They came into their home quietly. Ned held their bags and Katie had Stitches, who she kissed and placed on his feet. The cat scurried off, earning a chuckling from Ned, who closed the front door, being mindful of the squeak of the hinges that he hadn't fixed yet.
He was home, for good. He could fix it now. He could get everything done around here that Katie didn't do, like fix the leaky faucet or the squeaking front door. He wasn't sure if there was much else to do, but if there was, he could do it now.
He toed off his shoes and slid them into the corner so that Katie wouldn't trip on them later. She was clumsy like that. Next, he stripped his jacket off and tossed it onto the couch as he padded through the hardwood floored living room in her socks.
He sat on the couch, taking in his surroundings. He hadn't been in their house for almost ten weeks. It smelled like her. It smelled like them; their life.
He drank in the smell of her perfume as she sat beside him, leaning into him. His senses were completely overwhelmed by her, not that he cared. He loved the way his wife smelled.
He kissed her, hearing her turn the tv on as he watched her. He'd missed relaxing with her like this. He'd never take it for granted again.
He stole the remote from her then, standing up and turning the tv off.
"Hey!" She protested. "I was trying to find a good movie." He picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder and taking the stairs by two. "Ned!"
He couldn't help but think about the last time when he'd carried her up the stairs.
They hadn't even been home, they'd been at her parents. It was March. They were babysitting Lana and Emma while Melinda took Mackenzie to a swim meet and Jim took Aaron to his basketball game.
The girls had been napping, the best thing about babysitting them. They'd been in the upstairs bathroom, just fooling around like they always did, and she'd set to work on giving him oral while he white-knuckled the sink. She'd spent the rest of the day whispering dirty things in his ear when no one was looking and making a show of staring seductively at him while she played with straw in her smoothie, that she'd made with Lana, with her tongue.
Shit.
He groaned as he looked down at the tent in his pants.
Fucking Katie. She had this effect on him every damn time.
While his friends or colleagues were always complaining about their cold-as-ice girlfriends and wives at home, Ned had Katie waiting for him in bed at the end of every day. The girl he's wanted since he was twenty years old, and she wanted him. Every damn day, she wanted him and loved him.
And she was perfect.
Messy? Jesus, yes. Impatient? Definitely. Impetuous? Oh Yes. Talented? More than he would ever know. Stubborn? As a damn mule.
But god was she perfect.
As he made his way to their bedroom, suddenly the plan too just make love to his wife didn't seem good enough as it did this morning when he was on the plane sleep deprived and fucking Katie-deprived. He wanted more, he had all of his life to just make love like any other night, tonight was going to be something different.
Maybe dinner? A movie? They never went to movies.
"Put me down," she laughed, smacking his ass lightly, which only turned him on more.
"Yes ma'am," he set her down just outside their bedroom door and kissed her, pressing her against the frame. He lifted her up with ease and brought her to the bed, feeling her arms wrap around his neck and her fingers run through his hair. He sat her on the edge, pulling back with a smile. It earned him one in return that he'd never forget. The one only saved for him. "Let me take you out."
"All that fuss just to ask me out?" She laughed, smiling at him. She laid back on the soft sheets, chuckling, as she spun her wedding rings around. "hmm… I'll have to think about it." A moment of silence as she hummed the tune to a Fleetwood Mac song. "Sure. I guess you could take me out, but my husband might not be too okay with it." She grimaced and shrugged looking over at him. "He's a cop, you know."
"I think he's pretty level-headed," he shrugged and walked over to his side of the bed, sitting down as he took off his watch. "And devilishly handsome if I do say so myself."
"He can be quite cocky, sometimes. It can be quite annoying," she sighed, turning onto her stomach and crawling up the bed without another word. Stitches hopped up a second later, settling on her stomach. She scratched his ears and the cat stretched out on top of her, purring loudly. "But... you know. I keep him around because he knows a thing or two in the bedroom."
"Oh, I see," he breathed. He pulled his shirt overhead as he felt the bed lift, turning to only see Stitches, rolling around on the blanket, burrowing himself under. "I see how it is."
He felt her sit in his lap, her hands on his shoulders. She felt the muscles there, the new and the old. Turning his face back to her, she whispered, "I was only joking you know."
"I know, Katie." He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. "I think I'm gonna hit the shower. Wanna join me?"
Ned came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped tightly around his hips and the sight that greeted him was like a dream.
Katie stood with her back to him, clad only in a black bra and panties, as she rummaged through our closet. Her left leg was crossed over her right, and she leaned her palm against the wall and blew out a frustrated breath. She'd probably been staring at her clothes for a few long minutes while he shaved, upon her request, because as much as she loved his facial hair she liked it much more when he was cleanly shaven.
Despite the thump in his chest and his body's overwhelming desire to run to her and take her in his arms, he waited, silently, as she pulled out a familiar dress.
One with a neckline sure to flatter her curves as did the flared skirt. She could amuse herself for hours just twirling in it. It made her feel like a modern day princess.
He remembered the first time she'd worn it, the day before they married, which also happened to be the hottest day in July. He'd also remembered how she'd twirled around with Mackenzie for a photo.
Then, the midriff cut out had added a bit of interest, but it didn't show too much and this time she had something to hide. She definitely made sure her scar was covered. He watched as she double and triple checked in the mirror on the closet door. She did not need or want that coming up in passing conversation with, well, anyone.
