Heaven Knows - Chapter 14

A/N: I know it's been such a long time, so without further ado, here is Chapter 14.

"I ordered you to go home, Dylan..."

Dylan looked up from the sight of the neat row of waiting chairs opposite him to the source of the voice.

"It wasn't an order. It was just a suggestion, Kate," he shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly.

Kate's lips couldn't help but curved upwards slightly at the memory of that day in front of the shed during that gold smuggling case. "You've never been good at following my orders anyway..."

"Hey... I follow your orders just fine, thank you!" he replied indignantly before continuing, "It's just that when it comes to your safety, I think that as your buffer, I can alter the interpretation of your 'suggestion' a little bit."

She snorted. "Only you would do that."

"I have to..." he stared at her intently, "you're important to me."

Her eyes softened a little bit at his statement. But she didn't reply. She just stood there clutching the scan results and a small plastic bag containing her purse and jewellery to her chest. She had thought long and hard during her various scans and tests; thinking about all the things that had happened today and mostly about whether he would still be here when she finished the tiresome process. The fact that he was waiting for her patiently on a hard plastic chair made her wondered what that meant for the both of them.

"I think I know why you hired her..." She broke the silence between them. "An eye for an eye. I hurt you first, Dylan. That was why you hired her, to hurt me. It was a payback... and I think I deserve that, judging by the way I've hurt you so much."

"Kate, NO..." He stood up from his chair before taking a few steps forward towards her. His thumb then tilted her chin upwards, urging her eyes to meet his. "Yes, I was hurting. Yes, I was angry. And that was why I went to that place. To forget everything for a few hours. But NO... I didn't do it to deliberately hurt you. You came back to my place and saw a glimpse of my stupidity were not part of a plan to hurt you. I know I did though. And there was not a second since you drove your car away that I didn't regret it. You don't deserve to be hurt. Ever. Not by anyone. And certainly not by me."

Her eyes searched his for the telltale sign of a lie, but deep down in her heart, she knew that he was telling her the truth. Dylan was many things; charming, stubborn, annoyingly protective. But he was not a liar. The fact that he was here with her was the biggest proof of it. The only way he could have known that she had an accident would be because he followed her. He ran after her. Somehow, even after all the things that she said and did to hurt him, he still cared.

"Dylan..."

"Yes?"

"Will you please hold me?"

His heart swelled at the request. It seemed that he got another chance; maybe it was more that what he deserved, but he was grateful all the same.

"Of course..." he replied softly. He then took the envelope and the bag away from her grasp and put it to the nearest bench before slowly reaching for her waist and pulling her to his chest gently.

She closed her eyes at the feeling of his warm chest against her cheek.

Home.

Being in his arms felt like coming home.

And for the first time since she regained consciousness in her car after the accident, she could feel the tiredness slowly creeping in every single muscles of her body. Her arms then tightened around his waist, bringing her body to rest fully in his arms.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Their combined heartbeats along with the distant chatters of the nurses in their station just down the hall were the only sound they could hear.

Dylan had longed to do this all night. He realised that they were indeed very lucky. She could have died in that accident. She could have sustained serious injuries and instead of waiting in the radiology floor, he could be waiting on the surgery floor or worse, identifying her body in the morgue. He squeezed his eyes shut at the thought and consciously tightened his hug. He then peppered kisses on the top of her head, grateful that she was here with him, grateful that despite everything that had happened tonight, she still sought his touch and his comfort.

"Did they clear you to go home?" he asked quietly.

She nodded against his chest. "No broken bones, no concussion, just slight bruises from the impact of the airbags and seatbelt and few surface lacerations because of the broken front windows."

"I'm glad that you're alright," he whispered softly to her ear.

She raised her head from his chest to meet his eyes. "Me too..."

His lips curved up to form a smile at her admission. He then kissed her forehead softly, before letting her go and entwined their hands instead. "Come on, let's get you home."

She squeezed his hand tighter in agreement. She then picked up her belongings from the chair before letting him lead the way to the elevator.

"Could we stop somewhere on the way home?" she asked tentatively while standing next to him, waiting for the elevator to come.

"Where about?" he looked at her quizzically.

"Pancake's place?"

He raised his eyebrows in confusion, "Are you hungry?"

"Hu-uh... Starving actually," her lips formed a slight pout as a response to his question.

He couldn't help but smile at the rare sight of her pout. Kissing her temple softly, he then teased her playfully, "either the food during your dinner was not good or the portion was too small."

She smiled sadly at his teasing. If only that was the case. "Mike never made it to dinner."

