A/N: Okay, so I lied. Here's one more and I'll update again next week. Sorry for any confusion. Had to make a quick revision. Hope you enjoy this one!
Chapter 20
"Good God, you haven't shagged her yet!" Bob asked Patrick incredulously as he sipped a beer.
"Hey, don't talk about Lizzie that way." Patrick looked at him with a warning. "She's different."
Bob looked questioningly at him. "How is she different? Just shag her and be done with it!"
"You don't understand, Bob…..I.." Patrick trailed off shaking his head.
Bob shook his head along with him as he amusedly watched his friend, "You what?"
"I..."
Bob's eyes opened wide. "Love her? You can't even say the words!" Bob laughed slapping his knee.
Patrick took a sip of his beer and hung his head. "I can't even say the words." he agreed.
"You look even more lovesick now than you did on the bloody ship!" Bob cracked open a peanut shell and popped a nut into his mouth. "So what are ya going to do?"
"I don't know….but I'll tell ya. This fire academy was the pits. I mean excruciating. But being without Lizzie has been Hell." Patrick told him seriously.
"So what yer saying is you'd rather suffer Hell than tell her you love her?" Bob asked him cracking another peanut shell.
Damn Bob, Patrick thought. Why did he have to make sense? Patrick sulked. "Can we please talk about something else?"
Bob cocked his head at his old friend. There would be no getting through to him. He sighed and his face lit up. "Stop me if you've heard this one!"
Patrick stumbled in the doorway late that night and locked the door behind him. He found Marie still awake sitting on the sofa reading.
"Hey Marie." Patrick greeted as he casually made his way to the living room.
"Hey." Marie responded holding her hand up directing him to wait.
Patrick's eyes open widely as he realized what she was reading. "What have ya got there, Marie?" he asked sincerely hoping that it wasn't what he thought she was reading.
"Oh it's the letter you wrote to Lizzie." Marie answered nonchalantly. "It explains a lot about the way the two of you are behaving." She added noticing the appalled expression on her brother's face.
Patrick gaped at her and raised his voice at his sister. "Marie! Give me back that letter!" he demanded going towards her and holding out his palm. "What's written in that letter is none of your damn business!" he told her angrily.
Marie pulled the letter close to her chest. "Actually when ya leave it laying out in plain sight on the table in my flat, I'd say yer making it my business." She told him sharply.
Patrick sighed, looking down. He furrowed his brows and his mouth was set in a line. When Marie took that tone that reminded him of their mother he knew she would not back down. Marie had quite the stubborn streak in her when she wanted.
"Have a seat." Marie told him calmly. Patrick sat wishing he hadn't been so careless.
Marie smiled at her only sibling. She hoped that he would just talk to her. "Now…why won't you just tell her that you love her?"
Patrick shook his head. "I can't, Marie. What if she doesn't feel that way about me?"
Marie threw her head back and laughed in a high pitch tone followed by a snort. Truly it was the funniest thing she'd heard that day.
"Something funny?" Patrick asked her self-consciously.
Marie sighed and shook her head at her brother's cluelessness. "Patrick, Patrick, Patrick. Of course she loves you."
"How do you know?" he asked her quickly. "Did she tell you?" he asked hopefully.
"Are ya kidding, Patrick? She doesn't have to. It's written all over her face."
Patrick was silent for a moment not certain if he should believe Marie. "Then why hasn't she said it yet?" he asked her pointedly.
Marie scoffed. "Can you blame her? Look at her relationship with Frankie's father. Do you blame her for being scared?"
"Still." Patrick replied stubbornly. "I'm not going to be the one to say it first." He told his sister feeling a little vulnerable himself. He'd never said these words to a woman.
Marie rolled her eyes. "Don't mess this up, Patrick. Just tell her. In fact, I'm going to invite Lizzie and Frankie over tomorrow for tea."
Patrick looked down and held out his palm to Marie. "The letter, please?"
Marie reluctantly handed it to him.
He took it from her and folded it quickly. "I never planned on actually giving it to her."
Marie nodded, crinkling her nose. "I know." She stood up and yawned. "Good night, Patrick." She told him heading down the hallway to her room.
