Heaven Knows - Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter is set straight after the previous one.


"You haven't opened it." Dylan stated while carefully put the steaming mug of tea on the coffee table.

Kate looked at the pink present on her hand and shook her head softly. "I haven't had the chance."

"Open it then." He slowly sat beside her on the couch. The adrenaline from his previous workout had somehow disappeared, leaving him feeling sore and tired. He gratefully rested his body against the cushion, eliciting a soft grunt from his lips as he did so.

She put the present on her lap and leaned forward to grab the mug. She sipped the hot liquid slowly, careful not to burn her tongue in the process. She inhaled the jasmine scent of the tea, feeling the liquid warmed her up from the inside. Her stomach growled softly, signalling to her that it was time to finally fill her stomach with something more substantial than a toast. She prayed that Dylan didn't hear the growl. Because she had no doubt that he would force-feed her again if he did.

Meanwhile, from his vantage point, Dylan could only see her slumped shoulder and stiff neck. His hand involuntary reached to her, as if he was going to help her get rid of the pressure building on her body. But as his hand about to touch her, he remembered that 'kiss' again. He knew that after tonight, he wouldn't have any right to touch her anymore. He wouldn't be able to take care of her any longer. Bringing her a cup of tea, buying those macadamia pancakes that she loved so much, snuggling up on the couch after a long patrol, all of those would be out of questions. That would probably be Mike Flynn's job now, not his, he thought bitterly. He then closed his hand to a fist, preventing his fingers to reach her.

"Why don't you lean back against the couch?" He finally said after few minutes of silence.

Kate turned her head around to meet his eyes. She managed to catch the longing in his eyes before it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Wordlessly, she put the half-empty mug on the table, leaned back against the couch beside him and rested her head on his massive upper arm. She closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the feel of warm and contentment that she associated with him. She then reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

His throat closed up at her gesture. This is what I'm going to miss...

"So... What did you have for me in here?" oblivious to his thought, she grabbed the pink present from her lap and scrutinised the tiny package once again.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise any more." He said with a small smile. "Come on. Open it. Whatever it is inside, it's not going to bite you."

She then started to open his present slowly, carefully peeling off the sticky tape from both ends of the package.

Seeing this, Dylan groaned. "Oh God... you are one of those people."

"What?" she looked at him confused. "What are you complaining about?"

"The way you open the present. Too slow..." He grinned at her.

She scowled at him. "I bet you are the opposite then. The type who tears the wrapping quickly."

His grin widened. "Guilty as charged."

She only shook her head amused, ignoring him and keeping the slow pace that she set before. It wasn't long before she managed to peel off the last sticky tape that held the wrapper together. What she saw rendered her speechless.

Dylan looked at her worriedly when she kept staring at the present. "What's wrong?"

"Dylan..." She looked at him with teary eyes. "I know this mean more than a simple present and after what happened during the last patrol, I just can't accept it."

He smiled sadly at her. "I'm not taking it back. Keep it for keep sake if you wish." He then reached for the present and carefully placed it on the palm of her hand.

The colour of the wooden pendant contrasted with her pale skin. She traced the shape softly. The shape of a heart. Then she fingered the silver key charm and the chain attached to it. The key to his heart.

"Would you help me put it on then?" she asked him softly.

He only smiled at her request. He then took the necklace from her hand while she turned around and lifted her hair from her neck. His fingers involuntary caressed the soft skin on the back of her neck when he fastened the clasp of the necklace. She shivered slightly at the touch, which didn't go unnoticed by him.

She looked down to admire the necklace before she looked up to him and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He pulled her to his side and wrapped his arm around her, cherishing the feel of her body against his.

"You know... I used to be like you..." Kate said, breaking the silence.

He grinned at her. "In what way? A gung-ho person with a hero-complex? Unlikely..."

She swatted his chest playfully. "No. I mean about the way you open a present."

"Really?" he looked at her curiously.

"Hu-uh." She smiled at the memory. "When I still lived in England, I used to race to the living room on Christmas morning, searched for the presents that had my name on it under the tree and tore the wrappings as quickly as I could."

"What changed?" he noticed her solemn expression at his question and prepared himself for the worse.

"Remember when we were in school, the teacher used to ask us to write a letter to Santa stating our Christmas wish?"

He nodded. "Yes... They did that when I was in primary school too."

"It was my first Christmas after my mother brought me to this country. As usual, I raced to the living room on Christmas morning." She sighed. "To my disappointment, there was no tree. No present."

He tightened his arms around her, sensing her sadness.

"I then looked for my mother everywhere. Eventually, I found her in the backyard." She looked at him sadly. "She had built a campfire on the backyard. In the middle of the fire, there was a big present, tied with a big pink bow and a big tag that had my name on it. She burned my present."

Dylan looked at her in disbelief. He instantly felt remorse at the way he teased her earlier.

"She said to me that it was a punishment for manipulating the teachers at school to give me present and for wanting something that 'a little brat' like me didn't deserve." She stared at her hand, refusing to look at what would surely be a pity in his eyes. "I cried hard that day. But I also learned an important lesson. That Santa didn't exist. I found out later on that the teachers had collected money among themselves to buy me, their favourite student, the whole collection of 'Famous Five' books that I had requested in my Santa letter. From that day I also promised to myself that if I were ever lucky enough to get a present; that I would savour each one of them as long as I could. Hence, the way I opened the present."

He tilted her chin up towards him. "I'm sorry I teased you before."

What she saw in his eyes was not pity, just compassion. "It's alright. You didn't know. It's not your fault that my mother was a little imbalanced."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Just a little? I think burning her daughter's present definitely qualified her as more than 'a little' imbalanced."

She snorted, "Well, yeah, if you put it that way."

"There is more to the story, isn't it?" he didn't mean to pry, but curiosity got the better of him.

She nodded "Are you ready for a long night?"

"Depends..."

"On?"

"Can we order a takeaway first? I'm starving," he grinned broadly at her.

She grinned back. "Pizza?"

"Half supreme, half BBQ chicken?" he looked at her questioningly while grabbing the cordless phone from the side table.

"Deal."


To be continued...