A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Seventy Two
A couple days before Valentine's Day, Billy is finishing up with a job when his cell goes off. Pulling it from his pocket, he walks away from the work crew as he answers. "Billy Lewis."
"Mr. Lewis, this Jake from Goldblum Jewelers."
"Yes, is it ready?"
"Yes sir. You can pick it up any time after today."
"Thank you. I'll be by in the morning, thank you again." He says, with a huge smile on his face.
"You're welcome, Mr. Lewis." They hang up and Billy goes back to work.
After he finishes for the day, he goes home and showers. Before he meet Stace, he finds the number for a small bed and breakfast on the lake where Cassie and Richard spent their honeymoon. Booking a room for that weekend, he goes to get Stace.
The morning of Valentine's Day, Richard gets the boys up. They all go to the kitchen. "Daddy, where's Mommy?" Will asks, still rubbing his eyes.
"Its Valentine's day buddy, so we're surprising her with breakfast, remember."
"What are we going to fix her?"
"She likes French toast." Rj says.
"Yes she does. Rj can you get the eggs for me and Will get the bread. And I'll get the spices and we'll make her some French toast."
"She likes fruit." Will says, as he getting the bread. He hands it to Richard.
"Why don't you go see what kind of fruit we have in the refrigerator?"
"Okay." Will goes to the refrigerator as Rj pulls up a stool and watches as Richard beats a couple eggs with milk, nutmeg, cinnamon and all spice.
"Okay, the eggs are ready." Richard says, taking the bowl to the stove so that he can put the slices of bread directly into the pan after dipping them into the egg batter.
"Daddy, I found some apples, grapes and strawberries." Will says, bringing all the fruit to him.
Taking it, Richard puts in on the counter behind him while Rj and Will both pull stools over to the stove. They climb up as Richard melts the butter over medium high heat. "What are you going to do with that?" Will asks, pointing to the egg mixture.
"I'm going to take this bread." Richard says, taking out several slices of thick French style bread and laying them on the counter by the batter. He puts the bread away and then come back to the stove. Taking a piece of the bread, he puts it in the batter and lets it sit there for a few seconds before he flips it over and then he lays in the pan and begins preparing another one. "Rj, can you look and see if we have any bacon or sausage in the refrigerator?"
"Okay Daddy." He says, getting down from his stool. He goes to the refrigerator as Richard flips the first piece of bread over.
When he finds the bacon, Rj brings it back to Richard. "I found some bacon." He says, climbing back on to his stool.
"Good, thank you." Richard says, taking the bacon and laying it beside the waiting slices of bread. "Do you have your back packs ready?" He asks, as both of the boys nod.
"We did that last night after we finished our Valentines."
"Will has a special one for his girlfriend Emma." Rj teases.
"I do not and she not my girlfriend." Will declares.
"She is too. I bet you would kiss…."
"She not my girlfriend." Will declares again, reaching around Richard to get to Rj,
"Boys, that's enough." Richard says, and they both settle down.
Once the French toast is finished, Richard turns to the boys. "I want you both to go get ready for school."
"We want to take Mommy her breakfast." Will says.
"We will, I promise." Richard says as he helps Will get down.
"And we'll eat with her too?" Will asks, looking up at Richard.
"Yes, just go get your clothes on for school while I finish this and then we'll carry her breakfast up to her and we'll eat with her, okay."
"Okay Daddy." Will says, with Rj nodding.
The boys take off running forcing Richard to call out. "Walk, both of you."
They stop running immediately and climb the stairs as quickly as they can without running.
A few minutes later, they return to the kitchen where Richard if finishing up Cassie's breakfast. He has plates for him and the boys sitting on the counter. He's putting a single red rose into a vase when the boys come back in. "We're ready." The both say.
"Good, take your plate and we'll go upstairs." Richard says, lifting Cassie's tray. They follow behind Richard, being careful not to spill their food. When the reach the bed room, Richard nudges the door open and finds that Cassie's still asleep. Sitting the tray on the table beside her bed, he sits down her and gently shakes her awake. "Cassie. Darling, wake up."
She moans softly as she rolls over. "What's going on?" She mumbles. Slowly waking up.
"We made you breakfast." Richard says, nodding towards the tray by her side of the bed.
"Why?" She mumbles again, still not quite awake.
"Darling, it's Valentine's day." He says, with a smile.
"It's what?"
"It's Valentine's day." He repeats. "The boys and I made you breakfast." Richard says, as she pulls herself up in the bed.