"Good night, Marie." Patrick yawned and headed towards his room when a thought occurred to him. The letter hadn't been in plain sight.
"Over. Then under…That's right…Now pull through and tighten."
Frankie smiled showing Patrick the knot he'd just finished. "Sssseeee?"
Patrick and Lizzie smiled proudly at him. "Well done, Frankie now tie it one more time and then I'll show ya how to do a different one."
Frankie smiled with pride and continued with the rope as Marie brought over some cookies and set them on the table.
"Thanks for coming over Lizzie." Marie told her and Patrick nodded.
"Thanks for having us."
"Well ya know, it gets quiet here and it's nice to have people over." Marie gave Patrick a wink. "I'm going to check on the food." She left for the kitchen.
"Lizzie, I'm sorry about the other day." Patrick told Lizzie.
Lizzie watched Frankie attempting the same knot again. "It's alright, Patrick. We can talk about it later." She told him still feeling the burn from her previous visit. Lizzie had been happy to receive Marie's invitation because she couldn't stand being away from him.
"Patty? Oops sorry….I mean Patrick, come grab some plates." Marie called from the kitchen.
Patrick stood and took the plates from Marie and began setting the table. Lizzie went to the kitchen and fetched silverware and glasses.
Lizzie and Patrick didn't know what to say to each other. Marie sensing the awkwardness broke the silence.
"Lizzie, those banana nut muffins you brought in were delicious!"
Lizzie smiled, "Oh thank you."
Marie's eyes widened. "I put them in a basket to sell, Lizzie, and they're gone. People loved them. Oh I love banana nut muffins."
Patrick and Lizzie flinched at hearing the word that had been tormenting the both of them. Lizzie recalled her mother's and Bob's words and wondered if they were right.
"And the cookies…..they were sooo good. I just love chocolate chip cookies." Marie told Lizzie setting out napkins around the table.
Lizzie smiled at the loose way the word was being used. "Well you know what I love, Marie?" she asked setting the glasses down.
Patrick eyed her quietly as he stood behind Frankie.
"No, what?" Marie asked innocently.
"I just love baking." Lizzie shrugged with a slight smile seeing Patrick's expression change to seriousness.
"I can tell. You could open up yer own bakery, so you could."
Lizzie never took her eyes off Patrick. "Ya know, I would love to do that someday."
Lizzie looked challengingly at him as he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Ya know what I love?" Patrick asked. "I love what a great job Frankie is doing with his knots."
Lizzie took a breath and pursed her lips.
Marie smiled. "It's so nice that we're all here together. I'm going to pull the lasagna out of the oven."
"I love lasagna, Marie." Lizzie said. "And I love that you invited us here for tea!"
She went into the kitchen to offer her help and left a fuming Patrick with Frankie.
Patrick stood there shaking his head silently. Lizzie came back out and hugged Patrick.
"By the way, congratulations on passing the academy." Patrick smiled gratefully at her and returned her embrace.
Frankie looked up at them and Lizzie smiled. "Frankie and I love that you were at the top of yer class." Lizzie winked and went back to the kitchen.
"Thanks." Patrick told her through his teeth not knowing how much more he could take.
"We're all very proud of you." Marie told him holding the lasagna dish with potholders and setting it down on the table. Lizzie followed behind with a salad bowl and bread. Lizzie sat next to Frankie and Marie and Patrick sat across from them.
"So what's next?" Marie asked carefully cutting the savory entree and serving everyone. "What happens Monday?"
Patrick served himself some salad and passed the bowl to Lizzie. "Monday, I start work. I am assigned to a station across town."
"What is your work schedule going to be like?"
"I'll work 24 hour shifts. So I'll work Monday, be off on Tuesday, work Wednesday, off Thursday and work Friday. I'll have the weekend off and next week they'll assign me a permanent schedule similar to that one. Probably working the weekends."
Lizzie's brows were knit. "24 hours? You have to be there for 24 hours?"
Patrick smiled at her concern. "Yes. I report at 8 in the morning and leave at 8 the following morning. Don't look so upset. I'm actually only working ten days a month unless I choose to work more. It's a great job." He said nodding.
