The doorbell rang and Penny peeled herself out of bed. It was dusk outside and she looked at the clock in the hallway - just after six - who could be at the door at such an hour?

She quickly grabbed her bathrobe in the bathroom and zipped it up before going downstairs. She left the light off and, as she walked past, reached through the kitchen door for a knife that she hid behind her back when she opened the door.

"Good morning, I hope you're hungry?"

"Sam?! For heaven's sake, what are you doing on your feet at such an hour and what have you taken to be so fit? I want some of that too," she replied, dumbfounded and lowered her hand with the knife.

"1. you said yourself that you started working at 6 a.m. the day before yesterday. I thought that would be the case today too," he replied with a shrug. "And 2. I didn't take anything except lots of fresh air on my Bicycle and the prospect of a varied day in good company...assuming you put the knife away." She followed his gaze to the knife in her hand and, smiling, went into the kitchen to put it back in the knife block and start working on the coffee machine.

"That was just a precaution. I'm not used to people ringing my doorbell in the middle of the night. I wasn't expecting you to come so early."

"You can lie back down, I'll be fine," he replied and she pointed her finger up, alerting him that her alarm was going off.

"I would have gotten up by now anyway, so a few minutes don't matter," she replied and started the coffee machine before turning to Sam, who quickly raised his eyes to hers. Did he look her up? "I'll go upstairs quickly and put on something sensible. I'll be right back." He nodded and she stormed upstairs, turned off the alarm clock and quickly put on a pair of sweatpants and an old T-shirt - if she had to work, then at least be comfortable. She always slept in a top and shorts and she loved the bathrobe because it felt like a second skin, but it was also just as thin, so she must have given Sam a lot to see, she thought, blushing. She returned the robe to the bathroom, quickly brushed her teeth and washed herself before going downstairs to find the kitchen table already set. To her surprise, there was even a rose in a glass in the middle.

"I know it's not nice to look in other people's closets, but I thought I'd surprise you. I hope it was okay?"

"You really surprised me, thanks Sam," she replied with a smile as she sat down and Sam followed her example. "Where did you get the rose?"

"I got them from Dilys. She won't miss one of her bushes."

"Sam Jones!" Penny replied in a playful shock and dropped the rolls and knife in shock. "You're impossible."

"I see it as compensation for the many nerves that her spoiled son has already cost us."

"If it weren't for him, the Pontypandy Station would have no right to exist with the amount of personnel and equipment we have," she replied with a wink and took a bite of her bread roll.

"I'll send him a thank you note for Christmas," Sam replied dryly, biting into his roll before Penny laughed and pinned him.

"Come with me, I'll show you something," Penny replied as she took a quick look out the window, jumped up and grabbed his hand to lead him up the stairs behind her.

She led him into her bedroom and stood with him at the window. She didn't have to tell him what she meant. He saw the sunrise and she was right - it was even more beautiful than the sunset yesterday.

"You were right, this is breathtaking," Sam marveled as they watched the sun rise behind the mountains and absentmindedly, Sam began to stroke Penny's hand with his thumb, which was still holding his. This snapped them both out of their thoughts and they looked down at their clasped hands before looking into each other's eyes, but neither released the other's hand.

"Penny, I..." Sam began, but was interrupted by a loud whistle and they both jumped before looking at each other helplessly.

"Damn, the eggs," Sam said in shock and ran downstairs. Penny followed him, partly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to hear what Sam had to say to her, partly amused by his quick willingness to even save eggs.

"You boiled eggs?" she asked him as she entered the kitchen and watched him take them off the water.

"Eggs are part of every good breakfast," he clarified and sat back down at the table with her. He could slap himself for forgetting the eggs and for disturbing them both. It had been such a beautiful moment that Sam had wanted to take advantage of. Now he had to wait for the next opportunity - he hoped it would come soon.

When they had finished breakfast, they cleaned up together and then went into the living room. Sam started spraying the wall with water. He looked in vain for the photo on the dresser - Penny must have already hidden it that evening. When Sam was through, he started wetting the wall again.

