She woke up in Rick's arms.
Well, properly, she woke up on one of Rick's arms, his left one. They'd conked out watching Friends reruns when they were supposed to be studying sugars and making little models with the overpriced Tinker Toys the bookstore sold for exactly this reason.
Rick had been a perfect gentleman, and if she was being honest, too much of one. She knew why she shouldn't encourage him -- those memories were as fresh as yesterday -- but part of her was craving a more normal life, and she was starting to daydream about that more normal life a lot and I mean A LOT, and in the space of two months, Rick had quickly taken up a leading role in those dreams.
No.
No.
She couldn't do this. While she was sure, absolutely sure, everything was nailed down, and Cate was safely off now, and Andrea had been put right, and the last of their charges was set to be her roommate next year, no. There was too much at stake.
There was too much at stake.
She was 19 and he was so handsome and kind and bright and charming and his shoulder felt so nice against her head and the smell of his body set hers off nicely and oh dear God what was she thinking there was too much at stake.
His eyelids shot open. He turned to her with a little smile -- and that look that she knew meant he was checking to make sure he hadn't been too forward -- and murmured, "Huh, I guess Ross and Rachel are more boring than sucrose--" and she leaned over and up slightly and kissed him, slowly at first, but as he eagerly responded, more deeply. It was her first kiss but based on how he was turning and cradling her face and responding, he was enjoying it as much as she was.
"The bed is much more comfortable than the couch," she said somewhat breathlessly. He leaned over and kissed her again, and a feeling like sweet, soft fireworks ran through her.
There was too much at stake, but it could all wait for one night.
--
She woke up in Rick's arms.
Something seemed wrong. She sat quietly in the hazy afternoon light. She'd had a bad cold and had stayed home from work, and she'd been so miserable, and because he was a stupid, sweet, sensitive man, he'd taken the day off from work, worried about his new bride. Even through her cold, which honestly didn't seem so bad now, she could smell his scent and enjoy his warmth as he dozed next to her. The big, wonderful dummy had had the good sense to put the bowl of soup on the little table before he dozed off, and she reflected again on how wonderful he was.
The feeling of wrongness was fading. She thought of Karyn Black for the first time in years -- where did that come from? She vaguely wondered how she was doing; after everything had settled down, a bit of brief, extranormal investigation had revealed she was alive and well and dating Joe! She smiled softly to herself; apparently, now, Karyn'd had the gumption to say something to her crush of so many years.
She looked at her husband, who was snoring gently. He was such a good man. She loved him so much. She'd never dreamed of being swept off her feet when she was young -- quite literally the opposite -- but right now, everything felt like a dream come true.
His eyelids shot open and she had a brief moment of deja vu. "How're you feeling?" he asked, and she loved that the first thing he thought of was her.
She knew she had it bad.
So she decided to act on it.
"The bed's more comfortable than the couch," she said, for some reason not feeling that cold at all any more.
--
She woke up in Rick's arms.
They were both extremely naked, except she was still wearing a nursing bra because she didn't want to leak all over him while they were making love and at first she'd been incredibly embarrassed and self-conscious but goddamn could he make her forget all of that in less than a minute flat, and now she didn't even think about it except how much she wanted to be past this and having his flesh and lips and tongue and eyes on her breasts again.
The baby was still sleeping.
The world was still.
All of the things she had worried about during the daylight seemed so far away.
Rick looked great with that beard she'd suggested he grow.
She wanted to have a dozen more of his babies.
She slipped off to the bathroom, came back, kissed him on the lips, and said, "That bed looks pretty comfortable. Want to help me check?" as his eyelids shot open and he smiled at her.
