Kat was more than a little nervous as she approached her front door. She hoped her father hadn't heard her in the backyard securing Spock there with a bowl of water. She figured she'd rummage in the fridge after everyone went to bed for something for him to eat. She didn't want to have to go through the lengthy explanation of his presence right then. She was just too exhausted to fight at the moment.
Trudging up to the door with Patrick on her heels, she reached for the knob before he reached his hand out and stopped her.
Turning, she gave him a half smile before wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him pull her in close. It wasn't really a goodnight kiss since he would be coming right back. But he would be gone for a little while and she knew without looking that her father was watching them closely through the living room blinds. Best to make it look like a goodnight kiss at least.
She sank into him as his arms came around her and sprayed over the small of his back. His lips molded to hers in a way no one else had ever managed. It just felt right, being in his arms, the feel of his body pressing into hers, the heart-stopping sensation of his lips fitting so perfectly to her own. It all felt so, so very right.
For close to the first time since they had left Ohio, she was very glad they had come.
Taking a step back from him before the kiss turned less than chaste, she smiled up into his hazel eyes and sighed inwardly. " I love you." She breathed, letting her arms slid from his neck to rest on his shoulders.
" I love you, too." He answered, leaning in for one more kiss before stepping away from her completely. " I'll see you in half an hour."
She watched him walk down the driveway and get on his bike before opening the door and going inside. The sound of the motorcycle's rumble filled her ears as she turned to face her father.
He was leaning against the doorjamb that separated the foyer from the living room in what seemed like a casual pose. To anyone that didn't know him, they wouldn't have suspected anything was wrong with him at all. But there was tightness in his jaw and a narrowing of his eyes that gave away his emotions.
" Did you have a good time ?" He asked her, again, deceptively casual, nonchalant.
She nodded and started for the stairs. " Yes, actually I did."
" Where are you going ?" He stopped her before she put her foot on the bottom step.
" To bed." She answered, starting for it again.
" Tests." He announced nodding his head towards the kitchen. " Everything is ready in there."
" Oh, give me a break. This is getting ridiculous." She fumed as she obediently turned in the other direction.
" My house, my rules." Walter announced.
It didn't take her as long as she thought it would to get through the battery of tests and questions from her father. He seemed fairly satisfied when she finally managed to get away from him and make her way up the stairs.
The shower, while quick, still felt wonderful and refreshing, giving her tired muscles a much needed rejuvenation.
He was already stretched out over her bed when she entered the room. He had propped a pillow behind his head and his hands were laced together over his waist, legs crossed at the ankles and eyes closed peacefully.
She walked to the side of the bed and sank down, after shutting and locking the door behind her. "Patrick." She whispered, noting that his hair was damp as she ran her hand through it softly. He had obviously showered at Keith's. He'd changed as well. His t-shirt was stark white, his jeans worn and faded. He looked like he normally did and Kat found a great deal of comfort in the familiarity of it. It was nice to dress up but after everything she really just wanted her Patrick back.
He didn't budge when she touched him. Didn't answer when she softly called his name. He seemed to be sleeping soundly.
Deciding it was best not to wake him, she tossed her wet towel over the back of her desk chair and climbed up the bed from the foot, moving slowly so she wouldn't jar him.
Once she was settled on her side facing him, she thought about waking him again. She didn't necessarily want him awake, but she did want him to shift around and put his arms around her. She needed to feel him against her, needed the safety and security she felt when he held her.
" Patrick," She whispered again, still not loud enough to wake him from a deep sleep. But if he were merely drowsing, he'd be sure to hear her.
He still didn't move, didn't acknowledge her presence at all in fact and a frown began to form across her lips. She lay still for a moment, watching him intently. Something about it wasn't right, but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was.
She sat up beside him and folded her legs under her as she continued to stare at him. Then she saw it. His chest wasn't moving the way it should if he were truly asleep. It was too rapid for the deep exchange that comes with sleep. He was faking and it was a struggle to hide the knowing smile from her face when she realized it.
Her mind went into overdrive, trying to think of how best to turn the tables on whatever it was he was planning by his playing possum with her.
Then it came to her and she reached over to her nightstand where her phone was laying and snatched it up.
She quickly pushed in the buttons for the local movie theater before bringing it to her ear and sliding to the foot of the bed. She didn't want to be close enough for him to hear the other end of the conversation.