"You don't want to promote mushroom cultivation on this wall, do you?" Penny then asked him skeptically.

"There are so many layers of wallpaper on it that it gets easier the deeper the water penetrates. I won't do anything to your wall that quickly."

"And how often do you want to spray? I feel like it dries faster than it absorbs."

"Didn't you want to do something else?" he asked her skeptically.

"Oh, isn't our hero next door open to criticism when it comes to DIY?" she replied mischievously and Sam immediately responded by casually spraying her with water. "Hey, that's not fair. Give me that thing!" But the more she tried to take the bottle out of his hands, the more he sprayed her, and in the end Sam had the better cards because he was bigger, stronger and had longer arms, and so she finally gave up with a laugh.

"I give up, but I don't forget easily," she replied, smiling.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" he asked teasingly.

"A promise, Sam. A promise!" she replied, winked at him and left the room. A moment later he heard the back door close and couldn't stop smiling.

After that, Penny came in once more to have something to drink and peered curiously around the corner for a moment before she went out again.

Around midday, Sam finally tore the last piece of paper off the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. His plan hadn't worked as he'd hoped, but he was done and that was all that mattered. He quickly packed the torn wallpaper into a sack, swept everything and set up the wallpapering table that stood in the corner. He got water from the kitchen and mixed a bucket of paste, drank some water and looked out the window.

Penny seemed to have just finished weeding the vegetable patch, sat up and came towards him with a bucket. He watched her make her way to the compost heap in the corner. She was flawless and beautiful. There was no one else he could laugh with or have serious conversations with as much as he could with her. She was tough and courageous, did her job with dedication and perfection and it was enviable how consistently she pursued her goals. She had always dreamed of a house like this and as a single woman she hadn't been afraid to rush into this adventure. It was amazing what she could do and was even less afraid to try something new. Wasn't she supposed to scare him? Men tended to want to be needed and he definitely did, it was his job and he loved it. But Penny didn't need a man, didn't need him, she proved that with this house and every day at work. Maybe she didn't feel anything more for him than friendship after all? Could he have misinterpreted the signs? That she held his hand, that she blushed when he came closer to her and that photo of the two of them dancing together framed on the dresser where it seemed to have its permanent place? He also had this picture, but kept it in the drawer of his bedside table so that he could look at it every evening, but so that no visitor could discover it.

He jumped back when a jet of water hit the window and the next moment he saw Penny laughing behind the window before she winked mischievously at him. Apparently she had caught him lost in his thoughts.

He grabbed the bag of wallpaper scraps and walked out the front door to the trash. The garage door was ajar and something inside caught his interest. He looked inside and discovered a very sporty and sleek street motorcycle. This surprised him very much. Penny always seemed so frugal and cautious, he never thought she was into speed. Nevertheless, he found the idea of ​​seeing her on this machine more than interesting and curiosity about the machine itself began to spread within him. He was just a man.

He went back into the garden and saw Penny watering the vegetable patch. He thought of her promise from this morning and decided to beat her to it. He quietly crept up behind her and quickly wrapped his arms around her, grabbed the hose in her hands, turned off the water and took it from her.

"Sam, what are you doing?" she asked him, surprised, as she turned to him.

"I wanted to let you know I'm done and to ask where you'd like the wallpaper to go, but not while you're armed," he replied with a smile and she followed suit, crossing her arms demonstratively and impatiently with her Foot tapping.

"Believe me, my revenge will come when you least expect it," she replied teasingly. "Should I continue inside?"

"As you wish. What else is there to do out here?"

"Actually nothing. I've done everything I wanted. I just have to lift a few slabs of the driveway in front of the house and fill the holes in the gravel path with the remaining chippings. But I don't have to do that today."

"I'll do it. You go in and think about what you want your living room to be like. Then we can finish it together."

"As you wish," she replied with a shrug. "I have two buckets of grit here by the shed. At least let me clean up the tools out here."

"Okay, but I'm going to put the hose on the ground here so I have time to get into the house," he replied with a grin, putting the hose down and walking away backwards. Penny stayed where she was and they watched each other, smiling, before she made a sudden forward movement, causing Sam to stumble. She laughed heartily as Sam scrambled to safety and disappeared around the corner of the house.

