David put his arm around Riley's shoulders and leaned over to press his face into her hair. Even after what had clearly been a long, rough day, she smelled good enough to eat. Riley heaved a great sigh, incredibly grateful for his strong presence next to her. She laid her head against his shoulder and fell silent as they continued to walk.? They left behind the Inn and the Marketplace and were now crossing the bridge into the Central District.? Only a few blocks 'til home.

He glanced down at her, then looked out over the water. "I stopped into the Cafe this morning," he said.

"Did you?"? She paused at the apex of the bridge and turned them so they were facing the water.? The waning moon and the waxing moon behind it spilled light across the surface of the river like diamonds on a jewelers cloth.? "To see Danny?? Or to grab lunch?"

He nodded, leaning up against the railing when the stopped. "Both." He looked up at the sky, then back at the water. The two moons still weirded him out a bit.

She smiled.? "Did you talk to him or was he too busy?? And what did you eat?"

"Sure, we talked. I ate some kind of chicken. It was good."

She tilted her head up from its perch on his shoulder to look at him.? "Talking to you is like trying to squeeze blood out a f*cking turnip."? A touch of irritation flared in her eyes and she looked away, returning her gaze to the water.

"I'm sorry," he said, reaching up to cup her chin gently and turn her face back to his. "I've gotten used to not saying much. It'll take time to break that."

She let him turn her face back to his, caramel meeting dark chocolate.? "I'm sorry," she said quietly.? "I'm just...I've left the job but I can't get away from it."

"I know." He glanced around again, saw that the bridge was deserted other than the two of them, and leaned closer, pressing his lips to hers. He understood exactly how she felt. She kissed him softly, almost hesitantly, only a ghost of the previous passion in the gesture.? She was all rounded corners and soft lines tonight; there was nothing of the sharp angles that normally comprised the Cat.

He pulled back a little and looked at her. "What is it?"

She frowned softly, her eyes slowly opening as his face swam into focus.? "What is what?"

"Felt like you didn't want it, " he explained.

She laughed softly and shook her head.? "No, far from the truth.? I want it too much."? And to prove it to him, she cupped his face with her free hand and kissed him, lips and teeth and tongue exploring his mouth. He made a soft sound of pleasure, and his tongue darted out to meet hers, then retreat playfully. His fingers slid up into her hair, holding her head against him. She pulled away with a growl, her hand sliding down his arm to twine with his fingers.? She gave him a gentle tug.? "Let's go home."

Sounded good to him. He nodded and set off across the bridge again. Soon, the Gardens building was within sight. Riley slowed her steps a bit.? "Should we go see if Danny's up?"

"Do you want to?"

A faint frown crossed her face.? "It's okay to be selfish sometimes, David."

"It's in my best interests to keep you happy," he said seriously. "I am being selfish."

She chewed her lip for a moment and then continued walking into the building.? She moved up the stairs and headed into 2A, leaving the door open for David to follow. He stopped on the threshold and sighed. There were reasons he didn't talk much, and this was one of them. It was easier not to piss people off if he kept his mouth shut.

There was a note on the kitchen counter, stuck to a single orange rose in a frosted-glass bud vase.? She read the note and one half of her mouth curled in a bemused smile when she got to the PS.? She glanced up at David, a brow raised.? "He says to thank you for the match.? What's that about?? Also, scotch or a beer or something else?"

He finally came into the loft. Clearly she wasn't that pissed. He let a little grin show. "When we were talking, I asked him if he was as strong as you. He said stronger. So we arm-wrestled. If I have scotch, I'll be tipsy," he finished, not really saying he didn't want more.

She grinned and found two clean glasses in the drying rack next to the sink.? She poured some scotch into both glasses and handed him his.? "Who won?"? She took her drink out into the living area and settled down on the couch, curling up and sweeping her legs beneath her.

