"Love sought is good, but given unsought is better." Twelfth Night, Act 3, Scene 1
Sometime in the past:
C.J. was off in Europe wedding dress shopping. She called Houston every night her time/morning his time. They did the homework the couple's therapist had given them and went over it together. They even did conference call sessions. She said that the shopping was going well, and she spotted a couple that she liked, but they were having a bit a problem since the wedding was a little more than 2 months away. Most of the designers couldn't make that deadline. But Carol was sure that they would find something before they came back.
In the meantime, the guys were making some progress with BABY and finding out who was behind letting Meredith loose from the asylum. Roy's contact at The Company had been able to peel back some of the layers and felt sure that they would get to a name soon. Roy's gut told him that the name wouldn't be a surprise and that it would go deeper than just that person.
Somewhere the mysterious man and woman were talking over the phone again. The man said, "They found all of the bugs and they'll be looking for more. It's time."
The woman was irritated, "No! We can wait a little while longer. After Thanksgiving, when it's closer to the wedding. Then…" She wanted to ruin C.J.'s wedding in a big way. She really wanted to wait until the ceremony to drop the hammer, but she knew the bosses were anxious and wouldn't delay it that long.
The man was firm, "Word from above is now, so you'll do it now." He didn't care about the woman's petty, vindictive plans. When the boss speaks, you listen.
The woman let out a sigh, "Fine. Give me a couple of weeks to get things in place. It must look natural. Without the bugs it's hard to know exactly the right time."
"I will let them know. We have a lot riding on this so don't screw it up." He reminded her.
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Later that same day:
After Kai left, Murray had instituted "Aloha Friday" and everyone got to wear Hawaiian shirts, and jeans or shorts. The corporate staff loved it. The atmosphere was very different, but no one was so laid back that they didn't get their work done or failed to meet a deadline. In fact, it was so popular that all of the affiliate companies clamored to have their meetings in the building on Friday, so that they could get in on the fun.
Roy and Houston were dressed in shorts and Hawaiian shirts, too. Houston was sitting on the couch and Roy had his custom wheelchair set so that he could easily see BABY's screen. Roy's nurse for the day, Lori, was sitting at the poker table going over Roy's chart. Houston had custom-made scrubs in a Hawaiian print for all the nurses, so none of them felt left out if they were working with Roy on a Friday. They were looking at BABY's screen intently. There was a complicated configuration of names, places and dates that was scrolling quickly.
"I think we're almost there Matt." Roy said through his communication device. "It looks like the person who let Meredith out left a trail after all."
Houston was hopeful, "Yeah, I want to get it figured out before C.J. gets back. I don't want her to have to think about anything but the wedding."
He shot Houston a look, "Don't tell her that. You know she hates being treated as if she's fragile. Whatever we find, she's a strong woman who can handle it."
Houston partially acquiesced, "I know, Roy, but she's been through so much this past year. I want this time between now and the wedding to be nothing but happy memories for her." Along with couple's therapy, they were both doing individual therapies to help them deal with all the traumatic events in their lives. Normally he wouldn't have gone, but he knew she needed to go, and if he didn't try then she wouldn't try. And the next time she had a night terror, she might not have a net to catch her.
Roy smiled at his nephew. He was reminded of how he and Flo were when they were first starting out. He inquired, "When does she get back?"
Houston checked his watch, "Her plane is supposed to land at 10:30. So I'll take the chopper over there to pick her up, then we'll fly to the ranch." He stood up and made his way over to the bar, "In the meantime, let's get ready for lunch. Will should be back with it any minute now."
Will always told them "I'll go get it" whenever they ordered lunch or dinner. Houston had always said that the places would deliver or they could get an intern to do it, but he said, "After all of that time in the pits, I like to be able to get out and go whenever and wherever I want. And who knows, maybe I'll be able to sweep some pretty waitress off her feet."
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Later that day:
Everyone had gone for the evening; Will had driven the specialty van with his father and Lori home well before the nurses changed shift at 7pm, and Chris had a date that evening, so Houston let her go early. When everyone had left, Houston went downstairs for a workout and shower before he was planning on leaving to fly to the airport.
He decided to dress in his gray suit and vest, with the light blue shirt, dark gray striped tie, and his best boots, of course. He hadn't seen her in eleven days, thirteen hours, and more minutes than he could stand, so he wanted to look dashing for her. She was his best girl, the best girl, and he never wanted to take her for granted.