She picked up the hose and began to wind it. As she tidied up the garden, she thought about how strange it was that one could get used to his company so quickly. It felt so right that he was here, clowning and laughing with her. She thought wistfully that he wouldn't always be here. He had surprised her last night by kissing her on the cheek, but it seemed to her that she had felt it all night long. This morning had been the perfect moment, the sunrise romantic and them very close, if only it hadn't been for those stupid eggs. Something always came up and it was frustrating, but it still pleased her immensely to watch for herself and to feel what Bronwyn had always wanted her to know - namely that Sam was obviously more interested in her than just friendship.

When she finished cleaning up, she went inside and drank some water before going into the living room and starting to cut the wallpaper.

As she picked up a new roll of wallpaper from the floor, she saw through the window Sam already leveling the gravel along the path with a rake. When he came in, she had finished cutting everything and was sticking the second panel on the wall. Sam leaned in the doorframe and watched her carefully.

"So, are you satisfied or do I need to adjust it again?" she asked him as she climbed down from the stepladder and spotted him behind her.

"You're doing it perfectly. I was just thinking what I can do now that you obviously don't need me there."

"You can paste it or put the edge strips or sockets back in."

"All right," he objected and grabbed the tassel.

About an hour later they had already used the first bucket of paste and had already wallpapered half the room. While Sam mixed new paste, Penny went into the laundry room and cleaned the spatulas. When she came back armed with a cleaning bucket and a mop, she discovered Sam who was still installing the remaining baseboards. The paste still had to go a bit anyway, so Penny started cleaning behind the couch. She had pushed all the furniture 2 meters or more into the room so that the walls were free; she was happy when everything gradually returned to its place.

She was washing out the cleaning rag when she noticed the spray bottle and looked at Sam who was screwing in the last screw on the door. She quickly grabbed the bottle and went behind him.

"Woah!" Sam exclaimed, jumping up when something wet hit him on the back of the neck. Surprised, he turned around and looked into Penny's face, who was clearly displaying her glee.

"Like I said, when you least expect it," she replied simply.

"Oh wait, when I catch you!" Sam threatened and tried to grab her, but she dodged and kept him at a distance every now and then with a shot of water from the bottle. So Sam chased her around the living room, laughing, for a few minutes before he got hold of her free hand, pulled her towards him and pressed her against a wall with his body, while his hands pressed hers against the wall so that she wouldn't be able to spray at him again.

They were both smiling, but when they became aware of each other's breath on their skin and their proximity, they suddenly became serious. They sank into each other's eyes and both silently prayed that nothing and no one would ruin this moment for them again.

"I surrender," Penny said quietly and her eyes briefly flickered to his lips before she looked him in the eyes again.

"It's better that way. You couldn't have tolerated the echo," he replied, smiling but in a rough voice because he was suddenly so nervous.

"You can't know until we try it," she replied quietly, and there was something in her voice that seemed like a demand to Sam, but he sensed that she didn't mean their teasing.

He released her hand with the spray bottle and placed his on her cheek. She closed her eyes for a second at his touch and when she opened them again, she looked at him as if she couldn't wait any longer. They heard the bottle fall to the floor and the next moment Penny's hand slid gently up his chest. There was no stopping him now and he placed his lips on hers and his other hand around her waist while he felt Penny's slide into his neck. He pulled her close and deepened the kiss, wishing it would never end. For that moment it seemed to him as if the world was perfect. How she felt in his arms, how she tasted, how she smelled and feeling her warmth and her touch made him feel like he was finally whole and he never wanted to be without it again. She returned his kiss with the same devotion and passion that he felt for her and no words were needed when their lips finally parted and they looked lovingly into each other's eyes - it took them a moment to find their language again anyway.

"I should have asked you for help much earlier," Penny then whispered quietly, still captivated by the emotions that the kiss had sent her on a roller coaster inside her and Sam smiled as he looked deep into her eyes and his thumb caressed her cheek.

