"You okay, Moose Jaw? You look funny," Meredith declared the next day as MJ boarded the bus and walked past her.

MJ merely shook her head and didn't say anything as she sat down behind her.

"Seriously, MJ," Meredith continued, turning around and looking over the back of her seat. "You really look weird. You're not, like going to hurl all over me after we get going, are you?"

Again, MJ shook her head, crossing her arms over her stomach and shifting her gaze to look out the window where the crew were stowing the last of their gear under the bus.

"Oh, and here comes Heath, looking even weirder than Moose Jugs," Meredith said to Virginia with a laugh as Heath boarded the bus wearing sunglasses and a beanie.

He walked up and down the length of the bus, but all other seats were taken, so he sat down next to MJ, throwing himself down rather unwillingly, crossing his arms and leaning toward the aisle.

Meredith watched Heath's actions with narrowed eyes as she sucked on her Starbucks straw. His behavior was strange, as he usually sat next to MJ first thing, whereas today he had obviously tried to avoid sitting next to her, and had only done so as a last resort.

She looked from MJ to Heath, staring from one face to the other as the bus finally pulled out of the hotel garage and they were on the road to Prague at last.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on here?" she asked, releasing the straw to speak, moving her index finger between the two silent people sitting behind her.

"You two are usually involved in the bromance of the century, you usually can't get enough of each other," Meredith said, drawing a laugh from Virginia. She crossed her arms across the back of her seat. "Today, though, you can hardly look at each other. You're acting embarrassed--"

She gasped and sat up. "Oh-my-fucking-god!" Her eyes grew round as she spoke to Heath. "You didn't charity fuck your DUFF, did you?" She leaned forward to poke at him. "Did you? Heath!"

She turned to Virginia, her mouth open in a delicious O of shock, before she turned to look at Heath again.

"Please, Heath! With all the pretty girls around, at the show, at the club, you wouldn't tap this tub of lard, would you?" She gestured at MJ.

Heat finally took his sunglasses off and looked at Meredith. "Would you do the world--no, the universe a favor and shut your fucking gob? Please?"

Not only Meredith, but the people around them looked at Heath in surprise.

This time, however, Heath didn't back down.

He looked around before speaking again. "Oh, come on! She was damned rude, and you all know it!"

MJ bit her lips together and finally spoke, putting a hand on Heath's forearm. "Thank you, Heath, but it's fine. I do have a weight problem, it's obvious to anyone with eyes." She looked up at Meredith where she still knelt on her seat in the row in front of them. "I'm sorry you have to look at me, I hope it's not too unpleasant."

"Oh, hey, no, I didn't mean--" Meredith began. She looked around, but no one would meet her gaze. "You know how I joke around, right? It's just--" she stopped again.

MJ shifted her eyes to once again look out the window.

Meredith huffed out a breath and flounced around in her seat, sitting down with a thump, sucking on her drink once again and saying something to Virginia about a picture on her phone.

Heath put a hand on MJ's shoulder, but she shrugged it off without turning around. He didn't try again. He could see the red creeping out of her blouse and up her neck, and he knew she was deeply embarrassed, about something, and he had a feeling it was more than just the exchange between him, her, and Meredith.

He remembered his dream with vivid clarity, every amazing, wonderful detail, so he knew why he was embarrassed; why was she embarrassed, though?

He turned and looked down the aisle, and saw James and Melanie sitting a few rows from the very back.

He sent a text to Mel and waited. In a few minutes, Mel came up front to talk to Heath and MJ.

"We're having a chat, me and James, but I'm feeling a wee bit unsettled from all the drinking last night, if you know what I mean," Melanie said delicately, patting at her stomach. "I think I might feel better sitting closer to the front of the bus. Would you mind trading seats with us, loves?" She looked from Heath to MJ hopefully.

"Of course, of course, we don't mind, do we?" Heath said, looking at MJ, who nodded obligingly. They moved to the back, and James and Melanie took their vacated seats, where they continued their riveting conversation about the length of skirts this year.

"MJ, what's wrong?" Heath asked, as soon as they were settled away from Meredith's prying eyes and ears. "Meredith's right, you are acting weird, so out with it, please."

Again, MJ kept her eyes resolutely on the landscape which was sliding by, and again, Heath could see the deep red creeping up her neck.

And poor MJ flinched when she felt Heath's hand on her shoulder, unable to banish the extremely tactile memories of what his wonderful hands had done to her in her very vivid dream. For some reason she couldn't fathom, the erotic dream she'd had last night had stayed with her like no other dream she'd ever had, lodged in some other part of her head like an actual memory. She could remember every touch, sound, taste, smell and sight as they played over in her head like a movie that she couldn't turn off.

"Don't," she breathed, closing her eyes.

"Don't what?" he asked, mystified.

"Don't touch me," she begged, lifting her shoulder where his hand rested blamelessly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Heath said, removing his hand immediately. His brows drew together in concern.

MJ felt terrible for causing the worry she could hear in his voice, and she turned around.

