Nick and Lena drove up to the hotel, their hearts beating somewhat nervously. The boys sat in the backseat, chattering excitedly. "What kind of dances does Uncle Tony perform?" Tommy asked his parents.
"American Rhythm, sweetheart." Lena said, checking her make-up in the car once before getting out.
"Cool!"
They smiled. It may have been a little over six years since they'd appeared at a competition, but their boys were starting to show a love and appreciation for the world of ballroom dance.
"Yep, it's very cool!" Nick said as he turned off the engine and got out of the car.
--
They walked backstage for a moment. To Danny and Tommy, the flurry of activity was excitingly chaotic. To Nick and Lena, seeing the dancers run around backstage was like coming home.
Nick and Lena were both somewhat grateful that the dancers all seemed so engrossed in their preparations that they didn't notice the former American smooth world champions standing in their midst. They quietly made their way to where Tony was getting ready.
"Hi, Tony!" Nick greeted, somewhat quietly.
"NICK!" The Albanian said, turning around quickly.
Nick hushed him. "Hey, we're trying to keep a low-profile here…"
"Sorry." Tony said, apologetically.
Just then, he felt someone pinch his rear, and he whirled around with a yelp. He saw Elena Grinenko, Tony's partner saunter over to Tony, smiling devilishly. "Hello, Nick…"
"Elena." He said, a dark red blush quickly spreading. Lena softly chuckled, but Tommy and Danny looked up at their father.
"What?" They asked, confused. Neither had noticed the discreet pinch.
"Nothing…"
Just then, Tony got a wicked gleam in his eye. "NICK'S BODY IS A TEMPLE!" He shouted. "OPEN HOUSE!"
The Aussie felt his face flush a crimson color as dancers from all over the room came toward them.
An all too-familiar petite woman with dark hair raced up to him, throwing her arms around him. As she did so, she was able to pinch his rear as well. "Nick, nice to see you!" she said, grinning at him.
"You too, Cheryl..." He replied, returning her smile ruefully.
He received a few more "greetings" from some of the other women that he knew, like Kym Johnson, Edyta Sliwinska, and Anna Roberts.
Lena was trying to keep from laughing, and Danny noticed this fact. "Mummy, what's so funny?" He asked curiously.
Meanwhile, the men clustered around Nick, clapping him on the shoulder and chorusing hellos.
"Who are these two handsome gentlemen?" Kym asked, getting down on her knees so she was eye level with Tommy and Danny.
"My name is Daniel Kosovich." Danny replied formally, reaching out and kissing her hand.
Kym looked up at Nick and grinned. "This one is DEFINTELY yours, Nick!"
Nick looked down at his son proudly and they exchanged a knowing grin between them. Tommy greeted Kym with an enthusiastic hug which made the young woman laugh.
All of the other women were charmed by the twins as well and Nick practically had to pry his sons away from their fan club. "Aww, Dad..." Tommy complained as they went out to take their seats.
"It's almost time for Uncle Tony to dance." Nick told him firmly.
Danny was still grinning from when Cheryl had kissed him on the cheek. He hadn't allowed his mother to wipe the lipstick off of his face and she shook her head. Her son already went for the exotic ones!
They joined Ria who was proudly sitting in the front row so she could see Tony better and waited for the dancing to start.
The emcee came on and announced that the Social Dance would be first, which was a waltz. A wistful smile spread over Nick's face at the mention of his second favorite dance. Tony came from backstage wearing a black tuxedo with a deep red cummerbund and bowtie and offered his hand to Ria, who took it like she was in a dream.
Ria's red gown was a LeNique creation, with a "twirly" skirt as Grace had dubbed it and a lovely rhinestone top. As Nick and Lena had also pieced together Tony's costume, they were perfectly matched in color scheme and style- something that Ria and Tony hadn't expected.
Nick nudged Lena and grinned. She returned his grin and pulled his arm around her as she settled in next to him.
