June 2004

When she's laying on my shoulder

On the sofa in the dark

And about the time she falls asleep

So does my right arm

And I want so bad to move it

Because it's tingling and it's numb

She looks so much like an angel

That I don't want to wake her up.

Yeah, I live for little moments like that.

It had been a rough day. Kevin was exhausted and was ready to collapse into bed the minute he walked into the apartment.

"Just a few more miles," he thought as he turned his SUV down his street. "I just hope I can keep my eyes open long enough to get there alive."

He had stopped 6 people over for speeding, been placed on a different beat, and on top of that been given yet another new partner. Since Roxanne left for Iraq, it had been so hard for him to find a partner that really clicked with him the way Roxanne had. He really thought this new one would work out, but only time could tell. He was a rookie and didn't have much experience on the protocol of police work. That mean Kevin was left filling out all of the paperwork himself. He had begged Capt. Michaels to let him take it home and finish since he had been working double shifts all week.

When Kevin finally pulled his car into the driveway outside of the garage apartment, he noticed that Lucy's car was there as well. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was 4:00. "That's funny," he thought. "She usually has a theology lab at school till 4 on Tuesdays." He then began to second guess himself. He was so tired he had probably forgotten what day the lab really was. He got out of the Explorer and managed to drag himself into the garage.

He had barely made it up the stairs when the door popped open. There stood Lucy with a huge grin on her face.

"You're home!" she exclaimed. "I've been waiting on you!"

"What's up? Don't you usually have class right now? I figured you would be in your lab. I hope you didn't skip class. You know you'll just be more stressed if you don't." Kevin lovingly warned her.

"Don't worry!" she said, rolling her eyes. "I made an A on my mid-term, and class was canceled today." She playfully looked at him. "You better be nice to me, or I won't give your surprise."

"Surprise?" Kevin knew nothing about a surprise. In fact, he was too tired to keep up with Lucy's crazy antics. Usually, he cherished the craziness that was Lucy, but tonight he just didn't know if he could keep up.

"Yes, a surprise. I have our night all planned out for us. I promise. You are going to LOVE it." Lucy looked so excited that Kevin hated to disappoint her. But all he wanted to do was fall into bed.

"Luce, I just can't go out tonight. Maybe tomorrow…" Kevin had barely begun his sentence when Lucy held her hand up to him.

"I never said anything about going out tonight. Quick….close your eyes and hold out your hands." Lucy said in a sing-song voice.

"Lucy, none of this, please. I just want to go to bed." Kevin whined.

"Close 'em." She said sternly.

Great. She was in one of her giddy moods. He had no idea what she had planned for tonight, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. But he closed his eyes and held out his hands and waited for Lucy's surprise.

"Ok, now bear with me. I wrote a speech." Lucy cleared her voice. "Tonight, Kevin Kinkirk is your night. I know how hard you have been working lately, and I hate that I haven't got to see you much. And I wanted to reward you and spend time with you tonight. So I am going to do something tonight that I swore I would never do again."

Kevin got a naughty smile on his face. When Lucy saw this, she laughed and said, "Not that, Kevin! Get your mind out of the gutter."

She placed something in his hands. "I bought you this."

Kevin opened his eyes to find a DVD collection of the Top 10 New York Giants NFL games. He couldn't help but laugh. His entire attitude had been turned around in a total of 5 seconds.

"I can't believe you are going to watch football with me! This is a great surprise. Two of my favorite things in one night--you and the Giants. Thanks so much, Luce." He kissed the top of her forehead.

She smiled. "As much as I like that uniform on you, go change into something more comfortable before I change my mind."

When Kevin got through changing clothes, he walked into the living area to find that Lucy had bought pizza for them from Pete's and had it sitting on the coffee table. She was sitting on the sofa, reading the booklet that came with DVD. He leaned against the doorframe and watched her. He could tell by the befuddled look on her face that she had no idea what she reading about. Kevin knew Lucy knew nothing about football. This evening was going to be a stretch for her attention span to say the least. He sat down beside her on the couch.

"Have I told you today how much I love you?" he said, putting his arm around her.

"Yeah, you told me this morning before you left and twice on the phone. But you can keep on telling me if you like." She gave him a kiss and reached for the remote. She looked up at him and grinned. "So, are you ready for some football?"

About 2 Hours Later….

Kevin laid with his head on the arm of the sofa, his arms wrapped around Lucy who laid beside him. He was watching the fourth quarter of the 1986 Super Bowl against Dallas and was completely absorbed with the happenings of the game. When the Giants scored an almost impossible to make touchdown, he pumped the arm that wasn't wrapped around Lucy into the air.

"Did you see that, Luce? Wasn't that just amazing?" He looked down at her. Her face was on his chest, and she was curled up next to him, sound asleep.

Kevin stared at her for a moment. She looked so peaceful, and he quickly thanked God for her. But as soon as those thoughts entered his mind, a sharp numbing sensation flew up his arm. His forearm ached horribly. Kevin winced in pain. His arm was asleep.

Yes, he was a police officer. He was trained to handle all sorts of torturous situations, but he could feel the numbing feeling start to spread up to his shoulder.

He knew he had to move Lucy soon. But he hated so badly to wake her up, but the cramps in his arm were getting worse and worse. He moved slightly, trying to make her move without waking her up too much. That failed miserably, and his arm was still trapped under her shoulder. He tried to slowly move it out from under her and then proceed to carry her to bed, and when he tried to pull his arm away, she began to turn over.

Just when he thought she was going to wake up on her on and save him from his pain, Lucy, still asleep, just snuggled herself even closer to Kevin. "Great." He thought. "I'm stuck on this couch in pain all night."

He began to see Lucy's mouth mumble something. He strained to hear what she was saying. When he bent his head to hear, he barely made out what she was saying through her sleepy breaths. "Love you, Kevin. Night."

Kevin smiled. He was one lucky guy. She was crazy, but he loved her. He could stand a numb arm if it meant he got to keep her comfortable, laying there like an angel.

He looked around and reached for the blanket that lay on the arm of the couch. He one-handedly grabbed it and spread it over his and Lucy's bodies and closed his eyes to go to sleep himself. Yeah, he was certain. He lived for little moments like this.

When she's laying on my shoulder

On the sofa in the dark

And about the time she falls asleep

So does my right arm

And I want so bad to move it

Because it's tingling and it's numb

She looks so much like an angel

That I don't want to wake her up.

Yeah, I live for little moments.

When she steals my heart again

And doesn't even know it.

Yeah, I live for little moments like that...