LOST - PART 2
REARRANGING
Chapter 26
The front door opened quietly and Adam stepped into the front hall. He closed the door just as quietly and stood there for a few moments, listening. But the house remained silent and hushed and he briefly wondered where Thea was.
After hanging his hat up, he made his way down the hall, through the kitchen, and into the back hall. His brows rose when he saw that his room door was wide open. He stopped in the bedroom doorway and smiled to see the woman in question standing at the window, staring out at Chester chasing squirrels in the yard.
"Theadora," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. "What are you doing in here?" To his surprise she didn't turn around, she kept staring out the window as she answered.
"Adam...would you mind moving to an upstairs bedroom?"
"What?" his thoughts scrambled to change direction at this unexpected request.
"Would you mind..." she started to repeat the question, but he interrupted.
"I heard you, I just didn't understand the question - at least not completely. Why do you want me to move upstairs?" His gaze sharpened as he considered whether or not this was another trick to get him to give in, but decided it wasn't. Her expression was too serious and her stare too intent for that.
"Well, I've been thinking and..." her voice trailed off and she sighed in frustration. "Lordy, why do I always lose my train of thought when I look at you?" she complained and he laughed as he held a hand out to her.
"Come on," he said when she hurried across the room to take his hand. He pulled her out into the hall, into the sitting room, and over to the sofa. Sitting down with his back against the arm and one leg stretched out, he tugged her down to sit facing away from him.
"Now," he said with amusement in his tone as he wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against his chest. "Is that better?"
"Oh sure, a LOT better," she said sarcastically, even as she snuggled closer to him and he laughed.
"You can't see me now, so go ahead," he chuckled and she cleared her throat before plunging in.
"We've never discussed this and I can't for the life of me figure out why, but I really need to know, especially with what I've been thinking lately."
Adam blinked rapidly, trying to make some sense out of her words, and he started to get a faint glimpse of where she was heading.
"What have you been thinking lately?"
"About what you expect from me." He nodded - the glimpse was getting a little clearer.
"You mean as my wife?"
"Yes! I'm so glad you understand!"
"Whoa, wait a minute. I don't really understand yet, so a little more explanation please." He smiled when he felt her stiffen and she took a deep breath.
"Do you want me to stop being a doctor?" she let the words tumble out in a rush.
"Of course not!" was his automatic response and she relaxed until he went on. "You ARE a doctor and nothing is ever going to change that, Thea."
She ducked her head and stared down at his hands that were clasped at her waist. "I guess you still don't understand," she said in a muffled voice and he chuckled.
"Yes I do and so would you if you had let me finish. I would never try to make you into something you're not or take your dreams away from you. You ARE a doctor and therefore you have to continue to BE a doctor. I don't want you to stop practicing medicine just because you're marrying me."
"Thank God you DO understand!" she enthused and he unclasped his hands when she scrambled around to face him on her knees.
"Thank you," she said softly in his ear as she pressed up against him and clutched him tightly around the shoulders. He suppressed a shiver when her warm breath curled into his ear and tensed when her lips brushed his neck.
"Behave yourself," he said firmly and felt rather than heard her laughing.
"Why?" she unfastened the top two buttons on his shirt and trailed soft kisses around to the hollow at his throat, and then down the exposed "v" of his chest. When she started unfastening another button he grabbed her hands by the wrist.
"Thea!" he said warningly and she looked up at him with a wide-eyed innocent look that no one in their right mind would ever believe.
"What?" she said and he almost started laughing when her eyes suddenly focused on his mouth and she rose up on her knees to kiss him. He instinctively thrust the fingers of one hand into her hair to tip her head back and the other hand pressed into the small of her back to mold her body more closely to his.
Without conscious thought, he leaned forward until she was flat on her back and he stretched out on top of her, both hands in her hair as he took possession of her mouth. His firm lips slanted lazily across hers and he carefully traced the line where her lips met with the tip of his tongue. She moaned slightly in the back of her throat and shifted impatiently beneath him when the kiss deepened.
He allowed himself to explore her mouth for a few moments more before pulling back.
"Don't stop!" she protested breathlessly and he ground his teeth when his entire body objected too.
"No, that's enough," he finally managed to say and shifted back to sit up against the arm while taking her hands to pull her up too.
Her eyes were half-closed and languid, her lips swollen and flushed a deeper rose from his kisses. Another sharp thrill lanced through him when their eyes met and he had to clasp her by the shoulders to keep her from throwing herself at him.
"Theadora!" he said with both frustration and impatience in his tone, "for God's sake, SOMEBODY has to protect your virtue and quite frankly that shouldn't have to be me!"
She blinked once and stared at him blankly for a moment until the corners of her mouth lifted and she started laughing at the absurdity of what he had just said.
