The drive to his house was quiet. Neither had any idea about what to say
first. So many things had been left unsaid that day in New York and both
had a million questions about what had happened since their parting but it
was not the time. They pulled into the garage and he took her bag from her
and led her into the house.
"Robert, this place is beautiful." She said in awe.
He laughed and shook his head. "If your families house wasn't the size of a castle I would believe you but as it stands I am going to just smile and nod." She laughed.
He led her up the stairs and for a second she was worried of where she was expected to sleep. Granted she still felt the passion that had been there but she wasn't ready to jump into anything. Without saying a word he knew her thoughts and led her down the hall to one of the guest rooms. The room was the biggest room in the house other than the master suite and it was impeccably decorated. He led her through it and showed her the private bath that adjoined it.
"Everything you need is in here. Towels, soap I think there is even a bathrobe in here somewhere." He turned to her and found her smiling at him. "What?" He asked and crossed his arms.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
He raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Have I ever told you how weird you can be sometime?"
She couldn't help but laugh at that comment. And he smiled at how beautiful she was when she laughed.
"Do you want something to help you sleep?" She nodded and he left to get the pills. He returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and handed her the tablets. "Ok, well get settled and if you need anything I am just down the hall." He turned and started to shut the door.
"Robert." He stopped and looked at her. "Thank you." She said in barley a whisper and both knew that she wasn't just talking about that night, but volumes of the past. He nodded and shut the door.
She fell asleep almost immediately but he wasn't as fortunate. The thoughts of the events of the past days mixed with the emotions they brought were haunting him. He rolled over and finally looked at the clock, swearing at it when it read three am. The rest of the night past slowly and he finally fell asleep around dawn.
The smell of coffee brewing pulled his tired body down stairs and he couldn't help but grin when he saw he sitting at the small table in the kitchen reading the newspaper.
"I am glad to see that you are making yourself at home." He said as he walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee. She smiled at him and shrugged.
"I didn't think you would mind." She said looking back at the paper with a grin still on her lips. He sat down at the table and grabbed a section she had disregarded. "What time are you going into the hospital?" She asked as she finally set the paper down.
"I'm not. I have about a million hours of vacation time and figured I would use some of it. Plus, I called Carter and told him that you would be spending the rest of the week here with me."
Lexie looked at him wild-eyed. "Really? And what makes you think that I want to do that?"
He grinned a cocky grin at her. "Because you can't resist my charm." She raised her eyebrows at him and he only smirked bigger. "And because Carter is on over nights all week and there is no way that I am letting you stay at that apartment alone."
Lexie nodded. "Well if you sure you don't mind the intrusion."
He shook his head. "Nope, I think I can stand you for a week or so as long as you don't piss me off to badly."
"Don't worry, I will try to stay out of your hair." She said with a smirk and he just sighed and rolled his eyes.
They finished their coffee and Lexie got up and rinsed the mugs out in the sink. He smiled to himself. It was such a normal thing to do but Donna had never done that for him. She had always been completely self centered and would never do anything the maid could do for her. "Ok Dr. Carter, what are you in the mood to do today?" She leaned against the counter and shrugged.
"Not much of anything really. I am still pretty sore. But if you have things to do feel free. I wouldn't want to cramp your style."
He grinned. "You already are. But I will live. Actually I have some paperwork to do here so I guess I will spend the day with my nose to the grindstone." She rolled her eyes and went to get the book she had started on the plane.
Robert spent the morning going over budgets and cursing Weaver. That woman would be the death of him someday. On more than one occasion he had wanted nothing more than to beat her with her cane but for now that was just a pipedream. A quiet knocking brought him out of Weaver smack down daydream and he looked up at Lexie. "Hungry?" She asked and he nodded. He followed her to the patio where the small table he had forgotten he even owned sat adorned with everything they would need for a simple lunch.
"I raided your fridge, I hope you don't mind." She said as she poured them each a glass of wine. He shook his head. He had no idea he even had food in the fridge. The maid must have put it in there. Maria was the lifeblood of the house. She kept it running flawlessly and without her he would most defiantly fall apart. He thought it was funny that he ran one of the busiest trauma hospitals with floor after floor of the best surgeons and specialists and he had no idea if he even possessed a loaf of bread.
