I am a little late with this one but I did start it before Valentine's. Enjoy!
My Valentine
After he got back from Asia, Mike had found Christine and the girls, but his marriage was effectively over. Christine and the girls had been held captive by Allison Shaw and she blamed Mike, not that there hadn't been problems before. So, he set them up in a house and moved into a BOQ. The judicial system was a mess so they couldn't file for a divorce and Mike made a point to take the girls out once or twice a week.
Valentine's had always been an important day for Mike. It struck him funny that while he couldn't undo his vows, he could buy her flowers, which he did. He also bought small gifts for the girls and after work, headed to Christine's house. He would be unannounced, which probably wouldn't do him any favors with Christine, but as soon as she opened the door, Hannah gave him a bright smile.
"You're here!" Hannah said. Mike gave her a hug and one of the bouquets.
"Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart. Where's your mom and sister?" Mike asked.
"In the kitchen. They're arguing again." Hannah said.
"Fun. Alright." Mike said as he followed Hannah into the kitchen area at the back of the house. Sure enough, Christine and Katie were arguing about something involving Katie's skirt.
"You are not wearing that outside of this house." Christine told Katie. Mike agreed with Christine immediately. The skirt was entirely too short.
"It would be too short if it hit my ankles." Katie retorted.
"Two inches above your knees. More than fair. I had to go two inches below when I was your age." Christine said. Mike almost laughed, because he distinctly remembered Christine wearing shorter skirts…but he was keeping his mouth shut.
"Dad?" Katie asked, obviously wanting to draw Mike in.
"I agree with your mom. Its too short. Happy Valentine's Day, honey." Mike said as he handed her the flowers. Katie scowled but took the flowers. She sat them down and walked towards her bedroom, Hannah on her heels.
"I could have handled that." Christine said as she grabbed all three bouquets and began putting them in vases.
"Yes, but she asked. I know roses are the more normal choice but I remembered you having sunflowers in your wedding bouquet." Mike said.
"Only thing I got to choose for our wedding." Christine remarked. Mike fixated on the scar on Christine's jawline. Put there by Shaw or one of her goons. He tried not to notice but it was hard. He hated that scar with everything he had.
"I remember. I just thought they were a good choice." Mike said as he sat down at the island while Christine put each bouquet in a vase.
"Have you eaten? I have chicken parmesan in the oven. Homemade sauce and there's plenty." Christine asked.
"Only if there's enough." Mike said. Food was on the short side but Mike made sure his wife and daughters had plenty.
"There is. I also made a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Surprisingly, its not bad. Of all things, flour to be short of?" Christine remarked.
"Sounds good. How has your counseling been going?" Mike asked.
"I…hate going. I know I need to but I hate it. I've never been good about talking about my problems." Christine replied.
"Yes, I am aware of that, but its important." Mike said.
"Have they given you any idea how long before you deploy?" Christine asked.
"No, but I would say soon. These food shortages are concerning. They want us to figure out what is attacking the plant life. Not sure how we are supposed to…but we will. I am worried about it getting worse here though." Mike said.
"We are okay. I have a cellar full of food I've canned before things started getting bad. Freezer full of meat. Flour is an issue but I'll manage." Christine said.
"I'm still worried. It could get rough. Just don't say anything about what you have stored. And as long as you can, stay in counseling. I know you hate it and I know you think it does no good, but please. For me." Mike begged.
"It's important to you because you think I might get better and we can restart?" Christine asked quietly.
"Partially, yes. But also because I do want you to get to where you can accept what happened to you without becoming so angry. I will not apologize for continuing to love you or wanting what's best for you." Mike said. He could have sworn that Christine's eyes welled up with tears but she looked away.
"I…don't like being this angry. Its exhausting and…honestly lonely." Christine admitted finally.
"You know you can call me, right?" Mike asked. He moved around the island and put his hands on Christine's shoulders, not wanting to scare her, but wanting the physical contact.