"I'm sorry," she managed say through her laughter and he finally let himself relax.
"Are you going to behave yourself now?" he asked and let go of her shoulders when she nodded. She settled back against him and let out one last chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her again.
"Now I'm assuming me moving to a bedroom upstairs has something to do with you continuing to practice medicine," he said and had to pull his head back slightly when she nodded vigorously to avoid getting banged in the chin.
"Oh yes!" she focused on the subject and he mentally sighed with relief. "What I want to do is close off that end of the downstairs and use the two bedrooms and the side entry for an office and an examining room. What do you think?"
"I think that's a very good idea," he agreed and smiled at the current of excitement he could feel coursing through her muscles.
"I'm glad, but I don't want you and Nate doing any of the work. All I ask is that you arrange for the work to be done, since I would have no idea whether or not I was getting my money's worth."
"Done," he said succinctly and his smile widened when all she said in answer was a quiet, "Thank you."
They sat there in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts until he heard her gasp.
"Dear Lord, I forgot to ask how things went at Pinkerton's today!" She sounded appalled with herself and he laughed.
"Things went very, very well. We had the grand tour, met a lot of people, and were added to the payroll."
"Who did you meet?"
"Well, we met Jerry...Culpepper I think his last name is, and the supervisor of the women agents, and the two agents we'll be sharing an office with."
"What are they like?"
"Hmmm...let me see...Mike is a little hostile at this point, but I think that's more about resisting change than any actual dislike. Now John is quite friendly and I have a suspicion that a very sharp mind is hiding behind his baby-face."
Thea laughed softly. "What does Mike look like?"
"Lots of curly dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a dark complexion. He's stocky and I can tell that there is absolutely no fat at all on the man. I think even I would hesitate before getting into a fight with him."
"Then he's someone you would definitely want on your side."
"Oh yes, but he's also the sort that won't give any loyalty easily."
"I bet."
"Now John is about average height and build, but looks like he's about sixteen."
Thea laughed again. "If he's as sharp as you think he is I'm sure he uses that to his advantage."
"Very perspicacious of you dear," he chuckled.
"Showing off your vocabulary dear?" she teased and he tightened his arms around her.
"Of course!" he laughed and she quickly pressed her ear to his chest to hear it rumble.
"The highlight of the day for me was our tour of the central files," he continued and she nodded slightly as she listened.
"They take a picture of every wanted person they bring in, and not only that, they have a full physical description and an assessment of their usual methods of committing crime. Each file holds every bit of information pertaining to that person, and every field agent sends in every story they come across."
His enthusiasm made her smile, even as her heartbeat quickened with dread at the idea of her husband-to-be deliberately putting himself in danger by chasing criminals.
"What fascinates me the most is the fact that they don't stop there. Pinkerton is just as much interested in the criminal mind as he is in the criminal act, and passes this information along to other law enforcement agencies. And a large part of what they do is teaching businesses how to prevent crime and protect themselves."
"Would you be interested in doing that sort of thing too?"
He smiled, knowing she was focusing on the less dangerous part of his new job as a way of easing her fears. "Of course I would because I agree with their philosophy that preventing crime is just as important as solving crime."
"Good," was all she said in answer and sighed when he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
"Don't worry, I should think you would know by now that I'll never put myself in unnecessary danger."
"I know," she agreed in a small voice and he gave her a small shake.
"Thea, I know this will be hard for you, but just as much as you have to help people by being a doctor, I feel I have to help people by doing this. Do you remember? I believe we talked about this before."
"We did...you said you want to make a difference in our part of the world, for me and for our children."
"I'm glad you remember," he said low in her ear and gave her another small shake. "What do you think about going out to dinner tonight?"
"Where?" she asked, hoping he wasn't thinking about going to the same restaurant where their evening out had turned into an embarrassing disaster.
"No, not there," he laughed, reading her mind. "I know of a few other places we can go that are not that fancy and I'm sure they'll be able to find a table for two."
"All right, but do you think we could..." she stopped speaking abruptly and sat up to give him an anxious look over her shoulder.
"Think we could what?"
"Well, it's not that I don't want to go out with you alone, but could we invite Nate? He's been so lonely since Glory left and I hardly ever see him anymore. I can't help but worry about him."
His smile softened and his eyes lit up, pleased with her generous impulse. "Now why were you worried about asking me that? Of course we can invite Nate...in fact, you go get ready and I'll go next door to see if he's free."
Thea smiled with relief and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before jumping up and dashing off.
Adam shifted on the sofa to watch her race away and his smile widened when he heard her practically run up the stairs. Slowly getting to his feet, he sighed.
"After all, friends ARE chosen family," he said softly to himself, and hurried toward the side door to go ask Nate to join them for dinner and to discuss the coming changes that would rearrange their lives in a totally new direction.
