A/N: This is a little one shot about Mel and Roman's relationship. It is dedicated to Melinda Faith Halliwell.
Ten seconds that was how long it took for Mel to decide she wanted to kiss Roman. Once she had called him over to her it was all over she didn't have the willpower to keep her hands off of him after that. Every thought that had been running through her mind about her brothers killing them both just stopped when she pressed her lips to his. She knew in that moment she had found the man she wanted to kiss for the rest of her life.
She admitted that maybe it had been a tad bit cliché when he asked her what she and she had replied that she needed him. Her first time with him rocked her world to the point she saw stars dancing in front of her eyes. Only after she recovered from that experience did she stop to think that maybe her actions had been a little over the top. But he hadn't minded and that night they had gone from being like siblings to being lovers.
That good feeling had lasted about a day. Because it only took only a matter of hours for her world to be shattered. When she heard that Roman had died she was beside herself with grief. Somehow she had managed to not let it show in front of her family. Part of her died inside and she knew that she would never be able to love anyone the way that she had loved him.
Looking back she had been a little rough with him when he turned up alive. Slapping him wasn't the nicest thing she could have done to show him how she felt about him. But in her defense he had pissed her off and scared the hell out of her. She more than made up for it with the way she had kissed him afterwards.
Her mom had shocked her when she had been totally cool with her and Roman seeing each other. For a while she had been scared to let Roman out of her sight she ever wanted to feel the way she had felt when she thought he was dead ever again. So they had spent the first few weeks of their relationship together in bed. They were a little more vocal they should have been with his sister living in the apartment next to him. But they had a damn good time together.
From the start their relationship had been strong there was not much that could shake the bond they had. So she had been more than a little hurt and pissed off when he forgot their two month anniversary. Really to be fair he hadn't blew her off for something stupid he had just been trying to find out what happened to him.
She had been pissed beyond words with him for a whole day. But what pissed her off more was that she had, had a demon in her head telling her not to trust him all day. Despite the fact that she had been mad at him he was the one who had saved her from Ken. All it took was Ken calling her Mellie and it brought her out from under his spell. Roman was the only person she ever let call her that. He had been the reason she held on to life so hard after Ken had stabbed her. She had told herself she had to make so she could tell him that she forgave him.
His arms had never felt so good wrapped around her as they did after Andy and Sam had healed her. That was really the moment that she knew she was in love with him. Being in love with him wasn't always easy. And she knew that she had made loving her very difficult after her run in with Ken. But he had stood by her without question he loved her that much. He even tried to fight less with her cousin Prue and that sure wasn't easy. Especially when Prue said things like "I have a problem with you saying that to him. He is a level five moron and it has been widely rumored that you're the one who taught him how to read." That had been her response to Mel telling him he was a genius.
Mel just didn't know what else to say about him other than she loved him with all of her heart at only eighteen years old.
Roman wasn't scared of much but the night that Mel had called him over to her in the kitchen at Charmed he had been terrified. Melinda Paige Halliwell was one hell of a woman and he was scared she would be too much woman for him to handle. The first time she pressed her lips to his he had saw fireworks go off.
Their first time together had truly taught him the meaning of magical. Sure he had practiced magic his whole life but that was nothing compared to the feeling he got being with Mel. The week he had spent without her when he had been kidnapped was the worst week of his life. He had been terrified that he was never going to see her again.
The night he got rescued she had surprised the hell out of him when she slapped him and then turned around and kissed him. He chalked it up to the craziness he had to endure for being in love with a Halliwell woman. Being with her pretty much meant being with her whole family but they were like his family too. He didn't just have to win her mom over he had to win her aunts over. It hadn't been that hard they loved him anyway.
In the first weeks of their relationship Mel had spent more time at his apartment than she had at home. It got to the point that he didn't have any shirts because she had worn them all home. He would readily admit to their first major fight being his fault. He had been so caught up in trying to find out what happened to him that he had forgotten about her.
He had never known true terror in his life until he found out that Mel had been kidnapped by Ken. He was so afraid that he wasn't going to get a chance to tell her how sorry he really was for forgetting their anniversary. He hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath worried about her until he saw that she was fine and he wrapped his arms around her.
His heart actually melted when she told him that he had been the one to save her because she was his Mellie and no one else's. He would also admit that the two months following her ordeal with Ken it had been very difficult to love her. But for him he had no other choice in the matter he had his heart in her back pocket and he was powerless to get it back.
He knew that he loved her when he saw their future son. R.J. looked exactly like Mel and he knew that he didn't want to have babies with anyone but her. He wanted to wake up to her every morning and go to bed with her every night.
