BURNING FLAMES OR PARADISE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
WILDEST DREAMS
Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress
Staring at the sunset, babe
(NOTE: THIS CHAPTER TAKES PLACE AFTER CHAPTER ONE, PLEASE RE-READ IF YOU NEED A REFRESHER)
OCTOBER 2010
Kate hears the faint ring of her cell phone, and she groans, presses her palms against the cool edge of the tub in an attempt to push herself off the bathroom floor. The phone stops after a few rings, and she groans again as a new wave of nausea washes over her, forcing her to sit back down. According to the doctor she's between nine and ten weeks along, so the morning sickness - or afternoon sickness, in her case - should wane in the coming weeks.
"Kate?" Rick's voice is a welcome comfort through the door. "Can I get you anything?"
Despite her seemingly unending nausea Kate smiles, grateful yet again that she has her boyfriend by her side. He's so selfless, calling for her when she can't go to work or pick up the phone herself, makes dinner and washes the dishes so she can rest.
Part of her wonders if he's still making up from acting like an asshole when she'd told him about the potential FBI job, but deep down she knows that he's just that kind of person.
She moves to stand but immediately has to sit again, the nausea overwhelming. "I'm okay," she calls out, dropping her forehead to rest against her knees.
The door clicks open anyway, and she hears Rick's quiet footsteps as he joins her. "Liar," he teases in a gentle tone. He sits next to her on the floor, his hand rubbing her back as she sighs and leans into his side.
They sit in silence for some time, his hand warm on her back, his cheek resting against the top of her head. Her stomach eventually settles, giving her a welcome relief, and she's able to stand. She feels Rick's eyes watching her as she brushes her teeth and fixes her ponytail.
"I'm okay, Rick," she assures him when she turns back to face him. "I should be able to hold down some food now."
Rick follows her out to the kitchen and motions for her to sit.
"I can-"
"I know," he interrupts her, pointing at the chair. "But you don't have to."
Kate sits as her boyfriend opens the fridge. "Did I hear my phone earlier?" she asks, opening the Sprite that he gives her.
Rick pulls out a fruit plate and crackers. "Oh, yeah. I answered, I hope that's okay."
"Of course. Who was it?"
"The FBI."
Kate's jaw drops and she pushes herself back from the counter. "What?!" she exclaims, rushing to the bedroom to retrieve her phone. She goes to her call history; sure enough, the most recent call was from the FBI. "Oh my God, Rick, and you didn't tell me right away?" she continues when she returns to the kitchen.
Rick shrugs and joins her at the counter. "In my defense, you were trying not to puke," he reminds her, dropping his hand to her thigh, his thumb rubbing circles over her knee. "They'd like you to call them back at your earliest convenience. Said it's the same number you called to set up the interview."
Kate worries her bottom lip with her teeth as she pulls up the contact information for the HR department. She'd only been interviewed a week before, and hadn't expected to hear back so soon, not from an agency of that size and magnitude. She assumes the quick response must mean they're not interested in her.
So, while she's tempted to put it off, she covers Rick's hand for strength, dials the number, and waits for someone to answer.
DECEMBER 2010
Rick's already awake and pouring coffee when Kate pads into the kitchen, her mouth in a wide yawn and her eyes barely open. She heads straight towards him, and he abandons his mug for hers, adds cream and sugar and stirs.
"You didn't sleep," he points out, brushing his lips to her forehead as she leans into him.
Kate shakes her head and takes a long drink of her coffee - half-decaf, per doctor's orders. He catches her wince when she swallows, and he knows what she means. He'd switched to half-decaf as well, and while the decreased amount of caffeine means Kate can have multiple cups of her beloved drink, it just isn't the same.
"I'm sorry if I kept you awake," Kate murmurs into his chest, her face buried in his shirt. "I tried not to move around too much."
Rick retrieves his coffee and sips at it while he wraps his other arm around his girlfriend's back. "Don't worry about it. I slept some," he assures her. "What was it this time? The little one?"
Kate presses her free hand against the round curve of her stomach. "Not this time. Well, no more than usual," she adds. She sighs. "I just wish I could go with them, you know? I hate being stuck behind a desk."
"I know." Rick rubs his hand down her spine. "You'll be able to go with them after you're back from maternity leave."
"I guess."
They fall into a comfortable silence as they sip their coffee, Rick leaning against the counter, Kate against him. They've had this conversation before, how she feels useless behind a desk, that she's not contributing as much as she could. She'd rather be boots on the ground than acting as almost a consultant, especially since she's only a couple months into the job. And she doesn't feel like she has the camaraderie that she normally would, even though her team has assured her that's not the case.
Rick finishes his coffee and sets his mug down, and he gives Kate's shoulders a squeeze. "Hey, I have an idea."
"Oh?"
"You're off today, right? You guys finished up your case?"
"Yeah, they're in the air right now." Kate's empty mug joins his. "What are you thinking?"
"I know it's cold," Rick starts, "but let's do some sightseeing. I feel like we've hardly spent any time together lately."
After Kate accepted the job in early October, they moved the following week, and Rick has spent most of his time looking for, then moving them, into a permanent home while Kate immediately started her job. She leaves early and returns home late, and with every long day that she's stuck behind a desk while her team travels across the country, he falls even more in love.
He knows that her job isn't ideal for the moment. But he also knows that she's doing her best, that she's going above and beyond to be able to prove herself however she can.
