CH24

Kate woke up and found herself still curled up inside of the bear's arms. It was actually warm in there and she was a little sweaty. That was when it occurred to her she was still in yesterday's clothes. "Rick, you awake? …RICK!" Kate yelled. 'I am now,' he responded. "Let me loose please. I really need to pee and we have to get back to the motorhome. I so need to take a shower!" And take off her bra and panties that she had been wearing for the last 2 days and take a shower!

He uncurled and released Kate who went in search of just the right bush and squatted. Shortly afterwards she could hear him watering his own bush. She watched a naked Rick walk back into their makeshift camp giving her an eyeful. She didn't understand it. She was still a little sore but she wanted him again as she watched him put his clothes back on. Now that she had made love to him, she couldn't get enough of him. Was that another thing he could do or was she just that horny?

Kate made sure their little fire was out by throwing enough dirt on it to bury it and started up her scooter followed by Rick on his. It didn't take as long to get back as it did to leave. "Dibs on the shower," she called as she shut down her scooter. "I'll secure the scooters to the floor," he offered and watched her go inside. Kate stripped and was so glad to be rid of her bra and her panties. She turned on the water and waited for it to come up to temperature.

She walked out of the bathroom naked to find Rick stripping for his turn while he watched her every move. "See something you like?" she said coyly as she grabbed a towel to dry off. "I was just hoping there would be enough hot water later after I ravish you," he said, his voice rumbling. She didn't know what got into her but she stepped into his arms and kissed him, feeling his arms surround her. His hugs and now making love to him were like a drug. She wanted all she could get of him.

"Food first, I need the energy." Kate gave him another quick kiss and started towel drying her hair as she watched him squeeze into the shower. Squeeze being the operative word. He was so big he took up almost all of the space. Still he came out wet, clean, and naked to find her cooking breakfast. He was mostly dry when he surrounded her with his arms. He kissed her shoulder and made his way to kissing her neck. "Down boy, food first." Kate wiggled him off her. "Fine have it your way." He kissed her shoulder again and went looking for some clothes. "RICK?" She had a question. "Hm?" he responded as he slid into a pair of pants.

"When we were making love it felt like you were trapped inside me and couldn't withdraw. I know I'm right. Was there a reason for it?" she questioned. "It's part of the bonding and the exchange of chemicals and hormones. The head of my penis expanded to roughly twice its size forcing me to stay inside you when I climaxed making sure the exchange took place," he explained. "But that happened every time you were inside me." She wasn't sure she wanted that to happen every time in the future. "That's because it was all done in the same act of love making. The next time we make love it won't happen because we're already bonded," he replied.

She relaxed a little. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable, it was just that she wasn't used to his size yet. Kate soon found his arms around her again as she placed more bacon in the pan. "Did I hurt you?" He would die if he had. She gave up on the bacon, twisted in place, and took her lover's face in her hands. "No, it was amazing. No man has ever done what you did. I just need time to adjust to your size. I've never felt loved while having sex like that. I love you." And she kissed him.

Kate broke from the kiss. "You're sure you're not sorry you're bound to me for life?" Rick questioned her hesitantly. He knew he wanted her, not just because of the bear inside him. "No, I don't play around Rick. You're mine and I'm not trading you in for someone else." Like anyone else could make love to her like he did. It earned her a kiss from him.

"Did you have a plan for when we go home? This trip was your idea and it was a good one," he remarked, thrilled with how their weekend had gone. "I was thinking we could walk around a little since we don't have helmets for the scooters, have lunch, then make love again," she shyly offered.

"I've created a…" He stopped since he was going to say monster, but that word had a negative connotation to it. "I like your thinking." Rick revised his response.

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Johanna was conflicted. Oscar needed her and Alexis needed her. Alexis needed to have breakfast, get bathed, to get dressed, and be driven to school, but she didn't want to leave Oscar hurting like this.

"Go down to the kitchen honey and I'll be right there." Johanna had to prioritize and right now Alexis came first. "I have to look after Alexis. I'll be right back after I drop her off at school," she whispered into Oscar's ear and kissed his head then extracted herself from him.

"Is Oscar still sad?" Alexis asked as they were eating breakfast. "Yes he is, but I'm going to work on making him feel better while you are at school. He'll be his old self when you get back." Or at least she hoped he would be.

Johanna was debating how to go about this all the way to the school and all the way back. So much so that when she stopped she was in front of her house and not Rick's. "GREAT!" She turned around and drove across the highway shaking her head trying to get her mind back in the game.

Much to her surprise Oscar was downstairs in the living room watching TV. ESPN again to be precise. "Hi, feeling better?" she asked, but didn't get an answer. She took the remote out of his hand and turned off the TV. "Oscar?" Johanna watched him turn his head to look at her but there was no one home. His eyes were dull and lifeless and he seemed to be looking through her, not at her.