She broke their eye contact and then rested her head on his upper arm, afraid of seeing the pity in his eyes or an 'I told you so' look.

Dylan couldn't believe what he just heard. That revelation explained somehow the enormity of her ordeal tonight. A cancelled dinner and a broken promise. Sometimes, he seriously wanted to punch his former CO for doing this to her for so long. How could you profess to love someone then hurting them over and over again?

Don't be so high and mighty, Dylan. You're actually no better than him. You hurt her too tonight.

"I'm sorry, Kate."

She met his eyes once more. There was no pity in his eyes, only remorse over the choices he made tonight. Once again she questioned her decision to accept Mike's invitation in the first place. If she didn't, none of these events would happen. She could have a very nice dinner with her best friend. There was no need for heartache, arguments and car accident, among everything that had happened tonight.

"You're not the one who stood me up, Dylan," she finally said in reply.

"I wasn't," his lips kissed the top of her head softly. "But I'm sorry all the same."

"I know you are," she stared at him with misty eyes, "and I'm sorry too..."

The sound of the elevator arriving on their floor broke their moment. They smiled softly at each other before stepping together into the empty elevator.

He then looked at her thoughtfully. "Maybe we don't need to go to that restaurant. I think we still have leftover pancake batter in your fridge."

"Really?"

"Hu-uh... And also half a tub of chocolate ice cream in the freezer." He pulled her closer to him, urging her to rest her body to his side during the elevator ride. "That way, while I cook your very late supper, you could have a hot shower to refresh yourself. It'll make you feel better."

Once again, his thoughtfulness never ceased to amaze her. "I'd like that."

He smiled broadly at her. "So it's a deal then. Chocolate chip pancake with 2 swirls of honey and a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Sounds good?"

"Yes," she rewarded his suggestion with a lingering kiss on his cheek, "that sounds heavenly."

"That doesn't look like a chocolate chip pancake to me."

Dylan smiled at her comment. "That's because it's not. I found this," he held up a small package of macadamia nuts, "at the back of the pantry."

Kate moved closer to stand beside him in front of the cook top, observing the way the batter started to formed tiny bubbles on the surface.

"Was the shower good?"

She looked up from the sight of the bubbling pancakes to meet his eyes. "Yes... Just what I need."

"Good..." he leaned forward to kiss her forehead softly, before he turned his attention to the pancake once more; waiting for the right time to flip it.

"You're welcome to freshen up upstairs, you know," she offered tentatively. "You left few clothes here before. I just keep forgetting to give it back to you."

"Hmm... any non-girly soap available?" he teased her playfully while he flipped the pancakes.

She smiled. "Hmm... Let me think... I have vanilla, vanilla, and vanilla... Is that non-girly enough for you?"

"I'm just kidding..." he smiled back at her. "I would love to freshen up if you don't mind. It's been a long night."

"Then go for it. I can finish that," she said referring to the almost cooked supper.

"You sure?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Dylan..." she crossed her arms in front of her chest in annoyance, "I can cook just fine, thank you... Besides, you might not notice it, but you stink!"

"Hey... watch it!" he tried to glare at her but his lips couldn't help to form a grin at her jibes.

They then smiled at each other in that easy companionship that they always shared.

The thought that she had nearly lost this, or whatever feelings they shared with each other, was enough to cast a shadow on her smile. And as usual, he picked up on it.

"Hey... you OK?" concern tinged his voice.

"Yeah... I'm fine..."

He frowned. "Kate..."

"Dylan... I'm fine..." She then took the spatula from his hand and pushed him to the direction of the stairs. "Go freshen up. Spare towel and toothbrush are in the cabinet on the bathroom corner. I've already put your change of clothes next to the sink. So you should be all set."

He couldn't help but grinned stupidly at her speech. The whole thing felt so domestic. Somehow, it felt right as well.

"What?"She raised her eyebrows at his grin.

He shook his head softly. "Nothing..."

And with his grin still plastered firmly on his face, he climbed upstairs.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't?"

"Yes..." Kate could feel his presence on her right side, but she didn't turn around to face him. She kept staring at the full moon from her patio windows.

"Have you eaten yet?" Dylan asked quietly, sensing her sombre mood.

She looked up briefly at his feature before fixing her gaze to the night sky once again. "Yes."

He stood there silently, waiting patiently for her to tell him what was going on in her head. He was under no illusion that they still had a lot to discuss between them. Their embrace in the hospital corridor and the short conversation that followed was a good start, but he knew that this was not over yet.

