This was my first shot at "Chapter 28 - Monday Morning Hugs". As cute as it was, it wasn't quite what I wanted, but I loved the teasing and playfulness between Dick and Elle here.
Last Chance - "The Morning After"
No Warnings - Rating "T"
Elle met Dick in the hall outside of their rooms the next morning. The navy t-shirt he wore made his cerulean blue eyes seem deeper. They made her stomach do a little flip whenever he looked into hers. She couldn't believe how lucky she had gotten in meeting him.
"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted her with a kiss. Always a dangerous thing since he could make her forget her own name in seconds.
"Flatterer," she grinned against his mouth.
He leaned back and looked at her, really looked at her. His brows creased, but he wore a half smile as he considered her.
"No, really," he said. "You look great!" He turned her a little so that the light was hitting her face. "I can't even tell you ever had anything wrong? That's amazing!"
"Well, I'm relieved. That was horrible! I never want to go through that again," she shivered a little despite wearing a warm, black turtleneck and gray, wool slacks.
Dick rubbed her arms, and then tucked her against his side as they turned to make their way to the kitchen for breakfast. "That makes two of us. You scared twenty years off of my life!"
"So, what do I have to do to put those twenty years back on," she asked him teasingly.
"I have a few ideas," he grinned, slapping her rump.
Elle yelped and laughed at him, swatting at his arm as they neared the head of the stairs. Smiling, Dick jumped onto the railing.
"Race you to the bottom!"
"No fair!" Elle started down the stairs as quickly as she could manage, but Dick was standing at the bottom waiting for her before she had gotten halfway down.
"What do I get for winning," he teased her, catching her about the waist and swinging her down the last few steps.
"Cheaters forfeit any winnings," she snarked.
"I bet I could think of something that would let us both win," he winked.
"True, but then we'd never get breakfast either," Elle reminded him, and ran ahead of him toward the kitchen.
The two of them burst through the kitchen door like a couple of kids, laughing and trying to catch their breath. Okay, so only Elle was trying to catch her breath, and once more she had to admire Dick's stamina.
"Children, children," Tim chided, teasingly from his place at the breakfast bar. "No roughhousing inside the manor."
"Good morning, Master Richard. Miss Arabella, you look quite charming today. All signs of your ordeal seem to have disappeared. It is quite remarkable," Alfred said, as he poured more batter onto the waffle iron.
Elle beamed at him. "Why thank you, Alfred. I am feeling much more the thing today."
"That is indeed wonderful to hear," he said. "And would you like a waffle for breakfast, or may I make you something else?"
"I'll have what everyone else is having," she said.
Turning around, she noticed Damian sitting at the table quietly. There were several butterfly Band-aids sealing the cut across his forehead. Elle made a beeline straight for him and pulled out a chair next to him.
"Damian," she began. "How are you feeling today?" She reached out to push his hair back to better inspect the cut. "Ouch! Does it hurt?"
"No," the boy told her. He was staring at her oddly. "Father told me that you saved me."
The edges of her mouth tilted up cautiously. "Does that bother you? You know, that a girl pulled you out of the water?"
"tt" he tsked dismissively.
