Keefer plopped down and put her feet up onto the futon. It had been a while since she spent any time in the den, and she realized that she had missed it. She set her dinner on the table so she could reach the remote to turn on the television, and found an interesting enough show to watch while she ate. Fifi climbed up onto Keefer's legs, giving her the most pathetic of pleading stares. The tall woman stopped the fork halfway to her mouth and rolled her eyes. "You'll survive without my dinner tonight, Feefs," she joked.

Keefer ate in silence, caught in a stare down with her dog, Fifi switched tactics when the pathetic stare didn't work and began to follow the fork from plate to mouth, ears standing alert, eyebrows raised with great interest. Keefer sighed heavily and picked some food off of her plate, offering it to the dog. "Sheridan's spoiled you already." Fifi's tail wagged and she looked towards the door, the food forgotten. Hmmm... the tall woman wondered. Once she had the dog's attention again, she tested her theory. "Sheridan," she repeated, getting the same response from Fifi. Keefer chuckled quietly. Looks like I'm not the only one that's fallen in love with you, Sher.

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

The blonde construction worker sat patiently in front of her television, chewing slowly on her fried chicken Hungry Man Dinner. Green eyes stared at the screen as Sheridan tried to absorb as much information from The Food Network as she could. There were three cooking shows on simultaneously and she was flipping back and forth between them, trying to find something that a normal person could accomplish in a normal kitchen. Most of the recipes called for spices, foods and even machinery she had never even heard of. This particular channel had a French chef making some sort of dessert, a dubbed-over American voice giving only the barest of instructions. It was so incredibly frustrating. The blonde frowned. "Does anybody actually learn to cook from these things?" she asked her dogs.

Sheridan attempted to scrape up the remaining mashed potatoes with her fork and failed, narrowing her eyes at the little potatoes section of her TV dinner. "Fuck! I don't even know when to use a spoon and I want to cook a romantic dinner?" she said loudly, startling Pharaoh who's head was as close to the fried chicken as it could get without drooling on it. "Please don't make me have to ask Pop to cook for my girlfriend," she pleaded with the television.

A little while later, after Pharaoh finished licking up the mashed potatoes that the fork couldn't get to, Sheridan shut off the television, thoroughly frustrated and no more educated than before in the culinary arts. "Maybe I should just buy flowers; girls like flowers. Keefer would like them." Zeus snorted. "Okay, so I'm a chicken." Pharaoh's ears perked up at the word. "There's nothing but bones, you pig," she told the dog with a pat to his rump. The pit bull licked his lips anyway, reminding the blonde about food all over again. She glanced at the phone and wrung her hands out nervously. She picked up the receiver and dialed, taking a deep breath. "Hello, Pop?"

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

After washing the dinner dishes, the tall inspector settled down on the futon once again, this time taking the phone and a pillow from her bed with her. Once she was comfortable, she gave Fifi the okay to join her. Keefer sunk her head into the pillow and sighed. "It smells like your favorite person, Feefs," she said as she picked up the phone and dialed Sheridan.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, yourself," Keefer smiled.

"Oh, hi baby."

Keefer's insides warmed at the genuine happiness she heard in Sheridan's voice. "Whatchya doing?"

"Nothing. Just finished dinner. You?"

"Same. I was just thinking about you," Keefer smiled sheepishly at herself.

"I'm always thinking about you."

Keefer's smile grew. "I think Fifi's having Sheridan withdrawals."

"Is her mommy, too?"

"Maybe," Keefer said in a sexy tone of voice.

"I sure hope so, because I'll never get to sleep tonight if I don't see you."

"Aren't you sweet?" Keefer blushed. "Actually, I was thinking the same thing," Keefer admitted, sinking deeper into the pillow that smelled so good. "Is it crazy to miss you so much after only one day?"

"God, I hope not."

"Sooo... are you going to come over here or do you want me to go there?" There was a pause and Keefer could tell that Sheridan was thinking about it for a moment, considering her options.

"It would be nice to have you here, but the kids won't give you a moment's peace and I want you all to myself."

Keefer's heart swelled. "I'll be waiting for you."

