by Small,DJ
“It’s still morning, Kacey.”
Kacey shook her head then she kissed the side of Leo’s head. “It must be bad dream night in the house.” She looked back at Ava, and Ava could tell that she was still worried. “Are you sure you’re okay? I heard you call for me.”
Ava nodded and waved her hand in the air. “I am. It’s just…you know.”
Kacey gave her a sad smile. “I know.” She bent down to give her Leo. “Hold him for a moment, I’m going to go get us a blanket, since we’re going to be out her for a while.”
Ava chuckled as she got Leo settled against her. Kacey was starting to realize that when she wasn’t in a good place emotionally she would stay out here until she felt better. Ava kissed the top of Leo’s head. Holding their son always centered her, and she drew in a deep breath as thoughts of how she almost didn’t have this took root in her mind. If things had gone another way she wouldn’t have Leo, she wouldn’t be expecting another child, and she certainly wouldn’t have Kacey. Ava’s heart clenched at the thought and tears formed in her eyes. She wiped away an errant one as it rolled down her cheek.
Kacey had died on the table in the emergency room. She had been officially dead for five minutes before the medical team was able to bring her back, and even after they had worked on her and repaired the damage Kacey had been in a coma for four days after the shooting. Those had been the longest four days of Ava’s life. Yet when Kacey had woken up on that fourth day, and she was able to see her beautiful, brown eyes again, Ava had been rendered speechless.
She had been so happy to see that Kacey was awake that in a single breath, she yelled at her for taking a bullet for her and proposed to her all at once. Ava had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions the first half hour that Kacey had been awake, and it came out of nowhere, but once she had become a little more lucid, Kacey had shot down her proposal, much to Ava’s relief.
Ava smiled as she thought about that day. If they had gotten married right after Kacey had been shot, their first year of marriage would have been complete hell. Kacey had to endure months and months of physical therapy, and it had been a trying time on their relationship. Ava had refused to give up on Kacey, who had been angry about being less than she normally was. There had been many shouting matches between them during the year of Kacey’s recovery, and on numerous occasions she had told Ava to leave, but she stayed, because she loved the stubborn woman
Ava let out a sigh. She was glad that they had been able to make it through that tumultuous time. She rubbed Leo’s back as Kacey came out of their room with a blanket. She came to a stop next to the lounge chair. “Up, Sunshine.” Ava smiled at her then stood up, still holding Leo. Kacey sat down on the lounge chair then opened her legs so that Ava could sit between them. Once she was sitting, Kacey threw the blanket over the three of them.
They got comfortable, and Ava and Kacey were silent. The only sound they heard was the sound of the water crashing on the beach. Kacey kissed the side of Ava’s head, giving her and Leo a slight squeeze. Another moment of silence passed, then Kacey asked, “Which nightmare was it?”
Ava tilted her head back a little so that she could look into Kacey’s eyes. “Can we not talk about it right now? At least not while Leo is here?”
Kacey gave her a nod then placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Of course.”
Ava drew in a deep breath then exhaled as she looked back at the ocean. She knew that she and Kacey would talk about it eventually, but for now she just wanted to enjoy this moment. Kacey was her rock, and Ava was thankful for every day that they were together.
Kacey being the head of a crime organization made Ava appreciate the woman even more, especially when she came home after a job or when she had gone to do something for the business. Kacey had taken over the organization two years after she had been shot. Frank had lingered around for a few months to make sure she was able to handle everything and guide her, but he quickly realized that she was a natural. Frank had even told Kacey that she was better at running the organization than her dad, which had put a chip on her shoulder for a few days.
Frank didn’t get to retire on his island right away once he was comfortable with Kacey being in charge; they made him stick around for another month for their wedding. Ava smiled and idly ran her thumb across the wedding band on her finger. She didn’t have one when she and Robin had been married, she thought she would lose the ring and Ava had found the idea rather ridiculous, but when she and Kacey were planning their wedding, she realized she wanted rings.
Ava was proud to show the world that she was married to Kacey, and Kacey felt the same way. It was something that she hadn’t felt with Robin. With Robin she had felt ambivalent about everything in regards to their marriage, but with Kacey she felt everything and more.
Ava glanced down, grinning when she saw that Leo had fallen asleep. She angled her head to the left then kissed the underside of Kacey’s jaw. “I love you.”
Kacey let out a quiet chuckle then a content sigh came from her. “I know you do, Sunshine.” She looked at Ava out the corner of her eye. “You ready to talk about it?”
Ava blew out an exasperated breath then rested her head back on Kacey’s shoulder. “It was nothing, Kacey. Same nightmare. I’ll get over it.”
“Do you need to go back to therapy?” Kacey asked, her tone serious.
Ava scowled. She had gone to therapy when the nightmares had started six months after Kacey was shot. The therapist had tried to help her work through what she felt from shooting Robin and cope with Kacey being shot, but it didn’t work. She quit therapy a month later, deciding that with time the nightmares would stop. She was beginning to realize it would probably be another few years before they actually did.
“That nerve, Kacey…you’d better stop while you’re ahead.” She turned her head a little to look at Kacey out the corner of her eye. Ava could tell that Kacey was waiting for an answer. She sighed then in a soft voice she revealed, “You keep dying. And this time…” She trailed off.
Kacey took a gentle hold of her chin then turned Ava’s head so that she could capture her lips for a gentle but emotion-filled kiss. It lasted a few seconds then Kacey pulled back. “I’m not going anywhere, Ava and I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. Got it?” Ava nodded, and Kacey’s eyebrow went up. “Do you really get it, or are you just agreeing with me?”
The conviction in Kacey’s eyes made Ava’s heart swell. She realized that Kacey now had something that made her life worthwhile and she wasn’t going to let anything destroy that for either of them. Ava kissed her again then whispered, “Yes, I do Kacey.”
They shared another kiss then Kacey said, “Good.”
The two of them got comfortable on the lounge chair and resumed their silence. Ava was happy that she had given Kacey something that made her life worth living, because Kacey did the same for her. The woman hadn’t been wrong all those years ago when she had told Ava that she could make her happy.
Ten minutes had passed when Ava was hit by one of her weird pregnancy cravings. “Kacey…”
“Ava.”
Ava tilted her head to the side then she gave Kacey a sweet smile. “Do we have anymore mint chocolate chip ice cream?”
Kacey chuckled and shook her head. She gave Ava a kiss then replied, “I think we do Sunshine. I think we do.”
About The Author
DJ Small lives in the city of Richmond, in the amazing state of Virginia. When he isn’t working or writing he is indulging in Canadian television or another one of Shonda Rhimes’s enthralling series. He’s passionate about telling stories that cover all spectrums of humanity and hopes to be one of the many storytellers that changes the way people view the world.
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