A/N: A tough day for Ned, but he always works through them because at the end of the day he has a family to go home to. Enjoy a big mark for Katie and Ned's relationship xx Mariah
Ned leaned back into his chair, frowning at the new file. Another person was brutally mugged. They gave a decent description to a sketch artist.
"Who the is that?" Cabot asked, speaking through a mouthful of potato chips. He pointed at the sketch. "That photo looks like a ten-year-old."
Ned didn't look up. "It's just a preliminary sketch. David is working on another one." He explained, looking at his watch. "Thank God, it's seven. I'm off the clock." He stretched, closing the file. "I'll have to look at this over the weekend, I guess. Katie's gonna be mad if I bring work with me on the trip... I guess I could leave for the weekend." He put it in the top drawer, sighing.
"I don't know how you do that, just leave it at the office," Cabot sighed and he nudged his shoulder with his hand. "I'm still struggling with all of it." He looked down at the chip bag and tipped it back into his mouth.
"It can be hard," he nodded, looking up at him.
Alex Cabot was still the same short, stocky detective that he was when he came in with this year's batch of rookies from the academy. He just was his temporary partner for now. Alex wanted to transfer out of the county in a few months hopefully and Ned had been up for a new partner when Jamison left. He'd transfer out and Ned would get another new partner, so he was trying to teach the kid as much as he could.
"That's why you need a good place to go home to. Someone to go home to," he reminded him.
The younger man laughed. "I know, Ned." Cabot stood up. "I have a date at nine. I should get going actually, so I can get ready."
"That's great, Alex." Ned stood up, smiling at him. "Enjoy your night off. Don't be late for George this weekend. He'll tell me you know."
"I won't be late for George, promise. I just, I have one more question for you." Cabot walked back toward him, sighing. He leaned against the desk, running his hands through his hair. "How do you put it all out of your mind... after all of the dark stuff we heard today it's hard to be excited about a movie date."
"Yeah. I know the feeling. It's like taking a rape statement and going home to see my wife at the end of the day," he said, shaking his head. "It's better to try and know it's not your fault anything happened and we are just there to help find the person who did it. I know it's hard to keep all of our feelings out of it, but at the end of the day we can work it out once we're home, right?"
"Right," Cabot stood up and walked toward. "Thanks, Ned. Have a nice weekend with your wife."
Ned grinned, following Rameriez out, clapping his arm around him. "I will, you know where we're going?" He asked. "It's our fifth wedding anniversary and Katie's birthday is next week, so we're driving to the city and spending the weekend in a really nice hotel with expensive wine and the jacuzzi tub. When you have a two-year-old anything is a vacation, as much as Katie and I both love our son."
"I bet," the younger man chuckled as walked out of the station with Ned. "Enjoy your weekend."
"Oh, I will." He chuckled as he jogged toward his truck.
Once inside, he started it up and backed out of his spot, getting onto the main road so he could get home. He rolled down the window and the summer air flowed softly through his blond hair, and she paused at the main stop sign that led to his block, taking a right turn.
Looking out across the road, a rare feeling of peace flowed through him and he was very thankful. He was thankful for how far he and Katie had come. Thinking back to how difficult the first months were after Charlie, he shuddered.
It took close to a year, but they healed, at least enough to slowly come together to where they were now.
Five years.
He grinned a little, and am silently thankful for every up and down they'd been through, even the worst of them.
Ned pulled into his driveway behind Katie's car and go out. He was coming home at his usual time and jogged up the steps and walked in the front entryway. He stooped down to take off his shoes, but he didn't hear any immediate sounds coming from his son.
He stood up and looked around, seeing the first floor of his and Katie's home was empty and turned for the stairs. Once he was to the second floor, Asher's precious giggle floated through the air.
"Be careful, Asher, you know he doesn't always like it when you're all over him." Katie's voice was soft, but in a warning tone and Asher giggled again.
"I know, mommy." The little boy replied as Ned began to open the door. "Daddy's home!" The two-year-old practically launched himself off the bed and toppled into his father. "I missed you so so much daddy. I wish you didn't work so long."
"But I'm home now," Ned winked, picking him up as he walked into the room. Katie was in the bathroom, grabbing a few last minute things for her bag for the weekend. "And we can hang out until grandma comes, okay?"
"Okay!" Asher giggled as Ned tossed him onto the bed and crawled him on it with him. "Did you have a good day daddy?"
"It was okay. A few people got hurt, but I'm looking for who did it." He explained simply and Asher grabbed his spider toy from the pillow and began to play with it, moving it up and down his arm. "You know what I thought was the coolest part?"
"What?" Asher looked up from the eight-legged creature with curiosity.
"I saw this super cool bug on the window of the squad car today," he explained. "I took a picture. Wanna see?"
"Yeah!" The two-year-old climbed up on his lap. "How big was it?"
Katie giggled as she came out of the bathroom with her small bag that she zipped shut. She set it on top of the suitcase that was on the floor before she plopped down on the bed next to her husband.