The homework that they were doing for couple's therapy was really opening his eyes to his attitudes towards marriage, gender roles, and women in general. His mother had died shortly after he was born and his daddy never married, so he didn't have a marriage role model growing up. Sure, he had seen Uncle Roy and Aunt Flo, but those were only glimpses of a couple on their 'best behavior' in front of company. The actual day-to-day, year-to-year workings of a marriage were something of a mystery to him. And C.J.'s experiences were only a little better than his, because her father died when she was so young, and her mother never remarried before her untimely death.
As he made his way to the top of the stairs from the gym, he noticed that the doors to the helipad were shut. He turned to see that the doors to the lobby were shut, too. He paused for a moment trying to remember if he had done it. "No, I'm sure I left those opened" he thought. Then he heard a noise from C.J.'s office. He debated on getting his gun, but decided if it were just the cleaning crew, he didn't want to frighten them. As he walked slowly down the steps he peeked into her office and saw that the blackout curtains they had installed were closed. This was odd since they were only ever closed the one time that she came to the office after being hit by Meredith's car. As he gingerly stepped to the doorway his eyes widened. It was C.J., sitting at her desk working on the computer. She was turned facing her monitor, and she was most definitely naked.
She looked over her shoulder with a grin, "Hey, cowboy." She was delighted by the surprised look on his face.
He was stunned; could this really be happening? After Hoyt caught them that one time, he thought for sure that office sex wasn't even a possibility. He tried to play it cool, but struggled as he said, "You are taking this Aloha Friday idea to amazingly wonderful extremes."
She smiled and went back to working on the computer, but she could tell he hadn't moved. She looked back at him, "Whatcha thinkin'?" Then looked back at the computer.
That was a loaded question in his opinion, but he answered with a question of his own, "I thought your plane…"
Without looking away from her computer she told him coyly, "We caught an earlier flight, and I thought I'd surprise you. Are you surprised?"
He stumbled, "Huhhhh, yeah. Surprised. Yeah." The list of things going through his mind were quickly dwindling down to the one thing. And since he didn't want a repeat of the Hoyt incident, he added, "I should probably lock…"
She tossed her right hand up, "Already locked the elevator and the doors to the stairs and my office. You might want to lock that door behind you. Just in case." Then went back to typing.
He grinned as he turned to shut and lock her office door, "My, you are ahead of me this evening, aren't you?" Normally, he liked to be the one 'driving the bus', but this was an exciting change of pace that he wasn't quite sure what to do with. He briefly wondered what happened on her trip, but she moved her arm and he saw the curve of her breast, so promptly forgot to ask about it.
She looked over her shoulder again, straight into his eyes and smiled, "Now what are you thinkin'?"
He answered honestly, "I'm debating on if I'm taking you on your desk or over on the pool table." His eyes roved over what he could see of her that wasn't being blocked by her chair and the desk.
She grinned at him, turned a little so she could better see his face, then made a case for each, "Well, the pool table has many fun innuendo possibilities; you know balls, sticks, pockets, etc. It's at a good height and very sturdy, but the felt might need cleaning when we're done." She crinkled her nose, then continued, "My desk is at an equally good height, fairly sturdy, however it has a lot of paperwork on it, that, if shoved off onto the floor, would take hours to put back in order afterwards." Then she shrugged, "But it's dealer's choice, Cowboy."
He shook his head, "Oooh, no. You are clearly the one in charge of this situation, so you chose." At that moment, his little cowboy didn't care where, so long as it happened. As he gazed at her he realized how much he had missed her, and how much he needed to be one with her again.
"I think you need to lose some of those clothes before I make a decision." She looked back at her computer and smiled as she heard him taking off his boots. She knew how this night was going to go. She had thought about it on the plane back from Milan. She rarely ever let herself be the wanton woman, but with him, tonight, she would. When she heard his suit coat hit the floor, she spun around in the chair, arms crossed, and put her feet on her desk. She was wearing the red stilettos.
He froze as he sucked in his breath at the sight of her. "Oohh, you wore the shoes. I love those shoes."
She demurred, "I couldn't get the rest of the outfit. Hope that's OK." She watched him lustfully as he undressed.
It didn't escape him that there was a fire in her eyes. His pitch lowered, "Oh, I think I can make do." He started unbuttoning his vest, then his shirt, a little faster.
She just smiled at him and watched as he took off his shirt and started to undo his buckle. She stood up and walked over to him, which made him pause so he could take it all in. She got close to him, but before he could put his hands on her she grabbed his wrists, leaned in, and kissed him passionately, her body brushing his teasingly. She stopped the kiss abruptly, she stared into his chocolate brown eyes, and said, "I love you, Houston."
