Flack gets a re-do
WARNING: THE END OF THIS CHAP CONTAINS MILD SMUT SO IT'S RATED M. AS MY FRIEND LAPLANDGURL SAYS, JUST TWO ADULTS IN A NORMAL RELATIONSHIP, FOLKS
"I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true."
-Bless the Broken Road, Rascal Flatts
A steady, soft breeze tousled the treetops in Central Park. Despite weeks of unseasonably cool temperatures, the evening was surprisingly warm. They took a cab to the east side of the park and slowly walked the paths hand in hand. Samantha was still in dark about the surprises that lay ahead of her and had quickly learned that all the begging and pleading and coaxing did little to get Flack to even offer up a hint to what he had planned. All she could do was follow his lead and try and relax and have a good time. Surprises made her anxious. She'd been that way since she was a little kid and still found it hard even at thirty one, to sleep on Christmas Eve. Maybe it was all those times her and Adam waited up for Santa Claus to arrive only to find out in the morning that he'd missed their house again. Because of how bad they were, her father always said.
She was damn well determined that her kids would never grow up like that. That they'd be loved and appreciated and treated with respect. Treated like they were human. Not like inanimate objects lying around the house. Doormats and punching bags. She was adamant they'd never know the pain and suffering that her and Adam did. And the man walking beside her, holding her hand so tenderly, his blue eyes sparkling every time he smiled at her, was the perfect person to help her make all that a reality.
"What are you thinking about?" Flack asked, breaking through the daze she'd gotten herself into. He sounded concerned. One minute she was laughing and chatting away happily and the next she was deathly quiet and her face and normally sparkling eyes were dark and sullen.
"We told the therapist I got pregnant two months into our relationship." she said. "And it was more like a month and a bit."
"What we told him was that you got pregnant really quick into our relationship." Flack corrected her gently. "And who cares if it was two months or two weeks? What difference does it make? It happened. Your pregnant and we're getting married and who cares how quick or how slow it all happened."
"But does it seem normal to you? I mean, does it not seem strange that things happened as quick as they did? Afer everything that happened with Zack and me and you professing to be a bachelor for life? All that and now here we are? Can that really be normal?"
"Define normal." Flack said. "'Cause what might be normal for me and you could be seriously abnormal for someone else."
She sighed and tightened her grip on his hand. "I just keep thinking about what everyone is probably saying about us. Pregnant and getting married so soon. I know they must talk about it. How bizarre it all seems to them."
He frowned. "First off, whose them?"
"The people we know. Carmen and Tim and Danny and Erica and all our other friends. Our families, even."
"Does it matter what they think? Shouldn't it just matter what you and I think? That we're happy together and that we're happy with how our lives are going?"
"It doesn't bother you at all?" she asked. "That people are talking about us?"
"No. It doesn't. And if they are, they obviously have nothing better to do with themselves and their lives must be pretty damn boring. And I don't get why it would bother you."
"It's not that it bothers me." Sam said. "I just…do you ever get the feeling we moved way too quick?"
"Sam, where are you going with this? Seriously? Just...do you think we moved too quick?"
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Sometimes." she admitted.
He dropped her hand and stopped walking. Never in his life had he had someone say something so simple that broke his heart so badly. "Sometimes?" he asked, trying his best to disguise how hurt and angry he was. "What the hell is that suppose to mean? What is bringing all this on? How can one minute things be so great and the next minute you be like this? I don't get it."
"You said for us to be honest with each other."
"I know. But…..sometimes? What the fuck does sometimes mean? Why am I even here if that's how you feel? Why are we doing this? Having a baby and getting married and all of that if you feel that way? What? Is that why your with me? Because you got pregnant and you don't want to do it alone? 'Cause if that's what it is, you can leave now and I'll pay child support every month."
"That's not why I'm with you." she said. "And you're right, I don't want to do this alone. I want you to be there with me. But I'm with you because I love you and I want to be with you forever. Pregnant or not."
"Then explain to me what sometimes means. Because hearing you say that nearly ripped my fucking heart out."
"I'm scared, Donnie. I'm scared of how quick things went between us. I'm scared of how happy I am when I'm with you. I'm scared of how much I love you and how much you love me. And I'm scared that one day, I'm going to wake up and realize all of this was too good to be true. That you'll wake up and look at me and wonder what the hell you're doing."
He shook his head. "Never going to happen, Sam. Ever."
"That's why I said sometimes. Because it did happen quick and that's frightening. And what's more frightening is you deciding in the end that this isn't what you want. And that's why I feel that way. Not because I don't love you. Because….because I love you too much. Does that make sense?"