"We made you French toast, with fruit and bacon." Will says.
"We brought you some milk and orange juice." Rj says.
"I know you want..." Richard stops when Cassie looks at him. Getting up, he picks up the tray and sits in on her lap before he moves around to the other side of the bed. "Boys give your plate to your Mom and then climb up here." Richard says as he gets into bed with Cassie.
The boys hand their plates to Cassie and then they climb up onto their bed. She gives them their plates and they all settle in to have breakfast together. After they finish breakfast, Richard takes the boys to the bus stop and waits for the bus so the boys don't have to stand in the cold. Cassie is in their bathroom when he gets back. She turns to him when he comes into the bathroom with her. Slipping her arms around him, she leans up and kisses him. "Thank you for my breakfast."
"You're welcome." He says, kissing her again.
Rolling to his side, Jeffrey lays beside Sam watching her sleep. Last year Valentine's Day wasn't the greatest. He was alone and trying to convince himself and everyone around him that he liked it that way. Since Russia, there didn't seem to be the need to celebrate this day. Yes, he had gone out with women, even slept with them just so he wouldn't be alone on Valentine's Day, but it wasn't the same. And he only did that a few times, most of the time he desperately tried to ignore the day. This was their day, and he didn't really want tarnish that.
Reaching over, he brushes a strand of Sam's hair back from her face. Being that it's getting close to time for the baby to come. Sam isn't as comfortable as she was. He felt her toss a little bit the throughout the night. And he figures one of the best Valentine's Day presents he can give her is a little extra sleep. Glancing at the clock, he realizes that he's got about an hour before the staff for the clinic begins to arrive. Leaning over, he flips the button for Sam's alarm. Turning it off before he leans in, and brushes his lips against her forehead and cheek. He lays his hand on her stomach. "Let your momma sleep a little longer, please." He whispers to their son before he pushes the covers back and gets up. He quietly makes his way into the bathroom for a shower and his morning routine.
Thirty minutes later, he leaves the bathroom. Fresh from the shower and clean shaven. He grabs a suit from his closet before he peeks into the bedroom. She's still sleeping and he smiles. At least their son is minding him as of right now. Noticing the clock beside Sam's bed, he gets dressed. Grabbing his shoes and socks, he goes downstairs. Sitting down on the couch, he finishes dressing before he goes down to the clinic.
Leah is always the first one to arrive behind Sam. She's turning off the alarm as Jeffrey comes into the break room. Jumping when she turns, she lets out small screech when she sees Jeffrey. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He says.
"It's okay. I simply wasn't expecting to see you instead of Dr. Sam."
"I'm letting her sleep late for Valentine's Day. So do you mind taking over her morning appointments?"
"No, of course not. I would guess that it it's getting difficult to get a full night's sleep now." Leah says, as they walk up towards the front of the clinic.
"She was restless last night, tossing and turning. And I know she's coming up to start her maternity leave, but I want to take a little extra care of her this year. We… well we've missed a lot of Valentines over the years and I want this one to be even more special for her."
"I don't mind taking the morning patients and then check on her before we all go to lunch."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm going to leave her a note so that she knows why she missed this morning's appoints, so she's not upset at you or the rest of the staff."
"I don't know that she would be, but okay." Leah says, with a smile. She opens the front door for the receptionist as Jeffrey turns to go back upstairs. After fixing himself a quick cup of coffee, he leave the note for Sam before he leaves for City Hall.
This morning is a little different at loft. William and Ava are both up but only William is getting ready for work. The week before was the last week for Ava to work at Lewis before the baby comes. She's sitting on the bed, watching as William gets ready. "I'm going to be bored. I'm already bored. Why do I have to go on maternity leave now?"
"Baby, Dr. Sedgwick wanted you to go on maternity leave a month ago. You're due date is in less than a month."
"But I'm bored. The nursery is finished. We have everything setup up here. You're gone to work all day and Emma is in school. So what am I supposes to do all day."
"You could go over to the clinic and visit with Sam. I'm pretty sure she's going start her maternity leave, if she hasn't already."
"She's a doctor and it's her clinic. How is she supposes to go on maternity leave." Ava replies.
William looks at her and then walks over to her. Sitting down beside her, he puts his arms around her and draws her into him. "I know you're bored. But we've only got a few weeks left until the baby comes. You have to be at Emma's school for her class party at two. You can go to Sam's or Cassie and visit with them. And then tonight, Mrs. Schuster is going to watch Emma so that we can go out. I've already made a reservation for Towers. Might even run into your Dad and Sam or Richard and Cassie. I'll even come home for lunch before you have to go to Emma's party." Ava opens her mouth to say something. "I'll come home every day until the baby comes, okay."