Roman and Mel had been together four years when he took the next logical step and proposed to her. She had said yes without a moment's hesitation and made him the happiest man on the face of the earth. Their wedding was a simple and thankfully demon free affair. Neither would ever forget the vows the other had said.
Roman had trouble finding his voice when it was time to say the vows he had practiced so many times he could say them in his sleep. "Mel from the moment you kissed me I knew that there was no way I would be able to spend the rest of my life without you. You have been what has got me through some of the tough times we have faced and I thank God every day that I have you by my side. You are my lover and my best friend I can't imagine marrying anyone but you. Melinda Paige Halliwell I love you with all my heart and I always will."
Mel stared soulfully into his eyes when it was time for her to say her vows. "Roman James Nicolae I never knew love until I started dating you. You opened up feelings in me that I never knew existed. You are the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. I get this empty feeling inside whenever you're not around. You are the only man I ever want to have babies with and you're the last person I ever want to kiss. You are my other half without you I am not complete."
When they shared their first kiss as husband and wife it was like time stopped and they were the only two people in the church. When he looked into her eyes he could see his future there.
"Roman I swear to God you are never touching me again after this." Mel yelled at him when she was giving birth to their first son. She didn't mean it because she didn't know how she would live without him by her side.
Roman didn't take it to heart he knew that she didn't mean it. The first time the doctor placed his son in his arms he knew that his life had turned out the way he always dreamed it would. "Look what we did momma." He said when he laid R.J. on her chest.
Mel looked up at him with tears in her eyes "He is so perfect just like his daddy."
Roman shook his head at her "No he is perfect just like you are. He is the best thing I have ever done."
"Me too I love you both so much Ro." Mel said reaching up to kiss him.
R.J. was followed by two more boys and girl. Leo, Noah, and Grace Halliwell. Roman had wanted them to take their mother's name because it was both feared and respected.
Roman woke up thanking God every day that his sons had gotten their mother's height he wasn't short but he wasn't tall either he had lived his life being made fun of for being so short. Mel always assured him that he was just the right size for her.
"Roman I just don't know if I can do this any more. I don't know that our marriage is worth saving. All we do is fight all the time and outside of Gracie you don't realize you have three other children." Mel yelled at him they were in their tenth year of marriage and the fights were coming more and frequently.
"Mel I don't know how you can say that I love all four of our kids. And I love you with all of my heart. I don't know what more you want me to do." Roman yelled right back at her.
Mel rolled her eyes at him and sighed "Roman I know that you believe that but you spend more and more time at work. The kids miss and I miss the man that I married. So here is what I am going to do I'm going to my mom's house and I'm taking the kids with me. When you decide that we are more important to you than your job I'll think about coming back." She said calmly.
Roman felt hot tears spring to his eyes "Mel you can't do that to me you and those kids are my life. I don't care about the restaurant that only means something to me because you were the one who helped me build it from the ground up. I would be nothing without you and our babies I can't live without you." he pleaded with her.
Mel leaned in and kissed him "If that is how you feel then prove it to me. Me and the kids will be at the manor tonight. I think you need to sleep alone just to see what you are giving up by acting the way you are right." She collected the kids and packed up the car.
Roman dropped down to his knees and cried after she left. He didn't know what else to do so he went to the cabinet and pulled out the bottle of whiskey he kept there. He spent the next three days drunk. On his fourth morning alone he woke up and looked at himself in the mirror he knew that he had to go get his family back he didn't like the man he was without them. He had no other reason to live.
Mel was beside herself without Roman she didn't know that when she left he wouldn't come after her right away. She felt like there was a huge hole in her heart without him. But she had to carry on for her kids. She wanted so badly to go to him and make things right but her pride wouldn't let her.
Sitting at the kitchen table at the manor she had never seen a more beautiful sight than her husband walking in the side door. He looked like hell but she didn't care. She ran to him and threw herself in his arms she wrapped her legs around her waist and kissed him like she had never kissed him before.
It was hard for Roman to keep his balance with her in his arms but he didn't let that stop him. He held onto her for dear life he didn't want to let go but he finally had to.
"Listen I'm sorry." They both said when he sat her on her feet.
"No Mel you were right I spend entirely too much time at work you're a cop and you don't even work as much as I do. I don't want you to feel like I'm neglecting you or the kids ever again." Roman said tears falling from his eyes.
Mel had tears running down her face too "I love you Ro don't be such a dip shit in the future. If you are I might actually believe the things that Prue says about you are true."
"I love you too baby and I'm begging you don't ever tell Prue that she is right about anything." Roman replied just like that they fell back into the grove like they had never had a fight.
