Chapter 9
After relaxing in the hot tub for about an hour, Hotch and Kahlan made their way back down into their room. As Hotch was putting on his pajamas, his stomach growled loudly. Kahlan laughed at him. He put a hand over his stomach. "I guess we shouldn't have skipped dinner."
She shook her head. "Just call for something. They'll bring it up for you."
"A seventeenth century castle has room service?"
"It is a five start hotel, Hun. You could probably get anything you want," she told him as she went over to the nightstand. She lifted the lid on a small wooden box that revealed a telephone. His shocked look made her laugh some more. "What do you want?"
He walked over, took the receiver out of her hand, and put it back in the box. "I just want to crawl in this massive bed and savior your closeness." After all of the activity, he was exhausted.
She smiled and pulled the covers back. "I guess there is always breakfast."
He crawled in and then she got in and snuggled up to him. "Goodnight, Hun. I love you."
He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the head. "I love you, too, Babe."
XXX
Kahlan awoke to an empty bed. She smiled as she stretched and snuggled back down into the covers for another moment or two. She heard the hallway door open and she turned toward the opened bedroom door wondering who was going to be coming in to wake her up. Joey peaked around the doorframe quietly. Kahlan smiled at her. "Hey, Pumpkin."
Joey smiled and ran and jumped on the bed. "Mornin, Mommy."
Kahlan grabbed her and snuggled her down next to her. "What do you think of it so far?"
"Angus showed me his rabbits, his minks, the falcons, the horses, everything!"
"Yeah? Pretty cool, huh?"
"Oh yeah. I want to live where we can have animals like that."
Kahlan smiled sadly at her. "Not a lot of places like that back in our part of Virginia."
Joey pouted. "Yeah, I guess." She shook her head as she thought about it. "I don't want to move either."
"We'll just have to make sure we visit places like this so you can get your animal fix."
Joey brightened with that news. "Daddy said to wake you up. Breakfast is ready."
"I figured, but I really like this bed."
Joey giggled. "Mine's suspended from the ceiling; it moves."
"Cool!"
Joey squirmed out of her mother's arms and pulled on her. "Come on, Mommy!"
Kahlan groaned and then smiled as she let Joey pull her from the bed. "Go. I'll get dressed."
"After breakfast, can we explore the castle?"
"Sure, Pumpkin."
Joey jumped up and down with a massive grin. "Then I'll see you down stairs," she told her and then left.
Kahlan shook her head and went to the restroom to get ready.
She joined her family for eggs, toast, bacon, potatoes, and coffee.
"So apparently you two were just too tired to come down to dinner last night?" Dave asked Hotch with a grin.
Hotch's fork almost missed his mouth as he shot Dave a look.
"Yeah, that car ride really took it out of us," Kahlan told him with a grin.
Cindi hid her smile behind her coffee cup.
"The water in the moat is heated," Jack told everyone. "So we can still go swimming."
"That sounds like fun," Cindi told him.
"I want to go horseback riding," Wyatt told them and then shoveled a fork full of eggs into his mouth.
"We have plenty of time; you don't have to try and do it all in one day," Kahlan told him as she sipped her coffee.
"So what do you want to do today?" Hotch asked her.
"Joey and I are going to go exploring first," she told him with a grin and then looked at her daughter.
Hotch looked at Joey, too, and he could see the mischief on both of their faces. He chuckled. "Well, don't get lost." He turned back to Kahlan. "Or in trouble."
Kahlan giggled and winked at Joey. "Us? In trouble? Never." That made Joey giggle, too.
Hotch shook his head at both of them.
XXX
After a few hours of not seeing either one of his girls, Hotch was starting to get worried. He paced in his room and thought about going to Sean or Annie, but he really didn't want them to know what the girls were up to in case they would look down on it. He was sure they were alright physically, but he was worried none the less. I guess I could go look for them. He shook his head. I wouldn't even know where to start. Hell, they could even be outside somewhere. He sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace and contemplated what to do.
After a few moments, he suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped up and turned around.
Kahlan started laughing.
"What the hell, Babe! Are you trying to cause me to have a heart attack?"
She shook her head and her face was turning red from laughing so hard that she couldn't breathe.
He half growled at her. "How the hell did you get in here?"
After a few snorts and small coughs, she finally got herself under control. "There are passage ways throughout this whole place."
He looked around the room and tried to figure out where she had emerged from, but he couldn't. Then a horrible thought hit him. "You mean anyone could have. . ."