"No." he said. "It doesn't. None of this makes sense. Because one minute you're happy and everything is fine with us and the next minute your doubting everything. Worst of all, your doubting me. And there's nothing to doubt. And I've told you that over and over again and here we are having the same conversation. I love you, Sam. And I'm not going anywhere and you have to trust me about that."
"But you can't promise me that. Not in the job that you do. You can't even promise me that you're going to walk back in the door at the end of your shift."
"Where is all of this coming from? What goes on in your head where you suddenly come out with this stuff? Do you think about this stuff all day long and then you just let it out? Because I just don't get how you can be happy one minute and like this the next."
"Look what happened to Tim." she said. "When he was in Miami. He almost died that day in the jewellery store. And you with the bombing….you almost died then, too. And that's what scares me. The idea that one night I'm going to get a phone call that…"
"Stop. Just stop. Both you and I do a job where we know that can happen. And we accepted that a long time ago when we became cops. But if we spend the rest of our lives together worrying about stuff like that, we'll miss out on a lot. You don't think I worry the same thing about you?"
"Do you?"
"Of course I do. Every day you walk out the door or you go up to the lab and I stay downstairs. I think about how it would destroy me if anything happened to you. But I don't dwell on it. Because if I was to do that, I wouldn't be able to function and do my job and provide for you and the baby. And if we both do nothing but worry and stress over something we have no control of, we'll go crazy. Worst of all, we'll miss out on the fun, happy times because we're to busy worrying to enjoy anything. We'll miss out on just loving each other and our kids and…."
"Kids?" the sparkle returned to her eyes.
"Well, I want more than one. Don't you?"
She nodded. "Three of four wouldn't be so bad." she said.
"Then why don't you start thinking about things like that. Because when you do, your face just lights up and your eyes dance and you look happy. And I want you to be happy. Let's just concentrate on making a life together instead of things neither of us have a say over. We don't know how things will end. Anything could happen. There's a greater chance of getting hit by a car crossing the street than there is of either of us getting killed on the job. So what are you going to do? Never leave the house because you don't want to get hit by a car?"
"Of course not." she said.
"Then why worry? Why make yourself sick over things like that? Most of all, why prevent yourself from being happy? Because that's what your doing when you get like this. If I learned anything from the bombing, it was to live each day like it's your last. And that's what we need to do. Fuck everyone else around us and just concentrate on us."
A slow smile spread across her face. "When did you become so old and wise?" she teased.
"Everything changed the moment I met you. Before you, I was all about work and getting as many hours as I could. It was my life. And then you came along and became my life. I never realized how lonely and miserable I was until I noticed what a change you made in the whole grand scheme of things. I don't think you'll ever realize how much I love you, Samantha. And if I'm wasting my time here than…."
"What? No. You're not. And I didn't mean to hurt you when I said sometimes. All I meant was that I get a little scared when I think about how fast things happened. And I think maybe we wouldn't have the problems we do if we had have just slowed down and took it easy for a while. Really got to know each other and all that."
"We are getting to know each other. Okay, so maybe we should have done that before getting pregnant and deciding to get married. But we wants to do things normally and conventionally all the time? Who cares if we're a little backwards? We're getting to know each other now and we're getting help for our issues and it's no one's business what we do in our relationship. So fuck them if they don't like it and let's just get on with our lives. You think I agree with everything Danny does? He's the last person who should be talking about someone's personal life. And I don't give him grief over it. I just don't say anything at all. He's my best friend and I'll always have his back. But I don't have to see things the same way he does."
"And your family?"
"I gave up caring what my family thought a long time ago. And you shouldn't care either. About anyone or anything. Only thing you should care about is us. And the baby. Especially the baby. Because he needs you to take care of him for at least the next eighteen years. And how are you going to do that when you're too freaked out to live your own life properly?"
"Wow." she said with an appreciative nod. "What is going on with you lately? When did you become so deep?"
He shrugged and gave that boyish green. "I guess it's the new and approved me."
She grinned as well and came closer to him, laying her hands on his sides. "And what happened to the old Don Flack?"
"You mean the snarky, aggressive, assertive Don Flack?"
She nodded.
"He's around somewhere." Flack said, placing his hands on either side of her face, thumbs lightly stroking her smooth cheeks. "I only bring him out when people really deserve it. And when I know that side of me turns you on and gets you off."
"That's usually all the time." she laughed.
"Hey, whatever I gotta do. Whatever it takes. You want slow and romantic, that's fine with me. You want mean, aggressive cop, that's fine, too."
"Hmm….." she considered that. "Maybe tonight we can try a bit of both."
"There's no maybe involved. It's a sure thing." he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "So we're good? Me and you?"
"Why wouldn't we be?"
