Finally, finally an update. I really apologize. Writer's block along with crazy busy-ness and life changes. I tried, really I did. This chapter is still not what I'd like it to be: nothing pivotal really but there is some fluff and its not a bad read.

Chapter 29

The Boots and Tails Ball

Dick looked up just as Kori appeared, pausing briefly before preparing to descend the stairs. No double take this time, it was as if Dick knew when Kori would be there, as if he knew the exact moment that she would arrive. He saw her in that stunning white gown and the rest of the world slipped away; she was by far the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He halted briefly, processing what he was seeing before ascending the stairs to greet his date, his love.

Kori paused and began to scan the crowd of formally dressed attendees of the ball for her date. She was relieved when almost immediately she caught sight of Dick, who was already walking up the stairs toward her.

It was a warm hug and a simple kiss on the lips, nothing particularly out of place for the setting, but the looks on their faces gave away that this was no ordinary couple. She was offered his arm which she gladly accepted. They walked down the stairs and strode side by side into the ballroom.

Dick stopped briefly at the edge of the dance floor on the way to their table.

Kori spoke first. "Richard, I am so sorry I was delayed this long. I did try to let you know more precisely when I was arriving but when I called I got the voice mail."

With the need to travel separately up to the horse show, Kori had originally intended to take Amtrak up to Philadelphia but a derailing stopped the northbound trains so she had to drive. She had been further delayed when she hit Memorial Day Weekend traffic. She had spoken to Dick a few times updating her schedule and they made the decision that she would check into her room at the Devon Inn, change for the ball and meet Dick, Bruce and Selina there.

"I'm so sorry, its my fault. I left my phone at the apartment," Dick told her, feeling a bit embarrassed about forgetting it. He had been uncharacteristically scattered, so excited about being with Kori.

"It seemed you had no difficulty finding me once I got here," she said in a smile.

How did I know she was here?

There had been no real way to gauge her exact arrival time because of the Memorial Day traffic and he had been at the affair from the beginning of it, nearly two hours before, with her unable to reach him. Somehow he knew exactly when to excuse himself from the table where he had been sitting with Bruce and the others, knowing when she was getting there.

"No, I didn't. You look absolutely stunning by the way." He leaned back a bit, eyeing her appreciatively.

"Thank you," Kori said, feeling her checks flush, "and you like quite handsome yourself."

"Thank you, dear heart." Kori's blush deepened with the endearment. "I imagine you'd want to do the proper thing and say hello to Bruce and Selina first," and then Dick continued in a slightly huskier tone, "but I can't wait to take you out onto the dance floor."

With that, things felt even less real to Kori than when she first saw Dick that evening. She felt light and tingly, things in her periphery less clear than usual, her concentration and her awareness limited to Dick and perhaps to a lesser degree, to herself.

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The time up to their trip had been busy for both Dick and Kori. So busy, in fact, that except for one Saturday night, they really hadn't been on a single date. They spoke at least once a day, making plans for their trip, and saw each other at work - Karen conveniently needed Kori to staff on the days that Dick worked, much to their delight.

Dick had of course been busy with work and getting the horses ready for the show. He had actually offered to take on a couple of extra hospital shifts to make up for his week off.

Another thing that had been on Dick's mind was Barbara. She seemed alright for the most part, no obvious signs of drug use, but Dick was worried about her and was sure to keep tabs on her regularly at Kori's behest. Therefore, Dick made sure to talk to her every few days to see how she was doing, which he was concerned Babs might be misinterpreting. Babs had, however, found a new love interest, but it wasn't making things easier on Dick: Babs began dating Xavier Red. He never liked the guy, and Babs had actually been his patient - Red did her nose – and had certainly been prescribing her painkillers, at least at some point. And Babs and Red were going up to the horse show with them. Great, just great. Babs had only gotten into the social scene revolving around the horse show because of Dick. He hadn't given it much thought that she would insinuate herself into the situation, but Babs had gone directly to Bruce about sitting in this box at the show grounds and sitting at their table at the ball. At least Babs and Red were only planning to attend the ball and the Grand Prix, although that was subject to change. But still, Dick wished life was not so complicated.

Dick decided he should discuss Babs with Bruce for two reasons: First, because Babs and Red were going to join them for some of the events at Devon, and second, that Bruce and Bab's father, Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, were long time friends. Dick had filled in Bruce with all the details of Barbara's behavior at the polo match and the information she had shared with him about her Percocet use. Bruce, forever the diplomat, encouraged maintaining open lines of communications, but mostly a watch and wait approach. "Don't do anything to upset her, stay supportive," Bruce had said. Dick was not at all surprised.

