The week went by quickly. Jade was busy packing up her house with Noah and Sophie and Marcus was busy with work. Jade hadn't seen Marcus all week, but he texted and rang her every day, mainly at night because of his busy work schedule.

He must have been busy with work because he fell asleep during their phone call the other night. They had been talking about a movie they were both watching on the tv when she heard soft snores coming through the speakerphone. She smiled to herself and hung up the phone before going to bed herself. Jade said that he could have stayed at her place that night, but Marcus didn't want to wake Jade up, when he got up at 3 in the morning because he knew she didn't get much sleep.

Their relationship had been much better this week. They were communicating with each other and Jade felt good about where they were. Jade had a few busy weeks coming up. Tomorrow was her move day and she was both nervous and excited. Marcus had taken a day off work to help with the move giving him an extended weekend. The following week she had her check-up at the hospital where she would get another brain scan to see if there was any improvement. The week after was her birthday. She didn't want to go out or do anything, so instead, she was going to have her family and friends over for lunch at her place for drinks and a barbeque.

Jade was packing up her last box when her doorbell rang. She frowned because she wasn't expecting anyone to be coming over. She put down the plates and went to the door. When she opened the door, she smiled when she saw Marcus standing there with a white plastic bag in his hands.

"I figured you haven't had dinner yet. So, I bought some Chinese." Marcus held up the bag and Jade smiled and let him inside. Most of her furniture had been collected today aside from her bed.

"I don't have a table, but we can have a picnic." She suggested, and Marcus smiled. Jade went into one of her boxes and pulled out some blankets and passed them to Marcus. She then wheeled herself into her bedroom and grabbed all the pillows off her bed and took them into her empty loungeroom, where Marcus had arranged the blankets on the floor to serve as a rug.

She threw the pillows at him and laughed when they hit him in the face. She saw that he had grabbed some plates and cutlery and had them laid out on the blankets.

"Do you need a hand?" Marcus asked, and Jade shook her head. She had spent the week working on how to transition her body. She still wasn't anywhere near perfect but, she was trying. Marcus sat and watched with a smile on his face as Jade pushed herself a little and tried to place herself on the floor.

It wasn't graceful or anywhere near perfect. She gave herself a small push and basically fell ass first onto the floor. Jade laughed when she landed on the floor in a pile of limbs and laughed as she starred up at her ceiling.

"That didn't go to plan." Marcus laughed with her and helped her up. Jade grabbed her legs and moved and bent them until she was sitting cross-legged.

"You're getting better." Marcus chuckled, and Jade laughed because while she was making some progress, she was nowhere near perfect.

"I'm getting there. It's still a struggle." Jade reached over to a container and put some soft-shell crab onto her plate.

"How was work?" Jade asked, and Marcus sighed. It had been a busy week, he had paperwork piling up and he had started to train new recruits who joined the department. Many of them had just come out of basic training in Kapooka and were going into their specialisations.

"Busy. Some of these new recruits are so arrogant and cocky it's annoying. Especially those that came top of their class." Jade laughed knowing exactly the type of guys he was talking about. They were the ones who thought they were on top of the world and the ones that were always the first to crack under pressure.

They both talked and laughed as they ate dinner and when they were finished, Marcus cleaned up as Jade moved the pillows around to be more comfortable. She uncrossed her legs in the most un-ladylike fashion and leaned back into the pillows and waited until Marcus came back. She reached over and grabbed her laptop and turned on Netflix because the removalist had taken her tv the other day along with most her furniture.

When Marcus came back he saw Jade lying on the pillows and scrolling through Netflix.

"Any preferences?" She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.

"Nope. You pick this time." Marcus came over and sat next to Jade and rearranged her in his arms. He wished every day would be like this. The week had been good, and he found himself growing closer to Jade on a more personal level. Looking back, he could see how much of an ass he was to her. He also realised that he could have lost Jade for his selfish and arrogant ways before he even got to truly get to know her. He knew when he left on tour without telling her was a dick move and something he would regret for the rest of his life, and it made this appreciate Jade even more because she was giving him another chance after all his fuck ups.