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

Sheridan eagerly waited for Keefer to open the door so she could look at her. It actually bothered her that she felt such a strong need to be with the tall inspector. She dismissed the niggling urge to investigate these feelings. She didn't like to be confused and was usually the first person to sort out a problem when it arose, but this was a scary feeling and Sheridan Landers was someone who didn't get scared. The door opened after an unusually long amount of time and the construction worker couldn't prevent the smile from lighting up her face.

"Hiya," Keefer said, catching and returning her lover's smile.

Fifi hopped around madly, vying for Sheridan's attention. She leapt up as high as she could, in hopes ofİgetting some recognition. Sheridan squatted down and gave the dog a hug, receiving a multitude of kisses and excited whines in return. "I missed you, too, sweetheart. You're a good baby... yes, you are... ohhh, I'm getting kissies..."

Keefer watched the interaction with a grin. She had never heard Sheridan use that sweet, baby-talk voice and it almost made her chuckle.

Sheridan finally stood up and gave Keefer the once over. "You look comfy," she said of the inspector's baggy shorts andİT-shirt.

"I was hanging out in the den." The tall woman bent down and kissed the blonde, sighing happily as she did.

Sheridan returned the kiss; a small satisfied noise escaped the back of her throat as their tongues met. She was swept with a sense of relief at their connection, she was no longer anxious, but complete.

Keefer broke the kiss, but not before she tugged playfully at Sheridan's bottom lip with her teeth. "I needed that," the brunette said dreamily.

"I didn't know how much I did either, until now," Sheridan agreed.

Feeling left out, Fifi jumped up, stood with her front paws on Sheridan's thigh and stretched. The construction worker absently reached down to pet the dog, her attention never leaving Keefer. "Watching anything good in there?" she nodded towards the den.

"Nah, just keeping busy until you got here," Keefer said with a shy smile.

"Well... now that I'm here..." Sheridan raised an eyebrow and let her gaze wander the length of Keefer's body, "what do you want to do?"

Keefer pursed her lips as if in deep thought. "Hmm... Oh, I don't know," she replied, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. "Have you got any ideas?" she closed the distance between them until they were leaning on each other, face to face -- or in Sheridan's case, face to breasts.

Sheridan tore her gaze away from Keefer's seductive stare and eyed the swells of flesh that were within kissing distance. "Oh, I have plenty of suggestions," she replied, her voice suddenly deeper. She ducked her head and dropped little kisses on Keefer's breasts.

The reaction was immediate, Keefer's heart beat faster and her nipples tightened. She let out a shaky breath and then kissed the top of Sheridan's head. "You make me so crazy sometimes, and you hardly touch me at all," she whispered into soft, blonde hair.

Sheridan wrapped her arms around her lover and nuzzled into the inviting space between Keefer's breasts. "I've been waiting all day to do this," she said, her words muffled as she pressed her face deeper into Keefer's body.

"Let's go sit down before I fall," the tall woman suggested, her knees already weak from the gentle touches.

"Then I'd have to let go of you," Sheridan said, a little surprised at herself that she did.

Keefer felt all fuzzyİfrom the statement. "Yeah, but you can come right back after we sit."

Fifi followed the contented couple into the den where all three of them settled comfortably on the futon. The couple sat side by side, bodies touching, the fingers of one hand entwined, Sheridan's head was resting on Keefer's shoulder, and the brunette's head was leaning against the wall behind her. After a few minutes of easy silence, Sheridan stood up and moved between Keefer's legs.

Keefer stared at her curiously, "What, hon?"

Sheridan grinned. She called me 'hon'. "I have an urge, but I feel silly," the blonde admitted.

"I remember the first day we made love and I said I had an urge. I do believe you said, 'Go with it.'"

Sheridan smiled at the memory and crawled onto the couch, straddling Keefer's thighs and she sat tentatively on the brunette's lap. She spared an embarrassed glance at her lover before she sat her weight down and wrapped her arms around Keefer's neck.

Keefer sighed loudly, feeling incredibly special with Sheridan on her lap, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. It was deeply satisfying; filling a hole inside of her that she didn't know existed. "I like this," she breathed into the side of her lover's head.