He kissed her again, then said, "I love you, too, C.J."
Before he could say anymore, she recaptured his mouth with a searing kiss. After several minutes of kissing and teasing him, she turned and walked over to the pool table. He loved how those shoes made her bare backside sway when she walked. She proceeded to sit on the edge of the pool table with her legs crossed, bouncing her top leg to make the stiletto gleam in the light.
They eyed each other hungrily as he finished stripping. He then walked over, took her face in his hands, and captured her mouth in a deep kiss. She put her arms around his neck. While kissing her, he moved his hands to her knees and nudged her legs apart then stepped between them. He paused the kiss and asked hoarsely, "You ready?"
Breathlessly, she replied, "Oh, yeah" She had been thinking about this moment from the time she had left on her trip. The magnet pulling her toward him was so strong in this moment that wild horses couldn't have dragged her away from him.
He went back to kissing her while he maneuvered her hips, but stopped and asked, "Do I need to get…" He didn't know if he needed a condom. He was kind of hoping that he would, because it would mean that she was almost ready to start a family.
Then she said what she always did to let him know that she was still taking pill. She kissed him then breathed, "It's okay. It's okay."
His mouth explored hers for a few more moments, and then he joined their bodies together slowly because he loved to hear the moans she made when he did. After a few minutes of penetrating her unhurriedly, he cradled her face so he could look in her hazel eyes as he asked her, "What do you want?"
A slight grin played across her face before she moaned softly, "I wanna ride you, cowboy" So, he held her hips to him, picked her up and turned so he could maneuver onto the pool table. He laid back, his hands still on her hips, and she rode him until they both experience an earth-shattering climax and their reconnection was complete.
After they had recovered, they moved to the bed downstairs, and caught up with each other. They were wrapped in each other's arms laying on top of the comforter that was pulled up to cover them a bit. He nuzzled her neck while asking, "Did you find a dress that you liked?"
She was lazily stroking his arm as she replied softly, "I did. It's not like anything I've seen over here. The designer let me have the sample dress because it fit me so well that it only needed minor alterations. But I don't want to tell you too much about it. I want you to be surprised."
He glanced down at her red pump clad feet, grinned and asked, "Can you wear those shoes with it?"
She giggled, "Nooo, these shoes are just for you to see. I will be wearing shoes that are appropriate with a wedding gown."
He kissed her softly, then asked, "What do you need me to do? Book the hall? Get the DJ?" then he began to trail kisses down her to her neck.
It was hard to concentrate with him hitting one of her sensitive spots, "Mmmmm, figure out who your best man will be, and if you'll have groomsmen. Then make sure they have tuxes." He paused his kissing, so she added, "Yes, you have to wear a bow tie, and no, no clip-ons." She giggled when he slumped down in her arms.
He sighed, "Fine. But the shoes come on the honeymoon." The he returned his attentions to her neck.
He had been keeping the destination a secret, so she probed, "Will these shoes even be appropriate for wherever we're going?"
His hand began to wander to her breast as he chuckled his reply, "Like you won't pack 20 pairs no matter the destination." She was about to protest, but then he captured her mouth in a kiss, as he maneuvered himself so they could join body and soul together once again. This time she let him 'drive the bus'.
When they were both fully satiated, the red shoes on the floor at the end of the bed, spooning together under the covers, and starting to drift off to sleep, C.J. asked sleepily, "Shouldn't we be getting dressed to go home?"
He replied after a yawn, "I don't wanna move from this spot." Then he snuggled her closer.
She rubbed his arm, "Aren't you worried I'll make a mad dash for the helipad?"
He kissed her head, "Nuh-huh. I'm gonna hold you tight all night long so you won't have bad dreams," he whispered. Then they both drifted off to sleep.
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They had woken up around 4am, and enjoyed a sensual shower together, before flying the chopper back to the ranch. They spent the weekend riding the horses, doing chores, cooking together, and hanging out with Roy and Will. And making love. The did that anytime and anywhere they had a chance and weren't under the prying eyes of surveillance cameras. They had eleven days to make up for, after all.
Monday afternoon, back at the office, the guys were out on the patio looking over a print out of names and companies that BABY had come up with. C.J. called out to them, "Guys!" As they entered, they couldn't help but notice the look on C.J.'s face. She tapped a few keys and the screen went blank.