"Okay." She mumbles as he leans in and kisses her.
"And then next year, we'll go someplace really special. Maybe your Dad and Sam or Richard and Cassie will babysit, but I promise we'll go someplace special and it will be just the two of us, okay."
"Okay." She says, leaning in to kiss. "You have to go."
"I've got a few minutes."
"You can't be late. You've got that meeting with the guy from Paraguay."
"I know." He leans in, kissing her. Pulling back before they get too carried away, he releases her and moves to get up. "I'll take Emma to school and I'll see you at lunch. If you get too bored, go to Sam's. I bet she would love the company."
"Okay, I love you." She says, leaning in. They kiss quickly one more time before he leaves.
A couple hours after Jeffrey left for City hall, Sam rolls over and reaches for him. When she finds his side of the bed empty, she slowly opens her eyes. It takes her a moment to focus before she glances out the window beside the bed. She quickly realizes that it's later than the seven am that she had set her alarm for. Sitting up quickly, she glances at the clock. "Oh, crap!" She exclaims pushing the covers back. She almost trips on the sheet as she quickly gets out of bed. Catching herself with the mattress, she scrambles into the closet and through to the bathroom. Doing her business, she skips a shower to get dressed.
Leah is coming out of an exam room as Sam is walking out of the break room. "Leah." Sam says. "What is going on?" She demands.
"Doctor?"
"Follow me." Sam says, walking towards her office with Leah following behind her.
When they get to Sam's office, Sam closes the door as she demands. "Why did you not wake me up when I didn't come down stairs this morning? I've missed all of my patients for this morning."
"Mr. O'Neill told me to take this morning patients and to let you sleep."
"Jeffrey told you to take the appointments this morning." Sam says. Her tone making it clear that she doesn't believe her.
"Yes ma'am, he came down stairs this morning as I came in. He surprised me actually. He said that you had a restless night last night and he wanted to make today special for you. So he asked if I could take this morning's appointments. I told him that I would and he said that he would leave you a note to explain why your alarm didn't go off."
"What's the date?" Sam asks as she walks towards her desk.
"It's Valentine's day." Leah replies, as Sam looks up.
"Seriously?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Okay, I totally forgot." She pauses for a moment.
"I can cover for the rest of the afternoon, if you need to go shop." Leah says, smiling.
"I can't leave you to handle a whole day's worth of appointments."
"What's going to happen when you have the baby? I can handle our patients unless there's an emergency and then I'll page you. Go find something for that sweet man you're married to."
"Alright." Sam turns for the door. Stopping she turns back around. "I'm sorry about jumping…."
"Don't worry about it." Leah says, waving her hand.
Sam opens the door and walks out. "I'll be back as soon as I possibly can."
"Take your time, we'll be alright." Leah says, following her out of the office.
Sam goes back upstairs while Leah goes on to the next patient. Ten minutes later, Sam leaves the house through the front door. She quickly but carefully makes her way to the garage and her car. She pulls out of the garage a few moments later, headed for the mall and hopefully she'll be able to find something that Jeffrey will like on this short of notice.
The first store that she stopped at didn't have anything that caught her eye and as she walked through the mall she was beginning to think that she wasn't going to find anything until she walks into a leather shop. When she had left home, she was thinking jewelry but since she hadn't found anything the seemed to say how much this Valentine's Day meant to both of them she was starting to wonder if she should consider something else. As she's looking through the store she finds a small jewelry counter. Mostly it's full of braided leather necklaces with medallions, a few braided bracelets and some metal pieces as well. She skips the metal pieces. Jeffrey wasn't a man that wore a lot of jewelry and what he did wear was fairly simple and that's what draws her to the braided leather bracelets. She's looking at a black braided leather bracelet when one of the sales people comes over. "May I help you?" The woman asks.
"I was wondering if you sell more than this, for men's jewelry." Sam asks, looking at the bracelet.
"I'm sorry but this is all the jewelry we have in the store. Was there something in particular you needed?" The woman asks.
"I'm looking for a last minute Valentine's Day gift for my husband and I like this bracelet but I wanted to add something else with it. I was thinking of a couple of charms."
"I'm sorry but we don't sell charms. I would be happy to process the sale for you for the bracelet, if you still want it?"
I suppose I can look at a couple of the jewelry stores here in the mall. I really wanted to do this all at one time." Sam says, sighing."