Sheridan snuggled deeper into Keefer's neck. "I knew it would feel this good," she nodded, inhaling the distinctive scent of Keefer's skin. She had felt foolish at first, crawling onto her lover's lap like a child, but she needed the closeness and the craving was too strong to ignore.

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

It was late into the night when Sheridan next opened her eyes. She found herself spooned behind her lover, an arm and leg thrown protectively over the tall woman. Now, this is more like me, she thought with relief. She had no idea what had come over her before; she had just felt so needy all of a suddenİ-- an overwhelming sensation that disturbed her at the time it occurred, but once she was comfortably surrounded by Keefer, the concern faded and turned into a feeling of safety and security.

Sheridan usually felt safety in routine actions or in the club where she felt confident and wanted. There was a certain security in being wanted and sought after, and even though it was for sex -- meaningless couplings with faceless strangers -- the security in always having them want her was there.

With Keefer, she felt weak, something she hadn't experienced since she was a child. The blonde had made herself strong in body and mind as soon as she was old enough to understand that she could. Sometimes, all it took was a simple look from Keefer and Sheridan felt like a weak child, unable to survive until she got the hug of reassurance that she craved. It was a frightening feeling, but somehow she knew she didn't have to worry. She was sure that Keefer would always be there for her if she felt suddenly needy. Keefer wouldn't laugh or dismiss her. Keefer wasn't concerned about the blonde's reputation; she would never brush the construction worker's feelings to the side and for that, Sheridan fell in love with Keefer all over again.

Keefer woke up from the sensation of being squeezed tightly. She smiled and nestled her back securely into Sheridan's body. She felt safe with the knowledge that her lover was right there, holding her, leaning into her with her body. She knew Sheridan was loving her at the moment. She didn't need words, or kisses -- she felt it. The inspector reached over and fumbled for the remote, shutting off the television and all light from the room. She replaced her arms back over her lover's and squeezed, letting Sheridan know she loved her just as much.

"Shhh... go back to sleep."

Sheridan's low whisper washed over Keefer and she yawned, nodding as she did. "You okay?" she asked groggily.

"Perfect," Sheridan replied, leaving a sweet kiss on Keefer's head.

Moments later, Fifi jumped on top of the couple and tried to wedge herself between them on the small futon. With no room for her, the dog began walking all over the two women, forcing them to get up and relocate to the bedroom.

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

It was hard to get either one of them out of bed the next morning and waking up tangled together wasn't helping at all. Sheridan was the middle of a sandwich, with Fifi snuggled up against her back and Keefer against her front, practically sharing her skin. The comfortable inspector hit the snooze bar three times before rolling onto her back and untangling her limbs from her lover's. She glanced at the clock, heaved a huge sigh and ended it with an annoyed groan. "Sher, we have to get up," she grumbled, throwing an arm over her eyes.

"Unnn."

Keefer turned over to face the construction worker who looked so comfortable that she got jealous.

Sheridan frowned and grunted when Keefer began poking her in the forehead, but didn't want to move to make her stop. "Is that very nice?" she complained without opening her eyes.

"Come on, you need to leave before me," Keefer said, moving her pokes to Sheridan's cheek.

One annoyed green eye popped open and glared at the brunette. The annoyance didn't last long when the construction worker saw the playful grin on her lover's face. "Okay, I'm up," she said as she stretched out her legs and hummed. Fifi jumped off the bed groggily and immediately curled up on the floor. "It's so nice to sleep without the boys lying all over my face. I never want to get out of this bed." Sheridan reached an arm out of the blanket and beckoned for Keefer to snuggle.

"Oh no, if I get any closer to you, I won't let you leave."

Sheridan opened both eyes and sat up. "Oh yeah?" she asked, suddenly awake.

Keefer chuckled, knowing that would rouse her lover. She leaned in and gave Sheridan a quick kiss before getting out of bed. "Shower, hon."

"You are such a tease," the blonde pouted, kicking the blankets off and standing up to stretch.

"Not really. If I hadn't hit that snooze button so many times, you would have got some this morning."

