Chapter 12

Kerry pulled into her driveway around three in the morning, 'another late night' she thought, fortunately all those years working hospital hours had trained her body to get by on very little sleep.

She entered the house trying to make as little noise as possible. She made her way to the kitchen to see if there were any leftovers and was surprised to see the TV on. As she made her way over to turn it off she found Kim and Henry snuggled up on the couch together sleeping soundly. The vision of the two of them laying there sent a violent surge of love coursing through her. 'Oh boy, Weaver' she thought to herself, 'you are screwed when this week comes to an end'

Kim must have sensed someone watching her because her eyes flutter open almost immediately.

"Hey, how was it? They got everything under control? She asked

"Yeah, they cleared the surrounding neighborhoods around Midnight and started letting residents back into their homes around 2AM." Kerry answered

"How was it here? Did he give you hell?" Kerry asked nodding towards her son

"Not at all, he was a perfect gentleman" Kim very softly brushed her lips atop his head, "I always thought I didn't want kids but it turned out I just didn't want kids who weren't Henry Weaver" she joked, bringing a smile to Kerry's face.

"Did you get something to eat?" Kim asked as she struggled to get up from the couch without disturbing her cuddle mate

"Um, I was just about to heat something up, but I will put him to bed first" as she was saying that, Kim had already scooped him up and was making her way upstairs.

"I got him, eat and get some sleep. He and I already put a plan together for the morning. I will bring him to school, he said he would show me the way there, you ok if I drive your car?" she finished

"Yeah, of course. You sure you don't mind?" Kerry asked worried

"Not at all, you need to get some rest. The big game is tomorrow" she said with a grin

"Well, all we have to do is cheer, he has to do the hard stuff" Kerry said as she walked over and planted a soft kiss on Henry's head.

"You going to sleep too? Kerry asked

"Not unless you have a better offer" Kim said with a raised eyebrow.

The low, suggestive tone in her voice may Kerry blush. Unfortunately she was way past exhausted and in no condition to make her such an offer.

"I wouldn't be at my best, and I very much want to be at my best when I finally get you back into my bed. I just wanted to know if I could give you a goodnight kiss."

Kim leaned her head down to Kerry and brought her lips very close to hers "Absolutely" she said in a low voice before closing the gap. It was a modest kiss, seeing as there was a sleeping 8 year old in her arms, but it was a kiss that was meant to seal a promise of more to come. Both women understood that.

After dropping Henry off at School, Kim had decided to take advantage of having a car at her disposal to take a little time to sort through some of the feelings she was experiencing.

She loved to drive, and Kerry's Mercedes was a luxury she wasn't use too. She had always preferred a big SUV over a sports car. But this machine was made for cruising. Henry had shown her how to put the top down so she took complete advantage of the vehicles bells and whistle and tore down the interstate with the wind blowing through her hair and music blaring from the radio.

She wondered how far the University of Miami was from Kerry's home, why she wondered that, caught her off guard. 'Am I really thinking about moving across the country for a woman' she thought, 'even if it was Dr. Kerry Weaver?'

She had learned so much about her ex over the last few days, unbelievable things, and she was in awe of Kerry's accomplishments, so much so that she began to doubt herself. Questioning everything she had done in the last 10 year? All she could focus on were a few published articles, and a string of so/so relationships. 'Is that really the sum total of my life for the last decade?' she thought

Her mind was swimming in murky waters so she pulled over to the side of the road along a strip of white sandy beach. She put the top back up and locked the car securely and started to walk out to the water. Cooling her toes in the wet sand. She wasn't use to all these negative thoughts. She felt a bubble of anger rising in her gut. She was embarrassed to admit that she was angry that Kerry had managed to make such a picture perfect life for herself while she was just skating by in hers.

But then her anger quickly turned to guilt as she recounted the story Kerry told her about how she almost lost herself to grief and heartache.

She dropped to her knees, a sob chocked her as it fought for release. And this time Kim did release it, she didn't fight to hold it in, not anymore. She desperately wanted it out of her, the anger, resentment and disappointment that coated her insides all these years. There was no reason to keep blaming Kerry for her failures, those were her own and she was the one who needed to fix it, beginning with forgiving herself for the pain she inflicted on Kerry when she refused to accept her many apologies. She had always feared that she had ruined Kerry, bringing her to the precipice of a great discovery and then abandoning her to finish the journey on her own. Even with the advancements of technology and the internet Kim always resisted the temptation to look her up and see what had become of her, fearing her rejection had most likely just sent Kerry back deeper into a closet where she had languished and shrivel up.

She was embarrassed now to think she had that much power over her, when had her ego become so large she thought.

It was a relief to see that Kerry hadn't faded away, but instead rose up and met the challenges head on and did more than just survive.

It was past Noon and Kim had still not returned. Kerry wasn't too concerned though, Kim had texted her to let her know she would be a little while having to take care of some things.

Still though, Kerry was a little worried about her baby, that's what she called the Mercedes, she didn't often indulge herself but the car was an exception. She purchased it after the first book made the best sellers list. She loved that car and she didn't want any harm to come to it, Kim had a bit of a reputation when it came to driving a bit aggressively.

She was visibly relieved when she saw the car pull into her driveway unscathed. She couldn't say the same for Kim though, she looked like she had been put through the ringer.

"Hey, everything ok? Kerry asked as she met her at the front door.

"Yeah it just...can we talk?" Kim finally managed to get out.

"Sure, I made lunch come on in and sit down" Kerry was nervous and her fussing around showed it. She pulled Kim into the kitchen and placed an empty plate in front of her. She began to dish out some of the salad she had prepared, then grabbed the salmon she had made earlier and was now put to the side to cool.

"What's going on Kim are you alright, did something happen?"

Kim didn't realize how hungry she was until she saw the spread Kerry had set out and grabbed a fork to take a bite before speaking.

"This is really good, thanks Ker" she said sincerely as she continued eating "Is there anything you don't do well?" she asked

The comment came out harsher than she had meant it to taking Kerry aback.

"There are plenty of things I don't do well." Kerry snapped back

"Name one" Kim pushed

"Well, you don't see a wife do you?" Kerry spat out

Kim looked at Kerry and let out a huge laugh completely catching Kerry off guard, "No, I don't. Thank god you still suck at relationships because I was kind of hoping that you and I could work on that problem together."

Kim grabbed the napkin Kerry had laid out for her and wiped her mouth before getting up and walking over to Kerry, she pulled her into a tight bear hug. Rendering Kerry unable to move.

"I'm so sorry for everything I put you through Kerry, I was so selfish, I wanted to hurt you like you had hurt me and instead I just fucked everything up."

She pulled back and looked at Kerry "I'm sorry I never told you how much your letter really meant to me. The words you wrote were everything I had wanted to hear, I had just decided they were too late. That was so unfair of me, I want to make it up to you Kerry. I want to be better for you."

She leaned down and pulled Kerry's head up by the chin, bringing their lips together in an intense and searching kiss. Kerry let out a little moan and brought her arms up to circle around Kim's neck and pulled her in tighter to deepen the kiss.

"Hello!? Kerry? Kim? You two decent?"

"Fuck!" Kerry heard Kim mumble into her lips.

"Flora" the said in unison

They broke apart and put some distance between them, Kim walked back over to her seat at the island and continued eating.

Kerry smiled and then went off to fetch Flora who had picked up some art supplies so they could make some signs for Henry's game this afternoon.

They two had been interrupted so often this week that it didn't even seem to faze them anymore, somehow trusting the situation would eventually resolve itself. They hoped.