"I understand, how far along are you?" The woman asks.
"I'm in my last trimester. We're due later early next month actually."
"I'm sure you're ready for him or her to arrive. I know I was when it got close to my due date."
"You have kids."
"Yes, two boys. Eighteen and fifteen." The woman replies.
"This one was a surprise." Sam says, as the woman rings up the bracelet.
"My oldest was too." The woman replies, taking Sam's credit card and finishing out the sale. "Go ahead and sign here." The woman says, indicating the machine in front of Sam. They wait a few moments before the card goes through. While the wait, the woman bags up the bracelet and then hands Sam the receipt along with her bag. "Here you go. If you're still wanting the charms, there's a small boutique a few shops down. They have things like that. Ask for Ginger and let her know that Marcy sent you and she'll fix you right up."
"Thank you so much." Sam says, taking the bracelet and walking out of the store. A few shops down she finds the shop and she goes in. She looks around a moment before she stops at a spinning case of different charms.
While she's looking, another sales person walks up. "May I help you?" She asks.
"Ummm, is Ginger here?"
"I'm Ginger, how may I help you?"
"Oh I was just in the Leather shop and I bought this for my husband and Marcy said I should speak to you because I wanted to add a couple charms to it, connected here." Sam says, pulling out the bracelet and showing her where the fastener connects to the leather.
"We can definitely help with that, did you have specific charms in mind?"
"Ummm, I was thinking his first initial as one and then maybe a heart or even just a round disk with the words "I love you with our wedding date" engraved on it. I wanted to also engrave his initial with his birthday and my birthday while leaving room for our son's birthday to be added later."
"Oh, that would be perfect and we certainly have those charms available. They're right over here if you want to look." Ginger says, walking over to another counter.
Sam looks through them for a moment before she says. "This is perfect." Sam says, finding a medium size charm of the initial J. She puts that to the side and continues looking for a charm that she could engrave with I love you and their wedding date. She finds a heart and she looks at it for several seconds before she puts it done and continues on. She found a guitar as well, but she didn't want to overshadow the wedding gift with this one so she put that one back. She goes on and looks and finally she finds a charm in form of the Irish symbol of the Claddagh. The symbol was flat with the crown sitting on the heart held in two hands. "Oh this is perfect. I'll take these two. Can I have them engraved now?"
"I will have to check." Ginger replies, as Sam nods.
"I can wait if there is a place that I can sit down."
"Oh, of course. If you don't mind sitting here. I'll check to see if we can engrave them for you." Ginger says, showing Sam to a couple of stools they have sitting in front of one of the counters.
"Thank you." Sam says, as she sits down.
"I'll be right back." Ginger replies, as Sam nods.
A few minutes later, Ginger returns. "I'm sorry but I spoke with our engraver and he's booked up until tomorrow. Could you bring them back and he would gladly do the engraving tomorrow?"
"I really wanted them done today. I'm willing to pay extra if he can rush them through." Sam replies.
"Let me check." Ginger says, leaving again. She comes back a few minutes later. "He could rush them but it would be an extra seventy five dollars."
"I'll pay it." Sam says, giving Ginger the bracelet after she fills out the information for the engraving.
When she's finished, she says. "I have your number and as soon as he's finished, I will call you so that you can pick them up."
"Will he attach the charms to the bracelet?" Sam asks.
"Yes, they'll already be attached."
"Good, thank you so much." Sam says, getting up.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. O'Neill." Ginger says, as Sam smiles and nods.
"Thank you." She replies before she walks away.
A few hours later, Sam is back home. After walking the mall, she was glad she had asked Leah to take that afternoon's patients. She didn't have the energy to deal with her patients after that. She's flipping through the TV channels while she waits for the jewelry store to call her. She's just changed the channel when her cell phone rings. "Hello, Dr. O'Neill." Sam says, picking up on the second ring.
"Mrs. O'Neill, this is Ginger. I'm calling to let you know that the bracelet is ready."
"Oh, thank you." Sam says with a smile. "I'll be right there." She says, getting up from the couch.
"Yes, ma'am, I'll see you then." Ginger replies before they hang up.
Ten minutes later, Sam walks into the store. Since she has the gift she parks closer to the store this time so that she doesn't have as far to walk. Going inside, she doesn't see Ginger as another sales person walks up to her. "May I help you?"
"I need to see Ginger."
"Of course, let me get her."
"Thank you." Sam says, walking back over to the stools. Even with the shorter walk, she's still tired by the time she's reaches the store.