They made small talk throughout lunch; both sticking to safe subjects until it was too much and they knew it was time to be honest. "You ready to tell what had been going on in the last six years?" He asked as he finished his second glass of wine.
She took a deep breath and set her glass down. "After I quit the NYU project I left the hospital also. Landon wanted me to come work at the private practice that his company owned. So I did and I was miserable. I missed helping the people that really need help, not the woman who ran in at every little sneeze or the men that would come in to get a quiet shot of penicillin to hide their sexual infidelities. So with my father's help I started a free clinic and I love it so much. I felt like I was doing some good again." She picked up her glass and took another drink, empting it. Robert picked up the bottle and poured another glass for her.
"Thank you." She took a sip and set the glass down again. "Landon hated the clinic and said he only indulged me in my mercy mission to keep me happy. The truth is that he was using the clinic to launder money down to these private accounts that both he and my father had set up. And everything worked for a while, and then I found out about them and threatened to close the clinic. And that was the first time he ever hit me. I tried to leave but I had nowhere to go and he promised that it would never happen again so I stayed."
Robert felt his stomach turn as she talked. If he had stayed in New York he could have saved her. No, he wouldn't let himself think way. It would do no one any good and all he could do now was make sure it would never happen again.
"So about a year ago Landon and my father started this merger. I never really got involved in the details but from what I hear it was going to be huge. And Landon started to change. He became obsessed with this stupid business deal and it scared me. But I was trapped so I resigned myself to the fact that this was my life. Smile pretty for the cameras and hope he never hit me anywhere I couldn't hide it. Then he proposed and I realized that if I married him I would be selling myself to the devil. So I said no and here is the result." She finished her story and Robert was already poring himself another glass of wine.
"Lex, I." He had no idea what to say. He was sure that she didn't want to hear how much he detested that man or the fact that he would one day kill him for what he did. She touched his arm and he looked up at her.
"You don't have to say anything Robert. I didn't come here for pity." He shook his head and their eyes locked.
"I could never pity you Lexie. It's him that I pity." She broke the gaze and looked down.
"So tell me about Donna. What happened?" She was changing the subject and he would let her for now.
"Well she is evil. Does that pretty much cover it?" She laughed slightly and shook her head. "Well we were miserable almost from the start. She was so self centered that she made me look like Mother Teresa. My career was taking off and she loved the money and the honor but not what it took to get there. And she really didn't like the man that got her there either. She started sleeping around as soon as we got back from our honeymoon and I finally had enough about a year ago and that was that. You know me, I have never been one to get all sappy and emotional so of course she thought I was a cold-hearted bastard. But she is happily sleeping with her attorney whom I paid for and is doing so with a very comfortable settlement. I would have paid the amount ten fold to get her out of here. And there you have it." He picked his glass up again and emptied it.
"I'm sorry." Lexie said quietly and Robert laughed. "What? I am." He laughed harder. She rolled her eyes and got up to clear the table. He took hold of her wrist to stop her and she looked at him.
"I'm sorry too." He said in a quiet voice and she nodded softly.
They cleared the table and he went back to work in his study. Lexie sat back down on the sofa and tried to concentrate on her book but his story was nagging at her. She couldn't say she was surprised by it but then again she didn't know Donna. She just couldn't ever imagine anyone else with him. And it had taken years for her to realize that they were never meant to be and now all of that was going up in smoke. This felt too right to her. It was the same feeling she had had the night of her graduation when she knew without a doubt that she would be with him. Not necessarily then but someday. They spent the rest of the day in their separate worlds but with the comfort that the other was not far away. They decided to stay in and have dinner delivered.
They sat laughed and reminisced thought out the entire meal and there was a moment of hesitation when they parted to go to bed in their separate rooms. Lexie took a long bath and sat brushing her hair but she was lost in thought. Her mind kept going back to the night he had kissed her. The way her body had reacted to the kiss had been amazing and she had never found a feeling that came close to mirroring it. He hesitated outside of her door. He wanted so badly to tell her the things that had been kept hidden for all of the years they were apart but he knew that he was taking a great chance by doing so. She had the power to crush him even though she had no idea that she possessed it. But she was worth the risk. He knocked softly and her heart sped up.
