As Caroline sat in traffic, she thought about the conversation she had had with Beverley. She was deadly serious about proposing to Kate and she wanted to make it special: nothing overstated and showy but something intimate and personal.
As she pulled away from the lights, she made an impromptu left turn and stopped the car in the side street. She locked it and walked quickly back round the corner and entered the jewellers, the one where she had bought Kate her first gift, a silver pendant featuring a baby grand piano.
Caroline browsed the glass cases and walked around the shop a couple of times, her handbag hanging on the crook of her elbow, her eyes scanning row upon row of necklaces, earrings and rings. She looked nonchalantly at the displays before she rounded back on herself and stopped in front of the cases containing the rings.
"Can I help you with something madam? Are you looking for a gift for yourself or for a family member? Or a friend perhaps?"
"Yes, I err well I yes, I am looking for a ring for a friend. A special friend. We are err I am thinking about, erm wanting to …"
The old gentleman behind the counter leaned forward and rested his weight on his elbows. He smiled knowingly at Caroline and took a large set of keys out of his pocket.
"Ahh, I see madam. A special friend who you would like to affirm your love to? A lifelong partner perhaps?"
Caroline looked up slowly at him, a smile starting to spread across her face.
"Yes, yes, that about sums it up. I am looking for a ring for a special friend, a lady, who I err who I am going to ask to marry me."
"What sort of budget are we talking about? And do you have any preference as to the stone. Diamonds, rubies perhaps? And are we looking for new or second hand?"
"I don't have a budget per se. And I don't really mind about whether it is old or new. I am looking for something unique. Not too flashy or gaudy though. And it has to be discreet and not ostentatious. But not too small so that it looks insignificant. Oh gosh, that sounds like quite a challenge doesn't it? I'm not asking too much am I?"
"Absolutely not. We are here to please and to serve and I am sure that we will have just the ring that you are looking for. If you would like to take a seat and I will see what I have. I have some more trays in the back as well."
Caroline set down her bag and unfastened her coat before sitting down and crossing her legs. She silently smiled to herself and swallowed hard, trying to calm down the butterflies in her stomach.
She was late back to school after her rare trip out at lunch time. Parking her jeep at a very skewed angle, she walked quickly into the school, her heels clicking rapidly on the tiled floor.
Beverley greeted her as she flew through the office door. She threw her coat on the back of a chair and grabbed her robes from the back of the door.
"I am so sorry. I got distracted. I only intended to go out and get something for Kate's dinner. She is addicted to fish at the moment and I wanted to cook a nice meal tonight. And then I sort of, well, I saw something in the window of the jewellers on the High Street and I just stopped off on the spur of the moment. And I ended up talking to a nice gentleman in the shop and looking at what he had. And, oh Beverley, I think I've found the ring. It is just perfect. And I am sure that Kate will love it too."
For the first time in minutes, Caroline stopped talking and stood still. It was obvious from the look on her face how excited she was and Beverley was pleased for her. She stood up and placed her hands on her shoulders, grinning widely.
"I am so pleased. Can I see it, the ring? Or is that rude to ask?"
Caroline shook her head.
"Well, the thing is you see, I wanted a bit of time. I didn't want to rush into things and buy it and get home and realise that I didn't like it. So the man in the shop kindly said he would take it off display for me and I have 5 days to decide. I have taken a picture of it on my phone and I will keep looking back at it to see if this really is the one that I want. Now, I need to get this special award assembly started don't I."
And before Beverley could ask to see the picture of the ring, Caroline was out of the door and walking quickly down the corridor and to the great hall where the students were waiting for her.
Kate almost fell onto the sofa and let out a big sigh. She unfastened the top button of her trousers and rubbed her baby bump, closing her eyes and breathing deeply and slowly. Today had seemed exceptionally long and the after school choir practice had only added to that. She loved the extra curricula activities but standing on her feet for an extra hour had really taken its toll. She lifted her feet off the floor and circled her ankles, synchronising the movement with the ones she was making on her belly.
Caroline stood in the living room doorway and watched Kate as she relaxed, her head back and her eyes closed.
"I do wish you would finish early for your maternity leave or at least cut down on the hours you are working. You look absolutely exhausted."
She walked behind the sofa and gently massaged Kate's shoulders, rubbing and kneading them with her fingertips. Kate groaned.
"Don't stop. Yes, that's it. A little lower."