"You scared me with your whole sometimes. I was fearing the worst for a minute. Like you were trying to find a way out of all of this."
"The last thing I want is out of anything. And I'm sorry if…"
He silenced her with a long, soft kiss. "Never loose faith in us, Samantha. In me."
"I won't." she promised.
He kissed her a final time and took her hand. They walked silently for some time, enjoying the warm temperatures and soft breeze. And each other.
"You know," she said suddenly, lifting his arm and tucking herself into his side and snaking her arm around his waist, under the back of his jacket. Her other hand resting on his stomach. "There is one thing that could ensure I never, ever loose faith."
"Yeah?" he rubbed her shoulder softly and kissed the top of her head. "And what's that one thing?"
"'Fess up and tell me what all my surprises are."
He grinned and chuckled. "Not a chance." he said.
"I could use my interrogation techniques on you." she told him.
"You kidding? I'd never crack. I'm way too tough for you."
"I meant my special interrogation techniques."
"And what are those?"
She smiled devilishly and toyed with his belt buckle. "It's actually a special lie detector test I have. It's foul proof. You see, you take part A and insert it into Part B and I just wait to see how long it takes you to crumble. And trust me, you will crumble."
"What's part B?" he asked.
"Any part you want it to be." she replied. "And I mean any."
He couldn't suppress a shiver at that the thought of that. It was amazing how she could say and do so little but have so much of an effect on him. "Tell you what." he said. "Later on, you can try your little lie detector test and I'll tell you whatever you want to know. But for now, you aren't getting any information out of me."
She pouted dramatically. "You're tough. No wonder perps pee themselves talking to you."
"Just trust me, Sam. Everything that is going to happen tonight from here on out will make you happy. I promise. If it doesn't, then you can torture me all you want."
She giggled. "Now that seems more like pleasure than torture." she said.
Tavern on the Green was legendary in New York City. A staple for tourists and natives alike for over three decades. It was opulent and classy and had been the sight of movie premiers and celebrity and political gatherings. The Victorian Gothic structure had been built in early 1870 and had served as sheepfold for over 200 South Down sheep that grazed across the street in Sheeps Meadow. In October 1934, it had become a restaurant, complete with door men in full regalia at the entrance. The pomp and circumstance had long past, but the establishment on Central Park West at West 67th Street still remained breathtaking and popular. And damn hard to get into. Tourists were lined up at the door waiting for any tables that weren't reserved that happened to become open. The wait time exceeded over two hours. Anyone who was smart enough had long ago called ahead to reserve their table.
"How did you manage this?" Sam asked, in awe at the luxurious gardens they passed by just on their way to the front door. "I mean, I heard somewhere you had to call weeks in advance to get a decent table."
"I have connections." Flack replied. "And you said a couple months ago how you wished we could come here one night. Well, here we are."
"I didn't think you were listening." she said, as he opened the door and motioned for her to go ahead of him. She glanced up at the massive amber coloured chandeliar with thousands up thousands of crystals that glittered overhead.
"Just because I don't answer doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. I store everything up in my head and then use it when I need to. It's nice in here, huh? I mean, I'm normally not into this kind of thing, but even I have to admit it's nice. Always wondered what it looked like in here."
"I think it's beautiful." she gushed, taking in the stunning arrangements of fresh flowers and Tiffany style lamps and watercolour paintings on the rich mahogany walls. "And I think it's a wonderful surprise. Thank you."
"Just one of a few." he told her, as they stepped up to the front desk, behind which a harried hostess in a crisp black business suit and glittering diamonds was manning the phone and attempting to find tables for people hoping to get in.
"Welcome to Tavern on the Green." she greeted with a bright smile. "Reservation for two?"
Flack nodded and gave his last name.
"I'm sorry, sir." the hostess said after searching the list in front of her. "There's no reservation under that name."
He smirked when he realized why. "Try Bonasera." he suggested.
Sam grinned as the pretty blond hostess searched the list in front of her and then nodded in affirmation and used a yellow highlighter to stroke out the name. "So that's your connection." she said. "Stella knows everyone whose anyone I swear."
"She's good friends with the executive chef. I think they used to date or something. Stella's a good go to person."
"Remind me to thank her when I see her tomorrow. It was a really nice, idea, Donnie. It's beautiful here."
They followed the hostess through the busy restaurant and into one of the many separate dining areas. The Crystal Room had wall to wall floor to ceiling windows that overlooked Central Park and elaborate crystal chandeliers that hung from the extravagant, ornate ceiling. Tables were set with crisp white table clothes and fine bone china and sparkling crystal wine glasses and champagne flutes and boasted topiaries of fresh seasonal flowers and floating candles. The room was filled to the brim with diners as they were led to a table for two near the back, away from the main hustle and bustle.
