Just Friends?

Chapter Six
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"W-what?" Jeanne couldn't believe what she had just heard. Had Shawn just told her... he loved her? She must have misheard it. It couldn't be true. She gazed disbelievingly at her best friend of the past few years, wondering if this was all a cruel joke. Shawn's features were clenched in a fearsome grimace, and his eyes were looking fiercely into her face.

"I'm in love with you," he said, his voice clear and unwavering. Jeanne felt her damaged heart start to rise hopefully again, the rends mending slowly at the earnest admittance.

"But... why did you say all those things to me then?" she asked hesitantly, biting her lips, turning away from him to gaze out into the distance. Jeanne felt she couldn't face his burning, probing eyes... or she would give in to what her heart demanded of her. She needed his reassurance that this time, he wouldn't hurt her. She needed to hear him say the words again.

He sighed audibly. "I didn't know, Jeanne. I couldn't hear what my heart was trying to tell me when it should have been all so clear. I should have known all along that you're the only woman I'll ever love." Shawn said softly, pleading her silently to look at him again. Every time she turned from him, Shawn was afraid she would just walk away and leave him all alone.

"How can you love me?" she whispered, a tear falling from her dark eyes. He walked over, clasped his hands around her face like he had done so long ago, except this time his lips cascaded over the salty drop, then swept down to brush a kiss upon her upturned mouth.

"I think the correct question is, how could I not love you?" Shawn murmured against the side of her cheek, as he tightened his hold on her. He would never let her leave him... never again. As she hesitantly wrapped her arms around his waist, they both felt as though their world was right once more. Neither saw the jealousy flash through a pair of emerald eyes.

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Jeanne and Shawn returned to his apartment by cab. As they exited the car, they were struck by the easiness in which they shifted into their new positions to each other. Her hand slipped into his quite naturally, and he marveled at the warmth it spread through him. Shawn had never been one for overt physical contact, feeling that it limited his own movements and overall it was extremely awkward. Yet, having Jeanne's hand in his felt right and wonderful. He never wanted to let it loose from his grip, a sensation he had never experienced before with any other person. Smiling down at her, as she beamed back up at him, they didn't notice the happy sighs exhaled by the viewers in the lobby of his apartment.

She fussed over him, as she tucked him onto his couch and placed a lightweight Egyptian cotton throw on him, picking up pieces of trash and straightening books. "I can't believe how bad you look, Shawn," Jeanne teased him, although he didn't realize how much it made her ache to see how much weight he had lost in the space of days. He merely grinned at her.

"Now that you're here, I'll be better in no time," Shawn whispered, dragging her close to him and placing her on his lap. She squirmed against him, and they kissed briefly before Jeanne tore herself from him. He groaned in protest, but Jeanne looked sharply at him.

"I'm going to make you some chicken noodle soup and you are going to eat every bite of it, or else.."

"Or else what?" Shawn said huskily. "Are you going to have your wicked way with me in the shower?" She flushed, and stomped into the kitchen, feeling miles better at the sound of his laughter.

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When she had come back, the soup in a heavy blue and white striped bowl with some soft Italian bread on the side and a glass of cold water, Shawn was asleep. Jeanne set the tray of food on the freshly wiped table, as she knelt by his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful and young, with his straight blond lashes throwing crescent moon shadows against his cheeks, his expression free of stress, his lips slightly curled into a faint smile. She gently ran her fingers over the golden stubble that had formed over his face, then pressed a light kiss where her fingers had been.

At the touch, Shawn's eyelashes fluttered open, revealing his dream-filled blue eyes. "Well look at you," he slurred softly, a yawn escaping his lips.

"What?" she asked, self-consciously touching the mass of hair tied up into a messy bun.

"You look very wifely in that apron and with your face glowing from cooking," Shawn said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with his fist like a little boy. Ignoring his comment with a faint blush, Jeanne giggled at how cute he looked.

"Now eat, you look like death itself," she laughed, getting up to move.

He grumbled. "Well that's something every guy wants to hear." Picking up his spoon, Shawn dipped it into the delicious smelling soup. He inhaled the scent of it, then looked mischievously at Jeanne. "I think you should feed me."

She glared at him. "You are not an infant. You can eat by yourself."

"Please?" Shawn begged, his eyelashes fluttering innocently. She groaned then fell on the couch next to him, picking up the spoon, shoving it into the soup, and pushed it into his open mouth. He smiled when the spoon had been removed. "It tastes so much better when you feed me, Jeanne." At that comment, with the mixture of his blue eyes soft on her face and his hand grasping hers, Jeanne knew that she had fallen for him too.

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Author's Note: I'm kind of iffy on what to do next. But thank you for all your support, and I will probably update very soon.