoped he was right in his thinking that Tim would find what he was looking for if he just stopped trying so hard. Shaking his head, he exited the vehicle and strode up the brick walkway to the door.

Inside, Tim was busy making popcorn as the buzzer interrupted him. He tossed a few pieces in his mouth as he unlocked the door, allowing Sean into the building and into his apartment. Tim took a last glance around and fluffed the pillows on the couch, straightened a crooked picture then wondered when he really began to care what his place looked like for Sean.

He was bent over picking up a stray magazine when Sean slipped into the apartment unnoticed. Tim straightened immediately and turned as he heard Sean snigger behind him. "Hey, nice ass, Tim."

Tim felt the redness creep up his cheeks as he stuttered, trying to think of something to say. "Um.. hey...thanks?"

"Just kidding, buddy. Hey, I brought some wine if you want some." Sean held up a bottle as he spoke. "I'll go get some glasses while you pick a movie to watch, kay?"

"Yeah, sure Sean, you know where everything is." Tim waved his hand in the direction of the kitchen still puzzled by Sean's earlier comment.

The last few days had flown by spending them with Sean. Dinners, lunches, and friendly games of basketball filling his time, keeping his mind off of Gloria. Come to think of it, he hadn't thought about her much over the last week; it seemed almost as if when he was with Sean nothing else really mattered. Almost like *it* hadn't happened at all. And that bothered him.

Tim rubbed his face, baffled by the conflicting feelings in his head. Was it possible that maybe, just maybe, Gloria wasn't the one for him? That what he had been looking for this whole time was right under his nose? Or in this case, in the kitchen? Nah, that wasn't it. He was just having fun with a friend, passing his time until the right girl came along. *Yeah, that's it.* Tim's introspection was broken as Sean sauntered back into the living room. "You pick a movie yet?"

"Ah, no, not yet..." Walking over to the entertainment center, Tim tried to push his thoughts to the back of his mind as he studied the titles in front of him. He finally pulled a movie from the shelf and popped it into the VCR. "Body Snatchers."

"Great choice, Tim. Been meaning to rent that one some time." Sean sat down on the couch rearranging some pillows trying to get comfortable.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites." Sinking down onto the sofa next to Sean, Tim turned off the lights. "It's scarier this way." He nudged Sean playfully in the side as he spoke.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Sean suddenly jumped and dumped his glass of wine down his front. "Holy shit! That scared the hell out of me!" A scene from the movie startling him.

"Fuck!" Without thinking, Tim grabbed a napkin from the coffee table and began to wipe the puddle of wine from Sean's lap. "Oh man.. sorry..." Tim mumbled, instantly embarrassed as he realized he was patting down Sean's crotch.

"Why? What?" Sean looked at Tim quizzically, not understanding his friend's sudden nervousness.

"Uh, I didn't mean to touch... I mean.. pat.. I.. uh.." Tim stuttered growing more uncomfortable as each second passed.

"Oh, hey, Tim, just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm going to jump you for touching me...." Sean noticed Tim's perplexed look as he paused. "What... you did know that I'm gay... right?"

Not knowing what to say or do next, Tim avoided the question and jumped up from the couch. "Ah.. erm.. You want something to change into? I'll go throw your clothes in the dryer if you want." The words rushed from Tim's mouth, as he stood clearly shaken by Sean's latest revelation.

"Yeah, that would be great." As Tim headed towards the bedroom, Sean kicked himself. Obviously Tim had no idea he was gay and he seemed totally put off by it.

Moments later, Tim returned with a pair of cutoff sweatpants, and a tee shirt. "Thanks, Tim. I'll be right out." Sean disappeared into the bathroom to change leaving Tim standing in the living room in a state of mass confusion.

*Oh God..* he thought to himself as he watched Sean leave the room. *He's gay... and I made all those date comments. Shit!* Rumpling his brow, Tim tried to make heads or tails of the situation.

Sean was fun to be with, they were best friends, and time flew when they were together. Why he hadn't noticed Sean's preference before he didn't know, but then again, did it really matter? It didn't change things between them; at least Tim didn't think it would. Or he hoped it wouldn't, he didn't want to lose his closest pal.

After a few more moments, Tim didn't have any idea what to think. He'd thoroughly confused himself and was relieved when Sean reappeared holding the pile of wet clothes. That was until he remembered Sean was bit larger than he was, the tee shirt stretching across his taut pecs, and the shorts leaving nothing to the imagination either. "I'll be right back." He muttered under his breath as he rushed out the door to the safety of the laundry room.

