Angel had drifted to sleep on the couch, her beer on the table and her head in Halex's lap. The stress left her when she slept, and she was comfortable. Her red hair was coming down from its chignon. She rubbed her cheek against Halex's thigh as she sighed and just seemed to melt.
Rain smiled as she rolled burritos. Wrapping them in foil as she did so, each dozen she wrapped in saran wrap, and after the second dozen, she brought Halex two plates. "Here's dinner, probably time to wake her up and get her to eat, she's been losing weight again, and if you're marrying her, you need to know what to look for in her bad habits."
She smiled and sat down in the other corner to eat while they watched Eragon on the TV.
Halex careful brushed the loose hair from Angel's face and bent down to kiss her, "Baby it's time to wake up, dinner's ready, and we need to talk."
Angel stirred, "Sleep.."
"No, dinner time then sleep." He countered her soft complaint.
She slowly sat up and faced him rubbing her eyes with her fists like a child. "What's for dinner?" She asked as she reached for a plate, "Oh the green chili!" She was suddenly brighter as she kissed Halex's cheek and slowly dug in.
Halex chuckled and dug into his plate. Rain had made it perfect, and he smiled as he ate, "This is the best I've had outside of growing up in Arizona."
Rain nodded, "Sonoran Mexican is the best." She sipped her beer and looked at Angel. "Sweetheart... you need to eat and go to bed. I think you should take a vacation from work; you shouldn't be this tired after a twelve hour ER shift and one surgery... You're run down, depressed and your only going to burn out."
"I have burnt out... I don't know what to do anymore... I give up." She sniffed and buried her tears in her burrito.
"Angel you're going to call tomorrow, and you're going to tell the hospital that you are not ready to come back after all, if at all and you're going to do wedding stuff and enjoy your puppies, stop and enjoy life while you heal."
Rain just watched him as Angel just cried harder as she set her plate down. Angel downed her beer, and headed up the stairs, closing the doors behind her she stared at her reflection in the mirror and just dropped onto the bench at the foot of the bed. She pulled out her ponytail and slowly got out of her sweats and into a nightgown. She turned over onto her knees and crawled up on the bed and under the blankets and tried to sob herself to sleep.
"Should I go after her, I feel like I should go after her," Halex said as he sat forward setting his stuff down and stood up. Rain did not stop him, she bobbed her blue head and watched as he went through the kitchen and up the stairs.
"Angel?" He called at her door.
"Go Away!"
Halex just stood there wanting badly to just to relieve her woe. He was pushing her too hard, and he knew in time she would either heal or bounce back and be Angel again. Not the drunk giddy phone call that turned into hell. Not the shy mouse that had not blossomed. He rested his right-hand flat on the door and closed his eyes. Her pain was nearly too much, but he loved her, and he slid his hand down to the French handle and turned it, glad the door wasn't locked. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. He could see her slight form. He walked to the bed, and his heart threatened to rip from his chest with her soft sobs of anguish.
Halex unfolded his large form and slid into the cover's with her and wrapped his arms around that sweet woman and kissed her brow softly. "Laa yumkinu lilkalimati an tasifa hubbi laki,*" He whispered.
She rubbed her face against his tee shirt and sniffed. Pressing into him as she sought out his warmth and soon she was exploring his body. "You are so very handsome, and I'm glad you are here. I"m just an emotional wreck."
"Well, let's sleep for now it's late, and we're both tired," Halex sighed softly. His hand was stroking the small of her back, and soon enough they were asleep in her large bed. She made sure she was pressed against him, and he made sure she was enfolded in his arms. He had made a decision. She would not return to work.
*~*~*
Kirill had landed at O'Hara airport at 3 am and disembarked, collected his bag and into customs, He was allowed in only after a few questions: Are you carrying any fruits or vegetables? Business or Pleasure? And How long is your stay?
He made it to the car rental and picked up his compact and quietly drove through the frozen night. Following the directions from his phone, he stopped at a 24-hour Walmart and picked up three dozen roses and a card. He bought some sweats, tee's and socks, he had only packed important papers and documents in his laptop bag and brought his only suit in its garment bag.
After he had done his shopping, he headed into the subdivisions and found Angel's house. He parked in her driveway and collected his small amount of things. He opened the door breathing in the frozen morning air. His world was changing. His world that had left him for so long and now, now he was going to be wed to a doctor. She'd offered, and he didn't know, but Halex had cried relief that he was being taken out of hell too.
He got to the door and reached a scarred hand toward the doorbell but then rethought, there was a pale light shining in the peep window, and instead, he rapped his knuckles on the door and heard a loud, boisterous bark followed by a second one. "Oh please don't wake them puppies."
