Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy this small one-shot.
Maxie was waiting at the elevators in Harborview Towers. She had on a very sophisticated simple red dress on with a black overcoat. Her makeup was simple with a red lip and her hair was pulled back into a loose bun. Her black heels made the perfect accent to her already gorgeous legs and her silver necklace and earrings brought the entire outfit together perfectly.
A small bell rung and the elevator doors opened. Maxie stepped in and hit the button for the penthouse floor. Just as the doors were closing however, Maxie heard a distant voice.
'Wait, hold the elevator," shouted the approaching voice.
Maxie stuck her arm out and prevented the doors from closing. Running down the lobby was a man dressed to the nine's, clearly ready to spend Thanksgiving with whom he was very thankful for.
The man was wearing an impeccably well fitted black suit with a white collared button-down shirt and a very classy looking red-striped tie. His dreamy eyes immediately focused in on Maxie's eyes as he walked in.
"Gosh, I thought I was going to be late and that you were going to be waiting by the door," Maxie introduced.
"There was some traffic, everyone trying to get to their Thanksgiving dinners. You look beautiful," Nathan grabbed Maxie's hand, brought the hand to his mouth and placed a gentle soft kiss on the top, treating her like a princess because in his eyes she was nothing else.
The elevator doors closed and the couple was silent. It wasn't an awkward silence; Maxie and Nathan were appreciating each other's presence after many weeks of trying to avoid one another's company. Maxie was the first to end the quietness.
"I'm so happy Sam gave me her key to her penthouse. I think it's probably one of the places that the judge has look outs for and besides they're probably all off celebrating Thanksgiving. I'm just so grateful that we get this chance to celebrate Thanksgiving together," Maxie said quickly.
"Yeah, Sam and I got off on the wrong foot but we've definitely come around since then," Nathan said with a huge smirk on his face. He was certainly hiding something and Maxie decided to just ignore it.
The elevator bell rung and the doors opened. Maxie and Nathan stepped out hand in hand and walked in front of the penthouse door. Maxie searched through her purse and found her key.
"Here, let me do the honors," Nathan said as he took the key from Maxie's hand. He put the key in and opened the door, allowing for Maxie to walk in first.
The entire penthouse was beautifully and romantically decorated. There were lit candles everywhere and the lights were dimmed. The table was set with stunning china and there were 12 red roses in the center.
"O my God, Nathan! Did you do all this?" Maxie was completely stunned. She was not expecting this at all. Nathan had gone behind her back and decorated the entire apartment for the evening.
"What how did you get this all set up? You didn't have a key to the penthouse," Maxie asked.
"I called Sam and told her about my idea. I told her about our situation and she immediately wanted to help. I asked her if she could let us use her penthouse since she was spending Thanksgiving with Patrick. She obviously said yes and so we spent this afternoon decorating together," Nathan explained.
"I can't believe you guys did all this. You have got to be the most romantic cop I've ever dated," Maxie said.
"Wait are you saying you've dated other cops?" Nathan asked. Nathan and Maxie walked into the apartment and Nathan helped Maxie take off her jacket and put it in the coat closet.
"It's a long story that I do not wish to get into because tonight is all about us," Maxie smiled.
Nathan led Maxie over to the table and pulled out her chair. Maxie thanked Nathan and sat down, while Nathan slowly pushed Maxie closer to the table. He then opened the bottle of champagne and poured it into Maxie's glass first and then his own.
"I don't mean to be pressing because this is already absolutely amazing but what is for dinner?" Maxie asked.
"Who doesn't have turkey on Thanksgiving?" Nathan answered.
"I hope Sam didn't make the turkey. Well if she attempted to cook it then we wouldn't be here right now. She can't even make a grilled cheese sandwich without burning the toast," Maxie commented. Nathan laughed and walked to the kitchen only to return with a perfectly roasted turkey.
"Don't worry. Sam let me use her kitchen," Nathan responded. He set the turkey on the table and picked up the large knife and fork. He cut off one slice of the turkey and gave it to Maxie and then proceeded to cut another piece for himself.
"I seriously cannot believe you did all of this," said Maxie who was still in absolute aw. Nathan sat down and raised his champagne class.
"I think it's time to say a speech. Before I met you I was so focused on finding justice for my sister Nina, I never even thought twice about finding someone special and finding someone that I could in love with. You, Maxie, changed all that. The moment I first laid eyes on you I knew that in a very cliché way, that we were meant for each other. Even though we've only been able to spend a limited amount of time together, I feel like a different person around you. You bring out the best of me and I know this whole speech has been really cheesy but the person I'm most thankful for is you, Maxie Jones," Nathan raised his glass and clinked with Maxie's glass. Maxie was on the verge of tears. She was speechless.
"You are unbelievable. I guess this is my turn to make a speech. I'm thankful for Sam for making this night possible. I swear I'm going to go to her tomorrow and hug her so tightly that she won't even know ribs are. More importantly, however, I'm most thankful for you. You saved me from the loser who shall remain nameless. You tried to warn me so many times but I just kept ignoring you because I was so blind but I'd like to think that I've regained my vision. I'm going to see my daughter soon and then once I get half custody or something close we'll be able to see each other on a normal basis," Maxie said in return. They both took a sip from their glass and began eating their turkey.
"Wow this is amazing! Where did you learn to cook?" asked Maxie as she chewed the turkey.
"Madeline taught me one or two things about cooking. I was often times the man of the house because there was never a father in the picture and in a normal Thanksgiving Day dinner, the man of the house usually cuts the turkey. I thought it was only fair for me to learn how to cook the turkey if I was going to cut it for everyone," Nathan explained.
"Seriously, is there anything that you do that is not well mannered?"
"I like to think holding a gun at someone is not very humane," Nathan answered as he took another bite of his turkey.
"What do you mean, you're a cop? It's part of the job," Maxie said a little perplexed.
"It doesn't mean I enjoy it. You used to be an assistant at Crimson right? I'm pretty sure you didn't like doing the coffee runs every day," Nathan argued.
"You make a point."
"Have you thought about getting a new job anywhere?" Nathan asked. Maxie stuttered.
"Wh...wait don't answer that. That was very rude of me to ask that question," Nathan said taking away his question.
"No, it's fine. I've thought about becoming a fashion editor since I'm so into fashion and stuff. I actually had an interview with a local newspaper editor and he might give me a job to do the fashion column every week," Maxie answered as she didn't take offense to Nathan's question.
"I think that's really cool. It's good that you are deciding to do something that you love. You'd be surprised by the amount of people who just get jobs for the money," Nathan said.
The couple spent the next hour eating their turkey and laughing about funny stories they had about their past.
"What are you doing?" Maxie asked a little clueless as to what was going on. Nathan grabbed a remote from the cabinet behind him and pressed a button. 'At Last' by Etta James came on the stereo. Nathan walked around to Maxie's seat and offered his hand.
At last
My love has come along
"Care to dance?" he asked.
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Maxie giggled a little and then took his hand.
At last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
"It would be my pleasure to have this dance with you," she answered and they both took each other into one another's embrace.
I found a dream, that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
"Thank you," Maxie said softly.
You smiled, you smiled
Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
for you are mine...
At Last
"Thank you."