The first time that R.J. decided to stay out past curfew Mel was pacing the floor like crazy while Roman tried to calm her.
"I swear Roman when that boy gets home he isn't leaving here without one of us with him for a month." Mel seethed R.J. would always be her baby boy because he was their first child.
"Mel calm down I'm sure he just lost track of time or something like that. I hate to tell you this but you sounded just like Aunt Piper when you said that." Roman tried getting a smile out of her and he succeeded.
R.J. chose that moment to come home and instead of being smart and trying to sneak up to his room he stopped to talk to his parents "Hi mom, hi dad I didn't think you would still be up this late." He slurred out.
"Roman James Halliwell you are drunk and you scared that hell out of me. The next time you decide to drink yourself into a stupor at least call first so I know you're still alive." Mel berated him before she pulled him into a hug.
"Son just go to your room we will talk about this in the morning when you're sober." Roman ordered his first born pointing to the steps.
"I think we handled that well and we did a lot worse than that at sixteen." Mel said hugging her husband when their son had gone off to bed.
"Yeah well he is supposed to be smarter than both of us." Roman grumbled.
"If he was smarter than us he wouldn't have got caught." Mel informed him kissing him to silence him.
The first time that Grace went on a date Roman paced their living room floor like an expectant father.
"A father just shouldn't have to go through this we should be dead before our daughters are allowed to date." Roman bitched he was being just a tad bit unreasonable.
"Roman relax it is just one date and she will be lucky if one of her brothers isn't following them. Now you know how my father felt just be glad that she didn't take after me and like older men." Mel laughed at him she had never been that bad with their boys.
Roman actually breathed a sigh of relief when Grace walked in the door with a smile on her face. He was jealous that he hadn't been the man to put that smile on her face "So I take it that you had a good time." He said.
"It was amazing daddy I'm going to go call Paige right now she set me up with him." Grace bounced from her mother to her father and kissed them both.
"Baby don't worry no matter how old she gets she will always be your baby girl." Mel assured him putting her arms around him to comfort him.
Watching Noah pack up his stuff to move out of the house was hard for both Mel and Roman he was their last son at home. They still had Grace but things just seemed a lot more quiet without the boys.
"Noah I want you to have this." Roman said handing his youngest son an envelope filled with money.
"Thanks dad I can really use this you know I can't cook to save my life." Noah joked. Despite all of Roman's best efforts only Leo and Grace could cook. R.J. was like Mel he could cook when he really wanted to. But there was no hope at all for Noah he couldn't boil water without making the fire alarm go off.
"Noah I'm begging you don't burn your apartment down trying to cook. You know that you are welcome to come home for dinner every night. And you have to come at least once a week." Mel lectured him.
"I know mom don't worry so much I'll be fine it's not like R.J. and Riley don't live a floor above me. I love you, you and dad should be glad to be rid of me." Noah said kissing Mel on the cheek.
"Well now that you mention it I have been thinking about turning your room into a game room." Roman replied stroking his chin.
"Roman James you will not. Noah just be safe baby I love you so much." Mel said hugging him tight.
"I love both you guys too." Noah replied hugging his mom and dad and with that he was gone.
Roman brushed away Mel's stray tears with his thumbs "I know it never gets any easier but he will be fine he is a good boy we raised him right." He assured her.
"I know and I know that I have to get it out of my system now because when Grace leaves you're going to be a mess." Mel said drying the rest of her tears.
Roman's face fell at that he didn't want to think about his little girl leaving the nest it was too much for him to bear. "Lets not talk about that. But now that you mention it Grace isn't home right now and I can think of some pretty interesting ways for us to spend the day." He said making his eyebrows dance.
"Why Mr. Nicolae I think you're trying to seduce me and I like it. Take me to bed now or risk losing me forever." Mel told him pressing her lips to his.
Roman didn't argue with her he swept her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom. After all the years they had been married he never stopped being amazed at how she had the ability to take his breath away in the bedroom.
Grace moving out wasn't as hard on Roman as giving her away was he had watched all three of his sons get married with no problem but that was different this was his baby girl.
Mel and Roman were lying in bed one night when the phone rang it was R.J. his wife had gone into labor.
The first time Mel held her grandson she had tears in her eyes. She looked from him and then to her husband she could see everything they had gone through together. "I can not believe our baby had a baby." She told her husband.
"I know me either we're getting old babe." Roman said wrapping an arm around her.
"No you're getting old I married an older man so I would have time to remarry when you kick the bucket." Mel joked. In that moment they both knew that they really and truly had been blessed. All of this had stemmed from those ten seconds it took her to decide to kiss him.