A few moments later, Ginger walks up. "Mrs. O'Neill." She says.
"It's Sam." Sam says with a smile.
"Of course, Sam. I have your order right here." She says, pulling out a dark purple velveteen bag. Opening it up, she pulls out a square jewelry box and opens it.
Reaching out, Sam gently flips the charms over, reading them with a smile. "This is perfect, thank you."
"I'm pleased that we could help. And I think the mayor will enjoy this bracelet." Ginger says, as Sam puts the bracelet back into the box and then the bag.
"Do I owe you anything more?"
"No, you're all set. Thank you and please come again."
"I will. Thank you." Sam says, getting up slowly from the stool. She leaves again with Jeffrey's present and relieved that she was able to find something this quickly. She didn't want to think about how he would feel if he knew that she had actually forgotten the holiday. He would've understood. Her brain hasn't been as sharp as it was before this last trimester started. Dr. Sedgwick called it 'pregnancy brain." Sam just thought it was irritating. She was okay with work, but other things, little things would slip her mind, like today being Valentine's Day. Getting into her car, she heads for home with Jeffrey's present and a little bit of excitement over wondering what Jeffrey has done for her, for the holiday.
Jeffrey walks into the outer office. Stace is at her desk. "Where you able to order the flowers?" Jeffrey asks, standing beside her desk.
"Yes sir, they will be delivered around one this afternoon."
"Great." He says, smiling as he goes back into his office.
Sam leaves the mall with the bracelet. Getting into her car, she heads back home. Pulling in, she goes inside through the entrance from their porch. Going upstairs, she puts the bracelet in her drawer beside the bed. Jeffrey hadn't said anything about Valentine's Day, but she didn't think he would forget. It was their first one since they got back together and the first one since they married. It was important to both of them. Sitting down on the bed, she reaches for the bracelet. Fingering the charms, she thinks back to the years after Russia. She always liked Valentines days. Even if most people consider it a greeting card holiday, she liked that there was a day that celebrated loving someone.
After Russia, most of her holidays were spent pretending that they were just like any other day, save for maybe, well she guessed that all of them were meant to be spent with your family or celebrating something that had no familial connotation to it. She just couldn't muster the enthusiasm that other people had for the holidays. She liked the Fourth, Memorial Day and Labor Day, most of the time she worked however. She liked Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter and spent a few hours with Megan, her husband and the boys on those holidays, but again she worked most of them. Halloween was just another day to her. She didn't see what the fuss was about for that holiday, except for when you are a kid and after a certain point everyone outgrows dressing up and asking strangers for candy. She looks at the bracelet as she lays her hand on her stomach. "I hope it's easier for you, little one. I hope you're as excited for the Fourth as you are for Christmas, and for Easter as you are for Halloween and every holiday in between. I missed out on a lot of things that kids got to do growing up. I promise that unless I think it's going to hurt you, I'll let you try it at least once." She still sitting on her bed when the doorbell rings. "Crap." She whispers, putting the bracelet away quickly. She waddles to the stairs and down them, holding on to the hand rail. She's halfway down them when the bell rings again. "Hold on, I'm coming." She calls out, waddling her way down the remaining steps and to the front door. Peeking outside, she sees a delivery man on the other side. She opens the door. "May I help you?" She asks.
"Mrs. O'Neill?" The man asks.
"Yes."
"I have delivery for you." He replies, holding out a small hand held device. "If you'll sign this I'll bring it in."
"Okay, thank you." Sam says, signing her name before she hands the device back to the man.
"I'll be right back." He says, turning away. He comes back a few moments later carrying two huge bouquets of red roses. "Where would you like them, ma'am?"
"Put them on the table in the living room, Thank you." Sam says, as the man walks over to the table and sits them down. She reaches for her purse and pulls out some cash. She handles it to him when he reaches her. "Thank you and you be careful. Happy Valentine's day."
"Thank you and the same to you." The man says, smiling as he walks out and she closes the door.
She walks over to the table and eases down into the couch. She looks at the flowers and smiles. It's cliché she knows, but there is something about getting flowers on the Valentine's Day that simply makes a woman smile. She soon realizes that these are more than simple bouquets of roses. She thinks there are more than a dozen in each vase. Sitting up, she looks at each of them until she spots the note attached to one of the vases, pulling it out, she opens it.
Beca,
I know you're going to think this bouquet is slightly cliché, but what is Valentine's Day without flowers from your husband. I love you so much so each of the flowers represents the years we've been together, including the time after Russia, because even though we weren't together I loved you then as much as I love you now. Actually I love you more now. I'll be home by five. We're going out and then we'll come home and we'll celebrate some more.