Sheridan stared at her lover's back in surprise. "Oooo, someone woke up in a mood," she teased. "What brought this on?"

"Sleeping all scrunched up against you may have had something to do with it," Keefer said, facing her closet. She was a little shocked at the things she was saying, but she couldn't hide the grin at the startled tone in Sheridan's voice. She jumped as two strong arms encircled her from behind.

"I like the way you smell in the morning," Sheridan mumbled into Keefer's back.

The tall woman leaned into the embrace. "I love the way you look in the morning, all rumpled and sexy."

Sheridan pulled away and raised an eyebrow. "What have you done with Keefer? She used to be shy."

"Oh she's still shy, trust me," the tall inspector replied, turning around to face her lover. "She just turns all sorts of crazy when she wakes up in your arms."

Sheridan beamed. "Well then, we should do that more often," she said, placing a kiss on the tall woman's chest. "If you need me, I'll be in the shower," she winked, "naked and soapy," she added before leaving.

Keefer closed her eyes and let the image appear. "Mmmm," she hummed. "One day, Sheridan. One day."

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

The morning and afternoon went rather quickly for both Sheridan and Keefer. There was only a bare minimum of teasing at the construction site and Danni was nowhere to be found at the OSHA offices.

Sheridan was content to hear all about Maria's pregnancy and all the odd cravings that come with it. She actually felt relieved to not be the topic of conversation where as she used to make it a point in the past.

Keefer got her work done with only small bits of stress, and was pretty satisfied with her productiveness. Before Sheridan, the days would drag on and on, and even then, after the longest days, she dreaded going home. She felt excited today as she noted she only had one more hour left at work, knowing she would be seeing Sheridan soon. The inspector began arranging her work in neat piles for the next day when her phone rang. She answered in an unusually pleasant voice, "Keefer Gibson."

"Hiya, sexy."

A big smile spread across the brunette's face. "Look who's talking?"

"When are you leaving?" she asked in a low voice.

"In about an hour. I miss you," Keefer said with a shy smile.

"You do, huh?" Sheridan barely contained her chuckle.

Keefer narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend's teasing tone. "Yes, I do. I can't wait to get home and see you."

"Knock, knock"

Keefer furrowed her brows. "Knock, knock?" she asked in confusion.

"Yeah, knock, knock."

Keefer raised her eyebrow. There was a knock at her office door at the exact time Sheridan said the words. "That was weird," she said to her lover.

Sheridan snorted and knocked again. "Open the door, it could be important."

Keefer tucked the phone under her chin and called for whomever it was to come in. The door opened slowly and there was Sheridan.

"See? Knock, knock," the blonde said with an impish grin, closing the door behind her.

"Oh, my god!" Keefer hung up the phone and stood up; shocked that Sheridan was standing in her office.

"Do I get a kiss hello or are you just going to stand there staring at me?"

"Oh!" Keefer closed the distance between them and gave Sheridan a big kiss. "You surprised me! How did you know where my office is?"

"Well, when you first came to the site, you left your card. Philly found it today amongst the clutter and gave it to me," Sheridan walked as she talked, backing Keefer up until she was leaning against her desk.

"Sheridan..." Keefer warned her lover, reading a mischievous look in her eyes.

Sheridan flashed a sexy grin before she pulled Keefer's head down for a kiss.

The tall woman felt her toes curl from her lover's lips, but at the same time, she was very uneasy about making out in her office. She ended the kiss and leaned further back. "Anyone can walk in."

"I know, ain't it hot?" Sheridan replied with a wiggle of her eyebrow.

Keefer giggled nervously. "Sher, I mean it, my door isn't locked."

The construction worker ran to the door and locked it, returning back between Keefer's legs before the tall woman had the chance to stand up straight. "Where were we?" she whispered, moving in for another kiss.

Keefer allowed the kiss this time, feeling a bit more secure now that the door was locked, but her heart was still racing despite it. She had never even thought of making out in her office, it was scary, but the way Sheridan's mouth was moving against hers, she hardly had the time to think about it.