Plus, she's growing their child. While she'd moved in with him a few months before the FBI job, they haven't discussed their future beyond baby names and nursery decorations. He's known for a long time that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, and he's fairly certain she feels the same way. Still, he's nervous.
Kate lifts her head from its resting place on his chest and looks up at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Isn't it supposed to snow today?" she asks.
Rick lifts a shoulder. "We'll bundle up. And when we come home," he continues, sliding his hands down to her hips and pulling her flush against him, "I'll warm you up."
Kate grins and loops her arms around his neck. "Sounds like a plan."
While Kate gets ready he fills a backpack with things for a day of sightseeing, including extra gloves and scarves for both of them, and before she emerges from the bathroom, Rick grabs the small box from its hiding place in the back of the closet. He hears the shower turn off, so he tucks it in his coat pocket before returning to the bedroom to take his turn in the bathroom.
"Alright, Kate, you ready to g-" Rick freezes when he emerges a short time later, his eyes landing on the box in her hands.
Her surprised gaze lifts to his and she turns the open box so he can see the ring inside. "Rick?" she says, her voice cracking. He hopes it's from emotion, and not dread.
Rick takes a deep breath and approaches her. "I was going to do this later today," he explains, taking the box from her hand and extracting the ring. "By the river, maybe. With snow falling around us. It would have been super romantic." When he takes Kate's hand and starts to lead her to the living room, she tugs him back.
"You can still do that," she suggests. "I can pretend it didn't fall out, and I didn't see it. I don't want to ruin your plan."
Rick chuckles. "Oh, Kate," he breathes, pulling her into his embrace, "you're not ruining anything." He leans back, his hands on her shoulders, and narrows his eyes. "Unless you'd say no?"
It's a silly worry - they're having a child together, for Christ's sake - but when Kate just bites her bottom lip, all the years of being apart and together, the struggles and heartbreak, every time one of them walked away, comes flooding back.
Their relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs, and has been far from conventional. Some days it's felt like nothing could go right, others that nothing could go wrong. But most days make him realize that, no matter what, everything's better with her at his side.
All of a sudden he's overwhelmed with his love for the woman in front of him; despite what they put each other through, he loves her more than ever. He doesn't know what he'd do if she says no.
Kate seems to sense his worry and lifts a reassuring hand to his cheek. "Ask me," she whispers, her eyes locked on his.
She'd told him once of a day with her dad, when they'd escaped from her mom's funeral, found a reason to smile in a terrible time. Even on the worst days, there's a possibility for joy.
As he kneels in front of her and slides the ring on her finger, as she says yes and they share a tearful, happy embrace, he knows that she's his possibility for joy.
"Was this a good idea?"
Rick lifts his head from its resting place between her breasts and he props himself on his elbow, gazing down at her. "Was what a good idea?"
"Getting married how we did," Kate clarifies, shifting into a sitting position and pulling the sheet over her chest when his gaze drops. "Eyes up, perv," she teases.
Rick has always loved her body, and never shies away from showing his appreciation - which she almost always encourages - but he's become almost obsessed with the changes that pregnancy has brought. That, combined with her second trimester hormones, means they've been more physical than ever. While she's definitely not complaining, it's difficult to have a conversation when either of them is even partially unclothed.
Rick tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "You mean running away?" he teases with a crooked grin.
"I mean eloping." Kate trails a finger through the fine hairs on his arm, sees him shiver with what she assumes is desire, since they're definitely not cold. "I dunno," she continues, "I'm sure you know plenty of people who would've liked to come to your wedding."
Rick's eyes narrow and he cups her jaw, brushes his thumb across her bottom lip before pressing his mouth to hers in a tender kiss. "We had our friends and families," he points out when he pulls back. "I didn't need a big wedding, Kate. Or a fancy one. I just wanted to marry you. We can throw a reception when we get home, or maybe after he's born." He gives her a smile. "There was no reason to wait."
Kate smiles at his words. He's right; almost as soon as they were engaged, they discussed when to have the ceremony, mostly whether they should wait until after their son was born. And they'd both expressed their desire not to wait, that they wanted to marry right away.
So, Rick had called in a favor, they'd flown to New York the following weekend, and had married in their living room in front of their close friends and family. And although Kate felt guilty about asking for time off just a few months into her job, especially since she'd be on maternity leave soon, she'd been granted the week of Christmas off so she and Rick could take a last-minute honeymoon.
Rick presses another quick kiss to her mouth and pushes himself off the bed. "Come on, let's watch the sun come up."
Kate groans and follows him out of bed, ignoring her clothes strewn across the floor. Their beachfront villa is completely private, thanks to Rick's powers of persuasion - and very deep pocketbook - so nobody can see them, even when they're on their small balcony.
He takes her hand and leads her outside, where he settles on a lounger and tugs her to sit between his legs. She leans back against his chest and sighs, covers his hands with hers when his arms wrap around her from behind. As the fingers of her left hand intertwine with his, she feels the cool metal of his wedding ring, and she smiles and presses a kiss to his knuckles.
They could have imploded, their relationship could have burned up in flames. But he kept showing up, kept reappearing in her life. He showed her that she wasn't defined by her job or her mom's murder. She could be happy, could be more. And as they sit together, watching the sun bring a new day, she can't help but think it's the sign of a new beginning.
In him, she's found peace. She's found happiness.
In his arms, she's in paradise.
-FIN-
A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed, and who came along for this ride!