He watched as Jade put on 13 hours and snuggled into his arms. He smiled to himself because this was one of his favourite movies. They both watched the movie in each other's arms and before the movie even reached halfway they both fell asleep tired from the busy day they both had.

***

"Come on Jade I didn't mean it like that." Marcus pleaded as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I don't care you're being an ass," Jade said as she turned her back on Marcus and went to help Sophia put plates away. It had been a stressful morning for Jade and Marcus wasn't helping by being a moody, jealous bitch. Looking at her newly renovated kitchen Jade was happy with the lowered marble bench tops that contrasted the dark look of the kitchen. The kitchen was a decent size with a standard size kitchen bench in the middle and a lowered bench which created an L shape which connected to the cupboards. Sophia smiled at her and handed her some plates to put away.

"I have already said I am sorry, what more do you want me to say. Do you want me to get down on my knees and beg you?" Jade turned around and looked at Marcus with her arms crossed against her chest and a single eyebrow raised.

"If you want." She waved a hand dismissively and Marcus growled lowly. He knew he had been an ass when he saw Noah helping Jade and saw them laughing together. He knew he shouldn't be jealous, but he was, so when he walked into the room and saw them laughing he felt his blood boil and he may or may not have said some asshole things he wasn't going to repeat.

"I've said sorry to Noah. I know I am an ass most of the time, but I'm trying Jade, please forgive me. I know I shouldn't be jealous and that's something I got to work on, I'm sorry." He looked at Jade who still didn't look impressed and looked to Sophia for a little bit of help.

"Marcus, how about you finish off putting the kitchen stuff away and Jade and I can work on the bedroom." Marcus walked over and grabbed the box Jade was working on while she ignored him and rolled into her bedroom where Noah had just finished putting her bed back together.

"Bed all done. Any other heavy lifting that needs doing?" He asked, and Jade shook her head not in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. "I can go start putting some of the boxes in the lounge room away." He left the room leaving Jade and Sophia.

"You okay Jade?" She asked after some time of working in silence and Jade just shrugged her shoulder.

"He makes me so mad." She grunted as she aggressively put her clothes away. "He is such an ass and makes me so, ugh." She threw some more clothes away and Sophia just watched.

"If he is such an ass, why are you trying so hard to work on your relationship?" She questioned. She may be a support worker but, in her younger years, she studied psychology which she found came in very handy with her line of work now.

"I care for him. He is an ass, but I'm falling for him. I know he has treated me like crap in the past with all this back and forth, but I can't seem to walk away. It's like he draws me in, if that makes any sense." Sophia nodded her head. Jade continued to put away her clothes and when she looked over at her watch she saw it was almost dinner time.

The day had gone by so quickly and almost all her boxes had been put away. She hadn't spoken or seen Marcus in hours and she wasn't even sure if he was still here or left like he normally does.

So, when she emerged from her room she was surprised to see Marcus still in the kitchen having a beer and laughing with Noah. Noah had to leave around 3 pm to go pick up his son from school but came back to help Jade finish moving in. She heard Marcus deep chuckle again and saw both men stop what they were doing when she rolled in. Sophia had left a few hours ago as her shift had ended. She had offered to stay but, Jade told her to go home to her family.

"So, I was thinking pizza for dinner. Noah, you are more than welcome to stay if you would like." Jade watched as he took a sip of his beer before looking at his watch.

"It's alright. I should probably get home to the little man." He took the last sip of his beer before he gave Marcus a pat on the back. "Do you need me in tomorrow?" Jade shook her head still trying to get over what she was seeing in front of her. Marcus had been standoffish with Noah since the day he met him and now they were having a beer together and laughing.

Jade cleared her throat before she spoke. "No, I plan on just staying in and Marcus will be here. I'll call if I need anything." Noah nodded his head and left Jade and Marcus staring at each other.