She closed her eyes and succumbed to the feeling of Caroline's hands and the gently pressure she was applying. Her groan got louder and she moved positions, sinking lower into the settee.
Lawrence, who was on his way to raid the fridge, stopped momentarily outside the living room door and, hearing the groans and the instructions to move lower and not stop, decided it would be unwise to open the door.
He was warming to Kate although he would never admit it his mum. He couldn't say that he was happy with the living arrangements and he still felt slightly aggrieved that his father was no longer living under the same roof as him, but he was slowly accepting of the situation. Any rumours and stories that had started at school about his mum and Kate had quickly been squashed and although he had had a few run-ins and tussles with boys in his year, he had handled things very well.
Caroline stopped suddenly and cocked her head to one side. She had heard someone walk past the door, the loose floorboards just past the bottom of the stairs giving out a loud creak.
"Lawrence, is that you? Have you done your homework?"
She stopped and listened and was just about to ask the same questions when Lawrence shouted back from the kitchen.
"Yes ma, it's me. Almost finished the homework. This French is killing me though. It's like a different language."
Caroline laughed.
"That's because it is. Would you like Kate to have a look at it for you?"
Silence.
"She's very good at French you know."
"Wouldn't that be a little bit like cheating?"
Kate joined in the conversation.
"Not really. I would just be giving you my advice and my opinion. I wouldn't be writing your homework or marking it and making you re-do it. I would just be evaluating it."
Silence again. Then the sound of Lawrence bounding upstairs to his bedroom.
"I'll just get it."
Caroline gently patted Kate on the shoulders.
"Are you sure you don't mind doing this?"
She leaned back her head and looked up at Caroline.
"Of course I don't. I wouldn't have offered if I did. You can make it up to me later."
Caroline leaned forward and kissed her.
"I'll make us a pot of coffee."
Caroline was snuggled up in bed, her arm across Kate and her head nestling on her chest.
"You are like my own personal hot water bottle you know. Goodness knows how I will keep warm once the baby is here."
Kate laughed and tapped Caroline's nose, dragging her finger down and tracing the outline of her lips.
"I am sure you will manage. You could always get warm by putting your head under the covers and, well, you know. Or we could generate some body heat together by, well, you know."
Caroline got the gist of where the conversation was heading and shifted her body weight, lifting the covers and pulling them over her head. Her voice was slightly muffled and Kate strained to hear what she was saying.
"I'm insatiable? Dr Dawson, I can't believe I just heard you say that. You are the one who has led me astray from day 1. Not that I am complaining." And Kate lay back and let Caroline bring her to full arousal and eventually a powerful orgasm.
Caroline lay her head back on the pillow and straightened the covers around her. She interlinked her fingers and lay them across her stomach.
"So my beloved Kate. What shall we do in the school holidays? We have 1 full week away from Sulgrave. 1 full week together. 1 full week of doing very little. We ought to look at prams again. And this time, we ought to come away with at least one. Perhaps we ought to buy one of those 3 in 1 things that you like and an additional car seat for the jeep. And, oh, it will be our first Valentine day together as a couple. Do you want to do anything special to celebrate? I mean, I don't see why we shouldn't celebrate it and do something. Of course, we could always stay in and I could cook us a meal. Or we could go out and, well, maybe not. No, it will be very busy on Valentine day. Perhaps we should just stay at home."
Kate slowly turned her head and looked at Caroline.
"Why do you have the ability to talk nineteen to the dozen, ask a thousand questions and answer about 999 of them before I have even have a chance to have my say?"
Caroline raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to answer Kate, who leaned forward and silenced her with a kiss.
"This half term, this 1 week off school, I would like to stay in bed and watch day time TV and eat ice cream and get fat. No, let me rephrase that. Eat ice cream and get even fatter. How does that suit you?"
"Oh, I, well, er, I don't know. I suppose we could, erm you could do that if that is really what you wanted to do. But I thought we could do something a little more productive. This will be our last school holiday together before the baby comes, probably our last one anyway. We ought to decide on a colour for the nursery."
"Do we have to do that next week? I could do that when I finish work. I have 3 weeks before the baby is due. 3 weeks of sitting around the house getting bored. Folding and unfolding clothes."
"You could do it yourself as long as you promise not to climb any ladders or stand on anything higher than about 6 inches off the floor. But I really would like to do something for Valentines even if I just cook us a nice meal and we watch a film together."