" It's me," She said into the phone a few seconds later. " She pretended to wait for a response before continuing. " No, everyone is asleep. I'm all alone." She dropped her voice to a purr and flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically. " No, I can't do that." She giggled into the phone, keeping up the pretense of talking to an illicit lover. " What if someone sees us ? You know how jealous Patrick can be." She shifted, trying to catch a glimpse of Patrick's face. " You know I want you, too, Baby."
That was as far as she got before the phone was snatched away from her ear and she found herself on her back with Patrick towering over holding the phone to his ear, seething.
The anger flashed in his eyes and his jaw was tight until he registered that the man on the end of the phone was giving him a detailed account of the movie's that were showing at the theater and Kat was smiling up at him like the... well, Kat that ate the canary.
He flipped the phone shut and gave it a toss, letting in land on the floor somewhere. Then he was covering her with his body and kissing her like his very life depended on it. Her arms came around him and she pulled him in closer. Her legs wrapped around his thighs as he pressed himself into her.
" That wasn't nice." He told her when he finally pulled away.
" Neither was pretending to be asleep." She answered, pulling him back down for another kiss.
" I was waiting for you to get comfortable." He said, as his lips brushed her ear.
" Then what ?"
" Then I was going to snatch you up and make you pay for the trick in the restaurant."
She huffed at him even as she pulled him back down for another kiss. " I'm not scared of you."
He ground his lower body into hers hard, letting her know how ready for her he already was. " You should be." His voice was a low growl.
She pushed at his shoulders until he raised up enough to see her face. Her eyes locked with his and held them. " Bring it." She told him, in her own low, dangerous voice.
His eyes widened for a moment in shocked surprise, but he recovered quickly and his tongue snaked out to wet his lips. " I intend to." His eyes narrowed and his hands flexed into her sides where they rested.
She shivered from the look he was giving, from the feel of his body over hers, from the sensation of his fingers digging into his skin. Her entire body quivered under his and again she felt a little like a silly kid and secretly hated herself for it. He made her feel so vulnerable and out of control and safe and secure all at the same time. It was odd, the effect he had on her.\
His lips were tracing teasingly down the side of her throat and she shuddered as his tongue snaked out and delved into the hollow at the base of her throat.
His hands were tugging at the blue tank top she'd thrown on after her shower and she raised her shoulders up to help him as he pulled it out of his way.
He was just about to yank it over her head when they heard the knock on the door.
Both of them froze immediately, neither so much as breathing while they waited for a second knock to confirm the noise.
It came and Kat cleared her throat quickly. " Who is it ?" She called out loud enough to be heard in the hallway.
" It's me." Her father answered. " I can't sleep and I need to talk to you."
Patrick was off the bed and looking around the room frantically before her brain could actually register what was happening. When it finally did catch up, she pointed to the closet and watched as he dashed inside and shut the door behind him.
She was pulling her shirt back into place as she opened the door and let her father inside.
" It's after midnight, Dad. What's up ?" she asked, plopping down on the foot of her bed.
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked around the room suspiciously. " Why was your door locked ?"
She sighed, " Because I'm seventeen years old and I change clothes in here and sometimes I like to do that in private without having to worry about anyone barging in on me."
He narrowed his eyes at her and frowned. " Don't take that tone with me, young Lady. I can easily see to it that you don't possess a door at all. Just ask Bianca. I'm sure she'll tell you how very glad she is to have earned hers back."
" Fine. I'm sorry. What did you need to talk to me about ?" She tried to change the subject quickly.
He paused as if considering how best to start the conversation he wanted to have, then finally he looked at her and took a deep breath. " You've been spending quite a bit of time with that deep voiced man-boy, haven't you ?"
" Yes." She nodded. " I like him and he likes me. We aren't doing anything wrong and we have a good time together. And while we're on the subject, the man-boy has a name. It's Patrick and I'd really appreciate it if you used it."
He dropped his arms to his sides and began to pace. " Kat, I don't know what's gotten into you lately. You've changed so much in the last few months I can barely keep up." He turned back to her and narrowed his eyes again. " First you nearly get suspended. Then you actually do get suspended. Now every time I try to talk to you, you act like you hate me. What is going on with you ? Is this his influence ? Because I can't help but notice that none of this started until he started coming around."
Her jaw tightened in anger, but she did her best to swallow it. " Are we really going to keep rehashing the whole suspension thing ? How long will it be before you let it go ?"