They'd had a "Girls' Day" that morning, and Lena had taken Ria to get some all-out spa treatment. She'd gotten a manicure, pedicure, facial, hair styling, and then they'd gone back to the O'Neills' house where Lena had proceeded to give her a make-over. If Nick was completely honest with himself, and he usually was, he could see the woman that Ria had become since meeting Tony, in the transformation.
As he guided her out onto the floor, Tony pulled Ria into proper waltz hold, waiting for the music to start. Then, he looked into her eyes. "Ready for this?" He asked softly.
She took a deep breath and nodded, though the butterflies in her stomach were telling her otherwise.
He gave her a gentle smile and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "You'll be fine."
She relaxed for a moment. "Right..."
The music started and Tony grinned as he recognized the Lifehouse song "You And Me."
He began to gently lead her in a few basic steps and she suddenly realized that her nerves of being in front of hundreds or thousands of people with her limited dance moves, were starting to melt in the strength of Tony's embrace.
Nick and Lena were impressed at the smoothness of their moves. They both knew that Tony's specialty was American Rhythm for a reason...he wasn't quite able to grasp the smooth dances as easily as they had been able to, and so, to see Tony and Ria doing such a beautiful smooth dance, while not entirely unexpected, was a nice surprise.
Tony swung her out and pulled her back to him where he picked her up in a lift and circled the floor with her.
The boys stared at the couple in absolute surprise. "Wow!" Danny said, watching his "uncle" dance.
As the last few bars of the song played, Tony got down on one knee with Ria sitting on the other. They ended the dance with their arms wrapped around each other, Ria's head resting on Tony's shoulder.
As they finished the hold, Tony heard soft sobs coming from Ria. As he took her off the floor, he pulled her aside. "Are you okay?"
She wiped at her face quickly so as not to have raccoon eyes. "I'm fine."
"Ria..."
She looked up into his face and caressed his cheek. "These are called happy tears, Tony."
He gave a low chuckle. "Oy...you women...no matter how long I live, I will never understand the happy tears!"
She merely threw her arms around him, enjoying the feeling of being near him. He reciprocated the embrace, feeling the softness of her body against his.
They stood there for a long moment until Tony pulled back slightly. "I have to go get ready for my Jive." He said regretfully.
She nodded. "Have fun."
He grinned. "I will...as always." Leaning in, he swiftly kissed her. "Të fala." He whispered.
"Me too."
He gave her another swift grin before heading backstage to ready himself for the Jive. As he was pulling his boots on, Elena asked, "Was that Ria?"
He stiffened. "Uh...yeah."
She grinned. "You make a good pair."
He was genuinely taken aback. "Thank you."
She shrugged, and looked pointedly over at the doorway. Turning his gaze to where she was looking, he was surprised to see Artem Chezinski.
"You two dating?"
She blushed. "Yeah..."
"Good for you." Tony said, smiling.
"I guess that'll put the rumors that you and I are together to rest finally!" Elena laughed.
"Yeah..." He said, softly chuckling.
There was a long pause and then he looked up. "We should probably go out there and Jive..."
"Let's get this party started!" Elena replied.
He chuckled as he gave her his arm and they walked out onto the dance floor.
Reaching up a free hand, he adjusted his cowboy hat. Tony felt so strange with it on, but Elena assured him it was fine.
Taking a deep breath, he sat in one of the front row chairs with a guitar on his knee. As "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'" came on, he strummed along for a minute before following Elena out onto the dance floor.
They started off with 4 bars of a country line dance before moving into the kicks, flicks, turns and tricks of the traditional Jive.
Ria watched the dance in fascination. Tony in a cowboy hat and boots...enough said.
The crowd started whooping and hollering when Elena came out behind Tony and he lifted her leg, pretending to play it like a guitar.
The dance ended with Tony on the floor being "walked on" by Elena. On the last beat, she planted her boot on his chest.
Nick snuck a peek at Ria, who was trying not to be completely catatonic. He chuckled as he nudged Lena. She looked in the direction of the young woman and smiled. "She's drooling." She whispered, chuckling.
