Valentine's Day

They were in bed, naked as usual; they'd just finished making love and were now just enjoying catching their breaths. Jane was on top of Kurt and he was stroking her back. He knew she had been distracted for a couple of days and he knew she would talk to him when she was ready.

"Kurt, can you promise me something?"

His hand stopped its movement.

"If I can, I will."

His hand started moving again.

"I know it's the middle of January but can you promise me that we won't do anything for Valentine's Day?"

Kurt paused what he was doing. He had no idea where this came from.

"Can I ask why?"

"It's just that everywhere has got things for Valentine's Day and it doesn't seem special, just a way to sell some roses and chocolate. I know you, you'll want to do something special but I don't want to go to a restaurant where they'll charge us more because of the date and I don't want a present that's been marked up by at least 50% again just because of the date. Can we just spend the evening here if we don't have a case? Just you and me and maybe some take out?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Are you disappointed?"

"A little I guess but as long as we're still together that's the main thing!"

"Thank you!"

Jane leaned up to kiss him, as usual one kiss was not enough for either of them, it was a while before they fell asleep.

February 4th

"Tasha, you know how to cook right?"

Tasha looked up at Jane who was standing by her desk.

"Yeah, I'm not Kurt in the kitchen but I don't starve!"

Jane looked around before saying another word.

"Can I ask you for a favour please?"

"Sure, what can I help you with?"

"Can we take this outside?"

"Ok, one sec." Tasha locked her computer and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair.

"Where are you two off to?" asked Reade

"Coffee run! Text me what you want, tell Weller and Patterson!"

They made their way to their favourite coffee place and found a table.

"So what's up?"

"I want to cook for Kurt…"

Tasha had her mouth open in shock; Jane held her hand up to stop Tasha from saying anything.

"…I know I'm more than useless in the kitchen but he's always showing me how much he loves me and I can't do the same. I just want to cook for him for one night, next week, Valentine's Day. Nothing too ambitious maybe a pasta Bolognese but I need someone to show me how to make it. Kurt has tried and he has so much patience but I want this to be a surprise for him…"

"Ok, I'll help but you'll have to follow everything I say and we're going to need backup!"

"Backup?"

"Yeah, Patterson will help with the timings and such and Reade can help you with dessert!"

"Dessert? Isn't that going to be too ambitious?"

"Reade can bake! He can give Weller a run for his money!"

"I don't think so, Kurt is a great baker!"

"Jane, do you want to knock his socks and whatever else he's wearing with your cooking?"

"It's not about getting him naked, we have NO trouble in that department thank you very much!"

"Calm down, I was joking. But seriously Reade is a great baker."

"Ok, if you think I can handle it?"

"Ok, first of all, you have to change your mind-set. Think of this as a mission and you'll do great!"

"Ok, I'll trust you."

"Great, ok. Let me just set up a group chat for the four of us."

Jane watched as Tasha was typing something quickly on her cell. The next thing she knew her cell was indicating she had one, two, multiple messages, they wouldn't stop. Jane was starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

A couple of nights later at Tasha's place ostensibly for girls' night Tasha showed Jane how to make pasta Bolognese and Jane repeated exactly what Tasha did. Strangely enough, when it came to the kitchen, she took ages to peel and chop things, she thought it would be second nature to her because of how good she was with a knife but she was wrong, she was only good when she was trying to injure someone. Patterson was there recording everything and she was going to type up a list of steps to follow as well and it would have the timings included with it. Reade just wanted a meal.

Jane tasted Tasha's dish and then her own and she was in tears, literally. She couldn't stop crying, she actually cooked something and it wasn't horrible. She could see Kurt enjoying this and she made it with her own hands. She couldn't take her one home as Kurt would find out about her surprise so she gave it to Reade as payment for him helping her; he was a little hesitant until he saw both Patterson and Tasha nod their heads. He was mildly surprised. He initially thought about teaching her how to make basic chocolate cupcakes with a simple frosting but now he was rethinking this.

Obviously cases or a case had to interrupt their cooking schedule. Reade didn't have a chance to teach her how to make red velvet cupcakes as they were swamped with a case. The first opportunity Reade had to show her was the morning of the 13th, she left the apartment for 'a long run' but went straight to Reade's place, she got there by six am. He had all the ingredients measured out already, they just had to mix everything and wait for them to bake. Reade told her what to do and she followed his instructions. They didn't have enough time to frost the cupcakes; they would do that at the end of the day. Jane cleaned up the kitchen while Reade went to get ready for work. In the car, Jane kept on asking question upon question about baking and what if something went wrong. He'd never seen her this nervous before, she was usually a quietly confident person, not arrogant, just sure of herself, seeing her like this was eye opening. Kurt was one lucky guy to find someone so in tune with him.

