The sirens were getting steadily louder as I followed her down the alley, my feet slipping in who knows what as I tried to keep up with her long-limbed strides.

As the narrow alley gave way to a wider street, I hear the unmistakable squeal of tires. I was just about to turn and run when Ice grabbed me, lifted me bodily off the ground, and practically threw me into a car which suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the back door levering open as it came even with us. Landing squarely atop Critter, I scrambled to make room for Ice, who dove headlong in behind me.

Grabbing the door and slamming it shut, she shouted "Move!" to Rio, who promptly accelerated, throwing us all back hard against the seat as she took off down the thankfully empty back street.

"Take a roundabout route," Ice ordered. "Make sure we're not followed."

"Right," Rio replied, driving expertly through the twisting maze of city streets with one eye always on the rearview mirrors.

I turned to Critter. "How did you... ?"

She grinned at me, then shifted her gaze, significantly, to Ice.

I looked over at my lover. "You knew?"

"Let's just say I believe in covering my bases." Her expression became serious and I knew there was something lurking behind the silvered blue of her eyes, something she wouldn't, or couldn't, say. Not here. Not now.

I gave her a slight smile, and nodded, letting her know I saw her thoughts, and letting her know further that I would be willing to wait for her to express them, if that time should ever come.

Sighing, I slumped back in the seat, my body tired and achy and plummeting quickly down from its adrenaline-induced rush. My eyes were gritty and they longed to close, but every time I allowed myself that luxury, the images of the men Ice had killed would come floating out of the darkness to superimpose themselves over the image of Ice slowly strangling Pedro.

Needless to say, it wasn't a very pleasant ride home.

PART 7.

"WHY DON'T YOU sit here and take off your shirt," I said, leading my lover into the bathroom and closing the door behind us, "and I'll see what I can do about cleaning out that cut of yours."

Without a word, she sat on the closed lid of the toilet as asked, sure fingers making short work of the buttons on her shirt and easing it off of her broad, bronzed shoulders. She hadn't spoken a word since ordering Rio to take the long route home, an order Rio followed to the letter, turning a twenty minute jaunt into a two hour trek.

She seemed deep in thought, buried beneath the weight of whatever emotions were going on behind the razor-sharp glare of her eyes.

I stole glances at her as I cleansed the dried blood from the long, narrow slice in her upper arm. She appeared absorbed in her hands, staring at them intently, turning them over, and back, and over again as I worked.

When I was finished, I replaced the supplies and moved to the front of her, squatting down between her spread thighs. "Hey," I said softly, looking up into her closed face. "You ok?"

The barest ghost of a smile graced her lips as her eyes cleared and focused on mine. "Yeah. I'm alright."

Things fell silent once again as I searched my mind for an opening gambit. "They say I'm a good listener."

Her smile became a tad more pronounced after a moment. "They do, huh?"

"Yep. Best listener in three countries."

She laughed softly, then dropped her gaze and looked back down at her hands, rubbing them together. After a moment, she spoke, so softly that I had to strain to hear her, even though we were inches apart.

"I used to think that if I tried hard enough, I could get it off."

"What?" I asked, in the same quiet tone.

"Blood. On my hands. So much blood," she whispered, clenching her hands into tight fists. "No matter how much I try, though, it's always there. Always." She met my eyes then, her own glittering with such agony that my heart wrenched powerfully and tears sprang unbidden to my eyes. "Sometimes in the night, I ache to touch you, to hold you. But how can I taint you with all this blood?"

Taking her hands, I gentled them open, stroking each palm, each finger, before lifting them and placing them on my face, cupping them to my cheeks and nuzzling each in turn. "You don't taint me, Ice. You complete me. In ways I never dreamed possible."

Her eyes darkened and she attempted to pull her hands back. I held fast, pitting my own strength and my own will against hers. An uneven match, yes, by far, but one I was determined to win.

"No," she said.