Asher was staring at the picture of the bug on Ned's phone and she ruffled his hair, kissing his forehead before she looked up at her husband. "How was work?" She asked.
"Okay," he shrugged, his hand rested on the small of her back. "It was kind of stressful. We can talk about it later."
She nodded and pushed up onto her knees, moving up on the bed more so she could properly kiss her husband. She leaned in against him, pulling back with a smile. "I missed you today. I'm so happy we're going on this trip," she sighed, rubbing her hand against his cheek. "We deserve it."
He slid closer to her and began to nuzzle her collarbone, "We do." Ned pulled on the neckline of her shirt and began placing gentle kisses across her collarbone. "I can't wait... to celebrate with you."
"Ned Banks–" she half-moaned, half-laughed as he nipped at her skin.
His smile was innocent, but his eyes were devious, "What, Katie?"
"Don't you dare act innocent," she bit back her smile, which twisted up around the corner of her lips.
"I am innocent," he chuckled, gently sliding his fingers between the valley between her breasts and then moved down her stomach, resting on her hips which he pressed his erection against.
"It's been so long," she groaned, her eyes floating closed as his lips moved up to touch her neck again. He chuckled against her skin and she was wiggling in his arms, "Ned Banks, it's been three weeks. Don't do this to me."
The doorbell rang and Asher dropped the phone on the pillow. "Nana and Papa are here!" Asher gasped, going to the window. "See! See! Nana's red car!"
Katie sprung up from the bed as Ned leaned onto his stomach, concealing the best he could as Katie rubbed Asher's back. "I see, baby!" She giggled. "Let's go get your bag. We don't want to keep them waiting." She turned back to grimace at Ned, pouting. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she headed for the door. "…I promise we'll actually get somewhere later, okay?" She didn't wait for him to answer and was out the door in a flash. "Daddy will be down to say goodbye in a minute, c'mon let's go get your bag and Mr. Bear."
His words were strangled away as he pressed his face into a pillow. He thought of everything he could to help bring down his hard-on before he stood up, feeling like he could face his mother and father-in-law now. He walked out of the bedroom and met Katie as she and Asher came out of his room.
"Hey you," Katie smiled, meeting him with a brief kiss before leading their son toward the stairs. "C'mon, bud. We gotta get to that door."
Katie was so beautiful when she's sleeping. Not that she wasn't always beautiful. But something about the way her entire body relaxed in slumber – the way the worries of the day seem to melt away with every relaxed breath she took – always filled him with an indescribable tenderness.
Even almost seven years.
Ned gazed at his wife's naked, sleeping form for another long moment, gently brushing her hair away from her face. He was torn between rousing her to resume their earlier activities and letting her enjoy this rare late-night sleep in peace.
Ultimately deciding on the latter course of action, Ned got out of bed and stretched languidly. He puts on one of the two bathrobes hanging in the hotel bathroom and opens the door to wash his face. He brushed his teeth and walked back over to the bed as he took the robe off and hung it on the chair by the bed.
"Hey, nice view," Katie whispered, sitting up a little as she yawned. "How long was I asleep?"
"A few hours," he shrugged, sliding into bed to claim her lips in a kiss. "You're an even better view."
She laughed, tapping his chest as she claimed his lips harder, slipping her tongue between his lips. She moaned against him, pulling him down by his shoulder.
"You're so beautiful," he breathed as he pulled back from her mouth, touching her face before reaching down to cup her breasts. She closed her eyes and arched into his hands. Her breasts fit perfectly in his palms. He squeezed and massaged them gently and kissed her neck while embarrassing mewls and whimpers fell from her mouth. But all too soon, his hands were gone from her chest. She frowned and whimpered in protest, bucking against him.
Ned groans low on his throat. "Patience, Mrs. Banks," he exhaled.
Opening her eyes, she smiled and her breath was taken away when she saw the intensity and love in his gaze. "I feel like we're newlyweds again," she giggled as Ned shifted his hands on her back. Slowly, tenderly, she wrapped hands around his waist and drug them up his back towards his muscular shoulders.
Ned kissed her again on the lips. It's a slow, sensuous kiss, a delicious appetizer to what's to come. He ripped his mouth from hers and trailed his kisses down to her breasts. She gasped when his tongue flicked against one of her nipples and her hands came up to his hair to keep his head in place as his fingers pinched the tip of the other one. She tugged at his hair, panting in pleasure and he switched his mouth to her other breast. She let one of her hands wander down his spine causing him to release a moan against her skin, the rumbling sensation making her whimper. Her hand stopped when she reached the waistband of his boxers.
"I think you're a little overdressed, Mr. Banks," she groaned.
When he lifted his head to look at him, she took the opportunity to push him off of her and onto his back. She slid off the sheet that was wrapped around her bottom half and straddled his legs to look down to him. Ned's breathing was hard and ragged, his green eyes hungry, dark with love and desire. Her eyes rack down his rock hard chest, to his abdomen and followed the trail of dark blond hair until it disappeared under the waistband of his boxers. The front of them are tented; he's more than ready for her.
