Gregory Lestrade stared at the seemingly unending aisle of greeting cards, feeling completely out of his element. Hearts and flowers were never his thing, giving or receiving. It was one of the reasons why his first marriage ended. Well, that and Sheila was shagging every man she met.
His mood darkening with thoughts of his ex-wife, he dragged his mind back to the task at hand. Right, first anniversary card. None of the sentimental cards seemed right, the funny cards weren't her sense of humor, and the naughty cards made him blush but not in a good way. I'm just going to have to do this myself, he thought as he went to the next aisle and grabbed a pack of construction paper.
That night, they were cuddled together on his sofa, Irene wrapped in her, formerly his, best robe and sipping a glass of wine. He noticed at dinner that she'd only poured half a glass but didn't comment on it.
"You know," he murmured, "it's been a year since we started dating."
Irene smiled a bit. "I remember – I noted in my day-planner that day 'dinner with SF.'"
"SF?"
Her smile widened. "Silver Fox."
Greg chuckled as he pulled the card out of the pocket of his second-best robe and offered it to her.
"I wasn't expecting anything," she murmured, surprised.
"I know, but I had to do something to show you what today means to me." He stood up. "More wine?"
"I'm good," she said as she opened the card.
Greg walked to the kitchen, smiling to himself as he thought about the words he'd written.
Irene,
I know you're not the sentimental type. Neither am I, it's one of the reasons we work so well together. But I could let the anniversary of our first date pass without telling you that this has been the happiest year of my life. After the mess that was my marriage to Sheila, I thought I had turned off my heart for good. You not only turned it back on, it now is bigger and stronger than ever. You make me feel like I can do anything. And that's not just in bed, by the way.
Her soft laugh told him when she'd gotten to that part.
What I'm trying to say is that you've made me brave enough to want to try marriage again. I know where I went wrong the first time and I'm going to do my best not to make the same mistakes again. Of course, that won't stop me from making all new mistakes, but I'm hoping we can work through them together.
So, what do you say?
ILY
Greg
He took a deep breath before refilling his glass then going back to the sitting room. Irene sat with one hand over her eyes, weeping. Having never seen the dominatrix-turned-romance-novelist cry before, Greg was immediately alarmed. He sat down next to her then gently took her into his arms, one hand slowly rubbing her back.
"It's okay, baby," he murmured. "We don't have to get married. I know how much you like your freedom."
"It's not that," she murmured after she calmed down. "I want to marry you. It's the hormones."
"Hormones?" Greg asked, confused. It's not her time of the month.
Irene smiled at him happily. "Gregory Lestrade, you've managed another first for me." At his confused look, she added, "How do you feel about parenthood?"
He beamed at her. "I think it's going to be one hell of an adventure."
