I know I've written this outcome in a previous fic, but my muse insisted that this is one more way it could have happened. Of course I had to listen! Hope you like this as well.
They have been living at Don Barbera's house for a few days now. Julia's leg is healing nicely & both she & Barbie have gotten their much needed rest. Since most of Julia's possessions never made it to Zenith, it was decided that a trip to the mall was in order. In a short time they were ready to go, driving down the road to town.
"Thanks for going with me. I know shopping is never a number one thing for a guy."
Barbie chuckled as he reached over to capture her hand. Giving it a soft squeeze, he reassured her. "Babe, I don't mind at all. Besides, won't it be nice to do something normal for a change?"
"Normal!" Julia sighed... "not sure if I know what that is anymore. No emergencies, plenty of food and water, no one trying to kill either of us. Sounds like heaven, doesn't it?"
Barbie only brought her hand to his lips, pressing a tender kiss to her palm.
Arriving at the mall, they wandered through the stores buying items they needed or that caught their eye. While Julia was trying on jeans, Barbie noticed a rather appealing sweater on a mannequin and walked over to take a closer look. It was cashmere, off the shoulder and an amazing shade of blue that would match her eyes perfectly.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"It is." Barbie replied to the sales associate. "Do you...ahh...wear something underneath?"
The woman smiled at his query. "Well that depends on the look you're going for. It could be worn with a camisole of the same or contrasting color or if the lady you have in mind has the right figure, it can be worn without anything underneath."
Barbie's throat went dry as he imagined the softness of the sweater covering the softness of Julia's body. He managed to choke out the words... "You've convinced me. Could you wrap it up and not say anything to my girlfriend. I want to surprise her."
"You're with the redhead, right?" Not waiting for a response, she continued... "she'll love it. Lucky gal."
"No, I'm the one who's lucky. Girlfriend just doesn't describe what she is to me – she's my everything."
Walking away the woman couldn't help but think that she was right to begin with. "I don't care what he says – she's one lucky lady. Good looking, hot body, thoughtful and romantic on top of all that." She sighed as she efficiently rang up the sale and boxed up the purchase well before Julia came out with her clothing choices.
Since they already had several packages, she didn't notice that there was an extra among them. Finished in this store, they strolled out into the mall, window shopping, people watching. If anyone was paying attention to them, they would see a couple very obviously in love. If Barbie wasn't holding Julia's hand, his arm would be around her waist or his hand beneath her hair, caressing her neck or merely brushing stray curls away from her face. Julia leaned into her man, welcoming his touch...happy to be able to concentrate on nothing or no one but him.
She stopped in front of the next store she wanted to enter and looked up at Barbie her eyebrow arched and a hint of amusement in her voice. "Do you want to come in with me? You could pick something out for me to wear for you."
"Victoria's Secret?" he chuckled... "ahh, I think you can handle this on your own. Just pick out something nice for me."
"Of course." She smiled a little wickedly and leaned in, intending to kiss his cheek. However, with a quick turn of his head, Barbie captured her lips instead. As always that latent spark between them ignited, their eyes speaking volumes as they parted.
He watched Julia walk into the store as he found a bench to sit on and once again was amazed that she was in his life. Once again he prayed that he wouldn't screw this up and again he realized that she wouldn't let him. This caused him to smile.
"Nice smile...penny for your thoughts handsome."
Barbie hadn't even noticed that someone had sat down next to him. When he turned his head to look, he saw a very attractive brunette with sparkling brown eyes, grinning at him.
"Sorry, didn't see you there. I was just wool-gathering, enjoying the day."
"Uh huh – if you say so"... she replied... "by the way, I'm Carmen. I'm a nurse at Zenith General. I don't think I've ever seen you here. I would have remembered."
"Dale Barbera, but everyone calls me Barbie. Zenith is my home town but I've been gone for a long time. Just got back a few days ago." He expected her to make an immediate connection to the dome and was surprised when she didn't bring that up.
"Well, Barbie, I imagine if you've been away for awhile, that a lot of things have changed around here. Maybe you'd like someone to show you around." There was no mistaking the come on that she put out there. She smiled flirtatiously and ran her finger tip along his hand.