REARRANGING
Chapter 26
The front door opened quietly and Adam stepped into the front hall. He closed the door just as quietly and stood there for a few moments, listening. But the house remained silent and hushed and he briefly wondered where Thea was.
After hanging his hat up, he made his way down the hall, through the kitchen, and into the back hall. His brows rose when he saw that his room door was wide open. He stopped in the bedroom doorway and smiled to see the woman in question standing at the window, staring out at Chester chasing squirrels in the yard.
"Theadora," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. "What are you doing in here?" To his surprise she didn't turn around, she kept staring out the window as she answered.
"Adam...would you mind moving to an upstairs bedroom?"
"What?" his thoughts scrambled to change direction at this unexpected request.
"Would you mind..." she started to repeat the question, but he interrupted.
"I heard you, I just didn't understand the question - at least not completely. Why do you want me to move upstairs?" His gaze sharpened as he considered whether or not this was another trick to get him to give in, but decided it wasn't. Her expression was too serious and her stare too intent for that.
"Well, I've been thinking and..." her voice trailed off and she sighed in frustration. "Lordy, why do I always lose my train of thought when I look at you?" she complained and he laughed as he held a hand out to her.
"Come on," he said when she hurried across the room to take his hand. He pulled her out into the hall, into the sitting room, and over to the sofa. Sitting down with his back against the arm and one leg stretched out, he tugged her down to sit facing away from him.
"Now," he said with amusement in his tone as he wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against his chest. "Is that better?"
"Oh sure, a LOT better," she said sarcastically, even as she snuggled closer to him and he laughed.
"You can't see me now, so go ahead," he chuckled and she cleared her throat before plunging in.
"We've never discussed this and I can't for the life of me figure out why, but I really need to know, especially with what I've been thinking lately."
Adam blinked rapidly, trying to make some sense out of her words, and he started to get a faint glimpse of where she was heading.
"What have you been thinking lately?"
"About what you expect from me." He nodded - the glimpse was getting a little clearer.
"You mean as my wife?"
"Yes! I'm so glad you understand!"
"Whoa, wait a minute. I don't really understand yet, so a little more explanation please." He smiled when he felt her stiffen and she took a deep breath.
"Do you want me to stop being a doctor?" she let the words tumble out in a rush.
"Of course not!" was his automatic response and she relaxed until he went on. "You ARE a doctor and nothing is ever going to change that, Thea."
She ducked her head and stared down at his hands that were clasped at her waist. "I guess you still don't understand," she said in a muffled voice and he chuckled.
"Yes I do and so would you if you had let me finish. I would never try to make you into something you're not or take your dreams away from you. You ARE a doctor and therefore you have to continue to BE a doctor. I don't want you to stop practicing medicine just because you're marrying me."
"Thank God you DO understand!" she enthused and he unclasped his hands when she scrambled around to face him on her knees.
"Thank you," she said softly in his ear as she pressed up against him and clutched him tightly around the shoulders. He suppressed a shiver when her warm breath curled into his ear and tensed when her lips brushed his neck.
"Behave yourself," he said firmly and felt rather than heard her laughing.
"Why?" she unfastened the top two buttons on his shirt and trailed soft kisses around to the hollow at his throat, and then down the exposed "v" of his chest. When she started unfastening another button he grabbed her hands by the wrist.
"Thea!" he said warningly and she looked up at him with a wide-eyed innocent look that no one in their right mind would ever believe.
"What?" she said and he almost started laughing when her eyes suddenly focused on his mouth and she rose up on her knees to kiss him. He instinctively thrust the fingers of one hand into her hair to tip her head back and the other hand pressed into the small of her back to mold her body more closely to his.
Without conscious thought, he leaned forward until she was flat on her back and he stretched out on top of her, both hands in her hair as he took possession of her mouth. His firm lips slanted lazily across hers and he carefully traced the line where her lips met with the tip of his tongue. She moaned slightly in the back of her throat and shifted impatiently beneath him when the kiss deepened.
He allowed himself to explore her mouth for a few moments more before pulling back.
"Don't stop!" she protested breathlessly and he ground his teeth when his entire body objected too.
"No, that's enough," he finally managed to say and shifted back to sit up against the arm while taking her hands to pull her up too.
Her eyes were half-closed and languid, her lips swollen and flushed a deeper rose from his kisses. Another sharp thrill lanced through him when their eyes met and he had to clasp her by the shoulders to keep her from throwing herself at him.
"Theadora!" he said with both frustration and impatience in his tone, "for God's sake, SOMEBODY has to protect your virtue and quite frankly that shouldn't have to be me!"
She blinked once and stared at him blankly for a moment until the corners of her mouth lifted and she started laughing at the absurdity of what he had just said.
