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I ran through the forest, glancing around quickly as I tried to find my way back to our cabin. He was behind me, I knew it. I had to get back to the cabin, it was safe there. I tumbled out of the woods and onto a road. Looking up, I smiled.
Our cabin was right in front of me, all the lights on and I could see Riley through the window. I got back up, staggering to the door. Opening it, I ran into Riley's arms, out of breath and frightened. I felt tears of relief slid down my face as I hugged him.
"Thank goodness you're here. He…he was right behind me." I gasped.
"Don't worry about it…princess." I heard him say. Standing back up, I found myself in the arms of the man I most feared.
I screamed, sitting up in bed. Gasping, I tried to calm down by glancing around my dark bedroom.
"You okay?" I heard a groggy voice ask. I almost screamed again until I realized that it was Riley. He yawned, sitting up in bed next to me. I looked down, still breathing heavy. I felt his arm around my shoulder, and felt immediately comforted.
"Another nightmare?" he asked softly, scooting closer to me. I nodded, leaning against him. "Well, don't worry, I'm sure they'll disappear eventually." He whispered into my ear. I smiled, closing my eyes.
Riley and I had been married for about two years. I still smile when I think about the night he proposed.
He had taken me to see a goofy movie, and then we had picked up some Chinese takeout and took a walk, sharing each other's fried rice. It was November, so it was cold outside and our breath showed whenever we exhaled. At first, I didn't really pay attention to where we were going. But then, I noticed that he was leading me into the National Archives Building. I gave him a puzzled look, but he ignored it and kept on walking.
He stopped me in front of the Declaration of Independence Display case. We both stared at the document for a long moment in silence. I was skimming over the ancient words, but Riley was probably just trying to keep himself from exploding with nervousness.
"You know," he said suddenly, his voice echoing, "The first time I came here with Ben, I thought he had lost his mind."
I turned towards him to see him still staring at the case.
"But… I've realized that he was just doing something he felt was right, and purposeful. I mean, it all worked out in the end really."
I smiled at him, and he turned to me, holding my hand.
"He finally found what he had been searching for, knew he was that close to it, and decided to do something about it."
I stared into his deep blue eyes, and I could feel butterflies in my stomach for no reason.
"Tonight, I want to do the same thing." He whispered, getting down on one knee.
My heart stopped.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a velvet box. A million meaningless thoughts rushed through my head in those few seconds. He snapped open the box, holding it shakily as he gazed up at me.
"Kenzie Robins…will you-marry me?" he asked softly with a tremor in his voice.
That was when I remembered to breath. I gasped, bringing a hand up to my mouth. I felt my eyes get cold, the way they feel when they fill with tears. And then, I tried to remember how to speak.
"I…I-"
That was all I got out before I jumped on top of Riley, hugging him and crying and laughing all at the same time. For a moment, he was surprised.
"Is that a yes?" he asked. I giggled, nodding. He stood up, spinning me around in a circle. He laughed like I hadn't heard him laugh before, the way he would always laugh whenever he was completely happy.
Sighing, I felt Riley laying me back down gently. I blinked my eyes open at him, smiling. He laid his head down close to mine, gazing into my eyes.
"Better?" he asked.
"Yeah…" I nodded, "I was thinking about when you proposed to me."
He smiled back, kissing me gently.
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Our alarm was completely too loud. The clock was right next to my head, too, so that didn't help much. Groaning, I rolled over and hit the snooze. Someone walked over in front of the mirror. I opened one of my eyes and saw Kenzie, fully dressed, fixing her hair.
"Hey…" I sighed, "what are you doing up this early?"
"I have a doctor's appointment. Sorry if I woke you." She whispered, coming over towards me. "Now remember, you have a meeting at the Smithsonian today at noon, so try to get up and dressed before then, alright?"
"Whatever you say mom…" I sighed sarcastically. She raised an eyebrow before leaning down and giving me a kiss.
"Bye, I love you." She told me before disappearing out the door.
"Love you too sweetie…" I breathed, turning over and falling back asleep.
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My breathing was shallow as I climbed into my car, not believing what the doctor had told me. I dropped my keys, and shakily picked them back up.
"Calm down, Kenzie…everything's fine. You just need to…calm down." I took a deep breath as I started the car. Then, as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I picked up my cell phone. Dialing, I held it up to my ear, keeping one hand on the steering wheel.
"Hello?" Abigail answered.
"Hey, Abigail…" I smiled weakly, "It's me, Kenzie. I was wondering if I could stop by and talk with you."
"Of course, I was just fixing lunch. I hope you like PB&J."
"Oh, my favorite." I laughed.
"Then I'll make an extra. See you soon." She hung up.
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I had started my own business a year or two ago, creating and installing security systems in museums. Today, I was supposed to check on one I had installed at the National air and space museum.
As I walked inside, staring up at the different aircraft that was hanging from the ceiling, I bumped into someone and dropped my backpack.
"Oh, sorry!" I apologized, bending over to pick up my bag.
"No problem." A familiar voice answered. I stood, turning and looking at a very tall, very strong red-headed man.
"Davis?" I asked before he could walk away. He turned to me, then smiled as he recognized who I was.
"Riley! I haven't seen you since the wedding!" he clapped me on the back. I almost fell forward again. "Oh, sorry." He apologized.
"Oh, no problem…" I smiled.
"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Just checking up on a security system I installed here last month; you know, making sure it works and all." I nodded. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. He glanced around nervously before leaning in towards me.
