He was trying his best to be quiet, but Kathy heard him as soon as he walked in the house. She rolled over to look at the bedside clock; 2:10 am. When he called earlier, he'd thought he'd be able to wrap things up by midnight. She lay on her back, gradually coming awake as she listened to him open the refrigerator, pour a drink and put the glass in the dishwasher. She smiled to herself. The old Elliot would have left the glass on the counter or the table, on a good day, he would have put it in the sink, but never in the dishwasher. Since they'd reconciled last year, they'd both been extra careful to be more considerate and thoughtful.
She felt rather than heard him come into the bedroom and slip into the master bathroom. Without turning on the light, he undressed and made his way to the bed. As he carefully slipped under the covers on his side, she heard him sigh. It had been a long day. He settled in, on his side, with his back to her. She waited for a moment, then slid over closer and pressed her lips to his warm, bare shoulder. Elliot always slept in boxers and nothing else, regardless of the temperature outside.
"Hey," he whispered, rolling over onto his back and pulling her close, so her head lay on his shoulder. She could feel the tension in his muscles. "Did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet."
"You were fine," she said, burrowing in closer to his solid warmth. "I was waiting for you to come home."
"Oh yeah?" he murmured, tipping her chin up and planting a soft kiss on her lips. "And why is that?"
"I missed you." She said simply and kissed him back. There was nothing soft about her kiss, it was a kiss that made it clear what she wanted. He kissed her back, matching her urgency.
"It's late," he w hispered, his lips against her check. "Aren't you exhausted?"
In reply, she pushed at his chest until he was lying flat against the pillows, and then raised herself up r until she was on t op of him, straddling his hips She was wearing one of his t-shirts and nothing else. Her pajama bottoms had been abandoned on the side of the bed earlier, in preparation for his return. She felt him grow hard beneath her. She slid forward until she was lying flat, his erection pressing into her belly.
"Kath" he groaned, twisting his hands in her shoulder length hair and pulling her face to his. "Oh, Kath…" she silenced him with another kiss, then made her way down his body , planting small moist kisses as shemoved: his neck, his collarbone, a quick lick of one nipple. When she slid his boxers down and took him into her mouth, he groaned again.
When she sensed he was close to letting go, she raised herself up . She pulled the t-shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor, then raised her hips until she was poised over his erect penis. As she slowly slid down the length of him, he asked in a hoarse whisper "Are we ok…are you…protected?"
Having had five children over the course of their twenty year marriage, the last less than a year ago, being "protected" was of high concern to both of them. Their firm adherence to their Catholic religion prevented them from taking any permanent steps to prevent pregnancy, but another child would add more stress to a marriage that had already been through the wringer.
"All ok," she assured him. She had put her diaphragm in before going to bed. With him deep inside her, she sat up straight and began to rock, slowly at first and then increasing the tempo. Elliot reached up and caressed her breasts until he let out a loud groan and grabbed her hips, holding her still as he plunged deep inside her and finished.
They lay together in silence for a minute, both breathing heavily and lost in their own physical reactions. When he regained his breath, Elliot slid her off him to lay at his side. He nuzzled her neck and breasts as he caressed the slick spot between her legs, alternating light touch with a firmer stroke. If there was one advantage to a twenty year marriage, it was plenty of time to learn what worked to please each other. She came with a long, breathy sigh. Years of raising small children had taught them both to enjoy their pleasures quietly.
"You're amazing, Kath" he whispered into her ear a few minutes later, as both dressed again, he wrapped himself around her from behind in a spooning position. "You never fail to surprise me."
She turned to face him as best she could from her side. "I want you to always look forward to coming home." She whispered back. She felt tears against her neck as he snuggled in tighter. Before the separation and reconciliation, there was a long period when Elliot coming home was unpleasant for both of them. She was stressed out from raising four children by herself, angry and resentful at the long hours Elliot's job demanded. She hated worrying about his safety. Elliot dreaded coming home, exhausted and wanting only to relax, to be met at the door with a list of ways he had yet again disappointed her. It had taken time, distance, a life altering case and an unexpected pregnancy for them to realize that they both needed to make changes because they wanted and needed to be together.
"I love you, Els." She murmured, pulling his arms closer around her. "I love you." Els was the nickname she used for him only when they were alone,in their most intimate moments. He was Elliot the rest of the time. His partner, Olivia, called him El, which made Kathy smile inside. Like everything else with Olivia, it was close but no cigar. Kathy had resented Olivia's relationship with her husband for a long time, found it hard to accept that he had no sexual feelings for a woman so attractive and that he spent so much time with. It was one of the issues they had focused on most in the six months of marriage counseling while she was pregnant with Elliot Jr, little, precious Eli, the child that brought them back together. Kathy now understood that the bond between Elliot and Olivia was of no threat to their relationship and was actually becoming good friends with his partner.
As they drifted off to sleep, a plaintive wail drifted down the hall. Eli had been sleeping his own room for a few weeks now, but he invariably woke up at least once during the night, wanting reassurance that his parents were still there. Kathy started to get out of bed, but Elliot pushed her gently back into her pillow.
"I'll get him," he assured her. "I hardly saw him today, I'll get him."
"Thanks, Els" she said, as she burrowed into her pillow and let sleep claim her. Yet another thing the old Elliot never would have done. He worked to support them; the children were her responsibility. She was always the one who got up with the kids at night. She drifted off to sleep to the low sounds of Elliot singing to the baby to comfort him back to sleep.
Yes, the Stablers were going to be okay.