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Prior to their trip Kori as well was working more than usual, and spending much of her free time shopping for the trip, having decided to spoil herself a bit. In addition to getting ready for the ball, Kori set out to make sure she had a variety of outfits to wear to the sessions of the show itself, knowing that she would have to dress up a bit especially for the evening events that they would watch from the seats of Bruce's box.

She had a great time shopping. Karen proved to be an enthusiastic shopping partner . The Mall of shopping was absolutely not Rachel's scene and Tara was too much of a tomboy to enjoy looking for women's finery.

On their final trip, after finding some very nice spring separates and dresses, Karen and Kori stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the mall.

"Thank you so much for coming with me Karen, I believe I have gotten everything I need." Kori said, excited to have everything that was needed.

"Oh no you haven't!" Karen countered, "we haven't gotten any new lingerie!"

Kori must have turned beet red. "Uh..."

Karen went on, "You do want to have some new things to show Dick, some lacy and satiny things. I bet you'd look gorgeous in a corset! There's a new corset shop here and there's always Victoria Secret."

Kori remained stunned, speechless. I guess she does not realize that Richard and I have not....

"What's wrong Kori?"

"It's just that, uh," Kori's eyes dropped to her lap as she twisted her fingers.

"Oh, oh," Karen put the pieces together, much to Kori's relief. She wasn't clueless that Kori was fairly conservative, it had slipped her mind. "Well, never hurts to pick up a few new unmentionables. You can always put'em away for later."

Kori looked up, blushing a bit, "Well, it could not hurt to just look."

"That's the spirit!"

After lunch, Karen and Kori ended up going to both stores. They giggled a lot at some of the more outrageous items at the corsetiere but each found things to buy at each store.

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Kori and Dick deposited Kori's bag and wrap at the table and exchanged pleasantries with Bruce and Selina, Barbara and Xavier. It was the first time Kori had met Selina and had only met Bruce briefly at the Tamaranian Embassy a number of weeks before. Ironically enough it was Barbara and Xavier that she knew the best. Dick also introduced Kori to the other people they were sitting with, friends of Bruce's from the Philadelphia area.

"If you'll excuse us, I have already asked this young lady to dance, we'll be back shortly," Dick said to the table, leading Kori onto the dance floor. He softly said in Kori's ear as they walked, "I know that was a tad rude, but we've never gotten the chance to dance before, and I have really been looking forward to it."

"As have I."

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"You weren't kidding when you told me Dick was head over heels for Kori. Most grooms don't look at their brides like that on their wedding day. Dick really loves her," Selina said a bit in awe to Bruce and Barbara. Xavier had wandered off, again.

The look on Barbara's face tried to betray her feelings, but Selina was not fooled, seeing Babs grinding her teeth a bit. She said softly to her friend, so that Bruce couldn't hear, "Oh Babs, I'm sorry... You aren't really upset are you?"

"To be honest Selina, I was thinking lately that Dick and I would end up together. Knowing Dick, its probably just a short term thing with Kori anyway." Babs was trying to sound like she believed it, but seeing the look on Dick's face, she knew he loved Kori. She was pretty sure Dick had never looked at her like that, even at the height of their relationship, and that hurt.

Selina decided to let it drop, she had heard from Bruce that Dick and Kori were close, that they were together almost daily from the time they started going out, but in no way knew all the details.

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Again, nothing really out of the ordinary – a beautiful couple dancing fluidly, not too close. In fact their bodies were in a classic dancing position: Richard's right hand was on Kori's back, Kori's left hand on Richard's shoulder, his left hand clasping her right. Beyond leaning in a bit to hear the other speak, their faces weren't particularly close.

Kori wanted to relax a bit and be closer to Dick, but she always erred on the side of caution. She didn't want to make any social faux pas. Her ballroom experience was actually as royalty, as a child princess, and fell into the formal, open position easily. She was relaxed, not at all stiff, but did not make any attempt to close the distance between them.

Dick was at first confused by how formal Kori was dancing, but knew her well enough to know she was being careful, not wanting to appear unusual in public. She always reinforced how Dick made her feel comfortable and explained things carefully. She had also shared with him a few of the 'highlights' of social missteps she had made throughout her time in America. He knew that she would ask him for clarification if she felt the need. Dick was for his part happy to dance that way. He was generally not one for public displays of affection, especially in formal social situations. He also felt very connected and close to Kori as it was.