Kurt knew there was something going on with Jane she was acting strangely. She started to mutter about spices and sautéing in her sleep. At first he thought he was imagining it but when he listened closely she was in fact talking about ingredients, something she had no interest in. When she walked into the bullpen with Reade he noticed straight away that she didn't have her ring on, which was strange. He noticed the moment, just by chance, when she realised that her ring was missing. She lost all the colour in her face and started to look for it around her desk, in her bag and anywhere else it could have been. She was almost in tears, he was going to ask her if she was ok when Patterson came up and beat him to it. He watched as Patterson quickly typed something on her cell and within a few minutes Reade came in and palmed something off to Jane, it was subtle but he noticed it. Jane's relief was palpable. He watched as she put the ring on again and she calmed down and got back to work.

Kurt watched as Reade and Jane left for the night, he knew there was nothing going on between them but they were hiding something. Jane was going to help him with a defence move that he'd been trying to master but wasn't having much luck with. Jane would let him know soon enough he thought.

Jane arrived home just after eight and she looked shattered no, not tired just stressed a little.

"Hey, are you ok? Did Reade master that move?" Kurt said as he moved to kiss her hello

"Hey, I'm just a little tired. Reade is a perfectionist and wouldn't settle for anything but perfection!"

She had to make the frosting a couple of times as the first batch she made ended up on the floor when she dropped the bowl thinking she placed it securely on the counter.

She wrapped her arms around Kurt and returned his kiss. They held on to each other and Kurt could have sworn that he could smell and see icing sugar in his wife's hair.

"I'm going to go and have a shower." Jane said as she stepped away from Kurt

"Ok, do you want help washing your back?" Kurt asked hopefully

"Not, tonight, maybe tomorrow morning?"

"I'll look forward to it!"

Jane smiled a tired smile and walked to their bedroom which would lead to their bathroom.

Once she finished her shower she came out in one of his shirts and collapsed by him on the sofa where he was watching a baking programme. He was a little confused as Jane kept on making comments.

"Lies!"

"All lies!"

"Easy peasy frosting, yeah right!"

The fact that she was half asleep while she said these things made him even more confused. Once the programme was finished he carried her to their room as she was too tired to walk, she gave a token protest but snuggled into him as he carried her. She got under the covers and she must have been really tired as she still had his shirt on, they always slept naked unless she was on her period or they had an argument, as she was still in his shirt he decided to keep his clothes on. As soon as he was beside her she got into her usual position of lying half on him, her head on his chest and one arm wrapped around his middle and a leg in between his. She settled almost immediately into a deep sleep, he read for a little while before he began to feel sleepy.

He was having a lovely dream, Jane was kissing his chest, his jaw, and she was playing with his nipples with her tongue, something that drove him wild. Then she moved to his mouth and the kiss she gave him…was wow. Then he realised that he wasn't dreaming, Jane was in fact kissing him awake.

"C'mon hubby mine, it's time to wake up and show me how much you love me."

He pulled her towards him and claimed her mouth which left her in no doubt about his wakefulness. Before anything else could happen Jane moved out of his arms and stepped out of the bed. He just lied looking at her all confused.

"It seems as if I didn't managed to get all the dirt off from yesterday, hmmmm, if only there was someone who could help me wash my back!" said Jane as she walked to the bathroom and dropped his shirt on the way so she was butt naked.

It didn't take him long to get out of bed and catch up to his wife. It was no surprise that they were late for work not that either of them were sorry.

"Hey Kurt, I've spoken to Reade and he says that I can head off now seeing as I'm not much help, this headache is getting worse."

Kurt looked up from his monitor and saw Jane standing by his desk, she looked a little pale.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"I'm a big girl but thank you for offering, it's lunchtime, you still have a few hours until you can leave. I'll see you at home. Text me when you're leaving and I'll order in ok?"

"Text me if it gets worse alright?"

"I'll be fine, I probably just have to relax, someone gave me quite a workout this morning!"

Kurt smiled and Jane after a quick look around the office saw most people were busy so she bent down to kiss Kurt quickly on the lips and left.

She didn't go straight home, she went to the supermarket to get everything that she was going to need. She had Tasha and Reade on high alert just in case she needed their help. Shopping took longer than she anticipated.

She removed her jacket and took her boots off in favour of her bunny slippers that she favoured. They were a Christmas present from Kurt and she loved them, the big cute floppy ears and the big brown eyes plus the tails at the back, they were so cute. She wore them all the time when she was home, well apart from when Bethany was with them, she loved them as well and always wore them when she visited; it was too close to call who loved them more, her or Bethany. After her first visit and seeing her reaction to the slippers, she and Kurt went on the hunt for a kid sized pair. Bethany was in heaven when she saw them. Allie and Connor told them how much Bethany loved her slippers.

