It's just you make me so crazy... I can't help it." Riley felt like her face was on fire as she blushed fiercely.

Sam's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what Riley was talking about.

Then it hit her, their lovemaking that morning. Or rather Riley making love to her.

Her mind flashed back to Riley on top of her thrusting deep inside. She felt an

immediate jolt of arousal. Her voice was deep and desire ridden when she

spoke.

"Don't worry Babe, I liked it." Sam's eyes widened in shock at her own

words. Whoa, shit where did that come from? She thought in panic. Oh, you

know it's true. Sam's little voice piped up.

Riley was shocked not only by Sam's words but by the rapidly spreading blush

covering her face.

Her mind was playing back the images from that morning. All the discomfort and

embarrassment she'd felt when she first got in the car were gone.

"Really?" Riley husked in a sultry tone.

Sam felt her ears go hot. The sound of Riley's voice and the images from that

morning were doing strange things to her. She glanced over and swallowed hard

at the expression on Riley's face.

"Yeah." Sam managed to squeak out.

Riley leaned over the console. "Maybe you should take me home and we can

talk about this further." She purred in Sam's ear as her hand massaged Sam's

thigh.

Sam wasn't so sure she could drive. The pulse pounding between her legs was

totally distracting. When Riley's hand slid higher up her thigh Sam placed her

hand on top stopping her from going higher. She had to clear her throat twice

before she managed to speak.

"Babe if you keep touching me like that we'll never make it out of this parking

lot."

Riley stuck her lip out in a pout but removed her hand from Sam's thigh. Sam

breathed a sigh of relief and headed for Riley's apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neither woman spoke as Sam made her way to the freeway entrance. Once she

was on the freeway and had calmed down a little she glanced over at Riley. A

soft smile lit her face; Riley was sound asleep. Poor thing must be

exhausted. Sam drove in silence not willing to risk waking Riley. She pulled into

the visitor parking lot and shut off the car.

"Riley..." Sam called softly. "We're here." Riley never moved or showed any signs of waking. Sam reached out gently shaking her shoulder. Riley instantly

jerked awake then looked around in confusion. Her face flushed in

embarrassment when she realized she'd fallen asleep.

"Sorry about that," she said sheepishly.

Sam reached out and ran a gently hand up Riley's arm. "Don't worry about it,

you must be exhausted. When was the last time you ate?"

At the mention of food Riley's stomach growled loudly. "Umm I'm not sure."

"Damn it Riley!" Riley jumped at Sam's angry tone. "You've got to take better care of yourself."

Riley looked down at her lap and Sam immediately felt bad for her outburst.

"I'm sorry, I just worry about you."

Riley smiled sweetly at Sam then leaned over to kiss her. "Thank you." She

whispered as she pulled back.

Sam reached into the backseat and flipped open a Styrofoam container that

Riley hadn't noticed. She pulled out a large bag and handed it to Riley. Riley

opened the bag and the odors coming from the bag caused her stomach to

growl loudly.

"I figured you hadn't stopped to eat so I picked up some Chinese earlier. I hope

that's alright?"

"It's wonderful, come on let's get inside so we can eat." Riley said eagerly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was little conversation as Riley dug into the Chinese food. By the time she

was finished Sam could see she was struggling to stay awake.

"I should get going and let you get some rest."

Riley's head jerked up and she looked panicked for a moment. "Please don't go.

I'd really like you to stay."

Sam wasn't sure that was very good idea considering what had happened the

last time they'd shared a bed. They still had a lot to talk about.

Riley saw the doubt flash across Sam's face. "Please, I really don't want to be

alone." She pleaded softly.

Sam sighed; there was no way she could refuse her. "Sure, I'll stay. What time

do you have to be in?"

Riley flashed Sam a brilliant smile. "I'm back on at 7am."

Sam glanced at her watch it was just after midnight. "Jesus Riley, don't you ever

get a break?"

"I'm off on Sunday. I actually could cut my schedule back some... but I've never

had a reason to," She gazed at Sam, her eyes warm and inviting, " 'til now that

is."

Sam lost herself in Riley's violet eyes. The two women sat staring into each

other's eyes. Riley finally broke their trance when she yawned widely.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," Sam said. Riley's eyes sparked. "To sleep

Riley... you need to rest."

Riley stuck out her lip in a pout but obediently followed Sam upstairs.

Sam removed her clothes and donned the tee shirt from the previous night. Riley

came out of the bathroom in her tee shirt and boxers and settled in bed. Sam

finished getting ready for bed then joined her.

Sam settled on her back as Riley turned out the light. Riley glanced over at Sam

and she opened her arms in invitation. Riley settled into Sam's arms with a sigh

and immediately fell asleep. Sam leaned down kissing the top of Riley's head

before drifting off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam woke early it was still dark outside. She glanced at the clock; it was just

after 5am. Riley was snuggled up against her side with her head resting on her

shoulder and her arm thrown over her waist. Sam smiled and closed her eyes

enjoying the feel of Riley in her arms. She drifted back to sleep and was

awakened the second time by the blaring of Riley's alarm. Riley groaned rolling

over to shut off the offending sound. She rolled back over to face Sam smiling at

her.