"I'm sorry," she managed say through her laughter and he finally let himself relax.
"Are you going to behave yourself now?" he asked and let go of her shoulders when she nodded. She settled back against him and let out one last chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her again.
"Now I'm assuming me moving to a bedroom upstairs has something to do with you continuing to practice medicine," he said and had to pull his head back slightly when she nodded vigorously to avoid getting banged in the chin.
"Oh yes!" she focused on the subject and he mentally sighed with relief. "What I want to do is close off that end of the downstairs and use the two bedrooms and the side entry for an office and an examining room. What do you think?"
"I think that's a very good idea," he agreed and smiled at the current of excitement he could feel coursing through her muscles.
"I'm glad, but I don't want you and Nate doing any of the work. All I ask is that you arrange for the work to be done, since I would have no idea whether or not I was getting my money's worth."
"Done," he said succinctly and his smile widened when all she said in answer was a quiet, "Thank you."
They sat there in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts until he heard her gasp.
"Dear Lord, I forgot to ask how things went at Pinkerton's today!" She sounded appalled with herself and he laughed.
"Things went very, very well. We had the grand tour, met a lot of people, and were added to the payroll."
"Who did you meet?"
"Well, we met Jerry...Culpepper I think his last name is, and the supervisor of the women agents, and the two agents we'll be sharing an office with."
"What are they like?"
"Hmmm...let me see...Mike is a little hostile at this point, but I think that's more about resisting change than any actual dislike. Now John is quite friendly and I have a suspicion that a very sharp mind is hiding behind his baby-face."
Thea laughed softly. "What does Mike look like?"
"Lots of curly dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a dark complexion. He's stocky and I can tell that there is absolutely no fat at all on the man. I think even I would hesitate before getting into a fight with him."
"Then he's someone you would definitely want on your side."
"Oh yes, but he's also the sort that won't give any loyalty easily."
"I bet."
"Now John is about average height and build, but looks like he's about sixteen."
Thea laughed again. "If he's as sharp as you think he is I'm sure he uses that to his advantage."
"Very perspicacious of you dear," he chuckled.
"Showing off your vocabulary dear?" she teased and he tightened his arms around her.
"Of course!" he laughed and she quickly pressed her ear to his chest to hear it rumble.
"The highlight of the day for me was our tour of the central files," he continued and she nodded slightly as she listened.
"They take a picture of every wanted person they bring in, and not only that, they have a full physical description and an assessment of their usual methods of committing crime. Each file holds every bit of information pertaining to that person, and every field agent sends in every story they come across."
His enthusiasm made her smile, even as her heartbeat quickened with dread at the idea of her husband-to-be deliberately putting himself in danger by chasing criminals.
"What fascinates me the most is the fact that they don't stop there. Pinkerton is just as much interested in the criminal mind as he is in the criminal act, and passes this information along to other law enforcement agencies. And a large part of what they do is teaching businesses how to prevent crime and protect themselves."
"Would you be interested in doing that sort of thing too?"
He smiled, knowing she was focusing on the less dangerous part of his new job as a way of easing her fears. "Of course I would because I agree with their philosophy that preventing crime is just as important as solving crime."
"Good," was all she said in answer and sighed when he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
"Don't worry, I should think you would know by now that I'll never put myself in unnecessary danger."
"I know," she agreed in a small voice and he gave her a small shake.
"Thea, I know this will be hard for you, but just as much as you have to help people by being a doctor, I feel I have to help people by doing this. Do you remember? I believe we talked about this before."
"We did...you said you want to make a difference in our part of the world, for me and for our children."
"I'm glad you remember," he said low in her ear and gave her another small shake. "What do you think about going out to dinner tonight?"
"Where?" she asked, hoping he wasn't thinking about going to the same restaurant where their evening out had turned into an embarrassing disaster.
"No, not there," he laughed, reading her mind. "I know of a few other places we can go that are not that fancy and I'm sure they'll be able to find a table for two."
"All right, but do you think we could..." she stopped speaking abruptly and sat up to give him an anxious look over her shoulder.
"Think we could what?"
"Well, it's not that I don't want to go out with you alone, but could we invite Nate? He's been so lonely since Glory left and I hardly ever see him anymore. I can't help but worry about him."
His smile softened and his eyes lit up, pleased with her generous impulse. "Now why were you worried about asking me that? Of course we can invite Nate...in fact, you go get ready and I'll go next door to see if he's free."
Thea smiled with relief and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before jumping up and dashing off.
Adam shifted on the sofa to watch her race away and his smile widened when he heard her practically run up the stairs. Slowly getting to his feet, he sighed.
"After all, friends ARE chosen family," he said softly to himself, and hurried toward the side door to go ask Nate to join them for dinner and to discuss the coming changes that would rearrange their lives in a totally new direction.