The aroma coming from the kitchen is different than when Alex usually attempts to cook.
Usually it's a burning smell, often times followed by the smoke alarm bellowing to life and Casey scrambling to pull the battery out and silence it.
But as Casey enters the kitchen at Alex's prompting and takes a seat at their kitchen table, she's shocked by what she sees and smells.
There's a serving plate of cooked asparagus and baked potatoes already placed on the table, and Alex quickly sets a plate down in front of Casey which contains two pork chops.
They look edible. Not burnt, and perfectly breaded. Casey looks up at Alex, not able to hide the surprise on her face. She is convinced someone sneaked into their house and cooked this dinner and Alex is taking credit for it.
Alex sits down with her own plate and beams across the table at Casey. She's very proud of herself.
Casey has had a very tough week with a case that she fought tooth and nail for and ended up losing. She had been so busy all week, pouring her whole heart into her case, going above and beyond.
Seeing the defeat on her wife's face when she lost had been so heartbreaking for Alex. She hates when Casey is hurting or sad.
The weekend is upon them and Alex had wanted to make Casey a nice dinner. Normally they go out on Friday nights, but Alex thought a home cooked meal would be much more romantic and something Casey would enjoy right now.
Alex is a self-proclaimed terrible cook. She's capable of burning macaroni and could burn cereal if it were possible. But lately she's been working on her cooking skills and managed to pull off a pretty decent meal.
Casey skeptically keeps her eyes on Alex as she takes a bite of a pork chop. Its definitely edible, and actually takes good.
"I don't know what you did with my wife," Casey says once she swallows. "But I'll keep you instead."
Alex laughs and digs into her own pork chop. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Casey loads her plate up with asparagus and a baked potato. Everything is good. It's a great meal, and she's grateful to Alex for cooking for her.
After they have both eaten, Casey stands up to clear the table but Alex makes her sit back down.
Casey sits back down obdiently while her wife clears the table and puts the used dishes into their dishwasher.
"I don't know what I did to deserve this...but this was fantastic, Alex. Thank you."
As Alex comes back to the table, Casey stands and kisses her, her hands resting on Alex's hips.
Alex smiles at her. "You're you; that's what you did to deserve it. And I know how hard you worked on your case. I just wanted you to relax and do something special for you."
Casey rests her forehead against Alex's and smiles. "Well you certainly did. No smoke alarm, no fire department showing up, good food...it was wonderful."
Casey remembers all the nights she would go to Alex's apartment after work before they were married. All that was in Alex's fridge were leftover takeout containers. Her kitchen had always been pristine, having never been used.
Now Alex is quite domestic, though if you tell her that she will deny it.
They move to their living room and fall onto the couch, wanting to relax after their nice meal. Alex immeaditely pulls the fleece blanket down from the back of the couch and pulls it over them, and grabs the remote to fire up Netflix.
Casey lies down with her head in Alex's lap, as she usually does. Alex loves it when she does this. She smiles proudly, her heart swelling with pride as she runs her fingers through Casey's soft red hair.
This is a typical evening for the couple. After a home cooked dinner they usually retire to the couch for a movie or to catch up on the DVR. If the weather is nice they will usually go for a walk after the movie.
This is Alex's favorite part of the day. She used to throw herself into her work and even bring it home with her. Her evenings would consist of paperwork spread all over her coffeetable and hunched over her laptop.
But since Casey, everything is different. Casey has made her appreciate every part of life. She's taught her to leave work at work, and to unwind and let loose and have fun. In the five years they have been together, Alex has experienced many things - bowling, video games, trampoline parks, water skiing, kayaking, learning how to use a grill...and that's just a few. Casey awakened something in her she never thought she had.
Every day she is grateful beyond words for the beautiful woman she gets to call her wife. She looks at their wedding photo framed on her desk at the DA's office and is filled with pride and recollection of the happiest day of her life.
She is who she was always meant to be now, with the person she was always meant to be with.
What do you think? Do you like this idea? I will be regularly updating my other stories too soon.