"Good Morning." She said before leaning in to kiss Sam's lips. The kiss was

warm, gentle, and loving. Riley couldn't help thinking how nice it would be to

wake up every morning with Sam in her bed.

Sam returned the sweet kiss with one of her own and hugged Riley.

"Good Morning to you. Sleep well?"

Riley rolled onto her back and stretched her arms above her head. Her back

arched causing the tee shirt to pull tight across her breasts. She made a sound

like a contented cat. Sam's eyes were immediately drawn to the display.

"I slept great." The alarm rang again interrupting. Riley shut it off before turning back to Sam. "I'm sorry I have to get ready for work."

"I know," Sam said with a sigh. "Go ahead and I'll go make us some coffee."

Riley headed for the shower, smiling happily. Sam headed for the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam searched Riley kitchen for the coffeemaker, finally finding it under one of

the counters. She got the coffee brewing and hurried back upstairs to get

dressed. She was waiting for Riley with a cup of coffee already brewed when

she came down the stairs.

She handed the cup to Riley. "I was going to make us some breakfast but you

don't have any food in the house."

Riley blushed. "Yeah, I really need to get to the grocery store. It's just last week

was so crazy and I wasn't here all week, then all this with my uncle."

"Tell you what. How about I drop you off at work then pick you up some

groceries?" Sam offered.

"Oh Sam I can't let you do that. I'll grab something at the hospital."

"You're not letting me do anything, I'm volunteering. Besides if I'm gonna be

staying at night I need more than a cup of coffee in the morning." Sam blushed

when she realized what she'd just said.

Riley grinned. "So you're going to be staying the nights huh?"

Sam took a sudden interest in the tops of her shoes. "Only if you want me to."

"Oh Honey of course I want you to. I know we still need to talk but I really like

waking up with you." Riley told her honestly.

"Me too." Sam said shyly.

Riley couldn't help but smile at the transformation. One minute she'd been

standing across from a very confident, butch Sam and the next a sweet gentle

woman with a shy uncertain smile. It was endearing to say the least.

Riley opened a kitchen drawer and started rummaging through it. She pushed

the drawer shut and turned to Sam offering her the object in her hand. Sam

stared in surprise at the key ring in Riley's hand. She hesitated then reached out

to take them.

"I'll give them back when I pick you up tonight." Sam assured her.

"Naw... just hang on to them." Riley said smiling.

Sam swallowed heavily past the lump in her throat. "Are you sure about this?"

She asked nervously. No one had ever given her their keys before.

Riley grinned at Sam's nervousness. She reached out closing Sam's hand

around the keys. "Yes, I'm sure."

Riley looked at the clock. "Shit, I have to go. I'll call you tonight when I get

home."

"You'll call me tonight when you're ready to come home. Come on... I'm driving."

"But Sam, you don't need to do..." Riley's voice trailed off; Sam wasn't in the

kitchen any more. She heard the front door open and hurried to catch up with

Sam.

Sam dropped Riley off at the entrance to the ER before hurrying to what she

hoped would be her last therapy appointment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam sat in her living room as the late, late show played on the TV. She had

gone to bed earlier but hadn't been able to sleep. Her thoughts raced. It was

Friday and the first time all week she'd slept in her own bed. She jumped up to

pace restlessly. This isn't good. What's the matter with me? I always slept just

fine without a woman in my bed. Hell I slept better without someone else in the

bed. It's just being back at my own place after spending the week at Riley's. I

just got used to her bed... yeah, that's it. She tried to convince herself. Riley was on in-house call at the hospital tonight which was why Sam was at home trying

to sleep in her own bed. She curled up on the couch with a blanket and finally

managed to dose off .

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley stared up at the ceiling of the on-call room. It was after midnight and she

was exhausted. She had tossed and turned for the last hour trying to fall asleep.

"This is ridiculous." She groused pulling one of the pillows out from under her

head and wrapping her arms around it. Sam had spent every night that week in

her bed. It'd been one of the happiest weeks Riley ever had. Sam had picked

her up every night when she'd finished at work and always had food in the back

of her car to take to the condo. They had shared a quiet dinner every night then

Sam would hold her until she fell asleep. Riley would wake in the morning still

securely wrapped in Sam's arms. They would have breakfast together and Sam

would take her to work. She lay there for quite awhile replaying the events of the

last week in her head. She was surprised they'd managed to share a bed for a

week and not make love again. She sighed knowing that was her fault, she had

worked from 7am until after 10 pm every day this week. By the time Sam took

her home, she was too exhausted to do anything but sleep. She tried to clear

her mind of all whirling thoughts finally giving up, she growled in frustration. I do

not need Sam to sleep. I slept just fine before she came along. I'm just over

tired...Yeah that's it; I'm just over tired. She was almost relieved when her pager went off a few minutes later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley had completed her morning rounds and was finally free. She paced up and