Kate hugged Caroline and moved her hair back from her eyes.
"Do we have to plan anything? Can't we just see where it takes us? You really don't have to be organised and plan an itinerary for the whole week you know. I would like to see more of the simple Caroline. The one who is happy to sit about in her PJs all day and eat pizza out of a box and ice cream straight from the tub. The one who wears no make-up and those sexy jeans. You know, it's a pity that I don't see more of that Caroline."
She sat upright and turned to face Kate.
"Oh. So now you are telling me that you want the Caroline in a pair of fleecy PJs with a tub of ice cream in my hand and some sordid day time soap opera blasting out in the background. And I thought you liked the domineering Caroline. The one who wears a tight pencil skirt, silky blouses and stilettos and thunders through the halls of Sulgrave. The one who can make a teenage boy quiver at a hundred pages."
Kate screwed up her eyes and pursed her lips. She pondered the statement for a short while and then
"Mmm, now that you put it like that. Yes, I would rather have the domineering Dr Dawson. The formidable power behind Sulgrave. The one who strikes fear into the hearts of the new Year 7s by looking at them with her piercing blue eyes. The one who has the ability to turn me on just by cocking her head slightly to one side and smiling."
Caroline laughed.
"Do I? Do I really?"
"Do you what? Make grown boys cry or turn me on?"
"Both."
"Well that would be a yes to both questions. And now that we have clarified that, you need to stop talking Dr and decide which of my 2 sides you would rather have. The sultry dark side or the slightly less aggressive yet forceful teacher in me."
And before Caroline had a chance to answer, Kate had covered her lips with her own and was slowly and gently caressing her breast with one hand and moving down her body with the other.
When Kate came down to breakfast, there was the largest bunch of roses she had ever seen on the kitchen counter. There was a card propped up against them and a large box of chocolates at the side. Kate smiled and looked around for Caroline, who was bent over loading the dishwasher.
"Happy Valentines day."
Caroline turned around and smiled at her.
"And the same to you. I er I bought you a few little things just to say that, well, you know, to say that I erm I love you."
"Aww Caroline. That is so sweet. And I love you too. Thank you so much. The flowers are beautiful."
Caroline walked over to the other side of the kitchen and folded Kate into her arms.
"And so are you. I'm glad you like them. So what would you like to do today? I have planned a nice meal for later, and made sure that Lawrence is out of the way. But we have all day to do what we like. Do you want to go and have a walk around Valley gardens?"
Kate smiled.
"I would love that."
By early evening, Caroline was extremely nervous and felt sick to the pit of her stomach. Everything had gone to plan and their first Valentine day as a couple had so far been perfect. There was one more thing that she wanted to do.
They had just eaten a lovely meal which she had cooked and they had retired to the sitting room and were cuddled up on the sofa watching University Challenge. Not the most romantic of programmes but it was one of the ways that Caroline relaxed and tonight more than any other night she felt she needed to relax.
Before the end of the programme, Kate turned the TV off, frustrated that Caroline seemed somewhat distracted from the romantic setting she had managed to create. She seemed intent on showing Kate how much she knew by answering the questions Jeremy Paxman was asking and Kate was quickly becoming bored. She pushed one of her chocolates into her mouth.
Caroline smiled and finished eating it before turning to Kate.
"You know Christmas?"
"Yeah."
"I was so happy when, you know, and I was thinking, with the baby nearly due and everything."
She stretched her arm over the side of the sofa and fumbled around for the small black box that she had placed there. Her hand was shaking and she could barely manage to open the box. She placed it on Kate's baby bump and looked deep into her eyes.
"Should … shall … why don't we get married, properly married?"
Kate giggled and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Is that a, what is that?" Caroline widened her eyes and looked at Kate waiting for an answer.
Kate giggled some more and nodded her head, the smile on her lips and the joy in her eyes saying more than a thousand words could say.
Caroline smiled back and leaned in to kiss her. Things couldn't get any better and her heart was fit to burst. She just had to tell her mum that she was getting married, to another woman. That would be an interesting conversation.
Thank you for taking the time out to read my story and send your reviews. Even the negative ones have helped me develop my writing style and move on with my story lines. And thank you for allowing me to indulge in my version of what might have happened in the break between Series 2 and 3.
If you enjoyed this story, please check out my others!