"Come in." She said quietly and he opened the door slowly. She stood facing him in the mirror, her long curls hanging down her back mixed with the silk of her nightgown and the light from the lamp in the corner. He stood in the doorway and their eyes locked in the refection on the mirror but he made no move.
"I know that I was an asshole." He said in a husky whisper. "I know that. I also know that I am an asshole to most people and I don't care. Their feelings are of no consequence to me but you were different. You were the one person who has never deserved to be treated like that. I just wanted to tell you that I am truly sorry." He looked at her for a minute longer then turned and left and she could finally breath again.
He sat on his bed looking at the dark wall ahead of him. He had wanted to say so much more but he couldn't. Not yet. His eyes went to the doorknob that was slightly turning and he looked at her as she entered the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"I was jealous." She whispered as she took a small step towards him. "I was jealous and afraid. I never wanted to care about you. I never wanted to fall in love with you. But I did. And I looked for every excuse to push it away. Then when you told me you were getting married I figured that was my escape. And I accepted it. But then you kissed me and I was so pissed that you had done that. So I decided to fight for everything I wanted. You never knew that did you?" Her voice never raised above a whisper. "I went to tell you that I loved you the day before your wedding. And I had a whole speech ready and then I saw you both and you just looked so happy. I knew that if I truly loved you than I would have to let you go. So I did. It hurt more than I could ever have imagined but I did it. So you see that I am just as at fault as you." She paused and in the shadow of the moonlight their eyes met as he stood and took a step towards her as she took one towards him. "Well except for the fact that you kissed me." He moved towards her as she stood inches away from him. Her hand touched his cheek and pulled his face to hers and the same spark shot through them as their lips met, his arms wrapped around her waist as his hands ran up her back to her hair, pulling her face closer to his. They reluctantly pulled apart, their mouths remaining inches apart.
"There, now we're even." She whispered.
"Yeah, but you know how much I love to win." He replied in a gruff voice as he pulled her close for another kiss.
"Robert, this place is beautiful." She said in awe.
He laughed and shook his head. "If your families house wasn't the size of a castle I would believe you but as it stands I am going to just smile and nod." She laughed.
He led her up the stairs and for a second she was worried of where she was expected to sleep. Granted she still felt the passion that had been there but she wasn't ready to jump into anything. Without saying a word he knew her thoughts and led her down the hall to one of the guest rooms. The room was the biggest room in the house other than the master suite and it was impeccably decorated. He led her through it and showed her the private bath that adjoined it.
"Everything you need is in here. Towels, soap I think there is even a bathrobe in here somewhere." He turned to her and found her smiling at him. "What?" He asked and crossed his arms.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
He raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Have I ever told you how weird you can be sometime?"
She couldn't help but laugh at that comment. And he smiled at how beautiful she was when she laughed.
"Do you want something to help you sleep?" She nodded and he left to get the pills. He returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and handed her the tablets. "Ok, well get settled and if you need anything I am just down the hall." He turned and started to shut the door.
"Robert." He stopped and looked at her. "Thank you." She said in barley a whisper and both knew that she wasn't just talking about that night, but volumes of the past. He nodded and shut the door.
She fell asleep almost immediately but he wasn't as fortunate. The thoughts of the events of the past days mixed with the emotions they brought were haunting him. He rolled over and finally looked at the clock, swearing at it when it read three am. The rest of the night past slowly and he finally fell asleep around dawn.
The smell of coffee brewing pulled his tired body down stairs and he couldn't help but grin when he saw he sitting at the small table in the kitchen reading the newspaper.
"I am glad to see that you are making yourself at home." He said as he walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee. She smiled at him and shrugged.
"I didn't think you would mind." She said looking back at the paper with a grin still on her lips. He sat down at the table and grabbed a section she had disregarded. "What time are you going into the hospital?" She asked as she finally set the paper down.