"I noticed." Nick replied, with a grin.
Nick looked at Lena as if to ask if he should say anything and she shook her head. "Let the woman drool!"
"That WAS a nice Jive though..."
"Yes, it was...one of his best." She admitted.
After they finished taking their bows, Tony led Elena backstage where Artem was waiting for her with a large bouquet of flowers. He smiled, greeting Artem before discreetly going to put some normal shoes on!
Ria hurried backstage where she met Tony, just lacing up his shoes.
"Hej." He said, standing up.
"Hi." She said, still a dreamy look on her face from the Jive.
Stepping forward, Tony took one of her hands. "How did I do?"
"Very well." She said, regaining some of her composure.
He grinned to himself before pulling her back outside to see the rest of the dancers perform. While the floor was being cleaned to ensure that no one slipped, Tony looked straight across the floor and felt himself freeze. There was Inna Ivanenko sitting with Slavik Kryyylyk.
Tony looked at Ria. "Would you excuse me for a moment?"
"Tony!" She said, hurrying after him.
He stopped and gave her a sad smile. "I need to do this on my own, Ria."
"It's her...isn't it?" She asked, before placing a kiss on his cheek.
He nodded. "It is."
She nodded, turning back to sit with Nick, Lena and the boys.
Taking a deep breath, Tony strode purposefully forward until he reached where she was sitting. He was surprised to find that by the time he arrived at his destination, Slavik had taken another seat elsewhere. "Hello, Inna."
She turned, surprised. "Tony!" Almost instantly, she looked around, uncomfortably.
He took a seat next to her. "How are you?"
"Fine." She replied, quickly, returning her gaze to the other dancer.
Tony raised an eyebrow and gave her a half smile. "Inna...I know you. Anytime you answer a question that fast..."
"No, really...I'm fine." She said, taking a breath so as to slow down her speech and convince her former dance partner and boyfriend that she really was okay.
"Look...if you ever need to talk to somebody, I still consider you a friend and someone who is important to me...just remember that." He told her seriously, giving her a light one-armed hug.
She swallowed. "I guess...this is just a little...awkward for me..."
Tony shrugged. "It's all water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned."
She nodded, sadly, looking at the ground. "Who was the woman that you waltzed with?"
He grinned shyly. "My girlfriend Ria."
She tensed. "Ah..."
Tony looked more closely at her and didn't see the normal sparkle in her eyes. "Inna, seriously...what's going on?"
She looked down at her hands as she caught a glance of Slavik with another woman. "Nothing..."
"Inna, there's SOMETHING going on." Tony responded strongly.
She looked back up, seeing the same sight that had met her eyes earlier and Tony allowed his eyes to follow hers.
"Inna...you deserve better than that..." He said sadly.
"No, Tony...I don't." She whispered. "You see...you sat here once, and I…I was the woman..." She couldn't bear to finish her sentence. "I'm so sorry, Tony." She finally sobbed.
He put a gentle arm around her and did his best to comfort her. "Inna, look at me."
She tried to pull away from him, but the gentleness in his voice beckoned her obedience.
"Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean that you deserve to have someone do something like this to you...you need to get rid of him."
She looked down at the ground. "I can't..."
"Yes, you can." He told her softly.
"No, Tony...I mean...we're doing so well!" She said, trying to smile.
Tony looked at her, a sad expression on his face. "Don't lie to me, Inna...I've heard the stories."
"Stories?"
"I've heard about how you have to dance his way, choreograph his way, do everything HIS way...I look at you and your sparkle, the things that made you...well, you, is gone."
She flinched at each of his stresses on "His..." "That's just how he does things...He's brilliant...that's what makes him so..."
Tony interrupted her as he snorted. "That's also what makes him unable to keep a partner for more than 8 months! Inna, there are so many people who would help you if you'd let them..."
"Like?" She asked, derisively. "Everyone turned away from me when I went to Slavik..."
"I'll help you, Nick and Lena would help you, Jesse would help you..."
