She melted into the brief hug and laughed as he disabused her of the warm coat. Her arms went back aorund him, hands at the nape of his neck as he kissed her. She returned the kiss fervently. It was a release of the tension of the day and she whimpered softly when it ended. The wine glass was taken and she took a sip as she followed him into the kitchen. "Really, I could help you." She had dubious thoughts about his abilities in the kitchen. He was tall, roguishly handsome and could keep her sides splitting with laughter. But a cook, as well? Sitting down on a chair, she clutched both hands between the wine glass.

"Nah, I make this every year. Trust me, I have it down to an art." And, on cue, just as he said that, the pan he was bringing out of the oven slid out of his hand and fell to the flagstoned floor. Thankfully, though, the potato and cheese bake did nothing but splatter a little boiling hot sauce over his bare foot. "Ow! Oh, oh, oh ..." Hopping around, Mat put the pan up on the counter and limped over to the sink, where he lifted his entire foot beneath the cold tap. He grinned sheepishly at her. "What?"

She took a sip of wine and sat the glass down just in time for the pan to clatter onto the flags. She watched with a horrified amusement, brows raised and a smile between the hands upon her cheeks. Unable to keep from laughing, she covered her mouth with her hand. Shaking her head to his question, her shoulders quaked with mirth. "Oh, nothing, nothing at all."

He stuck his tongue out at her, drying his foot off with the tea towel. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up, lady." With a grin, he walked back to the pan and moved to set it on the 'dining' table, pulling up a couple of cushions for them to it on. "Just you wait, I might make you kiss it better. But until then ... dinner is served."

She rose and grabbed the wine glass when he passed in front of her. "I'm sorry, Mat. It's just that, you're so funny." She laughed softly and when the cushions were set down, she made herself comfortable upon one of them. Looking up at him, the firelight glowed in her eyes.

"I'm a clumsy oaf who needs a keeper," he translated with a grin, easing himself down opposite her. "Hope you're hungry." He reached across and began lifting the lids of the various pots. The beef stew she should recognise, as well as the cheesy potato bake; as well as these, there was rocket salad, Morrocan couscous, and a dish of steamed winter vegetables. He pointed to each in turn, giving the names of his family members who favoured them. "The bake is my little brother, Joe's, favourite; the salad, my dad Mark's; couscous, my big sister Kathleen's; and the vegetables are mine. My momand my little sister's favourites are puddings, so we'll get to them in a bit."

"I"ll be your helper." Sadie volunteered with a happy smile. The day seemed to melt away as the lids to the pots were opened up. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply the scents of their dinner and she laughed with a shake of her head. "It's an interesting mish mash, that's for sure. But I thought that the dishes were only supposed to be for those dearly departed. You don't look very dead to me and I didn't bring my favorite."

"Well ... they don't really go altogether without veg of some kind," he mused apologetically, hoping the twinkle in his eyes didn't give his sneaky plan away too much. "Trust me, it all tastes better like this. Hand over your plate." He reached out for her plate, smiling over to her.

"Oh, ok." she nodded, it made perfect sense to her. She handed over her plate, obediently. "I trust you." she laughed with a shake of her head. "You don't have to explain much more." She took her glass in hand and had another sip. "It all smells very good, though. I've never had some of those things before."

"It's a shame you can't come to a Marshall barbeque, we ate some pretty out there combinations of food," he laughed as he filled her plate with a bit of everything, although there was just the slightest touch of sombre sadness in that laugh. He laid the plate in front of her. "No standing on ceremony, you need feeding up. Tuck in, Miss Sexy - I'll catch up in no time." And he lifted his own plate to begin filling it.

"What's a Marshall barbeque?" She sat the glass down beside her plate and lifted her fork. She waited though. The sadness in his laugh had her looking up at the pictures on the mantel. A soft smile was offered to her friend, and then her eyes travelled to the picture of his family. "Tell me about them."

She smiled as she gazed up at him and the bright tears on her lashes were blinked away. She sat up and began eating when he did. "You're right. It's Christmas. And she loved Christmas. I remember our first Christmas together. It was before she'd met her husband. We were working at the Ravenlock estate as housemaids." She continued to eat, speaking between mouthfuls. "We had bought a little tree and decorated our room. Neither of us had much money, even if the Ravenlocks paid us well. She bought me a plaid coat and ribbon for my hair. I bought her a pair of socks. Her feet were always so cold." She laughed a little bitterly and looked up at the pictures once again.