She then broke the silence. "Do you regret that the girl drove away?"

His arm slowly circled her waist, bringing her to rest on his side. "No. I didn't regret it."

"What did you do with her?" she asked curiously.

He sighed. "We had dinner, went to the club, danced together and took a joyride around town..."

"I see..."

Silence descended on them. And for the first time, it was an uncomfortable silence.

"You didn't really get your money worth then."

"I actually did."

She stiffened.

Realising his mistake, he tightened his arm around her and kissed her temple softly. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Then what?" she asked stiffly.

"Spending time with her made me realised some very important things actually."

"Such as?" prompted her quietly, dreading the answer.

"I want you."

She raised her head from his chest to meet his gaze.

"Only you."

The conviction in his voice and the adoration that was apparent in his eyes slowly eased the pain in her heart.

"Are you saying to me that you prefer spending time with me on the couch watching movies rather than driving a convertible with 'James Bond Girl'?" she looked incredulously at him.

He smiled softly at her. "You make it sound like spending time with you is a chore."

She sighed. "Sometimes, I wonder what you see in me..."

"Excuse me?" Disbelief coloured his voice.

"Look at those women you've ever went out with. They're tall, leggy, have womanly assets in the 'right' size, not to mention the fact that they looked incredibly good sitting in the convertible with you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "You see... I'm not your type at all... Plus, I'm also stubborn and opinionated; heaven knows how many arguments we have had all this time we knew each other. And, as if those two traits are not enough to make men run away, I'm also a workaholic... I love my job and I make no apology about that..."

"And you shouldn't..." He cut her mid-sentence. To say he was stunned at her tirade would be an understatement.

"Kate, if you're not a workaholic... then I would never meet you, Lieutenant McGregor. I would never know how bossy you are..." he said cheekily.

"That doesn't earn you any points, big fella..." She mockingly glared at him.

"And how brave you are," he grinned broadly in reply to her glare, "and how much you care for your sailors." He continued, "I'm actually glad that you're not my type. My usual type was a little bit predictable and borderline boring. But you; bickering with you is always entertaining and watching movies with you is definitely a life changing experience... especially your running commentaries..."

She laughed at his comment. "Especially when that old lady was shushing me because I'm too loud, huh?"

"Exactly..." he hugged her waist to him, urging her to lean her body deeper into his embrace. "Conclusion... you are an amazing woman, Kate... in every way there is..."

A lump started to form in her throat at the sincerity she could hear in his voice. Somehow, with all her baggage, all her insecurities, all her hang-ups about Mike, there was this man who stood by her through everything, who cared deeply about her and whom she suspected loved her too.

"Dylan..."

"Hmm..."

She lifted her head from his chest before raising her arms to hug his neck tightly and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry about today... I'm sorry that I said those cruel words to you..." Her eyes started to brim with tears as she remembered how ugly their arguments had been. "I'm sorry that I was stupid enough to accept his invitation in the first place."

He tightened his embrace at the mention of the dinner. "Did he give you a reason for not coming?" he couldn't hold his curiosity.

She lifted her head from his neck and met his curious eyes. "Remember Ryan White?"

"His godson, right?"

"Try his 'son'." She said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

His eyes widened. "No way..."

"Yes way... Apparently as of 3 weeks ago according to him..." Her lips curved up slightly at his gobsmacked expression. "Ryan ran away from home and his mum enlisted Mike's help to look for their son. So, while I was sitting in the restaurant wondering why he didn't come, he was driving around town and making phone calls enquiring about Ryan's whereabouts..."

"He didn't even call you?" his shock turned to anger.

She shook her head. "I had to bang on his door to get answers. And guess what, Commander White answered the door."

He cringed. "Ouch..."

"Exactly. My emotion was already a wreck when I arrived at your parking lot. And then, the convertible girl happened." She sighed. "Suddenly, the level of pain became unbearable..."

"Kate... I'm sorry..." He couldn't do anything else beside apologising and holding her a lot closer to him.

"That was how I know for sure that I'm not in love with Mike anymore." She smiled sadly. "I got my comparison, a very twisted comparison indeed, but I know now that you have a lot more power to hurt me than Mike."

"And are you OK with that?" he whispered softly. A glimmer of hope was shining in his eyes.

She lowered her arms and rested the palm of her hands on his chest while her brain contemplated his question. "I think so," she then shook her head softly, "but I don't know..."

He smiled at her answer. "It seems that you still need a little bit more convincing from me."

"Maybe..." She caressed his smiling face lovingly. "It's just that it's kind of scary to give that kind of power to someone else."