He accepted the scotch and took another sip, following her to the couch before answering. "I did," he said quietly, thinking for a moment about the conversation with Jin a month ago, wondering if the Deputy Minister could become as strong as Daniel, or even Riley. If he couldn't, then it couldn't have been something like him who was the attacking clone-thing.

He looked down at her, lying there, and smiled, moving his hand over to stroke her hair. A little thrill ran through his body, as it did almost every time he looked at her. He didn't know how it was that she had such an effect on him, but he sure liked it. He shook himself out of his reverie, and started his story. "Two years ago, I was just your average guy. A pretty good cop. Nothing special, though. Maybe looking at a Shield in the next year or two. I had a girlfriend, was thinking about popping the question, maybe, if I made Detective. We lived in a decent apartment. Had a dog. Normal, you know?" She nodded slowly, a tiny part of her aching in an unavoidable way.? She'd never had a chance at that.

"I was pretty happy, I think. Then, things started to change. Really small, at first. Just felt a little lighter on my feet. The most complex bagua moves seemed a little easier." He smirked a bit. "Took a little less effort to open a jar of pickles. I figured it was just my body hitting its stride, you know? Almost thirty years of daily training. I didn't smoke, didn't drink much, etc, etc." She nodded again, reaching up over her head to stroke his chest gently, just the tips of her fingers touching him.

He shivered again, stuttered for a second. "Bu..but it didn't stop. It wasn't like a constant thing. Just, some days I would wake up feeling better than the day before. Everything got easier, and better. My training, my exercise, my job. Even my sex life. It was great, at first. Only it kept happening. After a few months, people started noticing. Like in the gym. I was always in good shape; had to be for the job. But now, when I used to bench 220, I was pushing 300 with the same effort."

Her brows rose at this and she looked up at him.? "What happened?" she asked when she could no longer stand not knowing.? It had already been established that he wasn't a Lycan.

"I don't know. That's part of the problem. My Captain got suspicious and had me tested for drugs after I chased a perp on a bike for more than a mile, and kicked his ass when I caught him. I came up clean, so he had nothing to do but commend me."

She chuckled at that.? "How long did it last?? Or is it still happening?"

"Calm down, I'm getting there," he said, grinning a bit. She looked properly chastised and nodded. He ran his fingers along her hairline, pressing lightly into her scalp as they slid through her hair. "My girlfriend noticed, too, of course. She got worried. Said 'People get older, Dave. They don't get stronger. They don't get faster all of a sudden.' I had no explanation, so I just sort of shrugged it off. It didn't stop, though. As the months passed, I got stronger and stronger. Faster and faster. Beyond what seemed possible. I had to go to the gym in the middle of the night because either the guys stared, or I had to fake it and not get any real exercise. Right around a year after it started, I went down and pushed a thousand pounds. I knew it wasn't possible, but there I was, holding up half a ton of iron."

She blinked and her eyes grew wide.? "I have a hard time doing that," she said softly.

He nodded. "Six months later, things changed again. The days when I woke up feeling stronger didn't happen as often, but when they did, it was a lot more than before. Like I could suddenly lift 500 pounds more than I could the day before. I had to think about every movement carefully, or risk breaking something. It was rough. I've never been that talkative. You've probably guessed that much. That was when I started really withdrawing, though."

She looked pained and grabbed one of his hands, bringing it to her mouth and kissing the back of it.? "I'm sorry," she whispered.? "It must have been horrible."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "I stopped touching my girlfriend," he said softly. "I was afraid of hurting her. I tried to explain, but how do you cope with something like that? I barely said ten words a day. My job performance fell to almost nil, because I couldn't grab a guy without crushing his bones to powder." She turned onto her side and then sat up so that she was facing him.? Leaning into him, she pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her close, then laid his head on her shoulder. "After one too many fights with her screaming and me sitting silent, she left, took the dog with her. That same evening, I called the station and quit. I was afraid to leave the house. What if I got so strong that I couldn't open a door, or get into a car without wrecking it. I sat in my apartment for weeks without leaving."