Once inside, Tim threw the clothes in the dryer and placed his hands on either side of the rocking metal appliance. He ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth as he tried to push the image of Sean in the form fitting clothes out of his mind. They wouldn't go.

Exhaling deeply, he turned and rested against the adjoining washer, startled as he saw Sean standing in the doorway.

"Look, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Tim." Sean took a few hesitant steps towards his friend. "I thought you knew."

"Well I didn't." Tim stood staring at across the laundry room as he approached. "I... I'm not uncomfortable with it; I'm just a little surprised."

Giving an understanding nod, Sean continued to advance slowly. "I just never brought it up 'cause I figured it didn't matter."

"It didn't... I mean it doesn't matter." Pausing, Tim searched for something to say.

"Do you want me to go? I'll bring these to work tomorrow if you want." Sean signaled to the clothes he was wearing.

"No." Tim spoke a little too quickly. "You don't have to leave. I.. I..." He bit at his lower lip and spoke quietly. "I don't want you to go."

Standing just inches away Tim could feel Sean's hot breath breeze across his neck as stared into his deep, dark eyes. *Now or never* The thought crossed his mind as he wrapped his hand timidly around Sean's neck and closed the distance between them quickly. Lightly pressing his lips against his friend's mouth, he met with no resistance so he pushed a bit harder, feeling for the first time the unique sense of another man's mouth on his own. *Sean's mouth*.

Without warning Sean pulled back. "Whoa, hold up, Tim." He looked down into Tim's confused blue eyes. "You sure this is what you want? I don't want to lose your friendship..." He was cut off as Tim again covered his mouth, breathing the word 'yes' while fervently grabbing at Sean.

Five o'clock shadow chafed Tim's upper lip and chin as Sean tilted his head into the kiss. The strong musk he carried, traces of sweat mixed with Old Spice lingered in Tim's nose as he breathed in the heady scent. Sean parted his lips as Tim's tongue nudged between, licking across his teeth, feeling the ridges on the roof of his mouth.

Tim pushed against Sean pinning him between his body and folding table behind. Caressing Sean's nape, Tim leaned his head, breaking the kiss. "You alr..." Sean questioned trying to read the expression on his face but was silenced as Tim placed his index finger over his lips.

Tipping his head back, Sean let out a low moan as Tim began sucking and nipping a trail down his angled jaw. His hands pulled at Sean's tee shirt while his full lips grazed against his collarbone.

Stopping his friend, Sean cupped Tim's face in his hands and pulled him back up. "Not here..." His voice was barely a whisper.

Tim grabbed Sean's hand without speaking and led him back up to the apartment where the movie was still playing. He guided Sean towards the couch and pulled him down, covering his prone body.

"You still sure, Tim?" Sean asked as he lay down on Tim, his strong muscled body covering him from calf to shoulder. Feeling Tim's erection pushing against his own through the fabric of their clothes, Sean knew the answer to his question. The friction between them was making him harder and more aroused than he thought possible.

Sean bent down and covered Tim's Adam's apple with his mouth, nipping tenderly as he sucked on the pale flesh, causing Tim to moan into his hair. He rocked his hips as Tim's hands found a resting-place on the curves of his ass, gently setting a slow and easy pace.

"Tim..." Sean groaned as he felt fingers sink into his cheeks and begin to knead as he continued his trail of nips and kisses. Sliding his hands down the trim body below him, he ran his fingers under the soft cotton of Tim's shirt.

Tim lifted himself to allow the removal of the garment, shivering slightly as Sean blew lightly, teasing at his nipples. Leaving him half clothed on the couch, Sean sat back up and languidly and began to strip off his own shirt.

Reaching out his hand, Tim tangled his fingers in Sean's dark thatch of chest hair, pinching slightly at the raised nubs. "Tim..." Sean growled as Tim's digits continued their exploration of his torso, breaking into a smile as Tim tickled him, his fingers skimming across his ribs.

Sean lowered himself again, placing his hands on either side of Tim's face. Dipping his head down, he captured Tim in another passionate kiss, thrusting his tongue deep into his mouth. He could feel Tim's heart beating against his chest as they moved together slowly, rocking their bodies in unison to an unsung rhythm.

Sliding his fingers under the waistband of Sean's shorts, Tim was unprepared as he realized there was nothing underneath them but bare skin. He was definitely enjoying this, but was suddenly keenly aware that below those thin shorts was the same equipment he had. Tim had plenty of experience with women, knew what to do, how to please them, even how to get them to shriek his name in most cases, but this, this was going to be entirely foreign to him. "Going commando?" He joked nervously.