Love you Always,
Jeffrey.
Smiling, she reaches up a wipes away the tears from her eyes. Leaning in, she takes a deep breath.
Billy lights the last candle on the table. Stepping back, he looks the table over as the doorbell rings. He takes a moment to make sure everything is in place before he goes to the door. Opening it, he smiles as Stace steps in. He takes her coat and purse, laying it on the table by the door as he reaches for her. "Hi darlin." He says, as she lays her head on his chest. Over the years, he has missed this intimacy with a woman. It's part of what he loves most about being with Stace. Her willingness to let him hold her even if there isn't a problem. "Did you have a rough day?"
"No, it was a fairly easy. Jeffrey had meetings with a couple councilmen. How was your day?" She asks, as they step back and she sees what he's wearing. "I thought we were staying in tonight." She says, taking in his suit and tie.
"We are." He replies, taking her hand and leading her into the living room. "Everything at work is going fine. The site is on schedule. Josh is handling the take back of Lewis Oil. And my other brother is busy being mayor and my kids seem to be doing fine." Billy says, with a smile.
She sits down as a he reaches for a bottle that's cooling on the coffee table. "Billy, you…."
"It's sparkling cider." He says, pouring them both a glass. "I've been sober again for a while and I don't plan on going off the wagon again. Lizzie runs the bar that I own with Jonathan and Olivia isn't even in Springfield anymore and can't come back to town for a very long time if ever, so I'm alright." He says, leaning in to kiss her.
""Alright, but why are we drinking sparkling cider before dinner."
"Well, we're celebrating. We've been going out for a few months now."
"Just over six months now." She says, taking a sip of the cider
"Okay, just over six months. And it is Valentine's Day." He holds up his hand to stop her from saying anything. "I know you're not all into this holiday, especially since your ex sort of ruined every one of them for you. And I know that most couples go out tonight, but I wanted to spend tonight with you, here. I cooked us dinner."
"You cooked us dinner." She asks skeptically.
"Well, I cooked one of the two meals that I can cook." He says, after he takes a swallow of the cider, almost with the expectation that it would bolster his confidence. "I went to the grocery store and I picked out two steaks for us." He lays a finger against her mouth again. "I made sure that were lean and I can have red meat, just in moderation."
"Okay, so that's true and I can't expect an Oklahoma cowboy to give up red meat." She says, leaning in to kiss him. Sitting back, she looks at him. "It just weird to see you dressed like that while we're at home." She says, as he adjusts his tie.
"I wanted to look nice for the occasion. And a lot of women would try to get me to give up red meat."
"And all of them would fail, am I right."
"Yes."
"So, what else did you make?"
"Umm, I baked potatoes on the grill with the steaks. I got ribeye's for both of us. And I made a salad, just a simple one of lettuce and tomatoes, but I bought that dressing that you like and I got my usual, although I got a low fat version."
"And how much salt did you put on everything, because…."
"I didn't salt anything." He says, as she looks at him. "I didn't but it's on the table and I won't promise that I won't use a little bit, moderation remember."
"Alright, so is it ready to eat?"
"It is, but you have to close your eyes." He says, as she looks at him. "Please."
Closing her eyes, he helps her to stand up. He leads her through the living room to the dining room that's off the kitchen. When they reach the dining room, he walks around behind her and then wraps his arms around her. The table is set with a simple two place setting arrangement but instead of being opposite of each other they are sitting side by side. In the center of the table is a bouquet of red and pink roses. He had to do something to make it a traditional Valentine's Day dinner. Two candles on either side of the bouquet give the room a romantic glow. To the side and within Billy's reach is a small remote control. It controls the stereo in the living room that would allow him to play music softly in the background. The table is covered with a white linen table cloth. The plates are white china. It was actually his mother's china. He had kept it for Mindy but it wasn't her style really. He looks over the room quickly before he says. "You can open your eyes."
Slowly she opens them and looks around. After a few moments she whispers. "Oh my, this is beautiful." She turns around and kisses him.
He pulls away and then takes her hand. "Have a seat and I'll be right back with our dinner." He pulls out her chair and then helps her get settled before he goes into the kitchen. Taking the food out of the warmer he comes back to the table with it. It's a couple of trips later before he settles into his seat and she smiles as he sits down beside her.
"Thank you." She says, looking at him.