Kahlan quickly shook her head as soon as she realized what he was thinking. "I don't think anyone has been in most of them in a long time."
Hotch eyed her warily. "How could you tell?"
She smiled. "Because of the dust and cob webs."
"Oh. You're sure?"
She went to him and pulled him into a hug. "Yes, Hun. No one saw us."
He took a deep breath and relaxed a little. "Good." He smiled at her. "So you two had fun?"
She smiled mischievously. "For the most part."
He studied her. "Most part? What did you find that you didn't like?"
She shivered. "Joey found the way to that tower."
He could hear the uneasiness in her tone. "The tower?" He knew she was referring to the dark and ominous tower that loomed above the turret above their heads.
She licked her lips. "I don't think anything good has ever happened up there."
He studied her. "Did you go in it?"
She shook her head quickly. "No. We didn't even get close."
He stifled a chuckle. "Is it haunted?"
She smacked him on the chest roughly and moved away from him. "Shut up, Aaron."
He laughed as he rubbed his chest. "You know, they say the only way to get over your fears is to face them." The look of horror on her face made him laugh again. "Just saying."
"You want to go up there? You go right ahead." She shook her head again. "But don't expect me to come rescue you when you find yourself in trouble," she told him seriously.
He studied her some more and realized she was actually frightened. It gave him an odd sensation. He wanted to protect her from anything that would scare her, but he was sure it was just her in her head. He stepped over to her and put his hands on her waist. "We could go together."
She shook her head. "There is nothing you could do that would make me want to go up there," she told him seriously.
He licked his lips. It's only your imagination, Babe, and once I prove that to you, you won't need to be scared anymore. He grinned. "Not even if I promise to go find some rope?" he asked her deviously.
The look she gave him made him chuckle. She looked toward the wall as she considered it. After a few heartbeats, she looked back at him. "That's not fair."
He quirked his brows. "You know I don't fight fair."
She sucked in her bottom lip and studied him. "I have to actually go in it?"
He smiled. "Yes."
"How long?"
He laughed. She's going to make me be very specific. "For as long as I say. I want enough time to prove to you that there is nothing to be afraid of."
She took a deep breath and held it as her eyes darted around. She let the breath out through her nose as she chewed on her bottom lip.
Damn, she really is scared. "I won't let anything happen to you," he told her tenderly.
She looked him the eyes. "When?"
"How bad do you want to fulfill that fantasy?"
Her shoulders slumped. "You want to do it at night?"
He couldn't help himself, he chuckled again. "If we're going to do it, we might as well do it right."
She looked at the floor as she fidgeted with her jeans. Hotch pulled back away from her and noticed the pulse in her neck. It was pounding in a rapid rhythm and her breathing had quickened, too. Jesus, Babe. He cleared his throat as he put his hands on the sides of her face and made her look at him. "Forget it. I won't blackmail you into doing something you really can't handle, Kahlan." She searched his eyes as she took a deep breath. He smiled. "And I'll still find you some rope."
She shook her head as she pulled away from. "No. I'll go with you to that damn tower, and when you get the shit scared out of you, then I can make fun of you!" she told him defiantly.
He stood up straight. "Not gonna happen."
She huffed. "I'm taking Joey to go explore the woods, you want to come?" she asked as she headed for the door.
He smiled and followed her. "Yeah. We might find a haunted graveyard or something."
She froze in her tracks; her hand on the latch, and he made sure to stop so he wasn't within arm's reach. He saw her take a deep breath and then finally opened the door. He chuckled to himself and followed her out.
XXX
After spending about an hour in the woods with his girls, they headed to check out the loch. He had seen a few things that could have been skewed as supernatural, but he behaved himself. He didn't want to tease Kahlan in front of Joey because he didn't want to scare his little angel. They walked around the bank hand in hand with their daughter in between them, and he sighed contently. Now that the boys were getting older, they didn't want to spend as much time with their parents, so he relished the time they still had with Joey.
As he walked along in silence, he found himself thinking. He had to fight down the bad in him that wanted to scare his wife because he had never had anything to tease her about before, and he had thought up all kinds of ways to make sure their trip to the tower scared the hell out of her. He shook his head. The good side of him wanted to protect her and shield her from anything that bothered her, though, so he was torn.
The more he thought about it, though, the more his bad side was winning. He smiled to himself because he knew if she had the chance to scare him, she would do it without thinking twice. I should do it. I can scare the shit out of her, and then comfort her, and come out the hero. He realized Kahlan was looking at him, and he quickly gave her a smile. She eyed him warily for a seconds but finally returned the smile.