He rolled his eyes. " I'm not sure. I'll let you know in a couple of years."
" Dad, I did what I thought was right that day. It's who I am. Patrick didn't make me do anything. He was just an innocent bystander for it all." She paused and her eyes almost fell tellingly towards the closet, but she resisted the urge and dropped them to her lap instead. " I can't help but notice that he was there, right beside me, supporting me through the whole thing, while all I was getting from you were demands that I cave and ignore my principals."
" No I was demanding that you think about the big picture. I wanted you to choice what was right for your future." He explained. " Sometimes we have to pick our battles."
" I did." She answered, sticking her chin out. " I choose the one that meant the most to me."
" You choose the one that could easily have taken away your dream of Brown. How can that be the one that meant the most to you ?"
She wasn't sure what to say to that so she bite her lips instead. She didn't want to have to learn to pick her battles. It wasn't right that she needed to make choices like that. She wanted to fight for every injustice, lend her voice to every cause.
Her father smiled at her and came to sit down beside her. " I just don't want to see you getting distracting and losing something so important to you." He told her.
" Patrick isn't a distraction." She answered without hesitating.
" Are you sure about that ?" He asked her.
" Absolutely. You just don't understand." She told him, refusing to look at him.
" No, that's where you're wrong. I understand a little too well." He smiled again. " See, I know exactly what is going on with you. I've seen the two of you together. I've seen how you look at him when he doesn't know you're watching. It's the same look I used to give your mother."
Kat looked up at him at that and saw that there were tears brimming his eyes. He sniffled quietly and shifted as if he was trying to hide them from her. " The thing that has me most worried is that he looks at you the same way."
" Why should that have you worried ? It should be a good thing. I can't be your little girl forever, Dad." She insisted.
" No, I know that and that's only a little bit of the problem. I always knew you wouldn't be the type to do a causal relationship. And I'm assuming that is what this officially is now, a relationship ?"
She nodded in response. " Yeah, I guess it is."
" I know I've always been a little over protective and overbearing. But the truth is I really do want you to find the kind of love that I had with your mother. It's always been my dream for both you and your sister. I'm more worried about her because I know it's going to be a long, hard journey for her. You, on the other hand, have apparently already stumbled upon yours." He sighed heavily and didn't look very happy about the prospect of that.
" Then why do you look so sad ?"
" I wish you had taken a little more time in finding it. You have no idea what kind of changes you're about to face, with graduation and college and trying to find the right path for you out there in the world. It's hard when you have someone else that means that much to you, doing it at the same time. I just hope that whatever path you both find doesn't tear you apart and end up breaking your heart in the process."
She looked towards the closet now without meaning to and without thinking beforehand. But thankfully her father didn't seem to notice and she pulled her gaze away before he did.
He reached out and put his hand on her leg comfortingly. " So how serious is this thing between you and Patrick ?" He asked, making a point of saying his name very clearly.
She sighed. " Pretty serious."
" Kat," He said her name to get her attention and she turned her face to his. The look in his eyes scared her and she swallowed the lump in her throat. He was going to ask her. He was going to come right out and ask her and she knew she couldn't lie to him. Not now, not like this.
He opened his mouth and wet his lips. Then he opened his mouth again before dropping his gaze from hers and letting it fall to the floor. Then he shook his head and looked up at her again. " I guess there are somethings a parent really doesn't want to know." He muttered. " Just promise me that you'll be careful. And I don't mean use a condom. I mean be careful with everything. Don't let this thing throw you off course. Don't let it ruin your life. I know right now he, this," he waved his hands around to demonstrate his point, " feels like it means everything in the world. But the world is bigger than the two of you and it needs you." He smiled sardonically. " And if I know you at all and this boy is the one you've chosen, then it needs him, too. He must be something special for you to feel so much for him."
He squeezed her leg before standing and stretching his back. " I guess I can probably sleep now. I'm leaving first thing in the morning. Keep an eye on your sister for me while I'm gone." He went to the door and paused there before turning back to her. " I love you, Sweetheart."
" I love you, too, Daddy." She said, trying to pretend like there weren't tears running down her cheeks. Her father gave her one last smile before shutting the door behind him. She heard it lock as well and couldn't help but smile at that.
Patrick was out of the closet the minute the door shut. He came to where she was sitting and dropped down to his knees in front of her without saying a word. Then he wrapped her up in his arms and let her cry on his shoulder.