"Lacey - my little sister - she bought me a gag for Christmas once," he remembered fondly around another mouthful of food. "We used it on Kathy. Man, that girl could talk! She'd just get started and go on and on and on." He laughed, shaking his head. "And Joe never forgave me for hiding all the presents when he was fourteen. He'd been a real brat, poking around at the bottom of the tree. So when he went to bed on Christmas Eve, I hid all his presents and put a lump of coal under the tree for him. He cried!" Mat laughed, a real big brother's laugh.

"So mean!" she giggled as his laugh was contagious. She found that her appetite had returned in a sudden rush and she was close to clearing her plate. "Rosie was the only family I really ever knew. I mean, my parents are still alive, I suppose, but I don't keep in contact. I was too head strong and independent for my own good." She gave him a sly grin. "They did what they could, but when I was sixteen I ran away, never looking back." Stabbing a chunk of stewed meat, she lifted it with her fork and popped it into her mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, she swallowed before she continued. "They weren't bad parents, as parents go, I suppose. But I just wanted to be on my own, making my own rules. It's funny, now that I'm older. A lot of my own rules are their's, too."

"Weird how that happens, isn't it? My dad was always going on about how I should be applying myself and making something of myself, even at school. I never listened, but when he was gone, I started really doing exactly what he said. And look me now!" He gestured around with his napkin. "House, my own business, a truck I seriously could have married ... before I met you, that is. I think you're the best Christmas present I've had in a long time." He smiled, reaching out to wipe a smear of sauce from her chin. "Mucky pup."

She watched him, a proud gleam in her eyes. "Yes, look at you now. All grown up and still as boyish as ever." She giggled and lifted her chin to be wiped. "Mucky pup? You praise me and insult me in the same breath. A strange one, you are." Dipping her finger into the remnants of the beef stew on her plate, she reached up and smudged the tip of his chin with it. "There, now we are a matching set of mucky pups." She giggled softly and lay her head upon his shoulder. "I think you're the best Christmas present ever, Mat. Thank you for helping me smile this year."

"Hey!" He scrubbed at his face with the napkin, wrapped his arms around her, and fell backwards, dragging her on top of him. "I'm going to keep you smiling all damn year, if it kills me. You deserve a little laughter in your life." He cleared his throat, grinning wickedly up at her. "I feel a poem coming on. Sadie, Sadie ... you want my babies ... let's keep you giggling ... get a yes from that maybe."

She squeaked indignantly when they toppled over and when she finally got settled, grinned down at him. "Oh, I see how it is. All of this just to seduce me." She was beaming though, her eyes alight with mirth. Lowering her head, she kissed him tenderly. "Yes," whispered softly against his lips. Then she lifted up, her arms locking at the elbows and palms flat on the ground on either side of his head.

"Whoah ... yes?" Mat blinked, utterly astonished as he stared up at her. "Yes to what? What was I asking?" His hands smoothed down her back warmly as his lips played against hers for a moment. "You want a baby? With me? Oh god ... the thought of me breeding is just wrong."

He looked into her eyes. "You're not going to be the same person," he told her gently. "That's what life is ... everything you go through, everything that happens, it changes you. And that's a good thing, Sadie. But I don't want to pin you down while you're trying to find out who you are now. So lets just see if we can grow together, or apart. Okay?"

"I prefer together." She smiled with a soft sigh. Patting his cheek, she leaned to kiss him softly. "Ok, dinner was divine. So what's for dessert?" Her hands had returned to playing with her fork and knife. She bit her lip, as if contemplating something.

Smiling, he kissed the end of her nose. "Close your eyes." He gently settled her on a cushion, and rose, collecting and armful of plates and dishes to put out in the kitchen. A few moments later, and he came back out, laying three dishes on the table - caramel ice-cream, profiteroles with hazelnut sauce, and cinnamon rolls just for Sadie. And laying atop one of the rolls was a beautiful silver and crystal snowflake on a thin chain. Mat knelt behind Sadie, murmuring into her ear. "Open them."

Sadie stiffened her spine, squared her shoulders and bowed her head as her eyes closed. "What are you doing?" she laughed and her hands clasped her ankles. There was a soft giggle of anticipation and a shiver went through her like a live wire. She could hear him clearing the table, and then returning. The unmistakable aroma of the cinnamon rolls had her gasping softly. When her eyes opened, they widened as her hands went to her mouth. "Oh, Mat." Her brows raised up impossibly high. Her voice no more than a soft squeak. She reached then, with a trembling hand, for the crystalline snowflake. "It's beautiful." she whispered, reverently. With a sudden wry smile, she brought the snowflake to her mouth and licked the icing from the bottom most point, where it had sat on the cinnamon roll. She smiled then, a bit more brightly and shoulders were brought up in a guilty sort of way; as if shed' been caught red handed with her hand in the candy jar.