She kissed his temple softly, her hands moving softly over his back over and over.? "What happened?? You obviously left."

He sighed softly, relaxing against her. "One of those days I was just sitting there, and realized it had been an entire month without one of those days happening. It had never been more than two weeks before that. I started thinking maybe it was over. And it was. At least that part. I seemed to be at the peak of whatever happened. I don't even know what that peak is. I've never been able to test it for sure." She nodded, encouraging him to go on.

"Instead of getting better, though, it got worse. I started getting used to the changes, but then... I started having these horrible feelings, like someone was staring at me. Like something bad was waiting just out of sight, looking for the right time to strike. At first, I felt it a couple times a day. Then every hour or so. After a few days, I felt it all the time. My nerves were shot. I was on edge all the time."

She laughed.? "Yeah, they've got their fingers in crazy sh*t.? So...what happens if Bad David shows up here?? We need like a safe word or something."

"Sh*t, yeah.? I've been thinking about that a lot. He looks like me, even feels like me. When I fought him, it was like hitting myself, without the pain. I bet he sounds just like me, too. Probably even smells like me."

"We definitely need some sort of safe word.? For when you start acting all crazy and stuff.? How about...um...banana?"

"Banana?"

She grinned and laughed.? "I don't know.? We could be all cloak and dagger.? 'The cock crows at midnight,' Danny and I could say and the correct response could be 'The pearl is in the river'."

"You're a goofball," he said, grinning.

"You're just now figuring that out?"

"Nah, just reaffirming."

She giggled, like a goofy little girl.? Then she sobered and gave him a concerned look.? "Why do you think he wants to kill you so badly?"

"Hell, I wish I knew. Maybe he doesn't like anyone who looks like him."

She shook her head and then sighed deeply.? "I think this place attracts freaks and weirdos like honey attracts ants."

"That's for damn sure. Which one am I?"

"A freaky weirdo."? She gave him a little lopsided smile.

"Okay. I can work with that." He kissed her softly, gently peeling the dress from her body, revealing a matched set of shell pink underwear. He grinned at finding it; it was so unlike her to wear anything pink and he was surprised at the tiny touches of ultra-femininity with her. She was normally so hard, so unyielding. His clothes soon joined hers on the floor and they were spooned together on the couch, touching and kissing gently, exploring each other, taking their time.

Riley pulled away from him a little, looking into his eyes, something like uncertainty lurking in her face. "David..." she began in a soft voice.

"Yes?"

"What happened to your girlfriend?"

"After she left?" He shrugged slightly. "I don't know. She never came back. I called once, a week or two later, but she'd changed her number. I just sort of gave up, then."

She was silent for a long time, thinking this over.? "What if Daniel and I get married?" her voice was even softer than before and she reached for him, holding him tighter suddenly.

"I guess...you probably wouldn't want me around, then," he said slowly.

She shook her head and looked up at him.? "I...? I don't know if that's true."

"Well," he said, hesitating. He was a little at a loss for words.

She shook her head again and stepped back.? "I'm sorry.? I'm ruining the moment, aren't I?"

"The moment will come back, I can guarantee that," he said. "Getting this out is more important."

She pulled her legs against her chest, resting her chin on her bent knees.? "I don't know how to do this."? She glanced at him.

He sat down next to her, meeting her eyes. "Do what?"

"Have this kind of relationship.? I'm not sure what's right for me to feel.? I'm not sure if I'm just supposed to view you as a friend with benefits or if I'm allowed to ... fall... feel more than that."

"If it helps any, I'm as new to this as you are," he said, offering a small, wry smile. "What do you think Daniel would say?"

She cocked her head to the side, laying her cheek against her knees now.? "I think...? I think he'd remind us that I said I wanted us to be family...and a certain amount of feelings have to be had in order for us to be that close, right? And...? And I think that he'd be okay with that.? Us...having feelings for each other," she ventured.

"He'd probably point out it was completely natural for feelings to develop, or something," he said, nodding.