"I'm not. I have about a million hours of vacation time and figured I would use some of it. Plus, I called Carter and told him that you would be spending the rest of the week here with me."
Lexie looked at him wild-eyed. "Really? And what makes you think that I want to do that?"
He grinned a cocky grin at her. "Because you can't resist my charm." She raised her eyebrows at him and he only smirked bigger. "And because Carter is on over nights all week and there is no way that I am letting you stay at that apartment alone."
Lexie nodded. "Well if you sure you don't mind the intrusion."
He shook his head. "Nope, I think I can stand you for a week or so as long as you don't piss me off to badly."
"Don't worry, I will try to stay out of your hair." She said with a smirk and he just sighed and rolled his eyes.
They finished their coffee and Lexie got up and rinsed the mugs out in the sink. He smiled to himself. It was such a normal thing to do but Donna had never done that for him. She had always been completely self centered and would never do anything the maid could do for her. "Ok Dr. Carter, what are you in the mood to do today?" She leaned against the counter and shrugged.
"Not much of anything really. I am still pretty sore. But if you have things to do feel free. I wouldn't want to cramp your style."
He grinned. "You already are. But I will live. Actually I have some paperwork to do here so I guess I will spend the day with my nose to the grindstone." She rolled her eyes and went to get the book she had started on the plane.
Robert spent the morning going over budgets and cursing Weaver. That woman would be the death of him someday. On more than one occasion he had wanted nothing more than to beat her with her cane but for now that was just a pipedream. A quiet knocking brought him out of Weaver smack down daydream and he looked up at Lexie. "Hungry?" She asked and he nodded. He followed her to the patio where the small table he had forgotten he even owned sat adorned with everything they would need for a simple lunch.
"I raided your fridge, I hope you don't mind." She said as she poured them each a glass of wine. He shook his head. He had no idea he even had food in the fridge. The maid must have put it in there. Maria was the lifeblood of the house. She kept it running flawlessly and without her he would most defiantly fall apart. He thought it was funny that he ran one of the busiest trauma hospitals with floor after floor of the best surgeons and specialists and he had no idea if he even possessed a loaf of bread.
They made small talk throughout lunch; both sticking to safe subjects until it was too much and they knew it was time to be honest. "You ready to tell what had been going on in the last six years?" He asked as he finished his second glass of wine.
She took a deep breath and set her glass down. "After I quit the NYU project I left the hospital also. Landon wanted me to come work at the private practice that his company owned. So I did and I was miserable. I missed helping the people that really need help, not the woman who ran in at every little sneeze or the men that would come in to get a quiet shot of penicillin to hide their sexual infidelities. So with my father's help I started a free clinic and I love it so much. I felt like I was doing some good again." She picked up her glass and took another drink, empting it. Robert picked up the bottle and poured another glass for her.
"Thank you." She took a sip and set the glass down again. "Landon hated the clinic and said he only indulged me in my mercy mission to keep me happy. The truth is that he was using the clinic to launder money down to these private accounts that both he and my father had set up. And everything worked for a while, and then I found out about them and threatened to close the clinic. And that was the first time he ever hit me. I tried to leave but I had nowhere to go and he promised that it would never happen again so I stayed."
Robert felt his stomach turn as she talked. If he had stayed in New York he could have saved her. No, he wouldn't let himself think way. It would do no one any good and all he could do now was make sure it would never happen again.
"So about a year ago Landon and my father started this merger. I never really got involved in the details but from what I hear it was going to be huge. And Landon started to change. He became obsessed with this stupid business deal and it scared me. But I was trapped so I resigned myself to the fact that this was my life. Smile pretty for the cameras and hope he never hit me anywhere I couldn't hide it. Then he proposed and I realized that if I married him I would be selling myself to the devil. So I said no and here is the result." She finished her story and Robert was already poring himself another glass of wine.
"Lex, I." He had no idea what to say. He was sure that she didn't want to hear how much he detested that man or the fact that he would one day kill him for what he did. She touched his arm and he looked up at her.
"You don't have to say anything Robert. I didn't come here for pity." He shook his head and their eyes locked.
"I could never pity you Lexie. It's him that I pity." She broke the gaze and looked down.