"Tony...I couldn't ask you to do that..."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm offering."
Tears stung her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
Tony gave her one of his old smiles. "Because believe it or not, I still think you're a great girl who deserves to be treated better than a piece of crap under someone's boot."
She bit her lip. "Okay..."
"Do you want me to be there when you tell Slavik, or would you like a whole team?"
She took a deep breath. "I think I should do this on my own..."
"Are you sure?"
She gave a wan smile. "What? The worst he could do is walk off..."
"Inna..." He sighed.
"Tony...it wouldn't be anything that I haven't handled before..."
"Yes, but we BOTH know what his temper is like and he is NOT going to like hearing this."
"I know..." She said, quietly looking at her hands and remembering the bruises she often had from Slavik's rough grasp on her arms, and that was when he didn't mean to hurt her. For something like this, she could expect much worse. "That's why I've been postponing it..."
"As I said, I can get a team together..."
"And what's going to happen, Tony? I get everyone into an all-out brawl?"
"No...there would be no brawl. Slavik would die and that would be the end of that."
She chuckled, darkly. "Tony, you know it would come to blows..."
"Yes, but can you imagine the outrage if Slavik hits Nick? A man recovering from a broken leg? I would imagine that he would get jail time for that..."
"You're not going to let me do this myself, are you?"
"Hell to the n-o." He said affectionately.
"Okay...get whoever you want..." She said, submissively.
"Who do YOU want?" Tony countered, refusing to let her get off easily.
"I don't know what I want anymore, Tony..."
Tony thought for a moment before realizing that she had probably just shared more than she wanted to share in the first place. "Well, even though Louis is feisty, I think he's a little too short to be of much use..."
"Might wanna have him anyway..." She whispered, quietly. "He'd be able to take out Slavik's legs..."
Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Very true...he could probably bite his kneecaps off or something..."
She chuckled. "No, really...Tony...I trust you..."
He nodded. "I'll go round up the gang...stay here until I get back?"
She nodded, grimly.
He gave her a reassuring smile before heading away and practically running to Nick. "Hey Nick, wanna help me chase Slavik out of the building?"
"Of course...what's the occasion?"
"He's cheating on Inna and I'm pretty sure some abuse has gone on there too...she wants to leave him but we all know what HIS temper is like..."
Nick raised an eyebrow as he turned to Lena. "I'll...be back."
Tony snickered at the unintentional quoting of the line from "Terminator" as they went and also got Louis Van Amstel, Jesse Desoto, Alec Mazo, Jonathan Roberts and Artem to come with them.
By the time they got to Inna, Slavik had already returned. "So...you're going back to your ex?" Slavik asked, heatedly.
"No."
"You lying whore! You're sleeping with him, aren't you?"
Nick stepped forward. "That's enough out of you...Slavik."
"What're you gonna do, Aussie?"
Nick looked Slavik up and down and snorted. "I don't kill endangered species like cockroaches..."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"You know what I mean...you're not even worth my time to breathe on."
"Well...this is none of your business." He said, grabbing Inna by the arm and heading out of the room.
Nick caught Slavik by the ponytail and hauled him backwards. "I don't think the lady said she wanted to leave yet, Slavik."
In Slavik's surprise, he let go of Inna and she ran behind the cluster of men.
"Last time I checked, you had your own woman." He spat back at Nick. "So...why do you need mine? Lena not giving you enough?"
Nick's eyes darkened and he grabbed Slavik's hand, twisting it until the younger man howled in pain. "You say one more word about my wife, and I will make you wish you'd never been born."
There was genuine fear in the man's eyes as Nick let the man go.
Lifting a finger, Nick poked Slavik in the chest a couple times. "You leave Inna alone...or we WILL find a way to get you, some way, somehow."
Slavik looked at the men with a look of hatred and then at Inna. "She wasn't worth my time anyway." He said, turning and leaving.
"That's rich coming from you, slimeball!" Louis called after him.