"They got wet..." Sean murmured into Tim's neck while he sucked at the pale skin, hoping to leave a mark. He continued his ministrations, oblivious to Tim's newfound anxiety, stopping only briefly to speak. As he gently twisted Tim's nipples with his fingertips he felt the body beneath him tense and recoil a bit. Sean stopped immediately and pulled his head back to search Tim's worried face. "You ok, Tim?"

"Yeah, yeah.. I'm fine." The moment of hesitation and worry passed, as Sean's eyes conveyed nothing but genuine concern for Tim's contentment.

"You wanna call the shots?" Sean lifted his body from the couch and sat holding Tim's hands in his own.

"No... It just kind of hit me.. you know, what we're doing..."

Pulling Tim up, Sean squeezed his shoulders reassuringly and winked at him. "Why don't we just finish watching the movie seeing as it *is* only our first date...."

Tim smiled, feeling probably about the happiest he'd felt in a while. He felt comfortable with Sean, at ease and completely natural. Tim didn't have to be anything or anyone but himself around Sean for they had known each other for years. Due to their close friendship, they had accepted each other for who they were long ago, no holds barred.

Sighing contently, Tim leaned back sitting a respectable distance from Sean, leaving Sean to wonder if he was having second thoughts about this. His worries were soon put to rest as he felt a hand glide from his knee up his inner thigh. Sean covered Tim's hand with his own, and settled back into the couch to finish the movie.

Part 11

Gloria checked her watch as she sat in her office reviewing the charts from that day's patients as she slowly sipped at her cooling cup of coffee. *12:05*, the numbers glared up at her, a constant reminder she still had about eight more hours to go. Sighing deeply, she was glad that this was the only double shift she had to work this week.

Dr. Prestopnik had gotten called away earlier that morning and Gloria had been forced to take his shift. That meant she had to spend all night in the infirmary...with Ryan O'Reily. Swishing the coffee around in her mug, she looked out into the dimly lit infirmary, her eyes coming to rest on cause of her confusion.

*Ryan*... What was it about the Mick that drew her to him in the first place? He was a criminal, a killer, and yet not once had she feared him. Quite the contrary, she actually looked forward to seeing him the few times that he was under her care.

He had been in rough shape when he was diagnosed with cancer, and she had helped him through it as she would any other inmate, but he seemed to sense something more. Had she done something; made some gesture, sent out some signal? Had she unconsciously drawn *him* in, or was it just the obsession of one lonely human being after long years of coldness and neglect, pushed away from any form of tenderness that had caused him to become fixated on her?

Even now, after all that she had been through, all that he had done to her; Preston's murder had hit her hard; and then the Rape. He confessed to it and mocked her in the same breath, and yet was he so wrong? She *had* thought about him, but not then. In her fantasies, he was tender, he was strong and through it all, she was sure of one thing. Everything he did, he did for her.

There's a fine line between love and hate, and Ryan O'Reily teetered on the edge.

The chemotherapy seemed to have humbled him giving her a glimpse into his heart. He opened up to her, told her his darkest secrets; revealing secrets that had no place within the cold harsh walls of Oz. The years hadn't shown him much in the way of kindness; his father's heavy drinking, his mother turning a blind eye to the beatings, and Shannon; a women that he had married out of pity and convenience.

Gloria bit her bottom lip and dropped her head in shame as the thought occurred to her that perhaps she had taken advantage of his vulnerability, felt responsible to overcompensate for something that he had never had. Maybe she did lead him on knowing how much he would treasure her every touch.

This same man, though was still a murderer. He had taken the lives of innocent people. He had taken the life of Preston...

But when he stole that car and had gone on that ill faded ride, he hadn't set out to hurt anyone, he was hurting himself. It was a cry for help. Was it his fault that there was no one there to listen? Preston, he could be blamed for. But how overwhelmed he must have been by her touch, her concern.

Once again she glanced over to the dimly lit row of hospital beds. Ryan lay on his side facing her, his eyes closed, his head resting on his hands clasped together beneath his head. Gloria couldn't tear her eyes away from his peaceful face.

This was the way that she saw him, and it wasn't hard for her to see why she was falling in love with him.

*****************************

Sean had to hand it to Tim, it was obvious to him why all of those women seemed to be taken with him. He was unaware of how and when that hot moist mouth of his snaked it's way to his, but now that it was there...