"So, pizza," Marcus said after some time and Jade had to make sure her mouth still wasn't wide open from shock.

"Umm yeah." She rolled into the kitchen to see everything had been put away. She went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"You still ignoring me?" Marcus questioned, once pizza had been ordered. Jade had hardly said anything to him since there fight and he didn't blame her but, she couldn't ignore him forever.

"I don't know Marcus. Have you stopped being an ass?" Jade took a sip of her water and watched as Marcus ran his fingers through his hair.

"If I said yes would you start talking to me again." Jade licked her lips and shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe." Jade looked at him from the corner of her eye as he threw his hands up in the air. She could feel a small smile creeping onto her face that she tried to hide. She had honestly forgiven Marcus hours ago but, he needed to sweat a little. Jade tried so hard to stop herself from laughing, but when the small chuckle escaped from her lips, Marcus stopped running his hands through his hair and looked at Jade in shock.

"Oh. You sneaky thing." He smiled before full belly laughter started to come from Jade. She was laughing so hard she had to clutch her stomach because it was too much.

"Your face." She laughed, and Marcus came over to her and picked her up so quickly Jade squeaked as Marcus held her up right before spinning her around. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she felt her stomach drop as she felt her bare feet touch the ground ever so lightly.

She felt overwhelmed as the slight pressure of her body could be felt ever so lightly on the bottom of her feet. She could feel the timber floorboards on the soles of her feet and she started to cry. It was overwhelming, to feel the small flutter of pressure against her feet.

"Jade, what's wrong?" Marcus kept his arms around Jade tightly keeping her body upright thinking something was wrong.

"Nothing, everything is good." She wasn't sure what compelled her, but one-minute Marcus was holding a crying Jade in his arms and the next he was kissing her. He almost dropped her in shock before his arms wrapped extra tight around her as his lips met hers.

Jade felt she was drowning in Marcus. He was everywhere, and she loved every second of it. His lips were rough but gentle, as they demanded and took what they wanted. She had closed her eyes and let herself just feel Marcus's body pressed up against hers and the feel of his lips on hers. She felt a lick of fire in her stomach, but it was gone as quickly as the feeling of the floor on her feet.

Though she started the kiss Marcus was the one leading. He pulled her bottom lip between his teeth and gently sucked trying to elicit a groan from Jade. It wasn't a bad kiss, but Jade couldn't feel anything once that lick of fire vanished. She knew what she wanted to feel, and it wasn't happening. The kiss should have been heated and passionate and through she tried to return the passion Marcus was giving she just couldn't feel it.

Marcus could sense the change in Jade, so he slowed it down to a gentle kiss, giving her one last peck before resting his forehead against hers. Jade kept her eyes closed trying to take some deep breathes.

Neither of them said anything as Marcus held Jade upright in his arms with their foreheads pressed together.

"I felt the floor," Jade whispered, and Marcus opened his eyes and found Jade had been watching him. He tried to find words to say but, found he was speechless.

"Can you feel the ground now?" Marcus lowered her a little until her feet were resting on the ground and she shook her head. Jade looked into Marcus's eyes and removed one arm from around his neck and gently ran her finger along his jawline.

"I also felt something in the kiss. It was only brief, but I didn't feel so dead inside." She ran her fingers through his hair and Marcus closed his eyes at the feeling.

"That's good Jade." He didn't know what else to say. He was about to open his mouth and profess how he loved Jade when the doorbell rang. He sat Jade back down in his chair and went to open the door and collect the pizza they had ordered.

He gave the pimpled faced teenager $30 and told him to keep the change. He shut Jade's front door and walked back into the kitchen to find Jade wasn't there. He put the pizza boxes on the island bench and went to find her. He first tired the bedroom and when she wasn't there he tired the bathroom. He tried calling out the Jade but, he got no response. Getting worried her tried outside and sighed when he saw her sitting on the deck looking at nothing.

"Jade." He whispered as he opened the back sliding door and went to go sit next to her.