Behind them, Inna started sobbing, and Tony gathered her up into his arms. "It's okay..."
Ria watched the whole encounter from a distance, wondering just what this meant for her.
After a few moments, Louis took over comfort duties and Tony made his way over to Lena and Ria.
"That got pretty ugly." Lena said, referencing the encounter.
"Yeah...Slavik said some things that made Nick...upset."
Lena's eyebrows raised. It took a LOT for her husband to get angry.
Ria stayed really quiet. She really liked Tony, but she wasn't going to let herself get hurt again.
"Ria, you okay?" Tony asked, putting his arm around her.
She pulled away and walked in the opposite direction.
"Ria, wait!" Tony begged, running after her.
She whirled around, tears staining her cheeks again. "No, Tony...I want you to be happy...and I'm really happy for you...really..."
"What?!? Ria, what on earth are you talking about?!?" Tony asked, extremely confused.
She bit her lip. "Don't pretend to be ignorant. I saw the way you looked at her…the way you held her…" She turned around, gathered her skirts together and ran to the parking lot.
Tony ran after her. "Ria, I'm not getting back together with Inna!" He yelled desperately.
She got to the grass outside the hotel, her make-up smudged with her tears. She stopped, the combination of sobs and the sight of Tony with his arms around Inna making her sick to and forcing her to her knees as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.
Tony reached her, and she looked up at him, miserably. "That sure looked like you were..."
He shook his head no, dropping to his knees beside her. "Her boyfriend Slavik was abusing her." He said softly.
She took rapid, short breaths, barely exhaling as she placed her palms on her stomach to stop the tiny pulses running through her diaphragm. "I'm sorry." She said, looking at him. "I...I didn't...I didn't know..."
Tony smiled at her gently. "How could you? You're not in the ballroom loop...we all knew that Slavik was a jerk, but she was too scared to leave him."
"And I'm too scared to stay..." She said, biting her lip.
Tony took her by the hands and pulled her up. "I'm used to traveling...no matter where you go, I'll find you." He said softly.
She looked at him, trying not to sob. "Really?"
He nodded. "I told you that I love you in my native tongue...I never even said that to Inna."
"I...I wanted to believe...but...for a moment..." She starting breathing rapidly again, trying to keep herself from sobbing.
"The whole world crashed around you again?" He asked, pulling her close and into a strong embrace.
She nodded, tears wetting his shirt. She pulled away. "I'm getting you all wet..."
"It'll dry." He said, shrugging. "You gonna be okay?"
She nodded. "I'm just...I'm embarrassed..."
"It's ok." He said, reaching out and taking her face between his hands, his thumbs gently skimming her face and wiping her tears away.
"No...I...I doubted you...and..."
He gently shushed her, pulling her close again.
"It doesn't matter...të fala...kohë."
"That's beautiful." She said, her weeping subsiding before she gave a tiny chuckle. "Now, what'd it mean?"
"I love you...forever."
"Me too." She said soberly, looking into his eyes as she leaned toward him.
Letting his hands drop down from her face, Tony drew her into his arms and kissed her.
Nick hurried out the door. "Hey, Tony...you...okay...never mind..."
Without breaking the kiss, Tony took one hand and made the universal gesture for "shoo!" at him.
"Got it..." The Aussie said, a slight smirk on his lips as he went back inside.
Pulling his lips from hers, Tony looked down at Ria. "Shall we go?" He asked, slightly breathless. She nodded, serenely.
Entwining his hand with hers, he pulled her toward the car he was driving, his mind full of possibilities. As they walked, she let her head rest on his shoulder.
Unlocking the door for her, he slid in behind the driver's seat. "I'm glad I didn't leave the boots on...they'd be murder to drive in!"
She chuckled. "Wouldn't have minded the boots..." She admitted, softly.
"At least I have the hat..." Tony said with a grin.
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
He plopped it on his head. "Howdy little lady." He said in a quasi Western-Albanian drawl.
She laughed. "I'm sorry, Tony, but you better stick with Albanian." She said, perfectly imitating his accent.