"Yes, Ice. Yes. You always tell me who I am to you. I think it's time I tell you who you are to me." I locked gazes with her, not allowing her to look away or to shrink back inside her self imposed prison of guilt. "You are my hope. My strength. The joy in my life. You're my teacher. My guide. And my light."

She shook her head slowly, trying to negate my statement.

"Yes, you are. No matter how much you want to believe it's not so, it is. Whenever I find myself in a very dark place, all I have to do is look at you, or think of you, and it's like seeing the sun after a month of rain. Because you're inside me, so very deep, that I can never be alone, even if we're miles apart." I smiled up at her, the joy of that truth shining from my face. "Don't you see, Ice? You don't taint me. You never could. And you know why?"

Lifting her right hand from my face, I placed a kiss in the palm, then placed it over my heart. "Because you're here. In my heart. And with every beat, more of you comes in, until I'm totally full with the joy of loving you. All of you, Ice. The part that's happy, and the part that's angry. The part that loves, and the part that hates. The part that forgives, and the part that seeks vengeance."

Releasing her hand, I placed my own on her face, tenderly holding it in my palms. "All of you."

There was a look of wonder on her face, but it was the wonder of a man alone in the desert who views an oasis from afar and yet is, perhaps, afraid to walk to it, afraid to reach out to find only an illusion where the promise of life once stood shining bright with hope.

Knowing further words would never convince her, I let my heart speak instead. Rising from my crouch between her legs, I moved our faces together and covered her lips with my own in a kiss as full of tender promise as I could possibly make it.

After what seemed a small eternity, she responded, moaning softly as the hand which had been cupping my cheek threaded its way through my hair, melding us more closely together and deepening the kiss we shared. Deepening, too, the bond between us.

An eternal bond.

After a long moment, she pulled away and looked down at me, her face still filled with wonder. But this time, the wonder was of a man who has found out that the oasis is, indeed, real after all. "I...think I needed that," she commented softly, her voice husky.

"Dear god, so did I," I responded with the fervor of one newly converted.

"Would you...could I hold you? For just a little while?"

Her simple request filled me with a joy I couldn't even begin to describe, and I know my face showed it in the beaming smile I could feel growing there. "You don't know how much I'd love that."

Her answering smile was almost shy as she reached out to take my hand.

The bedroom was cool and dim, and carried a slight hint of my lover's scent on the still air. I breathed of it deeply, then followed as Ice sat down on the narrow bed, then stretched out on her back, her feet hanging slightly over the edge, even with her head resting cocked against the wall.

"Like being back in the Bog, huh?" I joked, grabbing one foot playfully.

"It's not so bad," she responded softly, crossing her ankles and resting her clasped hands on the flat plane of her belly.

Taking her word for it, I crossed to the side of the bed and, at the last second, stripped off my shirt, needing more than anything to feel her skin soft and smooth against my own. Her eyes glittered as she watched me, and her arms opened wide and welcoming as I lowered myself onto the narrow bed. I melded myself to her side, throwing a leg over her thighs and wrapping an arm around her belly as I laid my head once again on her chest.

It was a sense of homecoming as brilliant and as perfect as sunlight upon new-fallen snow and I felt tears sting at my eyes from the sheer beauty filling my soul to overflowing.

Her hand came up to stroke my hair, her touch warm and tender and loving. My body flowed through with warmth and as sweet an ache as I can ever remember having. I willed my tears not to fall, well knowing that she'd stop the minute she felt their heat on her skin.

"I love you, Angel," she whispered.

It was the last thing I remembered as the day finally called in its marker and I fell asleep to the music of her heart beating in my ear.

I love you too, Ice. More than you'll ever know.

A knock to the door roused me from my unintended slumber, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the door crack open and a shaft of light lance its way into the pitch-dark bedroom. Pony's head materialized almost out of nowhere, a small grin gracing her lips. "Dinner's almost ready, if you're hungry."

"We'll be out in a bit," Ice replied, stretching her long body slightly and settling herself back on the bed.