"Oh God, Tim..." Sean sighed deeply as Tim lapped slowly across his lips, his hands moving around in no particular pattern across his chest, the blue glow from the television forgotten in the background.

Gently, he cupped his hand around Tim's neck and dipped him back onto the couch. "You're walking a tightrope here, Timmy. You don't stop your teasing now, I can't be held responsible for what I'm going to do to you."

"What if I told you I wouldn't hold you responsible?" Tim's voice was playful and heavy.

"It's tempting." Sean let the full weight of his body rest on Tim's as he nipped and kissed lightly on every patch of exposed skin that he could find.

Delicately with the back of his fingers, Sean savored the feel of the course hair sprinkled about his chest as he encompassed his swollen lips fiercely.

Tim's hands palmed Sean's waist, timidly smoothing over the form fitting fabric of his sweats as he moaned wildly against Murphy's mouth. He began to slowly press his crotch against Sean's, as his erection grew painfully hard. Suddenly he yelped.

"What'samatta Tim?" Sean grinned glad he was wearing sweat pants.

"Zipper...."

"Oh, I know... I've got a way to fix that..." Sean dragged his finger down the front of Tim's jeans, tracing the outline of his growing cock.

"Fix... please...." Tim panted as Sean gradually ran his fingers underneath the waistband, caressing his taut midsection.

Sliding down, Sean brushed his lips against the smooth skin, lightly nipping and flicking his tongue in and out of Tim's bellybutton. He grabbed the top button on Tim's jeans, and pulled.

Tim's erection bobbed free, deflecting off Sean's cheek, before coming to rest against his stomach.

"Cock tease...." Sean smiled as he felt Tim's hands on his shoulders urging him down.

Groaning as Sean's hot breath blew against him, Tim shivered as Sean chuckled, increasing the sensation on his hardness. Lifting his pelvis towards Sean's mouth, he braced himself, digging his fingers into the cushions as Sean slid his tongue slowly up Tim's erection.

Sean wrapped his tongue around Tim's thick shaft as he worked his fingers up his chest relishing the feeling of Tim squirming beneath his touch, feeling his chest heave as he breathed heavily.

Suddenly encompassing Tim's erection with his mouth, Sean took Tim's small pink nipples between his fingers and twisted sharply, causing him to let out something between a moan and a scream. "Like that?" Sean murmured, his voice muffled by his ministrations.

Unable to speak, he continued to whimper as Sean slid his mouth slowly down Tim's erection sucking it in, inch by inch until he reached the dense patch of hair at the root. Trailing his fingers downwards, Sean cupped Tim's balls and began to roll them gently in his hand.

"Mmm...." Tim's head rocked from side to side, the feel of Sean's mouth and hands on him causing his head to reel from the abundance of sensations.

Sean raised his eyes and stared up the length of Tim's body, watching his reaction as he squeezed his balls in his strong grip. Releasing Tim's cock from his mouth, it fell with a wet slap against his stomach.

"Now who's the cock tease, Sean?"

Ignoring Tim, Sean moved his fingers down past his groin and began to rub cautiously at his entrance. "You ready for this, Tim?" His kept voice soft so Tim did not feel pressured.

Instead of answering, Tim pushed down, nudging Sean's finger inside, taking a moment to familiarize himself with the new feeling. Gradually he pressed down harder as he felt Sean's palm come to rest on his perineum.

With a gently bite, Sean preoccupied Tim with a tolerable amount of discomfort meant to deter him from the sharper, more intense pain of penetration as he added a second finger. A thin welt of reddened skin was left in his wake.

"I don't know, am I?" Tim answered him uncomfortably as their eyes locked, Sean watching Tim's reactions cautiously as he slowly stretched the opening with very deliberate and measured strokes.

Just as he started to get used the full feeling, Sean withdrew and Tim groaned from the loss leaving Sean smiling proudly.

"Soon. I need to get something from the kitchen first... That is unless you happen to have some lube lying around here somewhere?"

The honest and somewhat innocent look on Tim's face was endearing. Gently, Sean ran his fingers across Tim's cheek before getting off of the couch. After rummaging through all of Tim's cabinets, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Extra *virgin*..." Sean laughed at the irony and tossed the bottle around once in his grasp before heading back into the living room, but Tim was gone.

"Tim?"

"In the bedroom."

Sean smiled, if there was one thing that Timmy wasn't, it was shy, but he had a strong feeling that *that* was about to change.

TBC