Sam was awestruck by the beauty around her. She'd never seen anything like it except for on television and at the movies or in the celebrity gossip magazines she was slightly addicted to. She couldn't get enough of the sights and sounds around her.
Flack was struck by how innocent and naïve she seemed as her eyes shimmered and her face glowed as she looked around the dining room. And how stunningly beautiful she was. He didn't know what he'd ever done in his life to deserve someone like her, or how he'd managed to even get and keep someone like her, but he was eternally grateful for it.
A waiter came and offered up menus and took a drink order. They both opted for sparkling cider and ice water.
"You could have had something alcoholic." Sam commented, sipping her cider.
"I'm making a conscious effort not to drink so much." Flack told her. "I was serious today. With the therapist. About thinking I have a problem. Or at least the start of a problem. I don't like the way I always turn to booze when I get stressed or upset. That's not a proper way of coping. And I never had someone to model a proper way of coping so I'm not really surprised I am the way I am."
"You're not an alcoholic." Sam assured him.
"There's a problem, Sam. You know there is. I can't turn to booze and use it as a crutch like that. 'Cause it'll start out small and just keep escalating until it's a major thing. And that's not fair to you or any kids we have. I don't want to be like my old man."
"You won't be. You're too good of a person to be like him. I know the real you. What you're like outside of work and when you take off the badge and the gun. And I know that you will never be the same as your father. I believe in you. And I'm proud of you for taking this all so seriously."
"I just want to do what's best for us and the baby." he said. "I don't like how I get when I'm drinking. That angry, out of control feeling. Scares me to think I might do something stupid to you or our kids. And I'd kill myself if that ever happened."
"It takes a big man to admit all of that, Donnie." she said sincerely.
"Takes a bigger woman to be willing to put up with all of that." he told her.
She smiled. The candlelight dancing in her eyes and on her face.
God she was beautiful. He couldn't imagine ever getting tired of waking up to her every morning and falling asleep beside her every night.
Silence fell between them as they browsed their leather bound menus. After several minutes of reading and deciding, they placed an order for appetizers. Gazpacho and jumbo shrimp cocktail. And roast Maine lobster and Herb crusted fillet of beef for entrees.
"Do you think someone famous may have sat at this table once?" Samantha asked out of sheer curiosity, unable to stop looking around the elaborate, exquisite motive of the restaurant.
"Maybe." Flack said.
He knew very well her slight obsession with anything celebrity. The stack of gossip magazines taking up residence on the coffee table at home betrayed her. As did the information she could spout off the top of her head about famous people. He knew more about Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie from all the tidbits she'd toss out while she was reading and he was watching a game on ESPN.
"Like maybe someone like Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor." she said excitedly. "Or even someone like Grace Kelly. Wouldn't that be something? If someone that famous sat right here?"
He grinned. Her youthful exuberance made her even more attractive.
"Maybe even someone like Princess DI." she gushed. "Imagine that?"
"I love you." he said. She couldn't get enough of the restaurant and he couldn't get enough of her.
She beamed and her eyes twinkled as she lifted her glass to her lips. "That beats any old celebrity." she said.
"Remember how I told you earlier that I was going to go in and have a talk with Gerrard and Sinclair?" Flack asked, an hour later, the dinner plates and dirty cutlery cleared away.
The meal had been amazing. He'd never tasted food better than that, even all the home cooked meals his mother used to whip up when he was still at home. Now he sat and drank a double espresso while Sam worked on a decaf tea and a massive bowl of crème brulee. Outside the sun had long set in a dazzling display of orange and pink and the garden patio of Tavern on the Green was awash in thousands of twinkling white lights strung in the trees and bushes and along banisters.
She nodded. "About your promotion?"
"I want to ask them for a new partner." Flack told her.
She arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Why? I thought you and Max were getting along just fine."
"We are. It's just…..I thought you'd be happy to hear I wanted away from her."
"You asked me to make an attempt to be nice to her and I am doing that for you. Not for myself because at this point in time, the impression and the reception I got, I can take her or leave her. But to make things run more smooth at work for you, I extended the proverbial olive branch this afternoon."
"And I appreciate that. You know I do. That you're willing to do that for me."
"There's not a lot I'm not willing to do for you." she said, digging her spoon into the elegant china bowl in front of her.
He grinned. "Yeah? Just how willing are you?"
She popped the decadent dessert into her mouth and pulled the spoon out slowly, her tongue teasing the end of the sterling silver cutlery. "I guess that's just one of those things you'll just have to find out later."
He had no response for that. Other than to stare at her in the candlelight and think about what a lucky bastard he actually was.
"So Gerrard and Sinclair." she said, bringing him back on track.