She started on the red velvet cupcakes as they had to cool enough for her to frost them. It wasn't a surprise that the flour and cocoa powder went everywhere when she switched the mixer on. She forgot to preheat the oven so had to wait for it before she could put the cakes in. They did look good if she said so herself. She kept an eye on the clock plus she had the timer on her cell and the oven if she lost track of time. She cleared up what she could as the cupcakes were baking. She cleaned up all the mess on the counter but didn't see the cake batter on the kitchen cabinets above. She then got started on the pasta Bolognese, she started on the tomato and mince meat sauce, the trick Zapata said was not to rush it. Once it was nearly ready she boiled the pasta. The cupcakes looked gorgeous, she wanted to take a photo right there and then and send it to Kurt but she didn't want to ruin the surprise so she sent a photo to the rest of the team. They were very complimentary about them.

She mixed the pasta and sauce together and placed it in the baking dish topped with quite a bit of cheese waiting for the text from Kurt.

While she waited she made the cream cheese frosting for the cupcakes, she toyed with the idea of making extra as she and Kurt could have a lot of fun with some extra frosting. She didn't drop it thankfully. She wasn't great at piping but she did the best she could. Just as she finished the last cake her cell indicated she had a new message, she checked and it was Kurt letting her know he was on his way. She'd just placed their dinner in the oven and cleared up the remnants of the frosting.

The sound of the key in the lock was a shock, by her watch, she still had 15 minutes until Kurt arrived but there he was standing watching her in shock.

"Jane?"

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

She watched as Kurt closed the door behind him and moved forward, she met him halfway and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

"What's all this?" Kurt asked

Jane took his hands in hers.

"I wanted to do something special for you. You make every day feel like Valentine's Day for me, with everything you do. The way you love me humbles me and this is my way of showing you how much you mean to me. It's nothing compared what you do but I hope you feel as loved as I do…"

Kurt cupped her cheek and pulled her towards him where he worshipped her mouth with his.

"Jane, you humble me by loving me. You could have any man you wanted but the fact that you find happiness with me amazes me every single day and I'm so thankful for you loving me."

"You're going to make me cry!" said a tearful Jane "I was supposed to be ready when you got here; I was going to be dressed up waiting for you…"

"Jane, you're stunning as you are!" Jane saw the truth in his eyes and the tears that she was trying to hold in just rolled down her cheek.

He knew that she didn't see the streak of tomato sauce on her jeans or the frosting on her left sleeve or the cake batter on her beloved bunny slippers. She did all of that for him, he was in awe of the woman standing in front of him.

"Do I have time to grab a quick shower?" Kurt asked

"Yeah, you've got a bit of time, ten minutes until the pasta bake is ready."

"I'll be quick, I promise." He placed a quick kiss to her lips as he went to their room

He was back within the ten minutes and he was dressed just as casually, jeans and a

t-shirt. He sat at the table that had a nice bottle of wine and in place of flowers was a vase full of candy bars which made him smile.

"We've never been a typical couple, so why change that now?" said Jane

"I couldn't agree more!"

Jane brought the pasta bake to the table and served Kurt and herself, while he did the same with the salad. Jane watched as Kurt took his first forkful and the love shining out of his eyes was everything to her. He loved it, he had seconds and he wasn't just being polite. It was just as good as she made it that first time.

Once they cleared the dishes together, Kurt wouldn't let her do it by herself, it was time for dessert. She brought the plate of cupcakes to the table. Kurt was speechless. He kept on staring at the cakes, the icing sugar in the hair the previous night made sense now. His kitchen challenged wife went way above and beyond for this Valentine's Day and he loved it! He took a cupcake once he came out of his trance and began to take the wrapper off and took a big bite of the cake and he closed his eyes in bliss. It was the best red velvet that he'd ever had and that included his own! When he opened his eyes he saw Jane waiting impatiently, he finished his mouthful before talking.

"Jane these are amazing! Thank you!"

Jane was staring at him and he had no idea why.

"Jane?"

She couldn't help but stare, he had frosting over his top lip and it looked too good to ignore so she got up and leaned over and took his top lip into her mouth and licked the frosting off causing Kurt to moan. The cupcake was forgotten as Kurt picked Jane up and took her into their room. They celebrated Valentine's Day for the rest of the night and well into the morning with a break to refuel with the cupcakes and Jane had to agree that the cakes were the best she ever tasted. They were later than usual to the office as not only did they want to replay some of the celebrations from the hours before they also had to put the bed sheets into the wash, there was cream cheese frosting EVERYWHERE!