He is floating above the clouds and he can barely keep himself from skipping down the street. The sun is shining brightly and it is exceptionally warm outside. It's the perfect day. It's also her birthday.
He is on his way to pick up his wife's gift. His wife. Even though they have been married for a while now his heart skill skips a beat, and overflows with joy, when he thinks about it. This beautiful, extraordinary woman will be beside him for the rest of his life.
He bumps into others, almost falls over a dog once, but he doesn't even notice anything as people yell at him. His mind is only on the gift.
He knows she appreciates it when he buys her expensive presents, but he also knows that she likes something personal much more.
He spent the last month preparing this and now it is finally done. He is here to take it home.
He reaches the building, opens the door and steps inside. He greets the woman behind the counter, and asks for his order. He takes the golden box from her and pays for it.
He is on his way back to their home, and he can't stop sneaking glances at the box set beside him on the seat. The thought he managed to push away in the last weeks comes back ever stronger now.
Even after knowing her for all this time, he is still scared of how she will react to something this personal. He knows that she usually dislikes the idea of things like this, but he hopes that she can make an exception this time.
He glances at his watch and steps on the gas. He needs to get ready for their date tonight.
The evening goes well. No, not just well, actually. It is amazing. He doesn't think that anything could be less then amazing when she is with him, but the dinner is astonishingly good.
It's not so late when they get home, so after he takes her coat from her, she goes to the kitchen and pours them two glasses of wine.
They settle down on the couch and talk about their evening, and the birthday party that they are planning on Saturday. She cuddles into him as they speak, and he wraps and arm around her. They both relax into the other's warmth and proximity.
It's not long before her lips find his, and soon they get lost in each other. Suddenly, after a particularly long kiss, he gets up and heads toward their bedroom.
She tries to catch her breath, and when she opens her eyes, she sees him leaving, which surprises her a little.
He moves inside the bedroom and picks up the golden box from the bed. His voice trembles a little as he calls out to her.
"Kate"
He rocks from one leg to another, as he waits for her to come. She steps inside the room with a shy smile on her face, which seems to calm him down, as a sense of relief washes over him.
She steps closer, and hugs him, the box still between them. He feels it slip out of his hands as she takes a step back.
So this is it. This is why he was nervous through the week. She told him a couple of times that she really didn't need expensive gifts from him to know how much he loves her, but he still got carried away sometimes. She doesn't mind it that much anymore, because she knows that his only intention is to see her happy.
As she takes the box from him, he speaks:
"Happy Birthday, Kate" – although it's barely a whisper.
She slowly opens the box, and finds a small, black book inside. She almost starts laughing, because really, what did she except? He is a writer after all.
She becomes curious, when she sees the letters K.B. printed on the middle of it in golden letters. What did he write for her?
She opens the book, and the title causes her heart to speed up.
The extraordinary Kate Beckett
He wrote a book about her. It's not like the Nikki Heat books. It's not just small things, and changed backgrounds, but about the real her. Her hand is still shaking a little, as her eyes wander down. She finds a small note on the page, words, she immediately recognizes, written in his handwriting.
Kate,
I love you. Also, Happy Birthday. I know that you like your private life staying out of my books, but this one is special. It's just for you. I can't tell you with words how much you mean to me, and that you give me a reason to live every single day. I've told you a thousand times how much you inspire me, but words can't do justice. Every second I spend with you makes me more happy then I ever was in my life, and I want to thank you for being here, enduring my childish behavior and constant troublemaking. I hope you can see yourself the way I see you a bit more after you read this, because sometimes you still don't seem to know just how extraordinary you are.
Thank you for everything.
Love: Rick
She doesn't know what to say. How do you even react to this? What did she do to deserve this man in her life? This amazing, caring, loving husband.
The calm face she managed to hold as she was reading is falling apart. She can feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, and her heart almost bursts with all the love and happiness she feels in this moment.
She turns a couple of pages and reads the words she finds first. She can't get herself to breathe as she loses herself in it already.
He wrote her a book. About her. She closes the book, and throws herself at him, trying to hold him as close as she can. His warmth radiates through her, and the sense of fullness erases everything else out of her.
Time seems to freeze, as he watches her reactions. She had been silent as she examined the book, and even though he swore he could see her surprised for a second, she didn't say anything. The waiting is excruciating, and he can barely keep the questions inside himself.
He wants to ask so many things, but most importantly he wants to know what she thinks. In one moment he feels stupid for actually writing this and giving it to her, and decides that when she will tell him how she hates it, he will throw it into the fire. But just a second later his heart fills with hope, and the picture of her smiling while reading it burns into his mind.
He feels terrified when she starts crying, but before he even comes out of the shock, she is hugging him tightly, pulling him even closer.
Huh. Maybe she liked it.
"Thank you, Rick"
The whole world lightens at her words, and he can't help the wide grin that sits onto his face.
"Really?"
"Really. It's perfect"
He tugs her into him even more, and presses a soft kiss to her forehead. He feels the single tear roll out of his eye, but he doesn't even care. All he cares about is her, and she is happy. He managed to make her happy. And that is all that matters in this world.
The silent confession warms his heart…
"I love you Rick"
"I love you too, Kate"