(A/N: I originally wrote this as Chapter Nine for my "Lilacs II" fanfic, but decided not to use it. I liked it so much, though, that I wanted to share. And, to be honest, to be the first to post an M-rated fic on this site for GAH! Reviews are always appreciated. I'm going in assuming you know what's happening, if you've read Lilacs II. If you haven't, go read it, it's good if I do say so myself.)

When Bill and Ralph arrived at Ralph's house with their passengers, Bill remained in his car. He looked behind him, to Pam, as Ralph opened the door for her.

"Well, Counselor, we'll be seeing you later this week if nothing unusual happens."

"Sure, Bill, nothing unusual. At least for Mary Ann and me. I hope you four know what you're doing!"

She smiled up at Ralph as he took her hand.

"We'll be fine all week, Pam, don't worry. Bill and Kim have the ball right now, to see what they might be able to find out," Ralph said.

He looked into the car, at Bill. "If you guys find anything the bad guys may've touched recently, bring it over and I'll holograph it."

"Right. Good night you two, tell the Professor and Mary Ann we said g'night too!"

Ralph and Pam waved as they drove off.

O'Neil turned to Bill. "So what's on the agenda now? Your place or mine?"

He grinned quickly at her, then back to the road, his ever-alert eyes scanning for anyone following the vehicle.

"I'll head in the general direction for both and see if any more bozos decide to follow me. Depending, I might head for my place, or I might head for your place. Probably the same as earlier, your place, with my guys surrounding it."

She took his hand into hers, her gaze still facing forward. "Sounds good to me, either way."

The rest of the short trip was quiet, but in a comfortable way. The two hadn't known each other for too long, but already they were content in one another's company to simply be together. Bill was glad O'Neil wasn't a chatterbox, although they both could have their moments. Luckily, those moments happened at the same time, and they would laugh and tell tales for hours. Other times, as if sensing one another's moods, they would be reticent, simply snuggling together to watch an old black and white movie.

As before, Bill noticed a handful of unmarked FBI agents' cars in and around O'Neil's street. The closest one was half a block away, looking very non-descript and unoccupied.

He pulled up along the curb, giving himself a fast getaway if needed, and went around the car to help O'Neil out. They'd no sooner taken two steps from the car when three men, with ski masks on, burst from the darkness, guns drawn.

"KIM, GET DOWN!" Bill screamed, his firearm already in his hand as he fell across her. He fired two shots before the men even had a chance to react, and the agent down the road was moving. The masked men turned at the sound of squealing tires and the sight of a car barreling toward them. They ran to where they'd emerged from the bushes, only to see two more FBI agents running at them, weapons drawn.

"HOLD IT!" one yelled, cocking the gun mere inches from one masked man's face. The three men saw they were surrounded and, deciding it wasn't worth a firefight, promptly disarmed.

The agent with a gun in the bad guy's face maintained his gaze on his prisoner, and said aloud, "You two all right, Bill?"

Maxwell was helping O'Neil up, brushing her off after he'd tackled her to the ground. "Yeah, Chris, thanks. We're fine. I think it'd be a good idea for O'Neil to be staying somewhere else, though, and not at my place."

"Agreed. And I don't wanna know. Talk to Carlisle, but for tonight, I'd get a room somewhere if I was you."

"That's the scenario now, yeah. C'mon, kid, we're fine, we've got the finest surveillance teams in the Bureau, right, Chris?"

His friend and fellow agent laughed as the couple moved behind him, toward the front door. "You sure do! Be sure to tell Carlisle that, too, when you talk to him!"

"I'll do that, tell him you boys were definitely on the ball. How those three creeps managed to get by you, well..." He left the thought hanging, simply grateful it had all turned out for the best. Three more bad guys off O'Neil's tail. These men, and the men they'd caught earlier following them, were a good start.

"Oh, well, you don't need to mention THAT to him!"

Bill laughed as he held the door for Kim, before they both disappeared inside. "Don't worry, Chris, I'll sing your praises!"

After he shut the door, he turned to Kim. "Okay, pack a bag, we're leaving."

She was already heading for her closet for her overnight bag, and began throwing things she needed immediately into it. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet, and I don't wanna say in here. Not my place. They'd check there first off after here."

He went to her dresser and grabbed a couple of pairs of jeans and some t-shirts to add to her bag. "I have a coupla places in mind. But let's get going, in case they had a small army somewhere waiting for them to bring you in."

Within five minutes, they were back on the road. They were both silent, excited and flushed from the suddenness of the attack and the rush to get a bag packed and get out.