"I see..." He said thoughtfully. He then took her hand and kissed its knuckles softly. "Dance with me then..."

"Here?" She raised her eyebrows at his request.

"Hu-uh. We'll just put music on and we'll be all set." He grinned widely at her.

She shook her head at his effort to charm her to say yes with his smile. And predictably, she caved in. "Of course I will dance with you. Do you really think I'm going to say no?"

"A lot of things had been happening today, Kate... Better safe than sorry..."

She smiled. "Pick the music, Dylan... It's not polite to keep the lady waiting..."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Put your head on my shoulder
Hold me in your arms, baby
Squeeze me oh so tight
Show me that you love me too.

Put your lips next to mine, dear
Won't you kiss me once, baby
Just a kiss good night
Maybe you and I will fall in love.

Michael Buble's voice reverberated throughout the living room, accompanying two people dancing close to each other in the middle of it.

Their movements were subtle, as if they were not dancing at all.

Both simply cherished their time together; grateful that they had one more chance to make things right.

"You know, this is the 3rd time I wrecked my car this year. The insurance must have thought that I'm a high-risk driver or something." Kate murmured quietly, breaking the silence that they had a minute ago.

"Well, the first two accidents definitely weren't your fault." He paused slightly, "and this one was technically mine..."

She looked up to meet his eyes. "You didn't drive the car, Dylan. I did. It wasn't your fault."

He sighed. "It felt like it was."

"Dylan, stop it," she chastised him softly. "Maybe instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you can help me write the insurance claim report."

"Hmm... Insurance paperworks are the worse. I hope that they will appoint better mechanics than the last one."

"I hope so too. Otherwise, you can just flex your muscle in front of those mechanics, I'm sure that would be a good incentive for them to do a good job..."

He laughed. "Come on, Kate, I can't keep threatening them with bodily harm. It has been a little bit overused, don't you think?"

"Maybe... but it's been pretty effective so far, why do we have to change methods?" she replied amused.

"Right... We shouldn't change the winning formula..." he grinned at her conspiratorially.

"Exactly," she grinned back at him.

Some people say that love's a game
A game you just can't win
If there's a way
I'll find it someday
And then this fool will rush in.

He then rested his forehead on hers, closing his eyes briefly in the process. "You know that you are beautiful, right?"

She rolled her eyes at his words. "Dylan, you're biased."

"Maybe," his lips curved upwards amused, "but it doesn't make it less true."

She kissed his smiling lips softly. "You are too good for my ego..."

"That's why you need to keep me around," he said half serious, half jokingly. He then tightened his arm around her waist and held their entwined fingers that rest on his chest tighter.

"There were actually other things that I realised during my 'outing' today..."

"Hmm?" she murmured quietly from his chest.

"She could actually rest her chin on my shoulder. That's how tall she was." He was quietly referring to the convertible girl.

She raised her head from his chest to look at him pointedly. "Are you sure that you didn't want to call her back?"

"Why do you think I want to?"

She shrugged. "I don't know... Maybe because I can barely see beyond your shoulder... unless I wore super high heels of course... Also, if you wanted to kiss her, you wouldn't have to lower your head down to meet her lips. You just turn your head to the side and voila... "

"I don't want to kiss her..."

"Then what's your point of mentioning her height?" A touch of annoyance coloured her voice.

He kissed her nose softly before replying. "She might be tall and she might have the right proportion of womanly assets. But, she's not you... She's not Kate McGregor..."

He placed a lingering kiss on her forehead and ran his hand through her locks. "She doesn't have a silky long blond hair."

He then kissed her eyelids, causing her to close her eyes momentarily. "She doesn't have a pair of green eyes that could strip bare one's soul either."

Her eyes started to glaze with unshed tears at his speech. Her hand then moved up to cradle his cheek softly. But she stayed silent.

"She might be perfect," he turned his head to the side to kiss her palm, "but I don't need perfect, Kate. I need someone who fits me. And you," he smiled softly at her, "a 5.5' tall woman with a glare that could make most sailor squirm, fits me perfectly."

Her lips formed a watery smile at him. "I make you squirm, huh?"

He chuckled. "I said most sailors... not all... BUT... you have more important power than making me squirm..." He then stared at her intently. "You have the power to hurt me, Kate... and I must admit that you've utilised that power on me a few times now..."

"I know..." Droplet of tears rolled down her cheek slowly, "and I'm sorry..." Remorse filled her glassy eyes. "I'm sorry that I've been taken you for granted...I'm sorry that I was too focused on my past that I didn't see my future stood right beside me all this time."