"Obviously we've both been waiting a long time for this."

"Too long," she replied with a smile and Sam was just about to kiss her again when the doorbell rang. With a pained groan, he released her and collapsed onto the couch while Penny went to the door. At least they were a step further, like during the last disruptions.

"Hey Penny. I brought you something to eat. You can warm it up later," Bronwyn greeted her cheerfully and handed her three bowls. "And how far along are you?" she then asked as she approached Penny, pushed past her and went into the living room. "Oh how nice that will be. Hey Sam."

"Hey Bronwyn," he greeted her briefly, but smiling. Even if it wasn't like him, this time he hoped that his sister-in-law had to go home quickly.

"Why are you so wet?" she asked him skeptically and he looked down at himself. His shirt was wet in several places where Penny had sprayed him and he quickly took off his shirt.

"Penny annoyed me a bit," he simply replied and went into the kitchen to hang his shirt over a chair and Penny found it difficult to tear her eyes away from him because the water had penetrated his white shirt in some places and almost had made it transparent, which she liked very much - but had she ever seen so much skin on Sam?

"So it seems to be going well for you?" Bronwyn whispered to Penny as she looked at her friend with a grin.

"It would certainly work better without any disruptions," Penny replied grumbling and Bronwyn gave her a big look. She'd never seen Penny so grumpy before, so her timing must have been pretty bad.

"I have to go again then. Sarah and James are playing with Norman and Mandy at the old mill and I don't want to leave them there alone for too long," she said as Sam came back from the kitchen and went to the door.

"I thought Helen wanted to take the children over there today for first aid training for the cadetts?"

"Uh, right, but I promised Helen that I would help her. You know how tiring the children can be." Sam looked at Penny questioningly, finding his sister-in-law's sudden nervousness strange, and Penny just shrugged with a smile before walking Bronwyn to the door. "I hope you pick up your breakfast from me on Monday. Have fun, both of you." Bronwyn whispered to her, still grinning broadly, before turning around and not giving Penny a chance to answer.

When Penny came back, Sam was putting wallpaper on the wall and as his hands ran over the middle, the wallpaper at the top of the wall came off and fell down on him. Penny laughed and quickly freed him.

"Why so impatient Sam?" she asked him as she pressed the top half onto the wall.

"I thought it would take a while for you and I wanted to keep myself busy. You women always like to chat."

"You should know by now that I'm not exactly like the other women," she replied with a smile as she climbed down from the ladder.

"No, you're right, you're perfect," he replied, smiling and seeing her blush. He would have loved to take her in his arms and kiss her again, but they would never finish then. "Shall we finish here and then you tell me why you hid the picture of the two of us dancing from me?" he asked then grinning.

"You recognized it?" she asked in shock as he began to paste a new strip.

"I had a print of Elvis made for me too. I look at it every time before I go to bed," he replied with a smile and Penny's heart skipped a beat.

"And what do you want to hear from me now?" she replied innocently as she took the finished train from the table.

"I have no idea. Maybe that you long for me so much and always have it in your sight and it satisfies your longings?" he replied with a smile.

"Oh Sam, that's very cheesy," she replied with a smile and turned away to climb the ladder. "And the truth," she then added and saw from the corner of her eye how a wide grin appeared on his face, while he pasted the next strip.

They made good progress and when Penny had finished cutting the last panel and pressing it firmly, Sam also finished working on the edge strips.

"Would you like to clean? Then I'll tidy up and put the furniture back in place for you. Then you'll have everything in order again and you can relax," Sam asked and Penny nodded.

"It's almost time for dinner. If Bronwyn hadn't brought anything, I would have invited you to Bella's restaurant in Newtown to thank you," Penny said as the work was coming to an end.

"Are you indirectly asking me out on a date?" Sam replied skeptically and she looked up at him.

"Sam Jones, I'm armed," she replied with a smile and held up the mop. "So be careful!"

"Okay, okay," he replied with a laugh and raised his hands defensively before pushing the dresser back against the wall, peering into the top drawer and putting the picture back where it belonged.

