Pink Roses For A Blue Lady

AN: A short story I wrote for Valentine's day with Seth and Jessica. Still don't own them. Still no beta's, all mistakes are solely mine. It's pretty light and fluffy with a little bit of a twist. Just a story I whipped up today after watching The Sins of Castle Cove and the references to their antiquing trips.

It was 10 a.m. and already Jessica was sitting at her table with her typewriter. A forgotten cup of coffee and half piece of toast pushed off to the side as she tried to focus on her story and not think about what day it was.

"Another valentines day without Frank," the author sighed as she rolled a fresh piece of paper into the typewriter after disposing of the one before it. The trashcan full of wadded papers by the table already close to overflowing with her failed morning attempts at writing. She had come downstairs early, wearing her housecoat and staying in her pajamas, determined to spend the day buried in writing her book about killers and letting the day go by.

As she stared at the blank page, she tried to ignore the intrusive memories of she and Frank as married young lovers. How Frank would surprise her with breakfast in bed, later presenting her with a full dozen red roses. The dinners and dancing followed by a night of passionate lovemaking. How things had slowed yet stayed just as sweet through the years they had together before his untimely death. She sighed as she felt a wave of grief threaten to invade her morning. "You're getting maudlin Jessica," she shook herself and stared back at the typewriter, willing the story to come back to her as she tried to hold fast against the tide of emotions still threatening.

The sound of a brisk knock as the kitchen door opened followed by Seth's familiar voice broke her reverie. "Jess, are you up? You decent?" He announced himself as she heard some unfamiliar noises in the kitchen before his footsteps sounded coming her way. Jessica exhaled with relief at his voice, this was a good time for a distraction she realized as she put a smile on her face and called out to him with her location.

Seth had already seen her through the window as he had approached the house, the expression on her face told him he had come just in time. "Sure is cold out there, but at least the streets are clear." He announced as he pulled off his heavy overcoat and cap. He was looking dapper in one of his suits with a bowtie and seemed to be quite happily making himself at home as he pulled a chair up to the table.

"Seth, it's good to see you, I didn't realize we had plans for today," Jessica was admittedly a little flustered at his unexpected appearance and what seemed like uncharacteristic good humor on his face.

"We didn't, I just decided to make some, I assume you can step away from your writing for lunch and an afternoon out?" He said full of self-confidence as he watched her try to process this change of plans.

"I don't know, I was planning to write today," Jessica heard herself and thought she almost heard a stammer. "Why didn't you call me about plans?"

"Easier for you to turn me down on the phone." He said with a chuckle. "I'll help myself to some coffee in the kitchen while you get ready." Seth said with a smile as if it was all decided, not surprised to have her on his heels as he went back towards the kitchen, feeling a little uncertainty about what she would think when she saw what he had brought.

"Now wait Seth, I'm confused, this isn't like you to come walking in unannounced and whisk me away…"Jessica's voice trailed off as she saw the bouquet of pink roses on the table. She stared at them speechless. She finally leaned over to inhale their sweet fragrance and smiled in spite of herself as she turned to Seth. "Thank you, this was very thoughtful of you, but I am writing and I know you probably have patients today." She tried to be gracious, still not sure about this rapid turn of events.

For a reason she couldn't name she found her eyes drifting to the roses on the table as Seth stood silently, just watching her, a little bemused as he waited for her to settle. Even though Jessica knew pink roses could hold a variety of meanings including friendship, she was trying to remember the last time she had been given flowers of any kind on valentines day. "I don't know what to say," she finally settled on as she couldn't decide whether to be touched or annoyed about being put on the spot like this.

"Let me lay it out for you." Seth proclaimed in his no nonsense doctors voice as he went to get two mugs from the cupboard and began working on coffee. "It's valentines day. As I see it we have two options. You can sit here and try to bury yourself in writing and not think about how you and Frank used to spend the day with flowers and candy and whatnot. I can sit at the office and try to keep myself busy so that I don't sit and think about Ruth and the places we would go, dinner and dancing. You and I will both fail miserably, wait for this day to end and try not to think about how much we miss them as we go to sleep and be glad the day is over when we finally wake up in the morning. Sound about right to you?" He questioned, to give Jessica a chance to speak and make sure he was on the right track.

"I can't argue with you there." Jessica agreed with his synopsis, it being very much what she had envisioned for herself that day. She had already come to terms that she would probably struggle with her typewriter all day without anything truly being accomplished in her next book.

"Or you and I go have a nice lunch at the diner, enjoy an afternoon of antiquing and eventually find ourselves at the end of the day tired and hopefully loaded down with some antiques and different memories of how we spent a commercialized holiday for couples." Seth proposed seeing by the expression on her face he had easily won.

"Even if it's some poor shopkeeper who tries to sell you another Shirley Temple cereal bowl." Jessica laughed, her spirits already lifting at the thought.

"Very funny woman, now go get ready and I'll be waiting for you here in the kitchen." Seth said cheerfully, exhaling a sigh of relief as she walked away, a little more bounce to her step. He had not felt nearly as confident as he had sounded.