annoyed"At least we have something interesting to put in the baby book," Annie said as she looked out over the dark skies and pounding rain. The parking lot outside the window was a virtual swimming pool, and though she'd tried to keep the tension out of her voice, she had a feeling she hadn't done a very good job.
Thankfully, she'd put the Corvette in an above-ground garage, but her Golf was somewhere down there, swimming around in the mess. The tension she was feeling was as high as it would have been in any other crazy situation, but the fact that this one was just outside her window didn't make her feel very good. Turning back to Auggie, she took a breath. "How're you doing over there?"
The power had gone out three hours earlier, and though it didn't put him at a disadvantage, she'd stocked up on candles and a flashlight for herself. They'd met at his apartment just because he could move better in it, but that meant her car was a goner and hurricane insurance wasn't part of the package.
It also meant that the ultrasound they'd been scheduled for had been re-scheduled.
She said it quietly, her hand slipping into his as she curled up next to him. A moment later, she pulled the blanket on the back of the couch down on top of them, over their laps, and slipped under his arm. "It's eerie, isn't it? I mean, the noises outside, but it's so quiet in here."
It was awkward, she knew, because of his propensity to want to keep everyone safe. The truth was, she felt safer just because they were together.
He sighed. "I guess that means I'll have to sing. God help us both." He laughed, but it was a little awkward. "It is really quiet in here. I haven't been this quiet in a long time," he whispered. "At least we have the three of us together."
She squeezed him with a solid hug as she said it so that he'd know he was teasing, but his next statement made her sober up again. "It is the three of us together, isn't it? It'll always be the three of us, Auggie. I hope you know that."
Leaning up, she gave him another kiss.
"Three of us," he growled into the kiss. "Yes, three of us. Always. I would die for both of you. You have to know that."
He pulled back, staring into her eyes. Or, where he thought her eyes should have been. "Marry me, Annie. Let me make an honest woman out of you."
When he pulled back, she frowned a little, lost in the intensity in his gaze. His words caught her off-guard and she smiled softly before shaking her head just a little. "Oh, Auggie. Now you're letting your fear get the better of you. The storm, the baby... I'm already yours, you don't have to worry about that. I'm not going anywhere, you don't have to think that I'd trap you into this."
"I'm sorry. If I'm moving too fast, I shouldn't have said anything, but... I'm not letting fear affect me. I mean what I'm saying. It's not the storm that's making me..." He sighed. "I want to be with you. Always."
"No, Auggie. No. That's not... that's not what I meant." She took a breath, realizing that he hadn't meant what she'd thought at all and it had come out all wrong. "I thought maybe you were asking because I was pregnant, not because. Not because you wanted to be with me."
Saying it like that, she realized just how stupid it was. Of course he did. They'd been through so much, how could she have thought any different? "It's not too fast, not at all."
Raising an arm, he motioned to the world going on outside the windows. "What if something happened, Annie? You're carrying my child. I love you. If you're my wife, legally bound, then you're entitled to my benefits from being a soldier. To... To a lot of things. You and our child, our child, would be safer and protected. I would feel... better. And? I want to spend my life with you."
"I know," she told him, taking his arm and hugging it close. "And I want to spend my life with you. Not just because of the baby, either, but because I love you. I've loved you since... since you walked up to me and picked out my perfume. Does that make me silly?"
He smiled and looked in her direction, leaning forward to kiss her temple. "Mr. Auggie Walker, right," he teased.
She had a feeling he was just teasing, but if he was thinking hyphenates, she figured she'd better ask now. "It just sounds so manly."
Lifting her hand, he kissed her knuckles. "We don't have to think about it now. Annie Anderson, how does that sound?"
Lifting his hand to her mouth, she returned the kiss, just as gently.
With the blanket over them, he felt like a teenager. Like he was young again. She inspired that in him. She brought out his impulsive side.
A few kisses later, she amended that statement, considering how comfortable she was under the blanket with him. "Actually, we don't even need to move. I'm comfortable where we are."
Leaning forward, he gently kissed her neck, nuzzling it. "Maybe you and I could really ride out this storm," he teased.
She wasn't discounting the fact that he had an extremely dirty mind when he put his mind to it, nor was she discounting the fact that she'd been feeling an increase in her libido recently because of, well... everything. "Is there something you had in mind, exactly, or are we just seeing where the hurricane takes us?"
"If we're taken anywhere, it won't be because of the hurricane. It will be because of me." He laughed and kissed her, moving one hand to the back of her neck to hold her close. He didn't want to hurt her. Being pregnant, he would have to exhibit more care with his touches. That didn't mean he couldn't touch, though. "What do you have in mind," he purred.