Awake- Chapter Six- Murder by love- Mal's Chapter
"In my dreams, Mal, you always try to kill me."
My knee-jerk mental reaction was that she was only kidding. Was she? No. The frightened, anxious, albeit gorgeous, expression on her face suggested that she was dead serious.
She waited for me to speak, however, I couldn't really find any words. "But Natara, I'd never-"
"Kill me? I know."
I snaked an arm around her, seeing her, again, fighting back tears. I was beyond sick of it. She was so much more beautiful when she smiled. So I decided, this entire conversation was going to wait. I wanted to know what happened in the nightmares. And now I did. But I didn't want her to cry again. "Unless it's killing you with love…"
I shot a cheesy smile, and I watched her nose scrunch up. Everything seemed better, as her sadness disintegrated into the air. "I wouldn't ever complain."
I suddenly felt like kissing her. So I did.
One perk of marrying the woman you love- you can kiss her whenever you want to.
I didn't want to break off the kiss, but I had to. "Sweetheart, I need to tell you something. You're not going to like it. But there are perks."
She sighed, leaning against the balcony rail. "Ruh roh."
"The Captain, after what happened, wants you to take time. Just a week or two."
I knew she was going to get angry, and she did. But I also noticed and appreciated her effort to minimize her anger, as she realized that it wasn't my fault. "A week?! I mean, I expected this I guess. But I didn't expect longer than a couple days…"
I shrugged. "Well, while I'm gone during the days, so you don't miss me, you'll have some company.."
"I am not hanging out with Kai! Before you even try to convince me, let's just get that straight!"
I laughed. "No. I wouldn't ever subject you to such a thing. But hear me out, Jeremy and Blaise need somebody to spend time with their new puppy while they work… and you love animals… so I kind of volunteered you."
I expected her to be a little bit happier, but she looked down towards the concrete, a few stories below. "Guess it's something to do…"
I sent another smile her way. "Trust me, we'll get through this. We always do."
I kissed her again, just because I felt like it.
The following day
Natara seemed peaceful while she slept, and it was a comforting thought. Maybe talking about it did partially cure it?
I snuck out of bed in the morning and quietly brewed some coffee. I wanted her to sleep in for as long as possible.
However, shortly after I rose up and started the coffee machine, I felt tiny arms wind around my waist, hugging me close. A tiny frame tightened behind me, and I knew, just based off of the smell of her perfume melting into the air, that it was Natara. "Yum… Coffee…" She mumbled, still squeezing the life out of me. But not realizing it.
One of the many reasons I loved her whole-heartedly. "Morning, beautiful."
I turned myself in her arms to face her. "Stop being so nice to me all the time. People are going to think you're a sappy romantic."
"People can think whatever they want," I replied, immediately taking notice of the beeping on the coffee machine. It was done brewing. "When I love a girl, I'm a cheese ball. Which… I believe you may have noticed by now."
She nodded, releasing me from her grip and towards the cupboard where we kept our coffee mugs. "Oh Mal, believe me… I'd have to be either blind or an idiot not to notice. But anyway, aren't I watching Blaise and Redbirds' puppy today?"
"Yes, they're going to bring the puppy over here today. And they're going to talk to you about how to feed her, when to take her outside, etc. From what they say, she's a very calm puppy, but I'll be the judge of that."
"I've never heard of a calm puppy." She agreed.
"My thoughts exactly, but hey, give the idea a chance. I know that if I just left you here all day for two weeks you'd be upset with me. And who knows? You might actually enjoy doing this."
The skeptical look invaded her eyes. It was one I'd seen before. And as much as I knew that she was objecting to this whole "pet-sitting" thing in her mind, she was going to try it, just to appease me. Again, another reason that I loved her whole-heartedly. "I love puppies. I just don't like taking care of them."
I giggled and reached for some cereal and a bowl. "Well, speaking of taking care of things, the up-side to this two weeks off, is that we can finally start planning the wedding. We've both been busy, but I think we need to set a date."
She sighed. "By we… you mean me."
"Natara, I'm not going to be the fiancé that tells you to do all of the wedding planning. What kind of a person would I be if I did that? Not a very good one. And not one you'd wanna marry. But if you're here all day, you can watch Criminal Minds, and while you do that, brainstorm your perfect wedding. And then we can plan things when I get home from work."
The smile returned to her lips as she took a seat up on the counter. "Okay."
As soon as she spoke, a knock sounded at the door. It was Jeremy and Blaise. I frowned, too, looking a the clock. I had to meet the Captain in twenty minutes in his office. As she moved towards the door, I pulled her into a quick hug again. "And Nat, if anything happens. Anything. Call me. I don't care if you just feel upset or if you have another episode. Please just call me."
She nodded and I moved towards the door, passing Jeremy and Redbird, as Kenzi came charging towards me. "Ahh…" The puppy was tiny. But man, it was certainly a force to be reckoned with. Natara was definitely going to have fun.
"Blaise! Jeremy! This dog wants to kill me!"
Blaise chuckled helplessly, trying to hide it, but I could tell she was overly amused. "She doesn't want to kill you. She just has her people.. Clearly, you aren't one of them."
As Jeremy pried the puppy away from my leg, I couldn't help but laugh, too. Imagining my fiancé attempting to manage this puppy for about eight hours a day. It was horrible to do that to her. But I couldn't help but laugh. "Well, hopefully Natara is one of those people…" Blaise added.
I realized the time again and departed, pecking Natara on the cheek one last time before the long day awaiting me.
Nerves consumed me as I made my way to my car. Sure, she was a grown woman and was beyond capable of handling herself in an abundance of situations, but she was having a hard time right now. And naturally, I wanted to be there to protect her- even if she didn't need it. I struggled with the idea of not having her with me at the precinct today, but I knew she was better off with taking some vacation time.
I just hoped this puppy would be enough to distract her.
A/N: I realize this chapter was extremely short. But I promise that things are about to get pretty interesting. Here's your replies:
Jara: I updated : ) Sorry for the wait! Sooo busy you wouldn't even believe…
NiekaWow: Thank you! Well here's what happens!
CoDisgreat: Yeah, people are still getting sick :/ it blows!
The Beautiful Filth: I do many cliffhangers. Haha. Ask everybody.
Molly: Nope. Not sure. Probably PTSD.
Jade: Awwwww thank you sooo very much.
Katie: Girl, you funny. Some Maltara in this update just for you : ) enjoy.
Tori: Awww shanks. I forgot about SFPDIM. :0 Oh well, this story is going to take priority. For now. If I get any free time in the near future I will update the other.
Some pretty lazy review replies :/ I know. But its how I feel right now and Im jam packed with my schedule today. I just figured what better way to celebrate CoD Monday than updating this? I've had this written for like 2 days just too lazy to upload. Enjoy!
