Chapter: An architects dream

"Easy there," Thomas says as Kate vomits water into the basin by her bed. Jodie hurries over to take the bowl. He rubs her back as she lets out a final moan before spitting into the bowl.

"Thank you Jodie." She wipes her mouth with a sigh. "I hate being sick."

"That's why you were a nurse." He teases. "Nurses make the worst patients." She lets out a huff and thumps his arm. "Ow."

"Sorry." She reaches for the juice by her bed and starts sipping it.

Thomas turns to Jodie. "Why don't you bring her some tea? She keeps it down easier."

Jodie nods and Kate adds. "With lemon please." She picks up the paper with the thanksgiving menu on it and hands it to him. "So, what do you think of the dinner menu?"

He surveys it briefly before stating. "Kate, I have no idea what half the things on this menu are."

"I know that." she huffs. "How does it sound to you?" He looks down at the menu again. "This is our first thanksgiving and I want it to be perfect!"

Oysters on the half-shell; brown-bread tartines topped with celery and radishes.

Clear soup with grated cheese.

Fish fillets, served with sauce Hollandaise and potato balls.

Roast turkey; sweet-potato soufflé; glazed turnips; individual moulds of cranberry jelly

Mulled cider.

Roman punch.

Vanilla Ice-cream with pumpkin pie, cheese and coffee.

He looks towards her and nods. "It sounds delicious." Kate lets out a moan and scrunches down in her covers. He rubs her shoulders. "You're a bad patient."

"I hate the nausea. Make it go away." He turns her face towards him and kisses her. She makes a face. "That was disgusting, I just vomited."

He chuckles. "Come here." She obliges and settles into his arms. He presses a kiss on her forehead. "Can I touch you?"

"You are touching me." she points out, grumpy tone in her voice.

"Well, I was thinking a little more," he runs his hand down her back to her hip. "intimately."

Kate's eyes widen and she stares up at him. "Jodie will be back any second."

"So, is that a no?"

Kate hesitates. "I'm wearing pajamas."

"Won't be a problem." He chuckled at the look on her face. "I'll stay on the outside of the fabric, ok?"

Kate nods. "I guess…alright."

"Since you're almost ready…I should start getting you used to my touch, eh?" Kate nods. A tap on the door causes him to groan. "That can't be the tea yet."

"Come in!" Kate says cheerfully.

"You're enjoying my misery." He states.

"Maybe." Kate sits up at the exact moment Thomas's hand moves to grab her inner thigh, his thumb pressing against her center! "Whoa!" she shrieks as he laughs at her. "You're a terrible man!"

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Both their heads swivel towards the door to see Charlie, Ruby and Ada standing there. Kate claps her hands. "Hello! Oh, I've missed you two!"

He waves them over. "Come here you two." ruby and Charlie instantly hop on top of the bed.

"Charming picture." Ada says with a telling look in her eyes. "You look well tom."

"I've felt better." He states as he hugs Charlie. "But I'm glad to see both of you."

"Are you feeling better?" Ruby asks him.

"Yes, I'm almost better."

"Excuse me." Kate hands Ruby over to Thomas and vomits into her spare basin.

Thomas reaches for the cloth on his nightstand. "It's just Kate who's under the weather right now."

"Right." Ada says practically. "Charlie, Ruby, let's let these two take some time to get better."

"Thank you Ada." Thomas says as Jodie comes in with the tea. "And here's your tea." Those words produce an extra stream of vomiting from her mouth. Jodie hands him his cup of tea first. "Thank you."

Kate reaches for the cloth from him, wipes her mouth and flops back on the bed. "I want this to be over!" she whines. "And I hate your room. Nothing personal, I've just been stuck in it for almost 2 weeks!" Jodie hands her the cup of lemon balm. "Thank you." she blows on her tea several times before taking a sip. "Oh, this is delicious. Thank you Jodie."

"You know," Thomas states. "if you want to redecorate the house, give it your own personal touch…feel free to do so."

She stares up at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes, I mean, nothing's been done to it in ages and…I'm sure you'd like to make it a little bit more you."

"Oh, thank you! I'd hug you if I didn't have this tea." He chuckles. "It's a little dark and dull in here. I will leave the wood intact though. I'm thinking wallpaper in here, a light blue maybe?"

"Do whatever you like."

"But…this is our room, so, I'd like your opinion.

"We'll work on it together. Oh and nothing changes in the library."

"Oh," she pouts, her lower lip stuck out as if to deliberately taunt him. "I wanted to paint the walls blue."

"No," he glowers at her "and don't go too American on me. I don't want to come down the stairs one day and see you've painted the rooms all sorts of crazy colors."

"But, Thomas," she whined. "I wanted to paint the walls in the parlor scarlet." Jodie coughs, to cover a laugh.

"Funny Kate." He pauses for a moment. "On second thought, I want to see all paint colors before they go on the walls!"

Thanksgiving Evening,

Thomas taps on the adjoining door to Kate's room. "Kate, are you ready? The guests will be here soon."

"Almost." She sounds as if she is struggling get dressed.

"Do you need help?"

Kate pauses before groaning. "Yes!"

Kate had taken to sleeping with him every night, but she still liked her privacy to get dressed. She was a slow mover, but Thomas figured within four more months, they'd be having a normal marriage. It was nice to have someone there with him at night again. Kate, was a very clingy sleeper though. She'd fall asleep first and before he nodded off, she'd be partly sprawled across his chest. His nightmares had been few, but he suspected that they were holding back, waiting to attack him when he least suspected it. Kate, always sensed the nightmares and each time he jolted awake, he'd awaken to find her holding his hand in her sleep before awakening herself. She just seemed to know.