She made eye contact with him again and ran my hands over him through his boxers, making him hiss. Very slowly, taking her time and reveling in the effect she had on him, she slid them down his legs. His erection sprung free and he moaned something that sounded like her name.
Once she removed the last of his clothes, she crawled back over him until her face was level with his groin. She took his hard length in his hand and began to stroke him. Looking up, she found darkened green eyes staring at him. Without breaking away from his gaze, she opened her mouth and lowered it onto him. Ned gasped her name and threw his head back as he started to bob her head up and down, swirling her tongue around him with every upward pass. He's panting hard now, his hands balling into fists whenever she hummed around him.
"Katie," he let out through gritted teeth, "I don't want to come yet. I want to finish inside you. Please."
She let him out of her mouth with a soft pop and crawled over his body to kiss him on the lips. Once their mouths are locked together, their tongues fighting for dominance, Ned flipped them over so he's on top of her. She opened her legs under him and his hips fell there, making her gasp when she felt him and effectively breaking the kiss. But Ned didn't seem to care, he just continued to kiss her neck down to her collarbone. He paused to briefly kiss each of her breasts before continued his path down her body, kissing and licking and nipping at the skin of her stomach. She was writhing and squirming under the sensuous assault of his lips and tongue, his ministrations making her wetter and her need for him greater.
Ned dipped his tongue into her navel and swirled while sliding her underwear down her legs before moving his lips further south. He lapped his tongue up against her before circling her center briefly and then sucking it into his mouth.
"Ned, oh god." His name left her lips like a prayer and he hummed in response, the sensation made her back bow off the bed and her hands clutched his hair to keep him there. With her bundle of nerves still in his mouth, one of his hands grasped her thigh and he inserted two fingers of his free hand inside of her. He groaned when he felt how wet she was getting for him. He started to thrust his fingers in and out of and her hips move at their own volition, rotating in time with the rhythm of this fingers and mouth as wanton sounds escaped her. "Oh, fucking hell, yes... right there... yes.."
It didn't take long for her to feel the familiar coiling deep within her belly as the pleasure escalated. She was all sensation. It's when Ned lightly tugged her center with his teeth that the coil unraveled and she was lost. She threw her head back, squeezing her eyes shut. Her back lifted off the warm, rumbled sheets as she came crying out his name.
Trying to catch her breath, she opened her eyes to find Ned's face smiling adoringly down at her. She smiled dazedly in return, still basking on the effects of her orgasm. He leaned down to kiss her again, lazily moving his lips against hers, knowing she was out of it still– she can taste herself on his lips - and moving to hover over her. She spread her legs and he settled himself against her. The feeling of his readiness at her opening made her gasp and she ached with need all over again.
"Ned, please," she gasped, clutching him close. "I need you."
He nodded and kissed her softly one more time before moving his mouth toward her ear. "I love you, Katie," he whispered and with a swift movement of his hips he's inside her.
They moan in unison at the sensation of being joined this way. Katie started a slow, steady rhythm, in and out, in and out and she began to moved his hips to match his movements thrust by delicious thrust. He knew her body so well; he had studied it like a book and he'd memorized everything about her, knowing exactly what to do to make her moan, squirm, mewl and whimper.
One of his hands found her breast and tugged on her nipple, making him arch into him. His other hand traveled down her body to find her clit and began to rub, increasing the speed of his movements at the same time. She held onto his beautiful, sweaty shoulders, digging her fingernails into his flesh as she felt the pleasure starting to coil once again. Ned groaned and sped up, pounding into her frantically and she could tell he was close too.
Rubbing her harder and thrusting at a deliciously finishing rhythm he gasped, "Let go for me, baby. Let go."
His words sent her flying. She cried out, holding onto him for dear life as her orgasm washed over her even more intense than before. The feeling of Her body gripping him seems to be enough to send him over the edge. He stilled on top of me, burying his head on her shoulder and moaning her name as he emptied himself into her. The feeling of his come inside her was unlike anything she'd ever felt; it made her his even more than she already was. She loved it.
He slumped over her body, still inside her and they both panted heavily as they came down from their highs; his weight helped anchor her to the earth. She peppered small kisses on his shoulder as their breaths evened out. She could tell when he's somewhat recovered because he eased up and out of me, moving to lay beside her, kissing her shoulder. She immediately moved to him and draped an arm over his stomach and laid her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her frame and he lazily ran one hand up and down her back. She stared at the fire as they laid cuddled together and naked on their hotel bed.
She heard him sigh after a while and then planted a kiss to her forehead. She smiled and kissed his chest. "What if we had another baby?" She asked, her tone happy, almost amused.
He chuckled and then brought them both to a sitting position. He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly before pulling back to look intently into her eyes. The intensity if his azure gaze making her blush. "Yes," he grinned. "A million times yes, Katie."
"Really?" She asked self-consciously.
"We already have one beautiful son," he said, pecking her once more and letting go of her face. "Why not better our world with another? Even if we're in over our heads now. I love it. I do."
"Me too," she smiled, kissing him. "I love it too." She pulled him back down into the bed, further falling into their own little love nest.