"Yeah….where was I? I can't even remember what I was saying."
"You get so distracted." Sam said and slipped her foot out of her shoe. "My ankles are sore. And my feet are swollen." she rested her foot in his lap.
"You're not that pregnant." he pointed out, looking down to see her toes -painted a deep red-lightly rubbing against his crotch. He was thankful that the white linen table cloth hung low enough that the couples and parties dining around them couldn't see what she was doing.
"Tell that to my closet full of clothes I can no longer fit into and my huge appetite." she said, continuing her ministrations under the table. "And Danny who insists on calling me Detective Preg-o."
"He has a bizarre fascination with your stomach." Flack said. "He's like a woman. Always wanting to touch it."
"Probably because he knows it's the closest he'll ever come to my goods so he might as well take the opportunity."
"That reminds me…."
"When doesn't something remind you of my goods." Sam teased, running her toes along his inner thigh, then up farther, gently caressing against his cock.
"Do you mind?" he asked.
"No." she replied and used the tip of her tongue to scoop some dessert off the end of her spoon. "Do you?"
"I swear, you keep that up and me and you won't make it home before I take advantage of you."
"Where do you intend on frisking me? In the bushes? Cab? Alleyway?"
"What ever spot looks good at the time." he said.
"We'll see about that." she smiled and dug her toes into him. He had to sip espresso to keep back the moan that threatened to escape. "Gerrard and Sinclair…." she pressed once again.
"What was I saying?"
"About Gerrard and Sinclair and wanting a new partner." Sam reminded him.
"Right. So I appreciate that you're willing to go that extra distance and try and be friends with Max despite the rocky start the two of you got off to. But…."
"Always a but." she said, sipping her tea.
"I really, really want this promotion. It will be good for me to climb the ranks and making more money will be good for our family. Like I said earlier, it would be nice to have our own house with a nice yard for our kids to play in. In a decent neighbourhood. And I can't see being able to afford anything half decent on what I make now."
"I do have a pay cheque." she said.
"Sorry. What we both make now. And working with Max….I mean, she's a nice enough girl and she's a good cop and a decent friend and all that, I just….I just don't see anything good coming out of me and her working together. It's damn awkward sometimes and she has these issues that just get in the way of me being able to do my job effectively. I mean, the other night on that surveillance thing. Look what happened there."
Sam frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Shit, Flack thought, wishing he'd just kept his big mouth shut. He'd never intended on telling her what had happened between him and Max that night. And now all because he just couldn't keep quiet, he could see a hell of a fight brewing.
"It's nothing." he replied. "Just a little misunderstanding."
"What kind of misunderstanding?"
He sighed and sipped espresso. "Promise me you won't freak out."
"Uh-oh. What happened?"
"Promise me."
Sam nodded and leaned back in her chair, a hand resting on her slightly rounded stomach. "I promise."
"I had to kick Max off the surveillance gig and send her back to the station." Flack told her.
"Why?"
"Well, she kind of….how do I put this…."
"Truthfully." Sam interjected.
"Max knocked my cell phone on the ground in the car and when we both bent down to try and find it…well our faces were like this close together and she tried to…..she was going to…"
"Spit it out, Donnie. Don't pull an Adam on me."
"Max was going to kiss me and I freaked out and kicked her off the job." he revealed, then prepared himself for either getting something tossed in his face or getting a kick in the groin from that foot resting, now motionlessly, in his lap.
Samantha stared at him and didn't respond. Instead she nodded slowly and looked out the window. After a few minutes, she turned to face him and reached for her tea cup and took a long sip. "Okay." she said.
"That's it? Okay?"
"What do you want me to say? You want me to rant and rave and freak out in the middle of Tavern on the Green?"
"Of course not. I was just expecting some kind of reaction, I guess."
She nodded. "I just wish you had have told me after it happened instead of waiting over a week to do it."
"I didn't want to upset you." Flack told her. "We're suppose to be doing whatever we can to avoid tense, high stress situations for you and by telling you that, that would have just stressed you out even more. So I handled it the way I thought was best. I kicked her out of my squad and radioed dispatch for someone to come and relieve her. I wasn't intentionally keeping things from you, baby. I wasn't trying to hide anything from you."
"I understand." she said.
He blinked. "Come again?"
"I understand. You were just doing what you thought was best to protect me and the baby. And I'm glad that you at least told me. Because you being honest like that? That just makes me realize that I can trust you."
This is different, Flack thought. He'd been expecting a major freak out in the middle of the restaurant and got the exact opposite.
"Is it my turn to be honest?" she asked.
"Of course."