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The ball was winding down and Kori and Richard had continued to dance most of the rest of the night. Kori had gotten a chance to dance with Bruce and Xavier and Dick had danced with both Selina and Barbara. Dick did his best to contain any jealousy; fortunately Xavier had been surprisingly well behaved and Kori appeared comfortable although not exactly happy dancing with Red.

After the last song, the band was applauded by the remaining attendees. Bruce, Selena, Xavier and Barbara had already left, but Kori and Dick had remained on the dance floor.

They collected Kori's bag and wrap from the deserted table. Dick offered Kori his arm and they walked out into the warm air of that late May evening.

"Richard, thank you for such a wonderful evening."

"You are very welcome and thank you for coming with me." Dick slipped his arm around Kori's waist as they walked out to Kori's car.

"Because I have my car, and you have been, as they say, abandoned by Bruce, why do I not take you back to the apartment on my way back to the hotel?" she said lightly.

"Kory, I insist on seeing you back to your hotel tonight," he said in a serious tone.

"Richard...." she paused, and then consented, "that would be wonderful."

"I'll just grab a cab a little later."

"You can take my car if you would prefer. I planned on attending Mass with Selina so I am sure we can retrieve my car afterwards."

"Just as long as I get a proper kiss goodnight," he said in the low husky voice that thrilled her, but in this case made her nervous.

The Devon Hotel was not far from where the ball was held, so the ride was short. Once in the car, Dick could not take his eyes off Kori. Kori did her best to concentrate on driving. She wasn't sure what to expect when they got back to the hotel. She trusted Richard of course, as for herself...

They arrived at the small elegant hotel and took the elevator to the top floor penthouse suite that Richard had arranged for her, Kori's arm hooked through Richard's. He was glad she had the penthouse. No one other than Kori and the hotel staff had access to that floor, utilizing a special key card. For some reason he just felt better that she was safe.

Kori opened the door. Once inside, they stood in a little sitting area right inside the room looking into each other's eyes. Rather than the kiss she was expecting, Dick pulled her into the formal stance they shared all evening while they danced.

"Kori, may I have one more dance?"

"Certainly, Richard," she said softly, feeling her knees grow weak, "Let me turn on the radio." She smiled shyly and walked over to the radio by the bed. From her days living in the area, she remembered where the Jazz station was on the dial and tuned it in, keeping the volume fairly low.

"Where were we?" she said giving him a coy smile.

Dick pulled Kori back into position and they began to dance. After maybe half a minute, he pulled her closer, their bodies flush again each other. Their lips were only inches away when he said to her in that husky tone, "I've literally had you at arms length all night, wanting so much to be closer."

With their eyes locked, Kori put her arms around Dick's neck as his left hand joined his right in the small of her back. He opened his hands and splayed his fingers, beginning to knead the skin of her back gently and leaned in for a kiss.

One of Dick's arms went up onto her neck while the other wrapped around her waist pulling her very close as the kiss continued. Kori realized quickly that Dick was letting her set the pace, waiting for her to deepen the kiss. She was happy to, but was careful not to get carried away with the new freedom she felt being away from Galfore and the embassy. So she continued to dance with him while kissing, close, intimate but the passion was for the most part restrained.

Dick wanted nothing more than to continue to kiss her, deepening the kiss and then picking Kori up bridal style, laying her onto the bed and settling his weight over her, letting nature take its course. He knew that was far too much for their first night away 'together'. He cared for her too deeply to apply anything remotely akin to pressure and was not going to take the lead in this unless she asked him to. And even then, he probably wouldn't, not at this point. He knew that she had been saving herself for marriage, and he was not prepared to take that from her.

After another song, the radio station went into commercial break and their kiss broke. Dick put his forehead onto hers, and smiled at her.

"I guess I better get going then," he said, knowing that was what he should do, at least for tonight.

"Yes, I suppose you should," she replied with a sad smile.

"Thank you again so much for coming up here to be with me." Dick brought a hand up to Kori's face and began to stroke her cheek with his finger gently.

"Thank you for asking me and for sharing this part of your life with me," a bit overwhelmed by the tenderness of their exchange.

"I want to share every part of my life with you Kori. I love you."

"I love you too."

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Thank you for reading and please review! I know its another sappy chapter, things will get more complicated soon, much less smooth sailing.

Thank you everyone for your support and patience. I am still working on the final chapter of Lavaliere, but it should be up soon!

September 11, 2001 - Let us Never Forget!

LJ