"You're welcome." He says, smiling as she picks up her knife and fork. They settle in to eat. Before they get two far along, the room fills with soft Jazz and she looks at him. He holds up the remote with a smile. Nodding, they both go back to eating. When they are finished, he says. "Go into the living room and I'll put these away."
"I can help."
"I know but I won't be long, please." He asks, looking at her.
"Okay." She says, as he gets up. He helps her up and then kisses her before he lets her go back into the living room.
Quickly he clears the table and puts the food away. While he's in the kitchen, he takes a deep breath. He may appear calm on the outside, but in truth he's a little bit scared. Reaching into this pocket, he closes his hand around the ring. It seems to settle his nerves as Stace calls out. "Billy are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He says, as he leave the kitchen, flipping off the light as he goes. "I was making sure everything was put away." He says, walking up to her. She's sitting on the couch again when he walks up. He holds his hand out as he asks. "May I have this dance?"
She looks up and smiles as she puts her hand in his and he helps her up and into his arms. He pulls her in close. Holding on to her as they move slowly to the music playing. "Didn't think you liked this type of music." She says, moving closer and laying her head on his chest.
"I'm learning to like different things, and learning a lot from you." He says, lightly kissing the top of her head. "I love you, you know that."
"I know, and I love you too. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm more than fine actually." He says, pulling back to smile at her.
"You seem nervous and a little on edge."
"I'm fine. I just have something on my mind." He says, pulling her back against him.
After a little bit, she asks. "Are you going to share what's on your mind?"
"Yes." He replies, still leading her through another dance.
"Well." She asks after another few minutes passes.
He steps back so that he can see her. "I'm not…." He looks away.
"Are you breaking…?"
"No Darlin, no of course not. I'm not breaking up with you." He says, taking her hand and leading her back to the couch. He sits down and she follows him. "Wow, I don't remember this being this hard." He says, looking out the window.
"What's so hard?" She asks, still trying to figure out what's going on with him.
He looks at her and then says. "You said earlier that we've been together for just over six months."
"Yes." She says, as he nods.
She opens her mouth to say something and he says. "I think we should take our relationship to the next level."
"I thought we had already done that." She says, as he smiles, seeing the spark of desire in her eyes.
"No, that's not what I'm talking about. Although I enjoy that part of our relationship. I was thinking more along the lines of something more permanent than just dating or being boyfriend and girlfriend." He says, sticking his leg out. She watches as he reaches into his pocket. His hand closes around the box with the ring. He draws it out and holds his hand out. Extending her hand, he lays the box down in her open hand. "Will you marry me Stace?" He asks, flipping the box open so that she can see the ring.
"Oh, wow." She says, staring at the ring. "I…."
"Is that Oh wow yes, or oh wow how do I tell him no?" Billy asks, his nerves rising with each passing second.
"No, it's oh wow I was not expecting this." She says, looking up at him.
"You don't want to take…."
"No, no, I mean yes I want to get married again and I want to be your wife."
"But?"
"We've only dated six months."
"How long did you date your ex?" Billy asks, watching her.
"Almost a year and then we were engaged for another year before we actually got married." She says, looking at him. "And you are so much more than he could ever be, or had been. You love me. You protect me and take care of me and I love you, so yes. Yes I will marry you Billy Lewis." She says, wrapping her arms around his neck as he moves in to kiss her.
Wrapping her up in a tight hug, he holds her against him while they kiss. She reaches for his tie, pulling it free. She begins unbuttoning his shirt. She gets a couple undone before he breaks the kiss and comes back to reality. "Not here." He says, moving back.
"We've never done this, here."
"Another time, tonight I'm going to take my time and love you like the lady you are." He says, moving to get up.
"Could you do one thing before we do the other?" She asks, looking up at him.
"What's that?" He asks, watching her.
She holds up the box. "Put this on my finger."
Laughing he takes the box and pulls the ring out. Reaching for her left hand, he slips the ring onto her finger and then leans down and kisses it and then her hand before he pulls her up against him. Bending his knees, he sweeps her up into his arms and carries her upstairs while she nibbles on the side of his neck.
Promptly at five, Jeffrey walks through the door. Sam is waiting for him. "Hi." He says, closing the door as she takes his briefcase.
"You let me sleep in today." She says, putting the briefcase on the table by the door as Jeffrey takes his coat off and reaches to hang it up.
When he's finished he turns to her. "Yes I did." He says, slipping his arms around her . "You were restless last night."
"I sort of got onto Leah when I woke up."
"Didn't you get the note? I left one on the counter in the kitchen."