"Women like that make me nervous. They have no respect for marriage or commitment. She knows we're getting married and having a baby. Yet she still has the nerve to try something like that? I mean, I want to try this whole friendship thing, but it isn't going to work when she's putting the moves on my husband."
"She's just lonely, Sam. She just wants someone in her life."
"Then tell her to find someone. Better yet, you find her someone. I mean, you know guys around the precinct. You know whose married and whose playing the field. Set her up with one of them. I mean, what about Rick Santucci? He's single. And he's pretty damn cute."
"Won't work. He's too caught up on Carmen."
"Well that's a loosing battle. Tell him to try someone more available."
"I am not playing matchmaker. She can do her own dirty work."
"Then in the meantime, maybe you can tell her that you share these things with your wife and that will get her to back off a little."
"Doesn't hurt to try." Flack agreed. "So you're really not pissed?"
"Disappointed a little that she'd try that and be all friends to my face. But pissed? No."
Her breathed a sigh of relief. "So you see why I need to talk to Gerrard and Sinclair? I can't concentrate on my job under those circumstances. And this chance at becoming Sargant? It's a hell of an opportunity for someone my age and I want it bad."
"I know." she said. "And you know that I'll support you a hundred percent, right? No matter what decisions you make. I'm behind you, Donnie. Always. You know that."
He nodded and reached across the table and picked up her hand. Kissing it softly he looked into those golden eyes that had captivated him from day one.
"I was thinking maybe we should start heading home." he told her.
She entwined her fingers with him and smiled delicately. "I think that's a nice idea." she said.
They opted not to walk back to the east side of the park where the taxi had dropped them off. Instead, Flack had a better idea. One he'd been a little reluctant about when planning the moment and what would come during it in his mind earlier in the day. Romance was not his specialty. And in past experiences with women, when he did try to be romantic and sweet and loving, he always felt so fake. Like he was putting on some kind of air that completely disgusted him. He was usually the beer and pizza and a game of pool type. Or lounging on the sofa watching a game. So when the thought of a horse drawn carriage ride popped into his head while planning on how to make night memorable for Sam, his initial reaction had been one of disbelief. Because he'd never had a desire to do something like that for anyone.
But Sam wasn't just anyone. So as he waved down that carriage and swallowed a bit of pride, he pointed out that he was green to all of this romance stuff. To which she smiled and kissed him and let him know that that was okay by her.
"Detective Flack, right?" the carriage driver, a young man in his early thirties with a thick Brooklyn accent and shaggy dark hair, asked after a few minutes of putting a name to the face that was now climbing into his ride.
Flack nodded. "I know you?" he asked.
"J.J." the driver said as he stepped up into his seat. "J.J. Huntsville. Remember me?"
Flack shrugged. "Sorry. I run into a lot of people in the span of one day. Can't recall them all."
"Dead dude found in the park wearing a suit of armor? A lance sticking out of his chest?" the driver attempted to jog Flack's memory. "Guy took my carriage out for private ride and left me his wallet for collateral and then my horse turned up in Central Park sweatin' like a bastard?"
"You tried to use his credit card to buy yourself a steak and it was declined." Flack added. "And all you worried about was getting your horse back."
"Horses aren't cheap, detective. And she never was the same after that."
"How you been J.J?" Flack asked, settling himself on the bench alongside of Samantha.
"Good. Business is booming. Tourists love this sort of thing. This your girl?"
"My wife." Flack told him.
"Yeah? Guess life has been damn good to you, huh?" he was watching Sam as she crossed her her legs delicately. The woman wasn't very tall and didn't have legs that stretched to her ears. But they were slender and smooth and damn fine. "Damn good." he added with a slow, impressed nod.
"Turn your ass around and just drive this damn thing, J.J." Flack said, grabbing the blanket the was beside him and unfolding it and wrapping it around both him and Sam.
"Where you folks heading? Scenic tour?" J.J asked.
"Whatever your most popular thing is." replied Flack.
"Never pictured you the horse drawn carriage type." J.J commented.
"What us guys won't do for love." Flack said. "Now do me a favor and drive."
"Sex in the carriage, I charge an extra fifty."
Sam laughed. "People actually do that?" she asked.
"All the time."
"Well we tend to have a little more self respect." Sam said. "Not a lot, but some."
"Too bad." JJ chuckled. "That would be a hell of a show."
"I'll give you an extra fifty if you just turn around, shut up and drive." Flack said.
"For fifty I'll put on my Ipod and pretend you guys aren't even here."
Flack pulled out his wallet and leaned across the carriage to drop a few bills into J.J's lap.
"Your wish is my command." JJ declared and popped the phones for his Ipod into his ears.
"Do you know everyone?" Sam asked, as Flack put his arm around her and she snuggled tightly into his side.