He smiled, watching her face as she opened her eyes and beheld his hard work. His lips touched her ear warmly. "Merry Christmas, Sadie." Arms around her, he reached for a roll and broke a piece off, putting it to her mouth. "From Rosie, via Dirk, to you."

She was touched, moved beyond words. Her mouth opened and she took the offered bite. Sadie's eyes closed and the final dam burst. As she sagged back against him, her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Her hands clung to Mat as if her life depended upon it. Thoughts whirled through her mind, memories, some fresh, some old. Laughter mixed with tears as her mind relentlessly pounded adrenaline and dopamine through her system. Her heart trip hammered in her chest and she felt like she couldn't breath. Her fingers curled and grasped Mat's arms tightly before suddenly releasing. Her body slumped further and she lay still. Sadie, for the first time in her life, had fainted.

Mat turned her gently in his arms, letting her cling on as she cried. He held her silently, rocking tenderly back and forth, his hand stroking her hair as he kept her against him. This was what he had been waiting for; this was what she needed to do before she could properly let go of that part of her life. He'd done it himself, though it had taken some three years after his family's death to release those cathartic tears. And though it may have seemed cruel, he had done this tonight on purpose. As she went limp in his arms, Mat rose, lifting Sadie easily, and moved over to the couch, laying her down with a cushion beneath her head, pulling a light throw over her. His fingertips lingered against her cheek for a moment before he turned away, moving to tidy up their unfinished meal. The Doo-Dee could wait until another day - Sadie's grieving had finally begun.

Sadie rested quietly and comfortably on the couch. As the hours creeped by, she slept dreamlessly. Her face had relaxed into the sleepy lines of one that was finally, truly resting after years of frightening nightmares. She turned on her side, a fist curled under her chin; clasping the soft coverlet to her cheek. Slowly, she stirred and stretched. Her eyes fluttered open and then closed again as she smiled. A peacefulness shone in her face, one that hadn't been there before. She didn't rise, or even move; save for the fluttering of eyelids. Safe, in the coccoon of the coverlet, she stubbornly fought the rising alertness of her ears and nose. She wanted to sleep, her body having other thoughts, all together.

"I've been called little before, but I'm not sure that's exactly what you mean by not wishing for the big stuff," she teased and snuggled her way closer, if that were possible. Her hands joined his as the coverlet was pulled up to her chin. "You're a man of opportunity then. It knocks and you open the door, invite it in to tea and crumpets, feed it a good meal and bed it." Her eyes teased, dancing as she looked up at him.

"Hey, hey, hey, I don't bed everything that comes my way!" he protested, poking at her side as he sought out a ticklish spot. "And you didn't knock, I had to lay siege and break the battering ram out, so you don't count. I earned you." His grin was just this side of smug.

She squirmed and swat at his tickling hand. "Earned me?" Her brows shot up and she sat up a bit. "Well, I'll give you that. You worked awfully hard, for such a small payout." She turned her face so that it was hidden in the shadow, and slumped back against him once again. She was sure he could feel the silent giggle that resonated through her body. "You sure somebody didn't pay you to gain my affections? I know Dirk has told me I need to get laid before."

He could feel her body tensing and shuddering as she held in that laugh, squeezing her about the waist. "I thought you were paying me," he grinned against her ear. "All those free meals in return for a little loving." His hand slid beneath the blanket to cup and squeeze her breast as his tongue flicked out to trace her earlobe.

"Oh, yeah." She grinned and lifted her head to lay against his broad shoulder. Her body tensed slightly as he reached for her breast, but then she relaxed against him. He had said it. He had earned the right to touch her as he saw fit. She was his girl, no doubt about it. Sadie smiled with a soft sigh as the realization hit her. "Your girl." She murmured softly.

There was no way Mat hadn't felt her tense, gently moving his hand away from her breast. She wasn't ready yet. It was no problem - well, not a huge problem, it just meant a few more weeks of fantasies before he got to the real thing. And he was more than prepared to wait for her to come to him. She was worth it. He smiled, hearing her murmured words. "As long as you want to be."

Her hand found his under the coverlet and she raised it to her breast, once again. She gave a gentle squeeze as she pressed his hand to her flesh. "Touch me, Mat." She whispered, nearly begging. Her head turned and she found solace in the suckling of his earlobe. "Touch me. Make me your girl."