He grinned broadly at this.
She blushed. "I'm sorry..."
"Why? I think it's kinda sexy." Tony said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"Really?" She asked, giving him a slightly seductive grin. "In that case..." She continued in the accent.
"Oy..." He groaned as he drove her home.
She leaned over, her lips next to his ear. "Wanna come upstairs?" She asked, as he stopped the car.
Tony felt a shudder run down his spine. "Sure..."
"You know...for...coffee..." She laughed, pulling away from him.
"Torture, thy name is Ria..." Tony said theatrically as he opened the door for her.
"I'm glad you finally noticed."
He raised an eyebrow and walked toward the house, a Latin sway in his hips.
She ran up to him, and grabbed his waist. "Don't you leave without me..."
Tony gave her a cheeky smile. "Get a move on then, slowpoke..."
"Race ya..." She said, lifting her skirt to show him her heels and remind him of his obvious advantage.
Tony kissed her, then started running up the stairs to her apartment.
"Cheater!" She called after him, racing to make up for lost time.
"You know it!"
She caught up to him at the door, and pinned him against it. "Oh, Tony...you are a bad boy..."
He smiled seductively at her as he turned the tables on her, pushing her up against the other door frame. "Gonna punish me?" He whispered next to her ear, his voice husky and low.
Suddenly, panic seized her, and she ducked out of his embrace, walking into the kitchen, where she started to make coffee…trying to keep herself busy.
Instantly contrite, Tony followed her. "Ria…"
"I'm sorry, Tony…kinda ruined the mood, didn't I?"
"This…was a bad idea…"
"No, Tony…it wasn't…it's just…this is the first time since…" She didn't need to finish her sentence.
"Ah." He said, still unsure of what to do. "Ria, I…I'll see you tomorrow."
"No!"
He turned. "What?"
"I…I want you to teach me to dance…like we did tonight…"
"Ria…"
"I want to dance…with you…"
He swallowed. "If we dance tonight, I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself…"
"I don't want you to…" She said, softly.
"But…I just scared you…"
"No…the memory scared me…that wasn't you…" She said, walking back up to him and allowing herself to be so near to him that he could smell the faint perfume lingering on her skin.
"Ria…"
"Do you want me?" She asked, kissing him on the cheek, tentatively as if convincing herself that she really DID want this.
He groaned, involuntarily. "Yes…"
"Then, let's try not to think about the past…"
"That's so much easier said than done…"
"I know…believe me, I know…" She said, using his own accent against him.
"You asked for it…" He said, pulling her into his arms.
Closing his eyes, Tony began humming a song by Berlin called "Take My Breath Away" as he guided her slowly in a rumba.
He lifted her up, allowing her body to slide down his chest as he set her down before spinning her out and back to him again.
She stole a kiss at that moment. He returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly to him.
"I love you." She moaned.
"I love you too." He said, looking into her eyes.
"I know." She said, trusting him with her mind, her heart, and her body.
Swallowing, Tony looked toward the hallway in front of him. Without saying a word, he took her by the hand and began the walk to the bedroom.
--
After the competition finished, Nick and Lena walked out to the car, each carrying a twin. They gently sat their sons in the backseat of the car and quietly moved to their seats at the front. As they did so, Lena looked at her husband. He had been rather quiet since he'd returned after Tony disappeared with Ria. She looked forward again, wondering if she should say anything, and then finally, she turned again. "Nick…"
"I don't want to talk about it, Lena." He said, pulling onto the freeway.
"Nick, you're upset."
"Yes, Lena…" He said, his tone icy. "I am very upset."
She reached a hand out to his arm. "Nick. I've never seen you so angry. What happened?"
A heavy sigh escaped Nick's lips. "I almost lost it, Lena…"
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. Usually she said these things to him, not the other way around. This was her genteel and polite husband. He didn't try to pick a fight. "You?" She couldn't help but exclaim softly.