"Don't be..."His hand cradled her head softly. "I knew the risk from the start, and yet, I kept going. I just couldn't stay away from you..."

He then lowered her lips to hers; planting small kisses on her lips; kisses that gradually went deeper and harder. His tongue nudged her lips to open slightly, so that he could taste that sweet nectar of hers. And once he did, he couldn't stop. Time didn't exist at this minute, what mattered to them was being in each other's arms.

She broke their kiss first in search for air. But his lips searched hers once more and she couldn't resist. They were slowly but surely burning in their desire for each other. The journey had been too long, too winding and now that it had started to entwine together, they were just reluctant to let go of each other.

But eventually, he had to.

His forehead then rested against hers, while they breathed raggedly, trying to get their lungs to pumped some air to their system.

"No one ever makes my heart beat like you do, Kate..." he whispered softly while his hand held hers over his heart to feel it thumping wildly under her hand. "Only you could do that... only you could make it alive... I need you..."

"I need you too..." She whispered back as softly.

"Then trust me..." he kissed her lips lightly, "trust me with your heart... Trust me to keep it safe..."

"Dylan..." She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to fulfil his request, to finally start a new journey with him.

"Trust me, Kate..." He tightened his arms around her. "Just like you always trusted me with your life when we boarded a vessel together."

"Just like boarding FFVs..." Her lips started to curve up for a smile at his analogy.

"Yes... Just like that..."

Silence enveloped them once more.

His heart thumped wilder in his chest cavity; waiting anxiously for what she had to say, whether she finally would allow him to be hers and vice versa.

"Okay..."

He swore his heart stopped when she said that simple word. His heart stopped only to be revived by the realisation that this was it. The moment that he had been persevering for. The moment she finally chose him.

There were no fireworks to mark this moment, just a sight of a man and woman in a tight embrace in the middle of the living room.

Their lips met again, this time slowly and languidly. Every caress of their lips, their tongues and every single touch of their hands on each other's skins made them closer. They were slowly becoming one with one another.

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear baby
Words I want to hear tell me
Tell me that you love me too.

"Dylan..."

"Hmm..." He managed to reply in between kissing the soft skin on her neck and shoulder.

"I bought baby oil the other week..." She said quietly, almost absentmindedly.

He lifted his head from the curve of her neck and raised his eyebrows at her. "Does that mean what I think it mean?"

She smiled and rested her hands on his chest. "I'm just taking you up on your massage offer a few weeks back... That's if you are still offering of course..."

"Just a massage?" He grinned playfully while caressing the strip of bare skin on her back that wasn't covered by her tank top.

She couldn't help but grin back at him. "Well...I don't know..." she then raised her arms and circled his neck. "Why don't you take me upstairs and we'll see..."

Silence greeted her offer.

Realising what she just said, she blushed deeply. Gee, Kate... "Too forward, huh?" she grimaced.

He just shook his head softly and pulled her to his tight embrace. "No..." Kissing her temple repeatedly, he then continued teasingly. "I just didn't expect that from Ms. Raincheck..."

She chuckled against his shoulder and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Once again grateful that their argument earlier in the evening was truly in the past now.

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear baby
Put your head on my shoulder

"Make love to me, Dylan..." she whispered softly to his ear.

His body stilled the second he heard her request. A lump formed in his throat as happiness overwhelmed him. "Are you sure, Kate?" he croaked softly.

She raised her head to meet his eyes. "I am."

"Good..." caressing her cheek, he then kissed her again.

Deeply.

Possessively.

"Kate," he breathed her name softly, "If we are doing this, then there is no going back." His eyes searched hers urgently, "you're stuck with me."

She smiled, "I can think of a worse fate than that..."

"You can't regret this tomorrow morning either..." his eyes then turned serious, "I don't think I could handle it if you did."

Her eyes softened at the trace of fear in his eyes at the thought. "I swear I won't regret it. You have my word..."

"Thank you..." he whispered softly before kissing her again, this time with ferocity that she had never felt before. She could feel his strong heartbeat against hers while his warm embrace enveloping her.

He then slowly moved them both to the direction of the stairs. His lips never left hers and his arms never left her body. It was as if nothing else mattered; only this moment mattered.

Each of her nerves sang with joy at his touch, at his caress. She could feel his possessiveness from his deep kisses, but at the same time, the way one of his hands cradled the back of her head with so much tenderness brought tears to her eyes once more.

This time, her heart knew for sure that she had made the right choice...

To be continued...