Merry Christmas! A short story about Hank Voight, Kim Burgess and Christmas. And maybe, we will have another Chapter/Story at New Year.
Christmas – Time for Lovers
After looking at herself in the mirror one last time, Kim brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She wore a pair of jeans and a new Christmas sweater she had bought a few days ago. Nothing out of the ordinary. And Kim was definitely feeling the Christmas spirit. Oh, and that was partly because of him, because she was so happy with him. With Hank Voight. Never in any of her previous relationships had she felt this at ease. Not with Sean Roman. Nor with Adam Ruzek. It was Voight who made her feel what she had missed in her previous relationships. And with him, she was happy. He loved her. And she loved him.
Turning away from the mirror, she walked over to the dining room table to light the candles.
At the same time, Hank Voight parked his car outside the house where Kim's apartment was located. Grabbing the bag of takeout from the passenger seat, he made his way to Kim's apartment.
The plan was for Kim and him to spend the evening and night together before he boarded the plane tomorrow. He would be flying to New York tomorrow to see Erin, and would spend the Christmas days with her while Kim stayed in Chicago alone.
He had barely knocked on the door when it was opened from the inside.
"Hank," Kim said smiling at him and planting a kiss on his cheek before taking the bag of food from him.
"You look amazing," he commented with a smile when he saw what Kim was wearing.
"Thank you."
Kim placed the bags on their small dining room table.
"Can I help you with something?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
"You know, it's all set. The only thing missing were the food and you," she murmured, feeling him lightly kiss her neck. So Kim tilted her head to the side to allow him a little more access.
Oh, she really enjoyed these small caresses from him. Sadly, their daily routine left them little time for such moments, mainly because nobody knew about the two of them.
After dinner they snuggled together on the sofa. On the small table in front of the sofa, Kim had placed the plate with the cookies they had baked together last weekend. His arm was around her, holding her close and he was slowly stroking her forearm with his fingertips. And his touch made Kim's skin tingle. Oh, it was a wonderful feeling.
"I have one more present for you," he said suddenly, standing up and walking over to his jacket.
Retrieving a small box from inside his jacket, he made his way over to where Kim was sitting. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her close to him, again.
"Merry Christmas," he said, offering the box to her, but Kim didn't reach for it.
"Thanks Hank, but-," Kim struggled to find the right words.
In a way, Kim had imagined their first Christmas together to be different. It had been just under six months since they' d first become lovers. Secretly. Well, no one knew about them. So all this secrecy had its appeal, too, the stolen moments late at night when no one was at the precinct anymore. And spending the weekends in bed, back at her apartment. So far, Kim had enjoyed every single moment with him. However, thinking about Christmas and the next few days made her sad. Tomorrow Hank would fly to New York and spend the Christmas days with Erin Lindsay, while she would spend the next few days in front of the TV. By herself, that is.
"I know I'd rather spend Christmas with you, too," he guessed what Kim had been trying to tell him.
"So do it, then."
"Oh Kim," he sighed.
Kim disentangled herself from his arms and walked over to the window. She turned her back on him and stared out into the dark night.
"Look, I know you spend Christmas with Erin every year. I mean, she's your family. But I somehow thought that. ... I mean, it's our first Christmas. It's special," Kim couldn't bring herself to look at him.
Voight hesitated for a moment before getting up and stepping behind Kim, she was still standing by the window, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. And Kim felt his warm breath against her ear as he whispered the next words to her.
"We still have New Year's Eve," he whispered, "And very soon I'll be back with you. Oh, and maybe next Christmas-"
"It' s not until next year."
"I know."
Silently, they stood at the window. They were just enjoying each other's closeness, while mulling over their thoughts. And Kim tried not to let the sadness and disappointment to take over. He didn't want that to happen either. When he boarded the plane tomorrow, all he wanted to do was think back on this evening with a smile. That's when he wanted to think about the beautiful moments with Kim. And not how she had looked at him with sad eyes and had told him that she would miss him. Cause he would miss her, too.
Quietly Christmas music was playing in the background, so an idea came to him how he could distract Kim. Some idea came to him how he would create a few more beautiful moments together that evening.
"C' mon let's dance," Voight said, breaking away from Kim.
They moved to the music, holding each other close. Both of them relished being so close. One dance quickly turned into two and then three. Both felt how their feelings slowly shifted and turned into desire. The sensation drove Kim almost insane and left her with only one thought and the desire for him. Kim felt his warm breath on her neck, felt his lips brushing her skin seemingly as if by accident.
"Let's go to bed", Kim suddenly whispered in his ear.
This night they made love until the wee hours of the morning, till Kim fell asleep in his arms, exhausted.
As his alarm clock rang, he hurriedly turned it off. During the night he had not slept a wink, even now he was just looking at Kim as she lay asleep in his arms. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up and somehow make it even harder to say goodbye now. Already he realized that he didn't want to leave, that he would rather stay with her. But alas, it was not possible. Especially not without sharing their secret with Erin. So quietly, he got up and got dressed. Then it was time to go. With a suppressed sigh, he made his way over to the bed. Gently so as not to wake her, he placed a kiss on Kim's forehead and tenderly stroked her cheek.
"I love you", he whispered.
With a soft click, Kim's apartment door closed behind him. The entire way to New York, he couldn't stop thinking about Kim. Of how much he missed her. How he wanted to be with her. More than once he felt the urge to turn around and fly back to Kim.
And even much later, once he was already in New York and in Erin's apartment, his thoughts kept drifting back to Kim. His mind kept thinking about the last few hours in Chicago leading up to his departure, of the way they had spent last evening, and of their night. And if he closed his eyes, he could see her smile in front of him.
