Josh felt Madison moving next to him. He opened his eyes to see her getting out of bed. She wobbled as she stood up.

                "Where are you going?" He asked sternly. "You. Back in bed. Now."

                "I need to use the bathroom. Besides I feel fine." She faintly smiled as she turned to walk to the bathroom. 

                Stubborn. So stubborn. Josh thought to himself as he shook his head. Before his head hit the pillow, he heard a crash in the bathroom. He jumped out of bed and ran towards the bathroom finding her leaned up against the bathroom counter surrounded by shattered glass.

                "I'm so clumsy. I dropped my glass. I can't believe...." Josh flew beside her in time to stop her fall. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Returning to the bathroom he found a thermometer. He took her temperature and found it was getting dangerously high.

                "Madison, let's take off your clothes." He stated as he began to remove the layers.

                "This is going to be fun." Madison giggled. She was starting to get delirious. Josh quietly laughed as he removed the last layer of clothing. She lay there completely naked and it was getting difficult to control himself. Focus. Need to cool her off. He went into the bathroom to get a basin of cold water and a washcloth. He gently ran the cold washcloth on her body. "I love you, Josh."

                He stopped for a second wondering if it was her or the fever talking. I'm going to take it as her talking.  

                A few hours passed before she was down to a normal temperature. He watched her as she slept. He took in every inch of her wanting so much to touch her intimately. He wanted to bring her pleasure but he knew it wasn't the right time. He had to wait for her to make the move. He was willing to wait forever.  What happened? He asked himself as he replayed their relationship in his head.

                They met through a mutual friend at a dinner. Josh was seated next to her at the table and from the moment she smiled at him introducing herself to him, Josh was hooked. There was something special about her. They spent the whole night talking then the next day and the next day. He couldn't get enough of her. Four years passed when she told him she was pregnant. He was happy but scared. Was he ready for this? He started pushing her away by making excuses to not go to appointments with her, not answering her phone calls, and staying out late for "work." He was really seeing other women. When she was six months along, she went into labor. The baby didn't survive. She tried to call him but he didn't answer as he was with someone else that night. Lance drove her to the hospital. Lance drove her from the hospital. She packed up her belongings and moved back to Missouri. He returned home to emptiness not only in the home but his heart. He began seeing someone else in an attempt to fill the void but to no avail. He finally broke down and asked if Lance had heard from Madison. Lance hesitated but he finally broke down and gave Josh her address. He drove to Missouri and found her house. He made numerous trips to her house but only drove by having only glimpses of her from the windows. A year passed and he finally worked up enough nerve to face her. He couldn't let her slip away forever. 

                He moved closer to Madison and gently kissed her face. She looked so peaceful. He ran his hand down to the scar on her abdomen and thought about their baby. He reached into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. Taking out the picture of the last ultrasound, he sighed. She left it on the refrigerator when she left. He spent hours staring at it wondering how things would have been if he stayed and been more supportive.

                "You kept it?" Madison asked with tears in her eyes.

                "Yes." He answered as he continued to stare at the ultrasound. "I wish things were different."

                "Well, I'm hungry." Madison stated as she rolled out bed to shower. Josh knew she wanted to avoid talking about the loss. Lance told him that it was really difficult for a few months. He worried about her health as she was not taking care of herself. Lance would stay with Madison for a while to help her. Six months ago, Lance called Josh saying she was in the hospital. Madison didn't know but Josh went to the hospital a few times. Lance would text him to let him know she was sleeping then he would leave before she woke up. I should have let her know I was there. No, it's better she doesn't know.

                Madison stepped into the room wrapped in a towel. Josh watched her intently as he tried to catch his breath. So beautiful. So inviting. Before he could think about his actions, he was standing in front of her taking the towel off and pulling her to him. He passionately kissed her as he led her to the bed laying her back as he worked on taking his clothes off. Madison drank him in before he was on top of her showering her body with kisses. Madison softly moaned as he entered her slowly. Their two bodies intertwined in ecstasy.

                "I've dreamt of this moment." Josh seductively said to Madison staring into her eyes. She let out another moan.

                "Now, Josh." She whispered as the two climaxed together. He kissed her before he exhaustedly laid his body down on her. She lay with her arms wrapped around him breathing heavily. "I love you." She whispered into his ear.

                "I love you, too. Let's get married."  He suggested as he looked down at her. "I don't want anyone else. I want to experience everything with you. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want to spoil our grandchildren together. I want you to be my wife."

                "Wow. So much for taking things slow." Madison laughed nervously. Now she was the one unsure of making such a commitment. "How about we revisit this later. Much later. I don't want this to be out of passion. I want this to be real."

                "It is real." He confirmed as his arms tightened around her. "But I will wait until you are ready. All you have to do is tell me."

                "Deal. You are wonderful. It makes it hard to stay mad at you." She kissed him. "Now can we get something to eat?"

                Josh laughed before getting up and helping her off the bed.

                "Where to?" He asked as he got dressed. "Oh. I have no shoes."

                "Right. Um, I have some you can wear." She ran to the closet.

                "I don't think..." He grinned as he followed her. She handed him a pair of shoes.

                "I accidentally took them when I left." She noticed the questions on his face. "I didn't get rid of them because it made me feel as if you were still around. I missed you."

                Josh smiled as he slipped them on his feet. He then pulled her onto his lap.

                "I'm happy I had the courage to face you. I feel whole again." He thoughtfully told her. "I don't want this to ever end again."

                Madison smiled before getting up and taking his hand.

                "I need to eat. Ready?" He nodded in understanding as he followed behind her. She was the scared one now and he had to be careful or she will be the one running from him.