"When I woke up and realized I was late, I didn't go into the kitchen. I went straight downstairs."
"I guess I should've put it by our bed."
"Have you seen any patients today?"
"No, Leah covered for my while I ran some errands. She's going to be covering for me after this week anyway."
"You're going on maternity leave."
"Yes, it's getting to the point where I can't get around as quickly as I was and I'm tired before mid-morning anyway. I didn't say anything to her this morning but I will tomorrow and I'll let the Reese know as well, so that she can let the patients know when they call for an appointment."
"I'm glad you're going to go with Dr. Sedgwick's suggestion to take the maternity leave. I think we both need it, just so that we can get ready for him." Jeffrey says, laying his hand on her stomach.
She leans up to kiss him. "You said something in your note with the flowers, and thank you for them, but you said something about us going out tonight."
"Yes. But first before we get ready to go and since I didn't see you this morning, Happy Valentine's day Beca." He says, drawing her closer and kissing her again.
She deepens the kiss for several seconds before he pulls away and smiles. "Do you need the shower?"
"Umm, no. I took one this afternoon after I got back from my errands."
"I do, so I think we'll both go upstairs and while you're getting ready, I'll get a shower."
"Okay." She says, releasing him. He follows her up the stairs. And when they reach their bedroom, she asks. "Where are we going tonight?"
"Towers, we have a reservation for six forty five."
"Okay." They both walk into the closet. He pulls his tie free and off. Dropping it to the floor as she stop. "J, come on." She says, looking at the tie. He looks down and then at her and smiles sheepishly as he bends over and picks it up. Dropping it in the hamper before he continues to strip. She watches him, not only to make sure that he doesn't drop anything and leave it on the floor but mostly because she likes to watch him undress. He looks at her with another smile. "You know we could just skip the reservation and stay in."
"And what would be eat?"
"I can cook…."
"Not tonight, you're taking the night off and we're going out and then we'll come back home and we'll celebrate some more." He says, walking over to her in only his boxers.
"You're not convincing me like that." She says, wrapping her arms around him. He leans in and kisses her. "And that's definitely not convincing me that we should go out." She says, as he smirks.
"I want to show my beautiful wife off. And I want this holiday to be the best Valentine's Day we've had since we've been together and it will be. We missed so many of these opportunities even before Russia, I'm not missing this one."
"Now that convinced me." She says, kissing his quickly before she lets him go. "Go shower and shave. I'll be ready when you are."
"I doubt…."
"If you want this night to end like you have planned, I wouldn't finish that statement if I were you." She says, as he smiles. Leaving her alone to shower.
Forty five minutes later, they are leaving. When the reach Towers, they catching the elevator with a couple of other couples, they nod to them as they all settle in for the ride and while they wait in line, They're about five minutes early for their reservation and are quickly seated at a private table like Jeffrey asked for. All through dinner, they watch the rest of restaurant while they eat. A couple of councilmen stop to speak with them but for the most part they are left alone. After dinner, Jeffrey pays for the meal and then helps Sam with her chair. Placing his hand on her back he guides her through the restaurant. Nodding to different people but not stopping until they spot William and Ava.
When they reach their table, William looks up as they walk up. "Jeffrey, Sam."
"Dad." Ava says, she moves to get up but Jeffrey stops her. Knowing it's probably just as hard for her to stand as it is for Sam.
"Hi, sweetheart. Happy Valentine's day to both of you." He says, as Sam nods.
"Same to you, how are you doing?" Ava asks, looking at Sam.
"I'm starting my maternity leave next week but other than that I'm good."
"Mine started this week and I'm already bored." Ava says, as Sam nods her head.
"Come by the house and we'll pass the time together." Sam says, as Ava nods.
"I will, thank you." Ava says.
Jeffrey hugs her again, followed by Sam and then she hugs William after Jeffrey shakes his hand before they leave. When they get downstairs, he hands the valet the ticket for his car and then they step to the side to wait. While they are waiting he slips his arms around her, holding her close to him with his hands on her stomach with hers laying on top of him. He nuzzles the side of her neck as she smiles. Neither on notices the photographer in the car across from the hotel. He snaps several candid shots of them. The final one being of Sam turning her head and kissing him in a deep and prolonged kiss.
Neither one back away until the valet pulls up with Jeffrey's car. Opening the car door, the valet gets out as Jeffrey pulls back from the kiss. "Have a good night, Mr. Mayor." The valet says, smiling as Jeffrey nods, as he slips him some cash for a tip.