She unzipped the back and stepped into it, pulling it up and tucking her arms into the sleeves.
"Zip me?" She asked, peering over her shoulder at her husband. She furrowed her brow, licking her lips. "How long have you been watching me?"
"Long enough," he stepped forward, sucking in a breath as his eyes caught the sight of her cleavage as she twirled in the dress. He lifted her hair, kissing her cheek as he took one more step forward, his hands brushing up her spine as he closed the zipper, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck before letting her hair fall. "You look stunning, as always."
"Thank you," she breathed, smiling at him. "You look… not dressed."
"I'm on it," he stepped back, going to his closet. Ned dressed quickly, in pleated black pants and a blue shirt. "You ready?" He asked, watching her step out from the bathroom as she applied her lipstick in a compact mirror. He hadn't even heard her move. Man, was she quiet.
"I was ready long before you were, my love. Don't get cocky on me now." She rolled her eyes, tucking the mirror in her purse. She held out her hand to him, which he took, bring it to his mouth for a clique kiss. "C'mon, Prince Charming."
She wasn't sure if she was supposed to offer to drive, they'd had a long day. They'd we're stuck at the airport for a delay early this morning, until they got a flight home, to which Ned then drove him, Katie and his mother home. Luckily, they had not hit any traffic and the drive home was only two and half hours, but that was still a long day. But he'd opened the passenger door for her before she could ask and she slipped in wordlessly. Driving relaxed him, or so he'd told her a million times.
"I was thinking we should talk about something," he said as he backed out of the driveway. Once they got on the road, his hand touched her thigh, squeezing it. "The topic that came up before."
"The baby topic," she whispered, looking over at him as she squeezed his hand. "I've been thinking about this a lot lately."
"You have?" It warmed his heart. He moved his hand to find hers, squeezing it.
"Yeah. I have been working on my vision for us in ten years. It's my assignment from Eli this week." She sighed, tapping her fingers on the door.
"And what's your vision?" He asked.
"Well, in a perfect world I'd be teaching full time and you'd have your shield. We'd hopefully have children, three of them, and we'd have just moved because I'm pregnant again." She explained, happily, her hands gesturing the more depth she went into. They'd always talked about having a big family. Katie loved all of her siblings, no matter how much older she was, and Ned had always wanted a little brother or sister, but never had the chance to have one once his father died. Tim didn't want children, despite loving Ned and his mother hadn't minded. "We'd have some savings after finally paying your student debt off." This brought a chuckle from him, and she shared it. He'd done a terrible job at financing his way through college. "Maybe we'd have a dog because I'd finally let you talk me into it."
"In that timeline, when would we have another baby?" He asked.
His heart pinched at that word, hers too. Another.
"I think it would be the better decision to wait until we're both settled at work again. We miraculously had enough savings to get us through these past few months, but that's only because I've been working at the store with mom," she sighed, feeling a headache coming on as she thought about bills, and about how far behind they were on their mortgage, and about the hospital bills they were still paying. "There's just too much we need to take care of right now. Because as much as I'd love to say yes, I can't. I wish I hadn't told you I wanted one a few weeks ago. It was before I thought everything through."
She had too many valid points for him to disagree. He'd seen the bill statements she had spread out over the dining room table. Ned relaxed into his seat as he drove, tapping his fingers on the wheel. He itched his neck and rubbed his chin as he thought. "I mean… I guess that would give me time to get back on my feet at work and maybe even get my shield." He sighed, his other hand moving back to the wheel as he turned.
They were silent for the rest of the car ride, only sharing accidental glances as Katie sent a few texts to her mom, updating her on her day.
He took her to the diner in the middle of town. It's a popular destination for the high school crowd, and since not many people leave Grandview after high school, it's still frequented by a lot of people in college and even older.
They ordered burgers and fought over if they both wanted to get fries or if Katie wanted to get onion rings and Ned gets fries and share. It ended with Ned kissing the Dr. Pepper off her lips, wanting his own, different taste of the beloved soft drink. He elicited a belly laugh from her that he'd missed so much.
"Get the onion rings," he said, looking back to the menu as if he hadn't just tried to stick his tongue down her throat a moment before. "I think I'm gonna stick with my fries."
"I don't think I want any fries," she huffed, scrunching her brow.
"You always say that," he laughed. "And you always steal some of mine."
"Haven't you ever heard of the fry tax?" She laughed, giving her menu to the server as she came back around. "Bacon cheeseburger and onion rings."
"I'm glad you decided to go out of your comfort zone," the waitress laughed. "And for you?"
"I'm gonna do the King burger with regular old fries," he nudged Katie and she chuckled as Ned passed the waitress his menu. "I guess… you can have some of my fries."
"I was going to take them whether you let me or not," she shrugged, smiling at him. "I love you." She touched his face. "I love you so much, Ned. I'm so happy you're home."
He kissed her, breathing in her shampoo as their tongues connected and she moaned. He would never get to bask in the love of his life as much as he wished, but he did love the time he had with her.
"Ned!" A rookie cop shouted from across the dinner, pulling Ned's attention. "You're back!"
On the other hand, Katie was still looking at him, eyes glued to his every move. She watched him smile, waving to his colleague who was picking up some food on his way into work.
All through the night different friends stopped at their table to catch up and say hello. And even then she couldn't keep her eyes off him as he talked, a smile spread wide on her face.
She was so happy her husband was home.