Aw, man, she was good at that. Mat groaned, moving his head away from her lips with extreme reluctance. "Sadie, stop." He shifted, moving her around to look into her eyes. "Tell me why you want this."

When she was turned, her mouth was formed in that of a small frown. Her hands were clasped in front of her now, in her lap. "You've done so much for me." She whispered and refused to meet his eyes. "And I want to do something for you. Give you something that you want." Her mouth curved then, into a smile. "And something that I want, too. It's been so long, Mat. And I've never gone all the way. I wanted to give that to you for Christmas."

He closed his eyes, wishing that for once in his life he could be wrong about something. But she wasn't ready, and her answer proved it. Regardless of the pain in his groin, he had to find the words to let her down gently, words that would keep her around. His hand curled against her cheek. "Sadie ..." he murmured tenderly, smiling with such warmth at her. "Beautiful, sexy Sadie ... you're not ready. I'd hate to rush you into this and have you wind up hating me for it. What I've done, it wasn't for any reward or get in your panties; it was for you, because you needed it. And yes, I want you - God knows, I want you so much - but when it happens, it's going to be for the right reasons." He kissed her tenderly. "Don't hate me for keeping it slow, beautiful."

Grinding his teeth, ashamed of himself for what he had said, Mat prowled over to the door and wrestled it open, letting in the freezing chill of the wind. Outside on the street, a cab honked, ready to pick her up, and he felt a jolt at the realisation that he could very well have just destroyed everything with his reactionary temper. But he didn't have words to make it better. He grasped her parka and pulled her to him, catching her lips in a kiss that was nothing short of brutal, trying to put as much of what he felt into that kiss as was humanly possible.

Her eyes were averted when he'd come to open the door for her. She was about to spit out a sarcastic remark when she felt his hands upon her. She was jerked and she cried out in surprise. The cry died on her lips as his mouth was upon hers. Her arms flailed; a reaction to the instant heat and brutality of the kiss. Her body molded to his and her flailing arms relaxed visibly as the wound their way around his neck. Her back arched as her chin pointed upwards to fully receive the kiss. Outside the cabbie honked his horn, once again.

He drew back abruptly, breathless as he looked down at her. The faint anger was still in his eyes, but it was more than matched by the affection and warmth that coloured his gaze to her. "Try again tomorrow?" he asked softly.

Her lips were swollen and slightly bruised as the kiss ended. She looked up, childlike and pouting. "Can't I please stay?" She clung to his chest, fingers curling his shirt front into her balled fists. "I can't go back there now, not all alone, not tonight. Please, don't make me go."

He stared down at her, torn between the desire to have her stay, and the anger that needed her to go before he said something they would both regret. The cab honked, and Mat growled, giving the driver the finger. He ushered Sadie inside, and ran at the door, slamming it shut. "You can stay. Just ... no more, alright? I don't want you to feel my temper."

She searched his face and sighed with relief when the decision had been made. She turned and immediately removed her parka, hanging it back up as Mat flipped the bird and slammed the door shut. "I can handle your temper." She said quietly as she moved into the living room. "It's your silence that's going to be the death of me."

He stood there in the doorway, grinding his teeth, trying to decide what to do. "Okay. Excuse me for a while." He made his way towards the back door, ignoring his coat, and walked out into the garden behind the little cottage. And from the snowy darkness came the sounds of a metal blade slamming hard against wood, over and over again.

She blinked, startled by the sudden excusal. Walking behind him, she gazed out into the garden and frowned. "What are you doing, Mat?" Her head was rested against the doorjam, just above her hand. "You'll catch your death out there in the cold. Please, come inside."

If she peered hard enough, she would just make out Mat in his shirt sleeves, an axe in his hands, cutting huge chunks out of a fallen tree that bore the scars of other such tantrums. Either by purpose or accident, he ignored her call to him, his face creased in a fierce scowl as he took out the fury of his temper on the wood.

"Rome wasn't built in a day." She scoot out from under him and slowly rose to her feet. She reached out both hands and took his. "Come on then, upsy daisy!" She tugged his arms, intending to pull him up.

"Didn't know the Romans built with their heads," he groaned, pushing himself to sit up before attempting to stand. Which he did, even if he did stagger a bit when he was finally up. His arm loped warmly around her shoulders the moment he righted himself, and he absently kissed her temple. "Mat. Bed. Now."

"Mat, bed now. Agreed." She nodded and took the hand that lay on her shoulder with her own. She shifted her weight to help accomodate Mat's extra poundage and started for the bedroom. "I'm sorry, Mat." she spoke quietly as they walked into the bedroom. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I'm playing games."