"I wish I wasn't so damaged." Jade sighed when she felt Marcus sit next to her. "I know I am attracted to you, I just can't feel it. Why would you or anyone want to be with me? Can you live with the fact that I may never be able to feel? That I may forever be a stone old bitch?" Jade didn't look at Marcus as she kept staring at the pool wondering what would happen if she just fell in. She knew her legs didn't work so would she just sink to the bottom or would her legs decide to work and keep her afloat.

"Jade." He whispered and moved his chair, so he was sitting in front of her. "You're not a stone-cold bitch for starters and to answer your question the answer is yes. I don't want to be with you because of sex. I mean sex was good don't get me wrong but if I had to choose between sex and you I would pick you any day. I know I can be an unreasonable ass at times, but I would pick you any day." He grabbed her hands and almost told her then that he loved her, but, he knew the timing wasn't right and it would probably scare Jade away.

"What happens if I can never feel anything during sex?" She asked looking at Marcus with a vulnerability he hadn't seen in a while.

"Well, then I guess I'm just going to have to try hard to make you feel something then." He gave her a cheeky grin trying to lighten the mood and Jade could help but smile back in return.

"How about we go get some food and we can watch a movie," Marcus said standing up and watched as Jade took her breaks off and pushed herself inside. Once inside Marcus went to the food while Jade put on some music. She rolled over to the kitchen table where Marcus had opened the boxes. Jade caught the smell of pizza and groaned at how amazing it smelt.

"God that smells amazing." She said as she picked up a slice and took a bite into it moaning again. Marcus sat there smiling finding Jade eating and enjoying pizza the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

"And you say you can't feel. Yet you are moaning like a porn star over pizza." He said chuckling as Jade blushed a thousand shades of red.

"Shut up. It tastes so good. If only I would feel like this with you. Guess your skill isn't that good." She smiled at him cheekily and gasp when he took her slice of pizza off her.

"Hey, give that back." She tried to reach for the and Marcus laughed as he lifted it out of reach.

"Nope." He smiled, and Jade watched with an open mouth as Marcus took a bite of her pizza.

"You didn't." She narrowed her eyes at him and watched as he took another bite.

"You want it? You gotta give me a kiss." She scoffed and went to just grab another slice when Marcus moved the box away.

"Really. Fine." She leant over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and tried to reach for her pizza.

"That's not a kiss Jade. You want more pizza gotta kiss me right here." He said pointing to his lips and Jade rolled her eyes and leant forward and gave him a peek on the lips.

"There I gave you a kiss now give me my pizza back." She tried to reach for it again and growled when Marcus put it out of reach.

"That wasn't a kiss Jade." She watched as he leaned back in his chair and took another bite of her slice. Jade sat back and crossed her arms while glaring at Marcus. "Its super easy Jade." She smiled and shook her head as he leaned forward again and kissed Marcus.

She didn't wait around as she kissed Marcus as if he was the last slice of pizza on the earth. She kissed him the way she remembered being with him and just when she felt like she wouldn't feel anything she did.

It was a slow burn fire that started in the base of her stomach and travelled up to her chest where she thought her heart was going to explode. When she slipped her tongue into his mouth and she felt fireworks explode in her head. It made her dizzy and drunk on desire. She gripped the back of his hair pulling herself closer causing a deep throaty groan to come from him. Lips, teeth and tongues clashed in a fight for dominance and after some struggle Jade gave in into Marcus's demanding mouth.

She felt like her body and heart were going to explode as she tried to keep up. She felt Marcus run his hands along the side of her body and she froze. She was screaming at herself as her body became cold and that feeling of desire vanished as if it never existed.

Marcus felt the change in Jade and he cursed himself for trying to rush. He broke away from Jade as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"That was some kiss." He said with a smile not wanting Jade to be sad. What Marcus didn't realise was that he had put Jade pizza down which was now in her hands.

"Ha." She laughed a little. Though Jade was upset she was also happy because even the desire was resent for a small amount of time it was there, meaning she wasn't as broken as she thought she was.