Heath saw her rosy cheeks, her lovely, sloe-eyed expression, her dilated pupils, her unusually full lips, how red they were, and her generally blissed-out countenance, and he responded to all of it by wanting to take her in his arms and kiss her immediately. As she turned to face him, he could see her nipples pressing against the front of her blouse, and he could feel himself starting to really get excited. He told himself to lock that down. Now.

MJ, for her part, could also see the pupils in Heath's dark blue eyes dilate as they looked at her, she could see a dark red flush climbing out of the neck of his tank top, coloring the top of his chest and arms, though in his case it had nothing to do with embarrassment. She could even see the pulse in his neck, and she had a momentary urge to lean forward and kiss it.

Good lord, MJ.

His expression brought her back to reality.

He looked miserable.

"Have I done something, MJ? To make you unhappy?" His voice was gentle, and he reached for her again, without thought, before he realized what he was doing and forced himself to put his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry, darling, please forgive me. Tell me, and I'll never do it again." He gazed at her out of troubled, beautiful eyes, and MJ melted, absolutely liquefied, into his arms.

Suddenly, Heath, who was so concerned about MJ possibly being furious with him, found himself holding her.

"Whoa!" He said with a little laugh. MJ insinuated herself even farther into his arms, squirming as close as she could, pressing her body so close that there was no way Little Heath was going to obey any commands to go away and stay away, no way at all. He wanted to come out and play. Luckily everyone around them was sleeping off the late and crazy night at the club.

"What?" MJ asked with a little laugh.

"Well, I was expecting a 'fuck you, Heath,' situation, instead of which, I've got a 'fuck me, Heath,' situation," Heath explained with a chuckle. "It's a bit confusing, you'll have to admit," he said. He leaned back, pulling MJ with him, getting comfortable and making a happy sound as he did. "So, you going to tell me what all this is about?"

"Okay," she finally said. "But I can't look at you when I do, okay?"

"This sounds intriguing," Heath said, smoothing her hair out of his face and stroking her back. "Continue, please."

She turned so she was talking almost directly into his chest. "Ihandiqpmvjhmphfmphmph," she mumbled.

"What?" he asked, giving her a gentle shake.

She took a deep breath. "Ihadadreamaboutyou," she tried again.

Heath was silent for a beat.

"Oh ho, you did not, you dirty girl!" he said in a pleased half-whisper. He tried to push her away so he could see her face, but she wouldn't lift her head.

Around them the bus rumbled on through the Austrian countryside.

MJ! Let me see your face!"

She shook her head, the curls shaking violently.

Heath thought for a moment, smiling.

"MJ, MJ, it's okay, it's okay, honest! I had a dream about you, too, darling, I did, honest!" he tried next.

She slowly lifted her head to see him nodding vigorously.

"You did?"

He continued to nod.

"The same kind?"

"I certainly hope so!" he said with a chuckle. "The naughty kind?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow.

MJ nodded, biting her lip.

"Haha, how marvelous," Heath said, hugging MJ.

"I've never had one before," MJ told him in a whisper.

"What?" Heath sat up, shocked. "You've never had a--a--what do you call it--" He broke off and stared at MJ.

"No, idiot, I've had orgasms before, of course," MJ said, slapping at him. "Just not during a dream. It was so real, though, I mean, wow!"

"Of course?" Heath repeated. "I want to come back to that later, okay?" He smiled. "Sounds very interesting. Never in a dream, though, hm? I, of course, being a boy, have had many of these dreams," he told MJ with a grin. "Last night's, however, was the first starring you, though." He leaned forward and kissed her. "You were incredible, if I might be so bold."

MJ laughed and snuggled into Heath again.

"I think our respective subconsciouses are trying to tell us something," Heath said conversationally, after a few minutes.

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"What might that be?" MJ asked innocently.

"That maybe we need to explore the physical aspect of our relationship a bit more?" Heath suggested. "That could be one interpretation."

"Or maybe our dreams are fulfilling us so we don't have to take those paths in real life," MJ hazarded a guess.

"That would be a rather disappointing and boring possibility," Heath admitted. He lifted MJ's blouse to stroke the fine skin of her back.

"Seriously, Heath?"

"Mm?"

"There's a reason the, uh, climactic part of my dream was kind of vague, you know?" MJ said, getting serious.

"What do you mean?"

"I have no experience with any of this." MJ sat up a little so she could look at Heath, brown eyes serious.

Heath was once again blown away by their beauty.

"I'm miles away from being able to do the things you dreamed, you know?" she said.

"I know," he replied, tracing her mouth with his finger.

"I was raised by a very kind man whose only goal for me is to stay safe and alive by his side for the rest of my life. I never expected to kiss anyone, let alone do any of this other stuff, ever. I don't know when I'll get there, if I'll get there," she said. "And I totally understand if you don't want to wait around to see if I do, when I do, or whatever."

Heath nodded.

"But we both agree that if I do wait around, it's my choice to do so, for as long as I want, right?" Heath asked, tracing a pattern with his fingers on her back.

MJ nodded.

"Okay."

They kissed again, then sat up and played their guitars and wrote music for the rest of the trip.