"I know." He leaned only lightly on her, supporting himself with one hand on the wall as his head throbbed. "Aw, man, this is so not what I had in mind for tonight." He grinned down at her, squeezing his arm about her shoulders lightly. "Sure, we're going to bed, but I think I'm just gonna pass out instead of giving you that baby you're so set on."

"I'm not set on a baby just yet." she laughed, the sparkle back in her eyes. "Come on you, into the bed." She hipchecked him and let go, now if he had the coordination to simply fall onto the bed, she was a tiny bit skeptical. "Let me get your shoes." Going to her knees beside the bed, she reached for his feet. "They don't stink, do they?"

He had the direction right, just not the actual co-ordination. With a low 'whoah!', he pitched forward and landed face-first on the bed, only actually bending in the middle once he'd landed. His reply to her query about his feet was muffled in the quilt. "Only if you sniff them."

"I'll bear that in mind." she laughed softly, he truly was a goofball. But it was that goofiness that attracted her. Well, that and his firm backside and quick smile and... Sadie shook her head with a grin. She could just go on, couldn't she? Picking one foot up, she bent his knee and set about taking off his boot. "Oh dear." she blinked rapidly and sat back on her heels.

"What?" He turned his head, blinking up at her as his toes wiggled. "That's not my feet. You must have let one slip when you bent down." He grinned, twisting around to sit up and tug her down on the bed next to him, nuzzling into her hair. "I love your little lady-farts."

"Oh, no. It's.." but she got no further when she was pulled up and onto the bed. "But Matt, I haven't ever done that in front of you." she had turned bright pink at the thought of passing gas in front of him. "It's just that.." she shook her head and laughed. "Yeah, ok, so that was it."

"Shoes off," he ordered, snickering against her hair as he leaned down to pull his remaining boot off. With surprising precision - although, given that he lived here, it really shouldn't have been all that suprising - he threw his boot at the light switch, flicking it off, and manhandled Sadie under the covers with him.

While he was busy pulling his boot off, she quickly kicked out of her slippers. A few squeals of laughter later, she was tucked neatly to Mat's side. Her head lay in the hollow of his shoulder, her hand on his chest. "So, uh, now what?"

The question seemed to perplex Mat for a long moment, leaving him frowning into the darkness as he thought quite seriously about his answer before shrugging. "I'd offer to ravish you, but I think I'm more likely to burst your eardrums with snores," he pointed out, his smile audible in his voice. "If you want, I can squeeze your boob. Or you could fart at me some more."

She turned and smacked his arm. "I did not fart. That was your feet. Limburger, if I'm guessing right." Shaking her head, she pulled the quilt up to her chin, hands remained tightly grasped on the quilt's edge. Laying shoulder to shoudler with him now, her head on her own pillow, she stared into the darkness. "I really didn't fart."

Mat chuckled, curling his arm under her and pulling her over to rest against him. "I'm not going to bite you, Sadie," he murmured, kissing her temple. "Just, you know ... we'll just have to delay me ripping your clothes off until the elephants finish their rumba practise in my head."

She was pliable in his hands, but when he spoke of the pain in his head, she lifted onto one elbow to look down at him. The moonlight shown against his features, darkening his eyes and hair to pitch while the rest seemed to glow pale blue-white. "Is it really bad? Should I get you something?"

"No, I don't want you to go away again." Perhaps he sounded a little childish as his arms tightened on her, but their argument had left an indelible mark on him tonight. He could suffer a little headache if it would keep her closeby.

"Okay, shhh.." she lay back down, a gentle kiss to the goose egg on the side of his head. "It's alright, Mat. I'm not going anywhere." And she knew that it was true. She could no more leave him than to cut off her own right arm.

He blinked slowly, finding it hard now to keep his eyes open as his vision swam a bit. His arms did not loosen around her until she was settled beside him again, drawing her head to tuck under his chin as he cuddled her in his embrace. A thought occurred to him as he lay there, close to drifting off. "Sadie? How do you like your coffee?"

"Coffee?" She moved her eyes only, not daring to move another muscle that might cause him discomfort. "I like it with a bit of cream, one or two spoons of sugar." Her eyes closed and she sighed softly. "Why?"

He smiled to himself, blowing a lock of her hair out of his mouth. "Just so I know how to wake you up in the morning," he mumbled, and drew in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her to send him off to sweet dreams.

"Mmhmm." the corners of her mouth smoothly moved into a graceful, happy curve. "Good night, Mat." She whispered it so softly, she wasn't even aware she'd spoke it out loud. Her own eyelids felt heavy and drooped closed.