He nodded. "Yes…the James Bond of the Ballroom just about snapped the Russian Playboy in two…"
"Wow…" She breathed, surprised.
"There are some men who don't deserve to walk freely in polite company."
"What'd he say?"
Nick didn't reply, but merely clenched his grip on the steering wheel.
"Nicholas?"
"He was foul-mouthed, Lena…that's all you need to know."
"That's all I need to know?" She asked, heatedly. "So…suddenly the chivalrous knight in shining armor has become the chauvinistic knight in smudged armor."
Nick had just pulled into the O'Neill driveway. "What?"
"You heard me." She said, hoping that by egging him on, he would spill what was really under his skin.
"He was rude and crass, Lena…I'm not going to offend your ears with the words that he said."
"He's not the only one who's rude and crass…and you haven't been moved to physically injure them all."
"Lena, he referenced you." He finally breathed in a frustrated anger. "He suggested that you weren't 'fulfilling my desires' so to speak and that I had taken Inna as a mistress…" He got out of the car and stooped to look into her eyes again. "Satisfied?"
He slammed the door before she could react and picked up little Danny, hobbling to the door as he did so.
Lena sat there in stunned silence. Part of her was outraged that she had been dragged into the fray. Another part of her was incensed that anyone could suggest that Nick would be anything but faithful to his wedding vows. And yet another part of her was touched that Nick had indeed played the role of the knight in shining armor, rescuing the honor of his damsel in distress…though she hardly categorized herself as such.
She saw him hobble out yet again, fairly certain that she hadn't come in. He went around the car to pick up little Tommy and carry him inside as well. She took a deep breath. It was time to go and eat crow, she thought. She'd egged him on, and in doing so, she had made some assumptions that had made her look foolish.
She walked into the boys' bedroom after her husband, just in time to see him place a tender kiss on the young boy's forehead. "Sweet dreams." He whispered.
He turned around to leave, only to find Lena standing in the doorway. The look in her eyes told him everything that he needed to know, but also reminded him that they both needed to apologize. It had been an evening of intense feelings and passions. And it was time to deal with the fallout of those same passions.
He walked toward her, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him as they walked to the bedroom. "Are you okay?"
She looked up at him, surprised at his question.
"What I mean to say is are you going to track Slavik down tonight and take him to a dark alley where you will proceed to kick the crap out of him or are you okay?"
She chuckled. "I think you hurt him worse than I could."
He was surprised at the level of honesty that there was in her tone. "How?"
"The whole ballroom saw your conflict! He's never going to have another dance partner, even if nobody reports him…so…I think you kicked his ego better than I could kick his butt."
He smiled wanly. "The way he said it made it seem as though he was accusing me of settling for 'less' and Inna of being a common whore." He paused as he faced her. "Nothing could be further from the truth about me, Lena…I know I don't deserve a woman even half as good as you…"
She reached up and kissed him. "Nick…believe it or not, I feel the same way…you are such a good man…and it's a wonder sometimes that you even put up with me…"
He raised an eyebrow. "Put up with you?"
"Come on, Nick…six BOXES of fake jewels? Not very many husbands would even be asked to go along with that, let alone be WILLING to go with it…"
He chuckled. "You have a point there."
Their laughter subsided for a moment. "But I love you, and I know you love me…and so…for that reason, alone, I am willing to stay by you. I know you have your faults, and I have mine, but…at the end of the day, we still love each other and that will help us to raise our boys and face the challenges of life with a strength that we can only imagine."
Nick nodded, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Ah…my wise and beautiful Elena…"
She looked up at him, chuckling in good nature. "My knight in shining armor."
"So…are you suggesting that you're my damsel in distress?"
"Not exactly in distress…"
"In what, then, Lena?" He asked, full accent.
"I'm your delightful damsel…" She said, pulling him closer as she kissed him again.
"Delightful?"
She pulled away from him. "Am I not?"
"I never said you weren't." He replied suavely.
She resumed her kisses as he gracefully kicked the door closed with his bad leg.