"Top secret FBI business." He whispered.
"Really?" I asked, wondering if I could get away before we were chased by some big guy with a gun.
"Nah," he laughed, clapping me on the back again. "I just knew you'd fall for that. Really, I'm here on a date."
"With who?" I asked.
"My daughter." He smiled at me as a red-headed girl bounded up to us. "Gabby, I want you to meet Riley Poole." Davis introduced me. The little girl hid shyly behind his legs, peeking out suspiciously at me.
"Hey," I waved at her. "You know, you could hide better if you had some sunglasses." I reached into my bag, and retrieved an old pair that I never used anymore, offering them to her. She snatched them up, smiling at me as she put them on. Then, grabbing her dad's hand, she started to pull him away.
"Uh, looks like we have to go," Davis waved to me, "It was nice bumping into you."
"Bye," I held my hand up, watching them leave. Sighing, I turned and walked off.
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I watched Ben and Abigail's son, Thomas, as he played with his toys on the ground. Abigail came over, carrying two paper plates that held PB&J sandwiches. I turned to her, smiling.
"So, what did you need to talk about?" she asked me, taking a bite of her sandwich. I sighed, wringing my hands.
"I went to see Dr. Adams today." I told her. "He told me that I was…" I trailed off.
"What?" Abigail asked, setting her sandwich down.
"…Pregnant." I whispered. Abigail's eyes grew big before she screamed, jumping up and hugging me. I laughed, trying not to cry.
"Aren't you happy?" she asked me, sitting back down.
"Well, I guess…It's just that we haven't even been married that long, and I'm still in shock." I told her quietly. She held my arm, smiling at me.
"Look, its best not to worry about it. I mean, you'll make a great mother." She reassured me.
"I know," I sighed, "I'm worried about telling Riley."
"What? You don't think he'll be excited?" she asked.
"No, I mean, yes…I don't know. I'm worried that he won't be ready yet." I sighed. She hugged me again.
"Look, the toughest part will be trying to tell him. You probably don't even know how much he's ready for this." She told me. I glanced up at her, trying to reassure myself.
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My phone rang as I was going through the security screens. I paused, picking it up.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hey Riley." Kenzie answered.
"Oh, hey Kenzie." I turned away from my work for a moment.
"I was just going to let you know that I was going to make us dinner tonight." She told me.
"Really? What's the occasion?" I asked her.
"Well, I just thought that it would be nice and all." She said nervously.
"Alright, don't have to tell me twice. See you around seven, sweetie." I smiled.
"Alright, bye."
I hung up, turning back around to see the two security guards staring at me. I smiled.
"My wife." I shrugged. They turned back around to the screens, mumbling.
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I lit the candles, dimming the lights as I set out the plates full of stir fry. Sighing, I rushed around doing everything and anything to keep my mind off of tonight. As I was turning around, Riley grabbed me up in a hug. I gasped in surprise.
"Hey honey," he smiled, twirling me around. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "These are for you."
"Oh, they're beautiful." I told him, smiling as I laid them on the table. He looked around the room.
"Wow, you sure went all out for tonight." He said. I smiled nervously.
"Yes, well, the food's ready." I said. Idiot; 'the food's ready'? He was being romantic and all I could say was 'the food's ready'?
"All right." He smiled at me as he sat, grabbing a fork. I sat down across from him. We ate in silence for awhile.
"So, was the security system working?" I asked.
"Yeah, there was nothing wrong with it." He nodded, mouth full of food. "Hey, you'll never guess who I bumped into today."
"Who?" I asked.
"Davis."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah," Riley nodded, "He was at the museum with his daughter. She was so cute."
We returned to silence, staring at our plates of food. Then, we both spoke all at once.
"There's something I need to tell you." I a blurted out as the same time as he said:
"I want to talk about something."
We both stopped, then laughed anxiously. I glanced over at him.
"You go first." I told him.
"Alright," he sighed. "I think that…well, I wanted to tell you that-" he stopped, took a deep breath before continuing. "I think it's time we started trying to have a baby."
I dropped my fork.
"Y-you think so?" I asked. He nodded, pushing his food around on his plate. I smiled at him, starting to feel courage seep into me.
"That's great because there's something…" I started.
A loud sound cut me off. We both turned to look out the window, and saw that someone was shooting off fireworks. We smiled at each other before rushing out onto our patio. Riley pulled me into a hug, and I leaned against him as we watched the sky light up with colors. After a few moments, he leaned down towards me.
"So, what did you want to tell me?" he whispered.
I smiled. Turning to him, I took his hands gently and led them towards my body.
I slowly placed them on my stomach, gazing up into his eyes. The fireworks reflected in his eyes, and I could see his face open in surprise. He blinked, staring down at me. I looked at my feet, embarrassed.
Then he leaned forward, kissing me. I blinked, my eyes growing wet as I looked back up at him. He smiled at me, making my smile come back. We leaned into a hug, the fireworks lighting up the sky as we kissed. He spun me around again, and I giggled as he laughed the way he always laughs when he's completely happy.
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A/N: I don't know where all this fluff comes from. Alright, I promise if I use these characters again (because I really like the chemistry between them) it'll be in a real story with minimum fluff. I think it's time to set them aside for a while though because I have some other great story ideas(plus summer band is about to start. See how willing I can write a story after marching four hours in the sun-or rather, rain(hopefully)). Review if you liked it!