"I…miss having you here. There's times I wake up after a nightmare, I reach for you and then remember that you aren't there because I pushed you away." Christine replied.
"There were other factors." Mike admitted.
"I know but most of those were me. I wasn't satisfied with just being a Navy wife. I wanted more. I was angry. And now I am tired of being angry." Christine said.
"Chris…do you want me to move back in?" Mike asked gently. He was surprised when she nodded yes and then threw her arms around his neck. He pulled her into a hug, not attempting to kiss her. Christine had also been sexually assaulted and Mike knew to be careful. "I love you." Mike told her.
"I love you too." Christine answered. Instead of saying anything, he just held on; glad he had bought Christine the flowers.
One Year Later
Mike was never so glad to get home. Incidentally, it was on Valentine's Day. Flowers were out but he was able to get some jewelry in Norfolk when they stopped with the seeds.
He was ready to be home with his girls. It had been an exhausting year and he was recovering from being stabbed now. He drove home and let himself into the house. Hannah came around the corner and screeched.
"You're home!" Hannah said as she ran to him and hugged him. Mike tried not to hiss in pain. "Sorry, Dad; I forgot." Hannah said.
"Its okay. Where's your mom and sister?" Mike asked.
"Cleaning Katie's room. It's a mess." Hannah said.
"Is yours?" Mike asked.
"Not like Katie's." Hannah said.
"How about you go fix up your room? I want to give your mom her Valentine's gift." Mike suggested as he handed Hannah her package. She opened it and gave him a huge smile.
"I love it, Daddy!" Hannah said as Mike helped her fasten the charm bracelet.
"I couldn't do flowers this year like last, but you can keep that." Mike said. Hannah gave him a huge hug, but was also careful of his side.
"I love you, Daddy." Hannah said.
"I love you too, Sweetheart." Mike said. He kissed Hannah's forehead and then let her go, heading towards Katie's room, where he could hear his wife and oldest daughter bickering about something. As soon as he stepped into the room, they stopped and Katie rushed to him. He had to guard his side again when she hugged him but he would have never refused it because Katie's hugs were not given often. As soon as she had released Mike he gave her the gift and led Christine out of the room.
"She'll clean it now." Christine remarked, but Mike stopped her by giving her a long and gentle kiss. He had missed Christine a lot. Their relationship was no longer physically intimate, other than a few kisses here and there, but he had missed even that.
"For you. Happy Valentine's Day." Mike said. She gasped as soon as he opened the box. A new wedding band and engagement ring since hers had been lost while she was held hostage.
"Oh, Mike. They're beautiful. Thank you." Christine said as he put the rings on her left ring finger.
"Sorry I couldn't do my traditional flowers this year." Mike remarked before she gave him another kiss.
"I understand and this is much better. My hand felt naked without a wedding band and these are perfect. I missed you." Christine remarked as she ran her hand down his side.
"Sore." Mike replied.
"You still have stitches, don't you? I noticed you were guarding your side when Katie hugged you. You need to be resting." Christine asked.
"I have to say, changing out of my uniform and sitting down sounds good." Mike admitted.
"Then go on and I'll start dinner. It'll be soup though." Christine said.
"Soup is fine. Thank you." Mike said.
"Mike, thank you. I hope you know how much I love you?" Christine asked.
"I suspect but its always nice to hear. I love you too." Mike said. He kissed her forehead and smiled down at her. The scar looked a bit fainter. She seemed more confident and comfortable in her own skin, exactly as Mike wanted.
"Well, go get cleaned up. We'll at least have a good dinner for you tonight." Christine said.
"Happy Valentine's Day." Mike answered.
"To you as well. After all these years and all this stuff, you are still my favorite Valentine." Christine said with a wink.
"You're mine too." Mike replied before giving her another kiss. He hoped someday that the passion would return to their marriage but he was fine if not. He had his wife back and that was all that mattered to him, besides his daughters.