Voight picked up one of the photos on Erin's shelf. On it was his team. The Intelligence Unit. Right before Erin had left for New York. He'd never noticed how close Kim and he were standing next to each other in that photo. Way back before they had both become a couple, there had been a special relationship he had with Kim. In fact, she had always managed to calm him down when he almost lost his cool during an interrogation.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes," he replied curtly, putting the picture back in its place.
"Come on, I'll show you the city," Erin said, noticing the change in his behavior.
Wordlessly, Erin and Voight walked side by side through the streets of New York. Christmas decorations were everywhere. It made Voight think that Kim would surely love it. All those Christmas decorations.
Meanwhile, Erin had noticed that he was somehow more silent than usual. Something was weighing on him.
"Let's go this way," Erin said, pointing in the direction of Rockefeller Center.
Together they headed for a bench at the edge of the ice rink.
"I'll get us something to drink," she said, leaving Voight alone.
Reaching for his cell phone, Voight typed a quick message to Kim. He missed her. If he was honest with himself, he'd rather be with her right now. Having her by his side. Christmas in New York seemed to have something magical and he would love to share that magic with Kim.
Erin returned with two cups of hot chocolate, one of which she gave to Voight.
Wordlessly, the two sat side by side on the bench. Erin had a suspicion about what was going on with him. In fact, she'd had a hunch for a while. Well, actually, ever since her last visit to Chicago.
"You know, couples come here. The ice rink is a good place for a first date. A romantic night out," she began.
Voight nodded. He had already been thinking that maybe next year he and Kim would come here. To spend Christmas with her like she wanted him to. Oh, and how he wanted to.
"Do you have someone special in your life, too?" she asked him then, the question that had been on her mind for a couple of weeks, "A woman that makes you happy? Someone you would consider taking here?"
Voight hesitated for a moment. Thinking of Kim. About their time together. He had to think of her smile. Oh, and of the feeling of holding her in his arms. It made him think of the day they had decorated the Christmas tree in her apartment together. Since Camille's death, there had never been another Christmas tree at his house. A decorated Christmas tree. That was until Kim had come into his life. Well, with HER, he was having a good time again. With her, he had joy in his life. He was happy. With Kim.
"Yes," he said tersely.
"And why aren't you with her?" inquired Erin.
"Because spending Christmas together is our tradition."
"Yeah, with beer and frozen dinners. Oh, and a hockey game on TV," Erin agreed.
As the years passed, little was left of the Christmas traditions of former times. No more festive dinner. And no Christmas music. Hell, no Christmas movies either. All of those were things that had been important to Camille Voight. On top of that, it had pained him every time. Remembering the holidays. That Camille was no longer a part of them. No more Christmases that he could celebrate with her.
Yet he could with Kim.
She had shown him how beautiful life could be. In fact, she was his second chance for some happiness in his life. And now she was alone in Chicago.
"What's she like?" Erin asked about the woman who had seemingly wormed her way into Hank Voight's heart.
"Wonderful."
"Hank," Erin looked at him.
Well, she wanted more than a simple answer.
"What do you do together? As a couple, then? Are you guys going out to dinner? Do you work out together?" asked Erin a few follow-up questions.
For a moment, Voight considered what he could tell without giving too much away. For now, he wanted to keep his relationship with Kim to himself. To enjoy it. The love he felt for Kim. Well, their relationship.
"She was with me last week. The whole weekend. We drank apple punch together, decorated the Christmas tree at my house, baked cookies and then watched one of those Christmas movies that she loves. I think it was Love Actually or Last Christmas. Can't remember. I do remember that it was a wonderful day. You know, we had a very cozy evening together, just the two of us," he recounted.
"That sounds nice."
He nodded. A smile crept on his lips at the fond memory of the day he spent with Kim.
"You deserve to be happy. And from the way you talk about her, I think she makes you happy. C' mon, let's go to my place now, and you pack your things. And I' ll see if I can book you a flight to Chicago for today, that way you can surprise her," Erin suggested.
"I . . . you know, we always celebrate Christmas together," he replied.
"We spend Christmas with the people we love," Erin declared.
"Yeah, that' s what we do."
"So you' re going back to Chicago to see her. And to spend Christmas together."
Voight nodded.
Yep, he'd fly to see her. And it was time for new traditions. Time to let go of the past and finally fully commit to the future. His future with Kim.
And so Erin dropped him off a little later in front of the airport terminal.
"And give my love to Kim," Erin said as he said goodbye.
"How do," he started, but by then he realized he'd given himself away.
"I'm happy for you guys," Erin simply replied and drove off.
His flight from New York to Chicago had never seemed as long as it did at that moment. It was well past midnight when he finally arrived in Chicago.
At the same time Kim was sitting on her sofa, with the TV on in the background. Some kind of Christmas movie. However, Kim wasn't in the mood for Christmas. Although she loved Christmas. Actually, she had bought a Christmas sweater and the tree had been decorated in her living room for several days now.
It was a loud knock at her door that startled Kim out of her thoughts. Wondering who might be at her door at this late hour, she opened the door.
"Hank," surprised, she looked at him.
"Merry Christmas Kim," he said, pulling her into his arms. Slowly he lowered his head and as their lips joined in a careful kiss, the world around them ceased to exist. In fact, the kiss changed from tentatively gentle to passionate.
With his hands now resting on Kim's waist, Voight pulled her close, holding her gently, tenderly, as though she was something precious. After all, that's what she was. To him, Kim was very special.
And that was something he wanted everyone to know.