Nodding, Pony closed the door, casting the room back into darkness once again.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Get a good rest?" Her voice burred out of the darkness above me and sent a warm, welcoming tingle down the length of my body.

I was glad the darkness hid my blush. "Sorry. I didn't mean... ."

"Don't be sorry, Angel. You needed the rest."

"But... ."

"Shhh. It wasn't any hardship to hold you as you slept. Believe me."

Bowing to her superior logic, I laid my head back down on her chest, breathing in the scent of her with undeniable pleasure. Not surprisingly, my hand had crept upward as I slept and now lay covering one of her breasts. I trailed my fingers lightly over the warm, soft flesh, smiling as I felt her unmistakable response.

Since she didn't seem inclined to halt the proceedings, I felt myself growing bolder, and repeated my actions as I lowered my head just slightly to lay a line of gentle kisses down her exposed chest.

She tasted of salt and sunlight and mysteries to be explored. I felt my hunger growing, but it wasn't for food. Her fingers tightening in my hair, she guided me gently, and when I closed my lips around her, suckling, the soft sigh of pleasure she allowed was a homecoming all its own.

I would have continued growing still bolder in my attentions had my stomach not chosen that very moment to announce its own demands; demands having very little to do with the hunger that was consuming the rest of my body.

Releasing her fingers from my hair, Ice gentled herself out from under me.

"Hey! I was enjoying that!"

"I think your belly would enjoy something a little more nutritious first."

"Then my belly can just walk itself out to the kitchen, 'cause the rest of me's staying right here." I reached for her again, only to be halted by tender hands.

"Food first. Fun later."

"Awww... !"

She chuckled softly. "I'm not going anywhere, Angel. We have all night."

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see the faint shadow of her face above me. "Promise?"

Her smile was full of love. "Promise."

"Alright then. What are we waiting for?" I asked, as I scrambled off the bed and grabbed my shirt while tossing Ice's at her.

Catching her shirt, she exited the bed much more gracefully than I. Yanking the garment over her head, and smoothing it on, she paused to run her fingers through her hair, settling it back into order. An action which caused my hormones to dash off a rather pointed note to my stomach for spoiling their fun.

My stomach growled in response to the missive, which sent the hormones back into hiding, cowards that they were.

"Ready?"

"Oh, yeah."

We both knew I was talking about far more than food.

Dinner, as it turned out, was fantastic. Rio proved herself an excellent chef, and all but ruined me for any other Mexican food anywhere. The brief respite we'd had seemed to have relaxed Ice, which, in turn, allowed the others to relax as well. The conversation was pleasant, if forgettable, and even Pony lightened up enough to crack a joke here and there. All were invariably horrid, but at least it was better than sitting there looking as if her best friend had died and she was next on the list.

After the meal was consumed and the dishes were washed and put away, though the night was still quite young, everyone claimed exhaustion and were ready for sleep. There was a second bedroom in the house, with two single beds, where the policemen guarding Ice had slept. To Rio's immense relief, Ice doled out sleeping assignments, which had Critter and Nia sharing the bedroom and Rio and Pony sleeping in the living room.

As Ice went off to make some phone calls, Pony and Rio took a last walk around the outside of the house, checking for any signs of trouble. I chatted with Critter for a bit while Nia washed up, and once the bathroom was free, I decided to treat myself to a long, hot shower to wash the last of the day's pressures away.

Not that anything as simple as a shower could wash away the images of blood and death the day had wrought, but perhaps a physical cleansing could affect a spiritual one as well.

At least, that was my hope.

Stepping into the shower, I closed the curtain behind me and grabbed the soap as the hot, steaming water cascaded down over me. Hot water, a luxury I would never again take for granted, no matter how long I lived.

As I drew the sweet-smelling soap over my body, the images of the day began to be replaced by other, more personal visions. Scenes of bodies wrapped tight in loving, of sweating skin gliding effortlessly together, of lush moisture and quiet moans.