The blonde slid her mouth from Keefer's lips over her chin and onto her neck where she began kissing and licking. "I thought about you all day and couldn't wait until later," she said, nuzzling her face into thick, black hair.

Keefer shivered from the warm breath on her neck and ear. "I thought about you, too." She tilted her head back further.

Sheridan took advantage of the move and began nibbling at her lover's throat. "You taste so good," she groaned.

Keefer felt a zing of arousal between her legs and realized what was happening. "Sher, baby... we'd better stop."

"Why?" the blonde replied between nips and sucks.

"Oh, god..." Keefer moaned. "I can't... not here..."

Sheridan pulled away and shook her head. "You're right. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," she said with an embarrassed grin.

"Yeah, right," Keefer narrowed her eyes, not believing her lover for a second. "You had this planned."

"Just a little."

"How am I supposed to get any work done with you here?"

"I'll be quiet; you won't even know I'm here."

Keefer looked skeptical.

"I swear. I'll just sit here by myself," she sat in a chair, "minding my own business, thinking about how delicious you smell."

"Oh, yeah, that'll work."

Sheridan buttoned her lip, but her eyes still blazed with arousal.

Keefer didn't even attempt to go back to work. She walked over to her lover and took her by the hand. "Let's go home," she said as she led the blonde out of the office.

"Cool!" Sheridan blurted as she was led quickly down the hallway.

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

They retrieved Sheridan's car from the parking garage and were on their way home [minutes later. Keefer was watching Sheridan smoke a cigarette with a frown, and the blonde couldn't take the looks.

"What?"

"I just never saw you smoke before," Keefer replied with a shrug.

"Well it's either smoke this cigarette or pull over right here and have my way with you."

Keefer looked around quickly at the rush hour traffic and blushed. "Smoke away," she said with a nod, opening the ashtray.

Sheridan chuckled, "I thought so."

"Do you smoke a lot?" Keefer asked.

"Not really. I smoke a ton when I drink. I mostly smoke at the club and after I eat, but I haven't really with you." She thought about that for a minute. "I suppose I get my oral fix when I'm with you," she grinned and blew a smoke ring.

Keefer watched Sheridan's lips as they wrapped around the filter and then as they blew another ring. Should I find that so arousing? she questioned herself. Smoking is a terrible habit... geez, I wish I were that cigarette.

Sheridan put out the smoke and glanced at her distracted lover. She could tell by the expression on her face what she was thinking about and decided to make the ride through rush-hour traffic more interesting. She took a hand off the wheel and rested it on Keefer's thigh.

Keefer raised an eyebrow, looked at Sheridan's hand and then up at her face.

The blonde grinned and walked her fingers higher up Keefer's leg.

"What are you doing?" Keefer asked nervously.

"Nothing," the blonde replied innocently.

Keefer looked out the window and covered Sheridan's hand with her own. "The truck divers can see right into the car!"

"So? I'm not doing anything," Sheridan continued to stare out the windshield.

"You better not," Keefer shook her head.

Sheridan smirked and squeezed Keefer's thigh as her pinky wormed its way between the brunette's tightly closed legs.

"Sheridan," Keefer said through her teeth.

Sheridan wiggled her pinky a few times before Keefer removed her hand. "You're no fun," she pouted.

Keefer squirmed in her seat. "We're almost home," she said with relief.

"You're in a hurry to get there?' Sheridan asked with a devious grin.

Keefer gave her a narrow-eyed look.

"Oh, yeah. Me too," Sheridan nodded. "I can't wait to get you in the house and crawl on top of you," she watched Keefer gulp. "Then I'm going to kiss you until you sweat." The brunette closed her eyes. Sheridan's voice dropped an octave. "Then... I'm going to lick you from head to toe... paying special attention to each nipple... sucking them... biting them..."

"Okay! That's enough," Keefer covered her lover's mouth with her hand. She felt every word between her legs. Sheridan licked her palm and she pulled her hand away and glared.

"I'm just saying."

Keefer held up a hand. "Don't say anything more until we get inside. Then you can talk all you want."

Sheridan chuckled evilly, "I'm gonna hold you to that."

part 35

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