She moved in close and pulled his head down onto her shoulder until she got an idea. She shifted a little and pulled him down until his head was in her lap. Johanna started stroking his hair and face softly and slowly, not saying anything. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but she noticed that he was crying again. Softly this time. "Which one was it? Or was it both?" she quietly asked.

"I should have been there. They died cooped up in some stupid kennel surrounded by people they didn't know. I left them and they died," he was able to choke out. Johanna kept stroking his hair. "You had 15 years with them. Since they were tiny puppies. They knew that you loved them," she countered. "And I abandoned them when they needed me. I'll never see them again. No one will be waiting for me when I get home. There will be no one under my desk sleeping the days away." His tears rolled down the side of his face dropping onto her pants.

Johanna simply stroked his hair until he was asleep again. Listening to his pain was breaking her heart. He had done so much for her. There wouldn't be a restaurant without him even if they hadn't started construction yet. They had 3 months until July 4th; it was going to be close.

She didn't leave him until it was near lunch time. Oscar was hurting and Katie and Rick weren't back yet leaving her on her own. Yet she had no intention of calling Katie and ask that she come home. She deserved her time and Johanna could only hope that the trip was working out.

She extracted herself from beneath him and replaced her lap with a pillow. Coming back she put lunch on the table and let him sleep.

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Kate was resting up against him. She was still amazed at what Rick could do. She felt guilty though. She knew he had only climaxed once while she had seven. There was one more thing about making love to him this time. His penis didn't get trapped inside her now. They were already bonded and she had taken great pleasure in riding him with him inside her until they both climaxed.

She sighed. "I have to go back to work tomorrow." Being out here with Rick had spoiled her and she knew it. "How's that car seat working out for you?" He stayed on the subject of her work. "Pretty good actually. It stays cool and doesn't hurt my tailbone. Thank you." Kate leaned over to kiss his cheek. "And you're still patrolling out in the middle of nowhere?" he queried. "I'm low man on the totem pole, I'm going to get all the shit stuff. I knew that going in. It's nothing I can't handle. I'll be fine," she told him.

"So how is your boss?" Rick asked. "The Sheriff? Alright I suppose. I don't actually see him much. I pick up my route each week and I see him in the office but besides when I was hired I haven't spoken to him since. …Why?" She turned on her side to face him. "No real reason I suppose. I was just wondering why he hired a homicide detective then put her out in the middle of nowhere. I know you're the rookie and you get the crap they hand out. But Kate, you have skills that aren't being utilized. He could have hired any beat cop from any city, so why you? Sure you asked for a job and he gave you one. Maybe there aren't that many homicides in Weston County, but why is a detective way out there?" he questioned her, perplexed at the sheriff's actions.

"What do you want me to do, storm into his office and demand he put my skills to better use? He might fire me!" she responded hotly. "No of course not. You're a detective act like one and detect. Why are you in a car, find out why," Rick suggested. "I was a homicide detective not a spy." Kate countered.

"Kate Beckett, a CIA spy living in Newcastle, Wyoming. The perfect place to hide from assassins sent by enemy or rogue countries who want her dead or captured so they can find out what she knows." He smiled as he stared at the ceiling. "Rick? What the hell are you doing?" She wasn't sure what was going on inside his head. "Relax, I'm not going to use your real name and I'm certainly not putting you in Newcastle. I was thinking more along the lines of a little town in Switzerland or maybe the south of France. Oooo I know - Monte Carlo, living on a 300 foot yacht! Hiding out in plain sight right under their noses."

"Rick, what are you doing?" Kate asked again. "I'm thinking of a new character for a book series based off on you," he explained. "ME!? Why me? I'm just a sheriff's deputy," she countered, bewildered. "But you didn't used to be and in a book you can be anything you want to be. It'll be great!" He was liking the idea the more he thought about it. "There better not be any real me in this book of yours, and I'm reading it before you publish it," she informed him tartly, knowing she couldn't stop him from writing it, just hoping she could prevent it from being published.

They had decided to head home after eating a late lunch. Since it was her motorhome she was driving. "You're thinking awfully loud over there," Rick said. "I was just thinking about the last 3 days. I thought up this idea so we could get away from my mother and your daughter. I wanted to find out if you were interested enough in me to have sex. I just got a little more than I bargained for." Kate was thinking about getting laid, not being bound to him as his life mate.

"Having second thoughts, because it's a little late for that now," he asked, a current of unease in his voice. "I'm just not sure what happens next and no, I'm not having second thoughts. So if you're thinking about going into the back of the motorhome to sulk, you can stop right there. I heard you, Rick, and I understood every word you said. I'm just a little scared. I practically married you the other night and getting married was not on my mind when I got you out here," she commented.

"Well, we're not married Kate and we don't ever have to be if you don't want to be," Rick said. "I thought you said we were bound to each other for life. Life mate and all that jazz," she questioned. "Oh we are, we just don't have to get married is all I'm saying," he clarified. "So you don't want to marry me? Have sex with me, bond with me, and make me your life mate, but you don't want to marry me?" She just knew this getting together was going to end badly.

