Sam looked up at Helen, who was sitting next to him, engrossed in a book, before checking his watch. It was only 3 hours until the meeting with Professor Pickles, but he wanted to spend as much time with Penny as he could before he went looking for her himself, so he reached for the supply control of the sleeping medication.

"What's that supposed to be, Sam?" Helen asked him, smiling.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," he replied innocently.

"Don't you want to recover first?"

"Helen, I've been sleeping here almost continuously since last night. You can't get more rest, can you?" Helen just shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "The meeting with the professor is at 6 p.m. Please wake me up half an hour beforehand, but I don't want to leave Penny alone until then. She'll be alone long enough afterwards if I search the area with the others."

"Well, okay," she simply replied and was about to start the IV again when Sam rummaged in his pocket and took out his cell phone. He turned off the radio reception to avoid annoying calls and looked for a playlist with calm music on a streaming service, which he then switched on and placed his cell phone on his pillow next to his ear. "What are you up to with that?"

"A little music. I thought Penny might like it if it worked out."

"So, so," Helen replied with a grin and opened the control. "Then have fun, you two."

"Sam, you're back quickly," said Penny, who was sitting next to him on the sand, astonished when he appeared and she heard the music in surprise. "Where does the music come from?"

"From my cell phone," he replied with a smile, holding out his hand to help her up from the sand. "I thought if Polonium can talk to us through the real you, then we can also listen to music when I'm next to it."

"And you want to dance now?" she asked, smiling as he put one hand around her waist and grabbed her other hand to stretch it away.

"Don't you feel like it?"

"I do. Why not? You're a very good dancer," she replied with a smile as they began to move to the music.

"My goodness, you guys are being cheesy. I really wish my ray had caught two other of you."

"You don't have to watch, Professor," Sam replied to Polonium, smiling, without taking his eyes off Penny's.

"Tell me what results you have for me and I will happily extend my dinner a little today to avoid your romantic posturing."

"Is that a promise?" Penny asked her.

"As far as I'm concerned, that too. So Sam?"

"Well, unfortunately I don't have much for you. The sore muscles were almost gone after the next sleep phase. However, I have to say that this dreaming isn't particularly relaxing. Every time I wake up, I'm almost more tired than when I went to sleep. But unfortunately I can't answer whether these are really the dreams that affect our wakefulness or just my short periods of sleep, and I don't have much more for you. Bon appetit, Professor!"

"This evaluation is certainly not very satisfactory. Well, it will probably be enough for medical purposes." Her voice grew quieter and then faded away in the distance while Sam and Penny didn't take their eyes off each other for a second.

"Well, I find this dreaming very satisfying," said Sam, smiling now.

"I feel the same way. I wouldn't have preferred to share it with anyone other than you. I'm very glad you're here."

"Just like me," he replied and pulled her to him, putting his other arm around her and swaying gently with her to the music. "I told Helen to wake me up half an hour before the meeting "I'd like to go there if it's okay with you?" he then whispered quietly in her ear, in case Polonium was still listening.

"Why shouldn't I be okay with that?" she asked quietly. His proximity confused her senses and his warm breath on her ear made her legs go weak.

"You would be alone during that time and I don't know how long it will take us to find you...if we do find you." Sam still remained at her ear. Her closeness, her scent and her warmth were so attractive to him that he couldn't withdraw from her even if he had needed to. God, he loved this woman so much and even though they had spent most of their time together in their dreams, their separation hurt him so much that the thought of not being able to find her drove him crazy.

"Don't worry, Sam. I'll be fine. Nothing can happen to me here and I'll be very happy to see you again. Whether here or in reality."

"I'm really hoping for reality. There's something I really want to finally finish," he replied sullenly and Penny pulled away from him a little to look him in the eyes with a smile, but their faces were now only a few centimeters apart and they were already under a spell due to their proximity to each other, which they could not escape, which made their emotions go crazy and sent pleasant shivers through their bodies. Looking into each other's eyes only made this worse.

"Why not here?" she asked him quietly, her voice only a whisper again due to tense anticipation. "Polonium promised to leave us alone."

"Do you believe her?" he replied, getting so close that their noses touched.

"I hope so," she whispered, closing her eyes as she felt his lips brush against hers again.

Then, finally, his lips touched hers and he pulled her fully against him, feeling her hands slide up his chest, threading her fingers into the short hair at the nape of his neck, completely taking his breath away and eliciting a contented sigh. Her touch was electrifying and while the kiss had just been gentle and careful, he now deepened it and lost himself completely in it as Penny welcomed him and let herself go completely.

Everything Penny did, she did with passion, but there was more to that kiss than just that, he felt that and knew that she also sensed his longing, his happiness and his love. They had always had a connection with each other, often knowing what the other was feeling or complementing each other's thoughts. But now it seemed to them as if they were truly one and could feel each other's thoughts, sensations and feelings down to the smallest fiber of their bodies. Neither of them had ever felt as complete as they did at that moment.

When their lips parted, he placed his forehead against hers and they enjoyed the reverberation of feelings inside of them, trying to bring order to the chaos, to find their voices again and clear the fog in their heads to find the right words finally to say it. But when they opened their eyes, they lost themselves in them for a moment and that moment was too much. Her time was up because Sam suddenly disappeared and Penny caught herself at the last moment when she lost her footing with him and managed not to land on her stomach in the sand.

She looked towards the horizon and saw the sun setting. Well, then she would just look at it alone, she thought wistfully and sat down on the sand. Lost in thought, she touched her lips and smiled with longing and joy.

To be continued...