Will asked half-jokingly, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Her eyes went past him, and over to Houston. "It wasn't a ghost. Houston, you have to know that this is the information that Roy's contacts at The Company found. I'm going to need you to stay calm and keep an open mind." The stress in her voice as she said this was palpable.
Houston was hesitant to reply. He could see a thousand different emotions crossing her face very quickly. "Okay, C.J. I can keep an open mind."
"They figured out who was the one visiting Meredith and who let her out. They have a couple of recordings, so they're pretty sure they're right about this." She took a few breaths to steady herself.
Houston started to lose patience, "Well, come on and tell us."
She clicked a few keys and a very familiar face popped up on the screen. Houston's jaw dropped and he was unable to speak. Will gave his father a puzzled look, and Roy announced, "Elizabeth Sheridan".
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Sometime in the future:
Will and Roy were in the living room of Will's house watching baseball on the TV. The nurse had just excused herself to the restroom. Will was about to go to the kitchen to get another beer when there was a news break.
The anchor said, "And now this. A couple came back from their hiking trip in Hawaii with a very special souvenir. The couple, who didn't want to be identified, were swimming in Wailua falls, when the woman went into labor weeks early and delivered a healthy baby boy..."
Will's jaw was agape when he saw a photo of the ambulance and he could make out Kai's tattoos. He had never memorized them, but he knew them when he saw them along with Kai's long hair. And even though she was in deep shadow in the ambulance, he definitely knew C.J.'s million mega-watt smile when he saw it. He didn't look over at his dad, his eyes transfixed on the screen. He said, to no one in particular, "C.J. and Kai had a baby? I had no idea." Because he was staring at the TV, he didn't catch the briefly terrified look that crossed his father's face. Once the anchor moved onto the next story, Will thoughtfully asked his dad, "Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
Roy deflected, "Good for them?" Even though they hadn't kept in touch as frequently as they both would have liked, Roy had known about her pregnancy. He had promised C.J. he wouldn't tell a soul if she promised to name the baby after his favorite uncle, Jedrick, if it were a boy and after his late wife, Florence, if it was a girl. C.J. and Houston had only spoken a few times after she moved to Hawaii. And the last time, didn't go well. At all. However, he knew his nephew well enough to know that if he heard about her having a baby, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from going to see her.
Will half nodded, "Yeah. That and I'm worried the shrew will hear about it." He knew from their research on BABY how dangerous Elizabeth and her contacts were. After C.J. moved to Hawaii, he had endured months on end of Elizabeth running C.J. down for "…abandoning Matt and dating that low-life…" Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and started looking for houses. His father wanted a house back in Tucson, and Will was more than happy to oblige. The part that bothered him the most was that his cousin never said a word in C.J.'s defense. From the moment Elizabeth came back, his cousin was transfixed on her.
If he lived to be 100, he would never understand why Matt would break up with C.J. They seemed so happy and planning their wedding for New Year's Eve. She even had a dress she picked up in Europe. But that seemed like a lifetime ago now. So, Will calculated quickly, "Do you think we should give Vince a call? Maybe he could…"
"You know we can't." They had all been on "radio silence" because of Elizabeth and the company she kept. What none of them had shared with Will was the plan that had been hatched. A plan that went wrong. A plan that shouldn't have been attempted. Ever. "I'm sure that C.J. will contact him if she needs him. And Kai has his contacts in the Navy, so I'm sure they're well protected."
They both knew that much to Mama Novelli's dismay, C.J. only visited the Novellis for a few days when she first moved there. Then she went to one of the smaller islands, took and passed the Hawaii bar cold, and started a small law practice. Kai followed several days after she had moved to Kauai. When she did visit for holidays she made the topic of Houston off limits. The Novellis were angry with Houston, too, but they kept in contact with Roy to be sure he and Will were doing well and to give them any updates they had on C.J.
Will shook his head, "I'm gonna go call Vince and give him the heads up; just in case." He knew that if Matt heard about his best friend giving birth, that he would make a beeline to Hawaii. Which under other circumstances wouldn't be so bad, but now with Elizabeth and whatever weird spell she had him under… He was concerned for their safety. Vince could use his police contacts to be sure that C.J. and Kai and their new baby were safe.
"Fine, but you can't use any phone they might know about." Even though Will swept the house for bugs twice daily, it didn't preclude someone from finding a way to circumvent the system they had in place. They had all been on high alert since Elizabeth came back.
Will slowly nodded, "You're right. I'll do it tomorrow. I'll figure something out by then." He stood up and as he walked to the fridge, he was suddenly a little sad that the baby wasn't his new cousin. They could use more family right about now.