Penny saw it and also his smile. Warmth spread through her body. They hadn't been close since the kiss earlier, but there was something different between them and it felt very good.

Penny went into the kitchen and warmed up the food while Sam finished putting away the living room until she came back with two plates and placed them on the coffee table.

"I don't normally like it, but today we're eating a little more comfortably and if you work hard, you have to eat well," Penny objected and quickly fetched cutlery and a bowl of second helpings before she sat down with him. "You have to be hungry. We skipped lunch altogether."

"It's okay. When I'm free, I don't eat lunch and I don't even set the table for myself," he replied between bites and she looked at him questioningly. "I find it depressing. It bothers me. Then I'd rather take everything out of the pots on the stove and eat at the kitchen window and watch the going-on at the station."

"You can never be completely without work, can you?" she replied, laughing softly.

"Not quite, it distracts me. But my favorite days are when we have separate shifts and you're outside at the training tower or in the yard. Then I can watch you without having to constantly worry about a colleague would caught me watching you," he objected and she blushed again before nudging Sam with her shoulder.

"I don't like being watched."

"You never noticed. It never seemed like it bothered you then," he replied teasingly.

"You see, and because my window is too far away to watch you, I have the photo open here so I can see you whenever I feel like it," she replied with a smile. "Could I see the station, it would probably be too exciting for me. I would think about what's going on and how much you're risking every time you go on a emergency."

"No more or less, like any of us. I always follow the rules."

"With a few small exceptions. If you think we're under time pressure again, you'll quickly forget small safety measures," she replied with a skeptical smile.

"Woah, is this our first argument?" he replied surprised and then smiled broadly when she gently but admonishingly poked him in the side with her elbow.

"I'm not arguing Sam, remember that in advance. I'm just discussing things objectively and hoping that it brings insight."

"You really are remarkable, love," he replied with a smile, proudly watching as she blushed again - he loved it when he got her to do it. Penny blushed less at his compliment and more at his nickname for her.

When they were finished, Penny put the dishes together and stood up, but before she could reach for the dishes, she tripped over a fold in the carpet and stumbled. Sam quickly took a step towards her and tried to catch her, but he tripped over the same fold and they ended up on top of each other on the couch.

"Are you okay?" he immediately asked worriedly and she just nodded while she couldn't get enough of looking at his deep blue eyes.

"Everything's fine," she replied with a smile and raised her hands to place them on Sam's waist. A blissful smile came to his face as he sank into her eyes, then leaned down to kiss her and they quickly deepened the kiss, forgetting everything around them.

"Sam?" Penny murmured then as their lips parted and he covered her cheek and neck with gentle kisses.

"Mhm?"

"I love you," she then sighed softly into his ear when he reached hers and discovered a spot underneath that almost drove her crazy when he covered it with his lips - how could he have such an effect on her? But it didn't scare her, on the contrary, she was happier than ever before.

"I love you too, love," he replied tenderly, looking into her eyes, and she had to correct herself - now she was happier than ever in her life, knowing that he felt the same way - she could see it his eyes.

Her lips took possession of his again and she kissed him with such passion and devotion that it clouded both of their senses. They had waited and hoped for so long that they would get to this point and now they couldn't keep themselves away from each other. Just lying there, feeling the other so close to them, filled them both with a bliss they never expected to feel, but kissing each other while the butterflies in their bellies went crazy, and every movement, every muscle and feeling each other's curves on their own bodies, under their own hands, sent them into a frenzy of joy that was like a rush and they both wanted to never leave each other again. At that moment they both wished that the world would stop so that this would never end and they wouldn't have to stop ever again. It was so beautiful and yet it didn't seem like enough.

"I think I'd better go," Sam sighed against her lips as her hand slipped under his shirt, her mere touch on his bare skin finally igniting him and sending his hormones haywire. But the last thing he wanted was to give Penny the impression that he was pressuring her or wanted too much too quickly.

"Please stay, Sam," she whispered between kisses. "Didn't I tell you about the sunrise?" she then asked, her cheeks taking on a slight blush.