"So tell me about Donna. What happened?" She was changing the subject and he would let her for now.
"Well she is evil. Does that pretty much cover it?" She laughed slightly and shook her head. "Well we were miserable almost from the start. She was so self centered that she made me look like Mother Teresa. My career was taking off and she loved the money and the honor but not what it took to get there. And she really didn't like the man that got her there either. She started sleeping around as soon as we got back from our honeymoon and I finally had enough about a year ago and that was that. You know me, I have never been one to get all sappy and emotional so of course she thought I was a cold-hearted bastard. But she is happily sleeping with her attorney whom I paid for and is doing so with a very comfortable settlement. I would have paid the amount ten fold to get her out of here. And there you have it." He picked his glass up again and emptied it.
"I'm sorry." Lexie said quietly and Robert laughed. "What? I am." He laughed harder. She rolled her eyes and got up to clear the table. He took hold of her wrist to stop her and she looked at him.
"I'm sorry too." He said in a quiet voice and she nodded softly.
They cleared the table and he went back to work in his study. Lexie sat back down on the sofa and tried to concentrate on her book but his story was nagging at her. She couldn't say she was surprised by it but then again she didn't know Donna. She just couldn't ever imagine anyone else with him. And it had taken years for her to realize that they were never meant to be and now all of that was going up in smoke. This felt too right to her. It was the same feeling she had had the night of her graduation when she knew without a doubt that she would be with him. Not necessarily then but someday. They spent the rest of the day in their separate worlds but with the comfort that the other was not far away. They decided to stay in and have dinner delivered.
They sat laughed and reminisced thought out the entire meal and there was a moment of hesitation when they parted to go to bed in their separate rooms. Lexie took a long bath and sat brushing her hair but she was lost in thought. Her mind kept going back to the night he had kissed her. The way her body had reacted to the kiss had been amazing and she had never found a feeling that came close to mirroring it. He hesitated outside of her door. He wanted so badly to tell her the things that had been kept hidden for all of the years they were apart but he knew that he was taking a great chance by doing so. She had the power to crush him even though she had no idea that she possessed it. But she was worth the risk. He knocked softly and her heart sped up.
"Come in." She said quietly and he opened the door slowly. She stood facing him in the mirror, her long curls hanging down her back mixed with the silk of her nightgown and the light from the lamp in the corner. He stood in the doorway and their eyes locked in the refection on the mirror but he made no move.
"I know that I was an asshole." He said in a husky whisper. "I know that. I also know that I am an asshole to most people and I don't care. Their feelings are of no consequence to me but you were different. You were the one person who has never deserved to be treated like that. I just wanted to tell you that I am truly sorry." He looked at her for a minute longer then turned and left and she could finally breath again.
He sat on his bed looking at the dark wall ahead of him. He had wanted to say so much more but he couldn't. Not yet. His eyes went to the doorknob that was slightly turning and he looked at her as she entered the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"I was jealous." She whispered as she took a small step towards him. "I was jealous and afraid. I never wanted to care about you. I never wanted to fall in love with you. But I did. And I looked for every excuse to push it away. Then when you told me you were getting married I figured that was my escape. And I accepted it. But then you kissed me and I was so pissed that you had done that. So I decided to fight for everything I wanted. You never knew that did you?" Her voice never raised above a whisper. "I went to tell you that I loved you the day before your wedding. And I had a whole speech ready and then I saw you both and you just looked so happy. I knew that if I truly loved you than I would have to let you go. So I did. It hurt more than I could ever have imagined but I did it. So you see that I am just as at fault as you." She paused and in the shadow of the moonlight their eyes met as he stood and took a step towards her as she took one towards him. "Well except for the fact that you kissed me." He moved towards her as she stood inches away from him. Her hand touched his cheek and pulled his face to hers and the same spark shot through them as their lips met, his arms wrapped around her waist as his hands ran up her back to her hair, pulling her face closer to his. They reluctantly pulled apart, their mouths remaining inches apart.
"There, now we're even." She whispered.
"Yeah, but you know how much I love to win." He replied in a gruff voice as he pulled her close for another kiss.