"A case from a year or so back. Guy playing Sir Lancelot stumbled out of Central Park and fell, dead, with a lance sticking out of him. Turns out Lancelot had turned the park into Camelot. Jousting and all."
"Where was Guinevere?" Sam asked.
"Turns out Giunevere and Lancelot were part of some suicide pact. Four young people, all dying of various things, who decided to check out on their terms. Other guy died in a ritzy hotel room, ice pick sticking out of his brain stem, after having sex one last time. One of the girls dolled herself up as Marilyn Monroe, swallowed a whole whack load of pills and lied down and OD'd."
"And the fourth person?"
"She chickened out. She had cancer. Read in the paper she died about six months ago. Shortly before I met you."
"That's sad." Sam said sincerely. "To be so young and be so sick. I wouldn't ever want to go through that."
"I wouldn't want to see you go through that." Flack told her, tightening his hold on her and kissing the top of her head. "I couldn't take seeing that. Or loosing you like that."
"Well hopefully, you'll never have to." she said and turned her face up towards him.
He kissed her softly and prayed to God he never had to either.
It was a beautiful night. Thousands of stars twinkled in the black velvet sky and a cool breeze rustled the tree tops. For a long time neither of them spoke. They just relaxed in the warmth of each others bodies and the peacefulness of the park.
"Flowers, dinner at Tavern on the Green and now a carriage ride?" Sam spoke at last, her head resting on his chest, her hand on his stomach. "Very unlike you, Donnie."
"I just figured you deserved more than hanging out on the couch at home with a movie and take out." he said.
"But you know that that's okay, too, right?" she asked, sitting up straight and looking at him. "I mean, you know I don't expect this kind of thing, right?"
"Of course I do. I just wanted to do something like this. Show you that I try my best to be romantic and sweet and loving and all of that."
She smiled and kissed him. A long, soft kiss that quickly progressed when she felt the press of his tongue against her teeth and she opened his mouth, her tongue meeting with his. She shivered when his hand slipped from her shoulder down her back, fingertips grazing her bare back before settling just above her ass. His other hand disappeared under the blanket and rested briefly on her knee before slipping up the bottom of the dress and drifting along her thigh. Her one hand was on the back of his head, holding her to him as they kissed, alternating between long and slow and hard and deep. Her other hand travelled from his stomach, over his belt buckle and lower. She smiled against his lips when she realized how aroused he already was.
"Maybe we should just head home." she suggested when the need for air became a necessity and the kiss ended.
"Not yet." he said.
"Well judging by the state the two of us are in and we won't have sex in the middle of Central Park, I don't know if waiting is a very good idea."
"There's something I need to do." Flack said, suddenly feeling nervous. He had no idea why he felt that way when he'd already asked the question once before and she'd already said yes. But this time, he wanted to say and do the right things.
"Okay." Sam said. "What is it?"
"There's only one regret that I have when it comes to me and you." he told her. "Asking you to marry me in the bathroom."
She laughed. "It was a moment, Donnie. We had just found out we were having a baby."
"But I wanted it to be perfect for you and it was far from perfect. And I am determined to make it special. For both of us."
"It was special." she assured him. "I don't need perfect. I just need you."
"I just need to do this."
"What are you planning to do? Ask me all over again?"
He just smiled and reached into his jacket and pulled a small blue box from the inside pocket.
"Are you and Tiffany's becoming close?" she teased.
"Just thought I'd get you a little something. Something you can wear with your engagement ring and wedding band. We go next week to get those by the way. I picked out three different styles I think you'll be okay with and we can go before that appointment for your blood work and decided what we want."
She smiled. "You are just full of surprises tonight."
"It's a full moon." he reasoned. "Now, I didn't prepare a speech or anything like that before hand, so I am just going to say what I feel so if I look or sound stupid…"
She kissed him tenderly. "You won't." she assured him.
He opened the box. Inside was a white gold band with channel set diamonds all the way around it and slight engraving on the edges. Edwardian style, the sales clerk had called it. He plucked the ring from the box with the fingers on his injured hand and took her left hand in his.
"I can't really get down on one knee in here." he said.
"It's okay."
He sighed heavily. "I'm going to sound like such an idiot."
"Just speak from the heart, Donnie."
"You'll think I'm a moron."
"Never." she assured him.
"Okay…..Samantha, the second that I met you outside the lab that day, I knew you were different. I'd never met anyone like you. Or known anyone like you. And I never, ever felt those things for someone that quickly. When you kissed me in your brother's kitchen…"
"Wait!" she interrupted. "I kissed you? That's not what happened."