He pushes the door open and stops still in the doorway at the sight of her. Kate is wearing a tight, skin colored dress with a deep plunging back. There's a black lace overlay atop the dress, giving her an irresistibly sexy look. Her hair is curled and hanging down her back. She turns towards him. "I can't get the sash tight enough." She complains, her words drawing attention to her cherry red lips. "Can you help me?"

He nods and she turns her back to him, her hands on her hips. She lets out a sigh as he helps her secure the sash. "There you go."

"Thank you. The only good thing about the influenza, is that I lost several pounds." Thomas wraps his arms around her waist, burying a kiss into her neck. She laughs lightly. "Do I look alright?"

"Beautiful. Like a painting," he turns her slightly towards him, kissing her throat. Kate shudders and grips a hold of his coat. "that I want to unwrap."

"Thomas-

"Tell me," he bites her earlobe, causing her to let out a cry. "how mischievous are you feeling tonight, Mrs. Shelby?"

"You'll ruin," she pants breathlessly, causing him to smile. "my makeup."

"Trust me," he grips her skirt tight in his hand as he runs his hand up her leg. "I won't touch your makeup."

"What are you," Thomas cups her center through her lacy black tap pants. Kate lets out a loud cry, causing him to cover her mouth with his hand. after a moment, he removes his hand from her mouth. "Thomas…we've got company downstairs."

"Then you better make sure they don't hear you." he growls by her ear. "Do you trust me Kate?" she nods. "Right." He pulls her a few steps away from the mirror towards the wall. "Hands against the wall," her eyes widened in surprise, but she did as he asked. "and, I'll give you something to think about during dinner."

Kate inhales deeply as she attempts to concentrate on her cranberry sauce, but she can't. her hands are still shaking and her body is still pulsing from the violent climax Thomas had brought her down from almost an hour ago. Her cheeks heated again as she remembered him keeping her against the wall as he touched her so intimately. once her body started responding to him, she threw decorum out the window and asked him to be inside her. Thomas and his determination to make her suffer through a slow seduction had obliged her by sliding two fingers inside her. He'd spoken Romani in her ear, causing her to whimper piteously as he pumped until she came around his fingers.

he'd pulled away from her, rearranged her skirts and walked back into his room, leaving her there against the wall. at first, she was stunned that he didn't go further with her. Then, her heart had skyrocketed when he turned towards her and announced. "January 1st Kate…I'm going to make love to you Kate." And with that, he left the room, with her standing there, her body throbbing and her mind spinning. As if he sensed her thoughts, he glances at her, his blue eyes dancing in amusement. Damn that man! he'd promised her he was going to make her crave more from him and he had been doing exactly that.

The night had gone relatively well, apart from Arthur and Noni meeting. The two had gotten into an intense argument about boxing within 5 minutes of meeting each other. Luckily, Noni and hadn't thrown Arthur through the window, as she'd done to one of her male suitors many years ago. However, in spite of the argument, she could see that both of them were genuinely attracted to one another, especially when they went to the bar and grabbed the same bottle of whiskey.

Polly sat next to Jeremiah, Finn and Isaiah. Michael and Gina had turned down her invitation, which had pleased Thomas greatly. Charlie and Ruby were thrilled to actually be having dinner with the family, instead of up in their rooms. Kate had spent a good few hour teaching them the proper table etiquette.

A clanging draws everyone's attention to Noni. "Well, I for one, would like to thank our hostess, Kate, for inviting us to such a lavish dinner party. Why, you felt the need to invite me to an intimate family dinner, I'll never know, but I'm beyond thankful that you did."

Kate smiles. "Thank you Noni." She clears her throat. "Now, thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate everything you received this year. Traditionally, at our house, we all go around the table and share what we're most thankful for." Everyone looks slightly embarrassed to have to reveal such a thing. Kate smiles as she stands up. "Don't worry. I'll go first and give everyone a chance to think of something." Everyone chuckles. She inhales for a moment. "The thing I'm most grateful for…is all of you, especially my husband Thomas." Thomas shifts in his chair, so he can get a better look at her. "As many of you know, I've lost people that I loved and I spent so many years in hiding because I didn't want to get hurt again." she turns to him and flashes him a smile. "Luckily, I happened to meet a man who declared, I was too beautiful to stay single for long, and made it his mission to make sure that I fell in love with him. And of course," she shrugs helplessly. "I did." Everyone laughs, except for him. she suspects it's her declaration that's got him pinned in his seat. "And by doing that, not only was I able to start life anew, I gained a wonderful man who's been the most wonderful husband any woman could ask for. I now have two darling children and a close-knit family that I never had. So, thank you everyone." Noni started the applause as Kate sat down, with a faint blush. "So, who wants to go next?"

To everyone's surprise, it's Thomas who stands up first. Kate watches him as he rolls his lit cigarette between his fingers for a moment. "Then thing…I'm most grateful for…is you Kate." She stares up at him in amazement. "In all honesty, I look at what you took on by marrying me and I'm amazed. You said you'd bring healing into my life, and you have. You're like a summer wind that's blown through this house, touching everyone inside. You saved my life and stuck with me at my worst hour. You never gave up. I've loved before in the past, but…I've never had anyone love me with such a steadfast love as you." Kate's eyes start to water at his declaration. He sets his cigarette down on his empty plate as he reaches for her, pulling her up from her seat. "My wife, thank you, for ever agreeing to marry me in the first place." She laughs lightly as everyone chuckles. Well, Noni lets out a cheer. "Come here you."

Kate wraps her arms tightly around his waist, closing her eyes as he kisses her, causing tremors to run down her body. New Years Eve could not come soon enough!

Idcam: Hmmm, that's an idea, isn't it?