"Please don't put words in my mouth or start jumping to conclusions. I made love to you because I wanted to. To me you were my life mate long before I even met you. We weren't married then and we don't have to be married now. The bonding is physical Kate, not mental. Being bonded doesn't mean anything other than we are physically dedicated to each other now."

"If some day you decide you hate me, you can leave me, divorce me, or disappear. That's still your choice. You're not bound to me body and soul. We'll have arguments, fights and one of us will be sleeping on the sofa, but you're not mine, Kate. I don't own you," he said, desperate for her to understand.

"I just can't have sex with anyone else." Kate dumbed it down. "The same applies for me," he pointed out. "It really is a chastity device I guess." At least it sounded like one to her. "Think of it this way, neither of us can cheat on the other. We'll each know that no matter what another woman or man does, we'll be faithful to the other for the rest of our lives," he told her. Now that was something she could live with. Her man wasn't going to be going around cheating on her. "Happy now?" he questioned. "Better, yeah," Kate replied and kept her eyes on the road.

"When does school get out for summer?" She changed the subject. It took him a few seconds since they had been talking about bonding and life mates just a moment ago. "Um, late June I think, why?" he answered. "It was something Alexis said. Her friends wanted to go camping with her and if my Mom and I went too, we'd have an extra bed since the sofa converts into a bed. Except that we are trying to get the restaurant open by the 4th of July," Kate commented. "Plus I haven't looked at when my days off are around that time."

"Have you secured financing yet?" he asked, only to see Kate shake her head. "Talk to Oscar. He most likely knows of a few banks that are used to giving out loans to restaurants. You might get better terms that way," Rick advised.

"We still need to figure out where we can all go and come back inside of 3 days," Kate mentioned, trying to think of somewhere but not knowing the area that well. "I need my laptop." Rick couldn't plan anything without it.

It was almost 2 hours later; they were finally home. Kate was backing the motorhome into the RV barn behind their house. After emptying the motorhome's refrigerator she rode with Rick in his truck back over to his place. It was time to check in with her mother, Alexis, and Oscar.

Midas and Maggie greeted them at the door. "Hi guys! Did you miss me?" Rick did his best to pet them when they weren't getting petted by Kate. "Where's Alexis?" he asked and watched them run upstairs. "Looks like I'll be upstairs," he said and started for the stairs. "I'll be in the kitchen," Kate informed him thinking that's where her mother would be.

She got an eye full as she passed the sectional on her way to the kitchen. It was there that she found her mother leaning into one corner of the sectional, asleep with a sleeping Oscar's head in her lap. Even more damning was the fact that her mother had a hand in his hair. Kate slapped a hand over her mouth. "OH MY GOD!"

She ran up the stairs as quietly as possible, going straight into Alexis's room. She found Alexis sitting next to Rick talking to him. "Come on!" Kate grabbed his hand and yanked him up. "KATE?" He didn't understand, what could possibly be wrong? "Hush, not so loud or you'll wake them," she warned and dragged him out of the room towards the open hallway leading to the stairs. "Wake who?" he asked. She simply pointed when they reach the railing and Rick looked over to see what Kate had seen earlier. "HOLY…!" She put a hand over his mouth, since he was talking too loud. "When did this happen?" he asked much softer, only to see Kate shake her head. Back into Alexis's bedroom they both went.

"Pumpkin, did something happen today?" Rick asked her, only to see her shrug her shoulders. Kate got down on her knees in front of Alexis. "Has my mother or Oscar been sad today?" To her it looked like her mother was consoling Oscar by holding his head and stroking his hair. Alexis nodded. "Before school?" Kate asked and got another nod. "What about after school, were they still sad?" she asked as Alexis nodded once more.

"Who was sad? Oscar?" Rick asked and watched her nod. "He was crying," Alexis said. "Do you know why he was crying sweetie?" Kate asked, only to see Alexis shake her head.

Oscar had been crying and her mother had been consoling him all day long. It must really be bad to last all day. "Did someone come over and make him sad?" Kate tried, only to see Alexis continue to shake her head. It was beginning to feel like an interrogation back in New York to her.

"Did someone call with bad news?" Rick tried since no one came to the house. "It's broke," Alexis said. "What's broke? The phone?" he asked and she nodded. "Where's the phone now?" he questioned and got Alexis to point. "His bedroom," he stated and hurried out while Kate got up and held Alexis who looked sad herself.

He returned with a cell phone with no back to it. "The screen's damaged," he said and turned it on. Since it was unlocked he searched the phone and found the call log. "He got a call early this morning from Seaport Animal Hospital," Rick stated and looked at Kate. "An animal hospital, not a people hospital?" she queried. "Well, I know Oscar has two dogs at home and since he didn't bring them, either someone was watching over them or he left them in a kennel. A hospital suggests something bad happened." Rick tried to figure what had happened.