O'Neil was turned at an angle, facing Bill, and she watched him as he drove. He finally turned to face her, both still breathing hard, and she marveled at the sight of him.

"Bill..." she began.

He glanced at the road, then back to her. "Kid?"

She didn't say anything at first, she simply stared, looking him up and down with a sparkle in her dark eyes.

He blushed and looked forward, then sneaked another glance at her.

He couldn't resist and smiled. "What?"

"Oh my God, I want you so bad," she whispered in the husky voice Bill loved.

He gulped, doing his best to focus on the road.

"Oh, well, kid, we'll be somewhere shortly, I can find..."

"No, I want you. Now. Immediately. Find somewhere, or I swear, I'll attack you while you're driving."

She didn't have to tell him twice. Knowing Los Angeles as he did, he knew a spot a mere five minutes away.

Kim tore her gaze off of Bill when they turned down a darkened road. "Where are we going?"

"How well do you know L.A.?"

"Not as well as you, seeing as you've lived here for years."

"Got an old friend right nearby, private beach and everything, and he's out of town. Would that suit you?"

She ran one hand over his shoulder, snuggling close to him, and let the other hand explore him. "Suits me just fine!"

"STOP that, or I swear, we'll end up wrapped around a tree!"

"Right now, I couldn't care less!"

"KIM!" he shouted, pushing her seeking hand away as it began to move lower. "It's all I can do to keep my hands on the wheel as it is!"

"Well, HURRY, Maxwell!"

"We're almost there, shut up! I've got a blanket in the trunk, and a flashlight, let's grab that and head for the water."

He pulled into the long dark driveway of his friend's property, noted all the houselights off with the exception of the porch, and climbed out of the car. O'Neil was instantly beside him, at the trunk, and grabbed him roughly to her, pulling him down as she leaned against the car.

"Here, NOW, Bill!"

"Here?"

"Here!" she demanded, and proceeded to work on unfastening his belt.

It didn't take much prompting, and soon Bill had her hiked up onto the trunk, with them both having just enough loosened clothes to make it all possible. He'd never imagined Kim would like it this way, fast and furious, but the adrenalin had affected them both in a rather pleasant way. As he pulled her closer to him, moving his lips over her tender throat, she wrapped her long legs around him to get him ever closer.

He moaned against her as he felt her strong legs around his hips, and she began whispering in his ear, telling him everything she wanted to do to him. That elicited another groan from Bill.

Bill mumbled against Kim's throat, "If you keep that up, I ain't gonna last long, darlin'."

"I don't CARE," she yelled, clenching her legs ever tighter on him.

He gave her a deep, fierce kiss. "All righty, you asked for it!" and obliged by slamming into her.

O'Neil's answering shriek into the quiet night assured him she really WAS ready, and he grabbed her hips, forcing her up and down on him repeatedly. True to his word, they didn't last long, but that was okay if her second howl was any indication. He couldn't believe the responses he could elicit from this passionate woman, and that fueled him on until both of them, gasping for air, collapsed onto the trunk.

"Oh, MAN, Kim, I haven't had it like that in too long!" he finally managed to whisper, his head over her shoulder as they caught their breaths.

She flopped her arms back, her legs still wrapped around Bill. "It was the adrenalin, I know it. Whew, how those guys helped tonight, huh?"

He nuzzled her sweaty neck and hair, "Not like I need encouragement with YOU, but that was something else!"

They lay like that, against the car, for a few moments longer, reluctant to separate. Bill finally pulled out and back, and helped straighten Kim's clothing while she helped him with his.

"I don't think I'll be able to look at this old car again without remembering this," Bill said.

"Well, we'll just have to christen the next car to come along, won't we?" she joked, knowing Bill's track record with Bureau-issued vehicles.

"Hey! What do you mean by that?"

"Isn't this, what? the fourteenth car they've given you since you met the green guys?"

"No, NOT fourteenth, jeesh! It's the sixth."

O'Neil shook her head in wonder. "They must really like you if they keep giving them to you!"

"My 98 per cent kill rate demands it," he said, laughing as he collected his holster, gun and car keys. "C'mon, let's get that blanket after all and go down to the beach."

Kim pressed herself against Bill after he'd donned his shoulder holster, pulling him to her suggestively. "Hmmm, ready to go again already, Maxwell?"

"You keep that up and I will be, O'Neil. C'mon."

Holding hands, they went down to the beach, laying back on the soft pliant sand, holding one another and gazing up into the starlit night. They'd at least have this night together, no bad guys, no Bureau, no green guys and no Ralph in sight.