Ten Things
Summary: Ten things that Carlos loves about Gabrielle.
I.
The first time he saw her was on a runway in New York. He'd watched as she'd strutted down the runway in a shiny pink dress with a halter neck. There was confidence in her stride that made her look mouth-wateringly sexy. When their eyes met briefly, that was when he knew. He knew there was something about that girl.
Hours later, when he tracked her down at the after-party and introduced himself, she pretended not to be interested. The mischievous glint in her eye combined with her kiss-me-hard mouth drove him completely crazy.
Yes, there was something about that girl, alright.
II.
After relentlessly pursuing her for almost three weeks, she finally agreed to a date with him.
She looked beautiful that night – wearing a silver strapless gown that showed off her elegant shoulders, her feet clasped in high heels, her hair cascading like a waterfall down her back in perfect waves.
They talked; the flirted; they clinked glasses. The night had been amazing. When he made a dry comment about something silly someone at work had said, she laughed. The sound of him surprised him. She laughed. It wasn't the silly giggle he'd always heard from most of the girls he'd met; she had a loud, crazy, clear laugh that rang through the restaurant as she unabashedly held her sides and laughed.
All he could remember about that night was listening to the sound that escaped her mouth and thinking that it was the most amazing thing he'd ever heard.
III.
The first time they made love was after their second date.
It had been amazing to say the least and he was exhausted in an extremely satisfying way. He'd spent a good two weeks asking her out on another date and she'd once again played her little game by avoiding his calls and making up excuses to not go out with him. He'd been surprised to figure out that it was proving to be absolutely impossible to get her off his mind. He'd spent two weeks thinking about her – just her – and wondering how to get her to agree to another date.
She rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. He could hardly believe the words that were spilling out of his mouth. "Gabrielle, I'm in love with you."
He noted, with pleasure, how her eyes went soft and warm at his words. She didn't say them back. She didn't have to. She just kissed him like she'd never kissed him before.
IV.
The first time Carlos saw a side of her that she had been hiding away the whole time was on the night of their wedding.
After they made love, they lay next to each other, his arms around her, holding her to him. She sat up suddenly and looked at him and there was a look in her eyes that made him sit up and look at her expectantly.
"Carlos, there's something I need to tell you," she said quietly.
Then it all came spilling out. The truth about her step-father, the horrible things that had happened to her as a child, her mother not believing her, how she ran away to New York…everything. When she was done speaking, she looked at him with such a broken look in his eyes that it shattered his heart.
There was also realization. He realized that there was nothing that could ever make him stop loving her. In fact, he only loved her more when he saw how vulnerable and beautifully broken she really was.
V.
When they were divorced, he dated Edie Britt while she dated the mayor, Victor Lang.
On the day of her wedding, he sat on a couch in a room with a bottle in his hand. It was the only way he could get through the trauma of watching the woman he loved so very deeply marry a man she clearly wasn't in love with.
At that moment, she walked into the room, looking resplendent in her white gown. There was a blank look on her face as she sat next to him, deep in thought. He looked at her, wondering what was going on.
"What's the matter?" he said.
She looked at him and there was a look in her eyes that said that she wasn't happy, that this was not what she wanted. Before he knew it, she'd reached out, placed a hand behind his head and pulled him into a kiss that was sweet and sinful at the same time.
It was the most amazing feeling in the world, he realized as he kissed her, to know that despite everything, she was still in love with him.
VI.
They got married again after the death of Victor Lang and after Carlos had lost his eyesight. Almost a year later, she'd gotten pregnant.
He was ecstatic, of course, and though she seemed less than pleased about the idea initially, he could see her warming up to the idea of their own child.
One day, early in her ninth month of pregnancy, she woke him up in the middle of the night, moaning as her contractions began. He groped in the darkness for the phone and dialled the Scavos, whose number was on speed dial.
Lynette and Tom had gotten there in less than five minutes and were helping her into the car. He stood there, unable to see what was going on and cursing himself for not being able to drive his own wife to the hospital when they were about to have their own child.
When Lynette helped him into the car, he felt Gabby reach out and take his hand, squeezing it hard as the pain from the contractions ripped through her body. He put his arm around her, whispering in her ear that everything would be okay and noticing how it was helping her take her mind off the pain.
Each time she squeezed his hand, he had been infinitely glad that even though he couldn't see her, he was still able to provide her with comfort and assurance when she needed it the most.
VII.
After his surgery, when his vision was still in the process of coming back, he opened his eyes every single day hoping to finally lay eyes on his wife and the daughters he'd never been able to see.
One day, when Gabby was out shopping for groceries, his vision suddenly cleared and all of a sudden, he was standing in the middle of the room looking at two beautiful little girls who had called him daddy.
The next minute, he was hugging them and fighting back tears because he was finally able to see the two daughters that he'd heard and touched but never seen. Five minutes later, Gabby returned and rushed to hug him and their daughters when she learned that his vision had finally come back.
Their eyes locked above the heads of their children for the first time in five years and he could feel a powerful wave of emotion coursing through him, connecting all four of them.
He noticed how her hair was shorter, her body a little plumper, her face devoid of make-up and realized at once that she'd given up so much to hold their family together while he was blind.
She'd been his rock and he loved her so, so much for that.
VIII.
When they found out that their biological daughter had been switched for Juanita accidently in the hospital, Carlos was crushed, confused and deeply upset. When they'd met their biological daughter Grace for the first time, he noticed on how Gabby seemed to fall more and more in love with her.
He hadn't counted on what it would do to Gabby when Grace went away with her mother.
When they had been forced to abandon their car in a shady neighbourhood, he had been there to hold her as she screamed and cried when the thief had driven away with their car containing an eight-hundred-dollar doll that she'd bought, pretending that it has been Grace.
He'd held her tightly, wishing, at that moment, that he could take away the pain that was coursing through her body, eating her up. There was a part of him that was so touched by the fact that she cared so deeply for the girl who was their biological daughter, who they would never see again, yet, there was another part of him that wished that they'd never met Grace, that wished that her absence would have never left such a deep impact on his wife.
As he held her, he got a true glimpse of exactly how much she was hurting and made a vow to love her and help her through all of it.
IX.
When he decided to leave his corporate job for a job dedicated to helping recovering alcoholics, Gabby got a job at a store for the position of a personal shopper.
One morning, while they talked in the kitchen, she received a call from her manager who told her that she'd been promoted to the position of Vice President of Sales. He saw the look on her face at that point, watched how happiness and joy and confusion bloomed across her face. He remembered how she'd jumped into his arms, high on happiness, unable to believe what had just happened to her.
He loved seeing her smile, loved seeing her feel wanted and accomplished again. Her happiness was contagious and he loved her so much for that.
X.
Many, many years after they'd moved to California and after Juanita and Celia had moved away, gotten married and had kids of their own, Carlos would think of all these reasons as he lay beside his beloved wife at night.
They had been through so much together in their youth and were still together now, growing old together, side by side, helping and supporting each other through everything.
One particular night, he reached out and held her hand, surprised, even after all this time, by its softness. As she turned to look at him, he smiled at her, revelling in the beautiful journey that they'd accomplished together. He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it, a simple gesture that conveyed so much without words.
What Carlos would remember as the one thing that he loved the most about his wife Gabrielle was the fact that their hearts were always, always inextricably tied together and would remain that way for many, many more years to come.