Mike was feeling pretty proud of himself with his Valentine's present this year. They had been married for 16 years. It hadn't been an easy 16 years but they had still been some of the best years of his life.
Yes, he included the rough patches because they made him appreciate the better times they shared. Since he and Christine reunited, he'd taken shore duty which helped their marriage immensely as they had time to work through their issues, share their grief and help their daughters recover from the ordeal they had endured in his absence. He was glad they had pulled through as their family felt whole, or as whole as it could be with Lucas taken from their lives.
It was why this year, he decided to get Christine a Valentine's day present. Normally, he just made dinner for her and they had a quiet evening in. Christine didn't want presents or flowers on a commercially made holiday.
But this year, he decided she deserved to be spoiled. He cooked a lavish dinner for Christine and the girls, they watched a movie. When the girls went to bed, Mike pulled out his present for Christine and placed it on the living room table. He was excited to see her reaction but for now, he had to wait. So, while Christine was in the shower he cleaned up the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Christine came into the kitchen and snaked her arms around his torso.
"Thank you for dinner." she said.
"Anytime." Mike said, he dried his hands and turned in her arms. He lowered his head and kissed her. A tiny sound escaped her, half gasp, half whimper. She held onto him tight as she luxuriated in the kiss. After a few moments, he broke the kiss and smiled down at her.
"I got you a present for Valentine's." he said.
"Mike, you didn't have to." Christine said, but she felt a zing of excitement at being spoiled.
"I know, but I couldn't help it." he said with a cheeky shrug. They moved to the living room, Christine sat down on the couch in front of the large present. Mike gestured for her to open it, she grinned as she lifted the lid. Her grin faltered slightly as she looked inside to find nothing in the box.
"It's empty." she said.
"What?" Mike said in disbelief, he looked inside the box with a perplexed expression. "No." he said exasperated, which made her wonder what had been in the box.
"So, it's not an empty box or is it some kind of metaphor?" she asked.
"No, I got you a puppy." Mike said, spoiling the surprise as he looked under the couch and around the living room.
"You didn't seriously buy me a puppy for Valentine's Day, did you?" Christine asked with a hint of scepticism in her tone as Mike didn't like dogs.
"Well, I did but apparently he ran away." Mike said, he clearly couldn't make sense of how the puppy escaped. Christine smiled as her heart melted, he got her a puppy. A puppy that was currently missing in their house and ruining their carpet.
"He can't have gotten far. We haven't left the house and all the doors are closed." Christine said as they had to find the puppy.
"Ok, let's search room by room." Mike said, he formulated the plan. They got up from the couch and looked around the living room. They checked the laundry, their room and Courtney's. Their eldest daughter was still awake and claimed to have not opened the present in the living room. They believed her before they moved onto the bathrooms. They didn't touch Lucas' room as the door always remained closed. They didn't believe the puppy to be Houdini reborn which left Hannah's room.
They moved to their youngest daughter's room and gently pushed open the door. There in bed, Hannah curled up with Christine's puppy in her arms. Both fast asleep, Christine didn't have the heart to disturb Hannah or the puppy as they were too adorable.
"We should leave them." Christine said softly to Mike, he nodded in agreement as they retreated to their bedroom. "You got me a puppy." Christine said.
"You always wanted a dog." Mike said gruffly.
"You hate dogs." Christine reminded him.
"You love them, and I saw the little guy at the adoption drive. I don't know." he said as he gave a shrug, Christine smiled as she pushed him onto the bed and straddled his hips.
"You got all soft and mushy." she teased as she cupped his face with her hands.
"I am far from soft and mushy." he told her in a flirtatious manner, Christine chuckled as he pulled her in for a passionate kiss.