The door bolt slid unlocked, and Rain answered the door, "Kirill?" She'd forgotten he was coming and Kirill smiled at her.
"Hello, Rain." He reached out his hand to shake hers, and she stepped back to let him in. "You'll have to put your stuff up in my room Mikhail has the room down here and Halex and Angel, of course, have the master suite." He nodded and smiled, "Show me the way and I'll tuck it away."
She locked the door behind Kirill and let him up the stairs and to the left, opening her door into a blue denim room with gingham curtains and matching duvet and sheets. She showed him the bathroom and walk-in closet, and he nodded, "Thank you."
"I'll be downstairs in the kitchen, come down when you're settled, and I'll get something for you to eat."
He thanked her again and watched as she left. Then he plugged in his phone, set it on the side of the bed closest the door and set his computer bag on the antique desk then grabbed clean clothes and his suit and headed into the bathroom. Kirill hung his suit in the closet and turned on the water in the shower. He took out his contacts and stepped into the water and just sighed, the plane trip had been excruciatingly long, and now he washed up, grabbed a towel and dried off, changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tee and slid into socks and headed downstairs.
Kirill found her still wrapping burros she'd made twelve dozen in four crock pots, and now she was warming two for Kirill, dolloped on some cheese and salsa and handed him the plate with a fork. "Smell's delicious." He sat at the counter on a stool and ate as she worked. "Are you sure you want to do this Rain?"
"Do what?"
"Marry me..."
"Yes, I am. I found you wonderfully attractive in Tucson; you were kind, you talked with me, you engaged me in a delightful conversation and then again when you appeared at the Plastic Surgery Clinic looking for help for Halex." She smiled softly, "Do you like movies?"
"You were kind right off the bat; it was easy to engage you in that conversation. I thought you were pretty right away; your blue hair brings out the green in your hazel eyes." He got up and walked over to her, gently cupping her face, she slid her hands down his arms, and he drew her into a soft, lingeringly sweet kiss.
When the kiss broke Rain bit her lip, and he smiled, "Your beautiful and kind."
"I'm glad you think so. I am, I don't get many dates because I'm not a normal doctor. Let me get these in the deep freeze then we can watch a movie and talk or snuggle or nearly anything you want to try."
He nodded and went back to his dinner while he listened to her work. It was a very homely feeling that was already settling into him as he took his plate to the sink and washed it and put it in the drain basket. Then he padded into the family room and looked at the DVD's and picked out the Bourne Identity and popped it in then turned around, padded around the coffee table and then sat down and waited for her.
Rain was happy and turned down the family room lights and headed over to sit beside Kirill, Kirill patted her leg and smiled kissing her again, "You're going to be my wife, please call me Kirya."
Rain furrowed her brows, "Kirya?"
"Yes it's the diminutive form of my name, a personal nickname I think you call them here."
Rain smiled, "I like that, Kirya it is." She cupped his face and kissed him softly, "Where did you get all these scars? Or is that rude to ask?"
"It's not rude; you're going to be my wife you need to know these things. I was in the Army of mother Russia, and we were climbing a cliff to get to camp and the crack my main cam was in gave way, and I fell 60 feet. I was flown out, and in the hospital for awhile, they discharged me, and that was when I met Halex, and he took me in."
She nodded and stroked the lines, grooves, and bumps. "I think they make you more debonair." She leaned in and kissed his jaw and rocked back on her heels as she watched him, "I rock climb at a rock climbing club in Tucson on those false walls and concrete rocks. Freeform."
He thought about it a long moment and finally came up with a smile, "Sound's fascinating. Tell me about our home in Tucson, what will it be like?"
Rain thought a long moment. "It's a small home, just one bedroom, a bathroom, living room, kitchen, and small dining area." It has a small yard with a ten-foot wooden fence, a garage and guest house that has a small kitchen, a full-size bath a small living area and my home office. It's behind a grocery store and pet store. My main office is up by Craycroft and Grant just a couple of miles up the road, and the hospital is just across the street."
"It sounds lovely." She agreed, got back up, made chocolate sundaes and then brought them in, "They have a touch of Bailey's in them too!" She told him all about it as he dug in and started the movie. She was resting against him as he settled and just felt the rise and fall of his chest as they watched until they both enjoyed the movie. They popped in the second one and not much longer after sundaes were eating, yawns were bouncing back and forth, and Rain's stamina finally wore out she fell asleep in his lap, and he carefully scooped her up and carried her to bed.
*Words can't describe how I feel for you.