He grinned. "I kissed you." he corrected himself. "But you kissed me back. And right then and there, I knew that you were the one. I know that sounds really, really corny and all. Everything we've been through? All the fights and disagreements and your father and Zack? It was all worth it to get to this moment. I'd walk through hell for you, baby."
Tears sparkled in her eyes. "I know." she said, and touched his face gently.
"And I know I'm not always the nicest, most loving, romantic guy. And I know we're both scared sometimes, but I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to have all my children. So even though, technically I already asked, will you marry me?"
"Yes." she answered quickly. "Without a doubt in my mind."
He kissed her softly and she removed her engagement ring briefly so he could slip the band on.
She pushed the engagement ring back down, than took his face in both her hands and kissed him deeply.
"I love you." he said, breathless from their kiss.
"I love you, too. Now can we go home? You can take me home and make an honest woman out of me?"
"I can try." he said with a grin.
She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Take me home, Donnie." she said.
He couldn't think of any other place he'd rather be.
From the moment they stepped off the elevator they heard the all too recognizable sounds of an amorous couple engaged in an obviously intense love making session. Both Flack and Sam knew exactly where it was coming from. Their next door neighbours to the left. Trish and Angie, the new same sex couple 'life partners' as they called themselves, who'd moved in two weeks ago and had been nothing but perfect, if not extremely sexual, neighbours. They were giving Sam and Flack a run for their money in the noise department. Just yesterday, as he was locking up the door while leaving for a run, Trish had come out of her apartment in baby doll pyjamas and said good morning and informed him that her and Angie got all hot and bothered listening to him and his wife having sex. And that by the sound of it, he was obviously doing something right.
"Whoa." Sam giggled at a particularly loud scream. "Lucky girl. Wonder what move brought that on? You should go over and knock on the door and ask for pointers."
"I'll try not to be offended by that." Flack said as he unlocked the door.
"Is it wrong that listening to that so turns me on?" Sam asked.
He grinned. "Absolutely not."
"Think me and you can take them? Make more noise than that?"
"Tell you what," Flack said and pushed open the door. "Get your ass in there and we'll find out."
The door didn't even get locked. The they stepped inside the dark, quiet apartment and that door closed, he grabbed her and kissed her savagely, pushing her back against the door roughly. That moment was all about sex. A quick, uncomplicated fuck to relieve tension and suffering. Her hands yanked his shirt out of his pants and then made short work of his belt, zipper and button on his pants as his lips devoured her neck. His hand pushed up the bottom of her dress and he hooked his fingers in the waist band of her panties and then yanked them down. Falling to his knees in front of her, he peeled the panties off of her and tossed them aside and then kissed his way from the side of her knee to the nest of dark curls between her legs.
His tongue delved between her moist lips and found her clit. A few flicks of the tip of his tongue and she spasmed and cried out and dug her nails into his scalp. He stood up and quickly removed his own clothes and threw them aside. Grabbing her once more, he picked her up off of her feet effortlessly with one arm and entered her with a hard, fast thrust. She cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain and wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to his shoulders.
It was rough and quick. She came once more, screaming his name and her muscles tightening around him. He pounded into her a few more times before the sensation of her teeth digging into his neck sent him over the edge. They stayed there against the door for several minutes, panting and trying to compose themselves.
He kissed her, than pulled out of her slowly. "You okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "That is exactly what I needed." she said with a happy sigh.
He smiled and locked the door. "Let's go to bed." he suggested, and scooped her up into his arms.
"Lets." she agreed.
After they showered and climbed into bed clothes, they lay in the middle of their bed, cuddled close together. The moonlight streamed through the window as they faced each other, her arm and leg draped over top of him and her face buried in his chest. His face was in her hair, a hand on her growing stomach.
"Thank you." she said.
"For what, baby?" he asked.
"Everything. Everything about the night was so perfect. I had such a wonderful time. And my dinner companion was very handsome and charming."
He smiled.
"And thank you for making me realize it's okay for things to happen that way between us. The sex I mean. That we can love each other and still be that way."
He tightened his grip on her. "I can't wait to call you my wife. Legally."
She giggled. "I can't either. I was thinking that…" she stopped mid sentence and pulled back to look at him.
Flack was looking down at her stomach. His eyes sparkling and a soft smile on his lips.
"Did you feel that, Donnie? That almost rippling kind of feeling? Like bubbles bursting." she giggled once again, louder this time. "There it is again. That's the baby. You finally got to feel him or her."
Tears sparkled in his eyes as he finally witness the miracle of life inside of her. He kissed her softly.
Life never felt so perfect.
A great big thank you to all of you who are reading and reviewing! I could not to this without all of you!! And welcome to newcomers and lurkers. I promise to go back to personal review returns next chap. And please check out my new story, Views From Brooklyn!