Claudia Joy watched Denise sleep, smiling. She had been completely relaxed since she kissed Denise and admitted her feelings; things couldn't have been any better. They would have to tell Michael and Frank and she knew that wouldn't be pretty, but Claudia Joy wasn't worried anymore. If she'd learned anything in recent days, it was that life was too short to ignore what makes you truly happy.
She and Michael had built an amazing life together and brought two incredible daughters into the world, but Denise brought something into her life that was missing and had been for a long time. True love and passionate romance. Every time she looked at Denise, her stomach filled with butterflies. Now, she realized she'd been ignoring those butterflies for a long time.
"Enjoying the view?" Denise asked, pulling Claudia Joy from her thoughts.
Claudia Joy looked up, blushing. "Oh that's not fair," she said. "You aren't supposed to wake up and catch me checking you out."
"I'm glad I woke up," Denise said, grinning from ear to ear. "I like waking up to see you staring at me."
Claudia Joy grinned and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss against her lips. "Get used to it."
Denise smirked. "Easy enough."
"Good," said Claudia Joy. "Cause I'm not going anywhere."
"As thrilled as I am about this, we can't hide forever, Claudia Joy. You know we are going to have to tell Michael and Frank."
Claudia Joy sighed, looking down. "I know," she said softly. "I am happy, but I do hate what this is going to do to them. They didn't do anything to deserve this."
"I hate it too sweet-heart," Denise said. "But we have to remember that we're not doing them any favors by lying to them about how we feel."
Claudia Joy knew she was right and she didn't regret her decision, not for a second, but she hated the thought of hurting Michael. She had loved that man for as long as she could remember and truthfully, she still did, but she loved Denise in ways that were much different from the way she loved him. Denise brought a new passion to her life; her love for Denise was new and it gave her hope.
"We will tell them eventually," she finally said. "Right now your recovery is more important to me than anything else. Michael knows I'm staying with you until you're okay so everything's fine for now."
"Michael wouldn't be saying that if he knew the truth. That's a pretty big risk to take Claudia Joy," Denise said. "God knows I don't want to let you out of my sight, but until we tell them the truth, we'll have to be extremely careful."
Claudia Joy kissed the palm of her hand, smiling softly. She wanted to reassure Denise as much as she could, but she wasn't sure how much she could without lying to her. "Trust me, Denise. Everything will be okay. Nothing will change our plans, but you really need to get your rest and focus on your recovery right now. Okay? I promise, nothing's changed, but let's not worry about that stuff right now. All that matters is we're together now." Now wasn't the time for Denise to worry about anyone but herself; Claudia Joy still had a lot to work through in her own mind before she could commit to altering the course of their lives in ways they couldn't change.
She knew that both of them would have a long road ahead of them, but she wanted to take it slow and see how things went for the both of them. Denise needed to be okay, nothing else mattered at the moment. Besides, she didn't want to tell Denise that although she was in love with her and she wanted this as much as Denise did, she wasn't sure if she was ready to leave Michael and the Army life behind.