"You showed me it this morning," he replied with a smile and kissed her again.

"It's even more beautiful from bed," she replied and he paused, looking at her questioningly and she bit her bottom lip - something she always did when she was excited or unsure, but he smiled reassuringly and gave her another kiss.

"I can't wait," he replied and she smiled too before he kissed her again.

-------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------

When the sun rose the next morning, a ray of sunshine tickled Sam's face and he lazily opened his eyes. It took him a moment to get his bearings, but when he looked out the window in front of him, he saw a sunrise that was more beautiful than yesterday's, but maybe that was also because of the woman in his arms, who lay snuggled against his chest.

He was looking forward to what the future would bring and especially to growing old with her, because it was already clear to him that he would never let go of Penny. He wanted to watch endless sunrises like that with her and make her completely his, start a family with her.

"Did I promise too much?" Penny woke him up from his thoughts and he turned his face to kiss her.

"No, you didn't. It's wonderful, but mostly because you're with me," he replied, smiling.

"Old charmer," she sighed, giggling and snuggling closer to him, stroking his stomach with her hand as she felt his hand slip into her hair. "Did I bother you with something in particular?"

"No. I was just thinking about what the future holds."

"And that's nothing special?" she replied with a smile, sitting up and looking into his eyes while he gently stroked her cheek with one hand.

"As long as I have you by my side, every moment is special and everything that comes can only be wonderful. I love you so much," he then sighed, entranced by seeing her framed by the last reddish rays of sunlight in front of him and when she blushed again, he pulled her close and kissed her. "You drive me crazy, Penny. Why can I never get enough of you?" he then sighed against her lips and she laughed softly.

"Maybe because we had to wait too long or it's just our fate and we're meant for each other," she replied with a smile.

"That's us, because I'm definitely not letting you go anymore. I'm completely in love with you," he said and kissed the spot under her ear with a cheeky grin.

"I love you Sam, now and forever," she replied with a smile and was about to kiss him again when her phone rang. She groaned in annoyance, but it didn't help. If it was business-related, she would get in trouble with Steele if she ignored it. So she dug it out of her sweatpants, which were lying carelessly on the floor, and answered it. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Penny," Bronwyn piped into the phone and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Why hadn't she looked at the display? "Do you know where Sam is? He always comes for breakfast on Sundays." Sam touched his forehead - how could he have forgotten that? "And he's not there yet, but he's not answering the phone either. We just want to make sure that something didn't happen to him on the way home last night. He did said that the wild boars are so dangerous at the moment." Penny looked at Sam perplexed, they hadn't yet talked about how they wanted to deal with the fact that they were now a couple in public.

"Bronwyn, don't worry, he's fine," she said anyway, because she couldn't lie to her best friend.

"Really Penny? I'm really worried about Sam. It's not like him to just stay away without telling me," they heard Charlie in the background, who really sounded very worried.

Sam unceremoniously took the phone out of Penny's hand. "I'm fine, Charlie, don't worry. I just forgot and I'm very sorry. I'll make it up to you," he said remorsefully and a silence arose from the other End of the line before they heard Bronwyn squeal excitedly and Charlie tried to calm her down, but the phone was poorly covered. They couldn't help but smile in amusement at this.

"Okay Sam, then have a nice Sunday you two and have fun... well I don't mean it that way, I meant..."

"It's okay Charlie, we understand. Thank you," replied Sam with a smile. "Give a hello to the children. I hope they aren't too disappointed."

"When they hear that Penny is coming with you in the future, they will be thrilled. Don't let it bother you," Bronwyn called into the phone and hung up while Penny put the phone away laughing.

"You have a wonderful family, Sam," she replied and snuggled up to him again.

"Now it's your family too. They love you almost as much as I love you, although that's hard to top," he said with a smile and she smiled too as she gave him a kiss.

"I think I can keep up with that. I love you more," she said with a grin and snuggled into his strong arm.

"I'm looking forward to finding out, love. I'm looking forward to it." He kissed her forehead before they both dozed off once more, smiling happily.

THE END