"Sounds brilliant to me! Work ten days a month." Marie said getting up to retrieve salad dressing.
Patrick looked to Lizzie to get her reaction but found her to be less than happy.
Marie brought a few bottles of dressing and placed them on the table. She poured dressing on her salad. "Did you make it to the house, Patrick?"
Patrick eagerly sampled the flavorful pasta and nodded. "Mmmm….this is so good. I love it." He told her raising his eyebrows. "Yes, I made it over there and the roof's looking pretty bad. We're going to have to get a new roof."
"Oh." Marie said. "Ouch."
"I'll take care of it, Marie. I'm working now. Oh and by the way, Dominick just gave his notice yesterday. They'll be moving in a month's time."
"Really? I'm going to miss them. Wow. It's hard to imagine that house being vacant." Marie looked silently to Patrick and then Lizzie. Hint hint.
Lizzie took a bite of her bread looking away and Patrick smiled at Frankie who was picking at his salad.
They finished their dinner in silence. Lizzie helped Marie with the dishes and Patrick drew with Frankie at the table.
"Oh look at the time, we have to go, Marie. Thanks so much. It was delicious." Lizzie smiled and hugged Marie. She tapped on Frankie's shoulder. He was immersed in his drawing. "We have to go, son."
Frankie furrowed his brows and gathered his coloring pencils.
"I'll take you and Frankie." Patrick volunteered with a smile.
Lizzie nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Patrick. C'mon Slowcoach." She tapped on Frankie's shoulder again noticing he was busy drawing again. "We'll be outside. Hurry now."
Patrick took Lizzie's hand and they walked outside shutting the door behind them.
"Are we okay, Lizzie?" he asked her sincerely.
Lizzie looked up into his sparkling, bluish-green eyes. Feeling like she would melt right there she realized she couldn't stay mad at him. "Of course." She threw herself into his embrace and he held her tightly and leaned down to kiss her. She'd missed everything about him and sighed contentedly now that she was back in his arms.
Patrick closed his eyes and breathed in her perfume. "I missed you." He whispered.
"I missed you too." Lizzie told him and was about to kiss him again when she noticed Frankie watching them with a smile through the window. Patrick caught sight of Frankie watching and Lizzie smiled. "He loves you, ya know."
Patrick's face became serious as his turquoise eyes met her brown ones. He had a simple question. Patrick wondered if he was brave enough to ask it. "Is he the only one?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper.
"No." Lizzie uttered gazing up at him, a little nervously.
Patrick took a breath and shuddered with emotion as if everything in his life had led him to this point. He smiled and pulled her in to a kiss that left Lizzie breathless.
Lizzie smiled realizing that he hadn't said the words, and that it was okay. As long as they were together she was happy.
"I…" Patrick uttered and Lizzie shook her head.
"You don't have to, Patrick. It's alright."
Her saying that made him love her even more. "I…." he stammered. "This is hard for me, Lizzie. I'm not good at this sort of thing."
Lizzie stroked Patrick's face gently. "Shhhh. It's alright."
"I….fell in love with you the first time I met you, Lizzie."
Lizzie gasped and she felt her heart pounding. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
"I love you so much it hurts." He took her hands in his and squeezed them. "I…..love you so much ...that ...that I would rather spend an eternity in Hell than live here on earth without you."
Tears filled Lizzie's eyes and she sniffled. "I'd say you were pretty good." She told him smiling and wiping her tears.
He laughed and felt relief that the words were finally out.
"Patrick?" Lizzie asked as his strong arms held her and he stroked her hair with gentle fingers.
"Mmmmm?"
They both turned and looked as they heard the noise of the front door opening and watched Frankie emerge with paper and color pencils in hand.
As Frankie walked towards them Lizzie looked up at Patrick, her eyes glinting with playfulness, "I love...chocolate."
Patrick narrowed his eyes at her. "Is that so?"
Lizzie gazed lovingly up at him and nodded.
Frankie stood before Patrick and Lizzie. "Say, Frankie? You know what time it is?" Patrick asked him.
Frankie shook his head.
"Time for yer ma to go for a swim." He said picking Lizzie up by the waist and headed back to Marie's.