"Ahhh, I'm flattered by the offer, Carmen, but I'm very much with someone."
"Figures"... she pouted momentarily... "but maybe we could be friends. Maybe with your "someone" too. We could all use more friends."
Barbie smiled and was about to respond when he noticed Julia walking out of the store with quite a large shopping bag. He stood to take it off her hands, his arm snaking around her waist at the same time.
"Hey, looks like a successful shopping trip for you. Oh, and this is Carmen. She's a nurse here in Zenith."
Julia smiled warmly. "Hi Carmen. I'm Julia, in case Barbie didn't tell you my name, which I'm sure he didn't." She glanced at him archly while he gave her a guilty as charged grin. "It's nice to meet you. I don't know very many people here, so it will be nice to see a familiar face."
"I actually do know who you are...from the dome but I was having a little fun with your guy, flirting with him a bit. He wasn't having any of it." She laughed as she took Julia's outstretched hand.
"Glad you weren't serious with the flirting because he's off the market...has been for awhile." Her words were spoken with a hint of amusement at both Carmen and Barbie. "I'll bet you embarrassed him. Did he blush?"
"Hey!" Barbie broke in... "I'm right here. Can we change the subject, please?"
Both women laughed at his seeming discomfort. With a bit of regret Carmen responded. "Actually, I have to get going. I do hope we can be friends because you two are a lot of fun. Maybe next time we run into each other we can grab a coffee or lunch or something."
Julia was quick to reply. "I can do better than that. Let me put my number in your phone and you can do the same with mine. Like I said before, you could be my first Zenith friend. Let's stay in touch."
With that done, they went their separate ways. Julia sighed a bit alerting Barbie immediately. "What's wrong? Is your leg starting to hurt?" He looked at her worriedly, his brow furrowed with concern.
"No, my leg is OK. I'm just tired and would like to go home."
"Then that's what we'll do." They made their way out of the mall and were soon on the road. Julia leaned against the headrest, turning her head to look at Barbie, moving her hand to caress his neck, threading her fingers into his hair.
"Carmen was nice, wasn't she? Funny that she tried to flirt with you. Were you tempted?" She asked teasingly, secure in their love and commitment to each other.
"Not even a little." He reached back to grasp her hand bringing it to his lips.
He pulled into the drive and shut off the car when they arrived at the back of the house. All the packages were gathered up and they brought them into the kitchen, planning to bring them to their room later.
Julia turned to the cupboards, having decided to make some coffee and maybe a snack for them when she felt the warmth of a body at her back. Turning she noticed that Barbie had effectively trapped her against the counter one arm on either side of her.
"What?" She asked innocently.
"You know...technically I'm not really off the market." He grinned at her puzzled expression.
"So what does that mean?"
"It means"... he softly kissed the corner of her mouth... "that it may be time for you to make an honest man of me." He kissed the other corner of her mouth waiting to hear her response.
"Is that so? What did you have in mind?" She pressed her lips fully to his mouth, feeling the spark ignite once again.
"This"... he was holding a ring in front of her, a beautiful engagement ring... "Julia, marry me."
"Of course I will. That's the only answer I could ever give you. Besides, when we get married, technically, you'll be truly off the market."
Barbie slipped the ring on her finger, kissing each knuckle in turn before capturing her lips tenderly. He pressed soft kisses against her cheek, her forehead, her nose before once again returning to her lips.
He buried his face in her hair, his lips coming to rest beneath her ear. "I love you, Julia. I will love you for as long as you'll have me."
"That would be forever. I love you too."
Leaning a bit away, Barbie smiled into her eyes and remembered something else. "I bought you something today."
Thinking he had somehow managed to buy her some sexy lingerie, she was surprised and delighted to find the beautiful sweater he had picked out.
"I love it"... she murmured... "you have very good taste, Mr. Barbera."
"I do"... he concurred... "I have you as proof of that. I want to take you to dinner tonight and would like you to wear that sweater. The sales lady told me you don't have to wear anything underneath. I'd like that."
"Oh you would?" ….was her quiet reply... "so you want me almost naked out on a date with you?"
"You won't be naked until later"... he pressed closer, the sweater forgotten and crushed between them... "besides, you're off the market too."