Just Past Midnight - Chapter 1 by Mari and Sammy
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Mari’s ANs: Sammy and Ilna, love you guys. REAL McRollers and Readers thank you for all the wonderful feedback.
Sammy’s ANs: Mari & Ilna--you’re the best. McRollers--thanks for reading.
The house had already settled into the low, quiet hum it took on when the bedtime routine was completed. On the coffee table lay a photo album filled with pictures of their recent vow renewal. Despite the fact that they had the entire event captured on video, Angie had insisted she needed a physical copy she could look through whenever she wanted.
It felt like an odd request from a little girl who had been adept at finding exactly the video she was looking for on her parents’ phones since she was four years old, but it seemed so important to her that Steve and Catherine were happy to oblige.
The pictures had finally been printed off a few days earlier and the mystery of why Angie wanted an actual album was cleared up as the entire family sat around the dining room table, carefully putting all of the pictures into place.
“Now that this is done, I’m gonna take it in for show and tell,” the eight year old announced proudly.
Steve chuckled. “Do you really think your classmates are interested in seeing pictures of me and Mommy?”
Angie looked momentarily confused. “I want to show Ms. Lane and the kids in the class me and Ashae’s pretty dresses,” she said as though it was the most obvious reason in the world.
“I’m sure they’ll love it,” Catherine said as she reached out and squeezed Steve’s hand and whispered, "Nothing will humble you faster than a kid.”
When Cammie alerted, and Steve quietly stepped inside, it was just past midnight.
Catherine was dozing in the living room with the dog, shoes off, afghan draped over the back of the sofa. She looked up, her eyes taking him in with practiced efficiency, checking for injuries, both visible and not. She exhaled and smiled at the way his expression and the set of his shoulders relaxed when he saw her.
“Long day,” she said, not a question. A particularly ugly case had pulled him out of bed the night before and had exploded into a frenzied scramble to save a family of hostages that included young children, from another family member. He nodded and dropped his keys in the bowl by the door.
She scooted to the side and he sat, pecking her lips and leaning into her immediately. Catherine slid her arm around his waist, the contact quiet and soothing.
She could feel the tension he’d brought home loosening.
“And you guys got everyone out safely.”
He gave her a small smile. “Yeah.”
Her hand made circles on his back.
“Did Angie try to wait up?”
A tiny smile of her own lifted the corner of her mouth. “Of course.”
He leaned back with a chuckle, taking her with him.
Catherine rested her cheek against his shoulder, and he tilted his head toward hers, kissing her hair.
“She told me to tell you she saved you an extra hug for rescuing ‘a whole bunch of kids.’ ”
That made his smile reach his eyes. “I’ll collect first thing in the morning.” He glanced at the coffee table and smiled. “Was she looking at the vow renewal pictures again?”
“It’s her favorite activity lately,” Catherine said. “Tonight she asked me if we were going to do a vow renewal every year from now on.”
Steve barked a laugh. “I think that would be a little too much.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he wanted them back. “I just mean in terms of mission planning and logistics,” he added quickly. “I would happily marry you again every year. More often if you wanted.”
“Stand down, Commander,” Catherine chuckled. “I knew exactly what you meant.”
Steve’s eyes turned smokey. “You always do.”
“How about if I take Cammie out for a potty trip,” she suggested. “You look in on the kids and we can reconvene in a few minutes in our room.”
Steve waggled his eyebrows. “After all, in a way we’re newlyweds.”
Later, the house had gone still. Steve sat on the edge of the bed. He’d showered, and was wearing the shorts he’d pulled on to sleep in. After checking the kids, he’d come in while Catherine was in the bathroom.
He’d paused in the kids’ rooms longer than usual, listening to their even breathing. Angie’s stuffed goat was, as always, tucked under her arm. DJ had been sprawled almost diagonally across his bed, one arm flung over the pillow. He’d adjusted their blankets without waking them, a familiar swell love in his chest.
He vowed again, as he did on a daily basis, that he would never take moments like this for granted. And that even if the circumstances of his job sometimes took him away for a few days at a time, when he was home with his family he was committed to being 100% present. If there was anyone in the world who deserved his undivided love and attention it was Catherine and the kids.
When Catherine came out of the bathroom, pulling her hair into a ponytail, she crossed the room and stopped directly in front of him, stepping between his legs until his knees brushed her thighs.
He didn’t look up. Instead, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her stomach, just below her ribs, the way he always did.
“I realized something when we were standing up at the vow renewal,” he said, his voice slightly muffled against her tank top.
“What’s that?” she asked softly.
“It makes me feel just as good to call you my wife now as it did the first time I said the word for real,” he sighed.
“That’s good,” she said. “Because I feel the same way about calling you my husband.”
“I like it when you call me your husband,” he said, and she could feel his smile against her skin.
“I like it when you call me your wife.”
She placed her hands on his shoulders, pressing gently on familiar points she knew by muscle memory.
Neither of them spoke for a full minute.
Steve smiled against her skin, eyes closed. The ugliness from the day had lost its grip.
Catherine’s hand slid through his hair, then stilled, knowing anything that followed him home was gone.
When he moved, one hand settled at her hip. His forehead still rested lightly against her stomach, and he felt her fingers in his hair with the familiar rhythm he’d known for decades.
His hands moved along her hips automatically, tracing familiar lines, small, teasing touches born from years of knowing exactly what the other needed.
A faint smirk tugged at her lips. “Not too tired? She teased softly.
Her fingers traced slowly along his jaw. His hand brushed her hip in response. The tension of the day seemed to slide out of him more with every movement.
He lifted his head just enough to press a kiss to her side.
She bent and kissed his jaw, her thumb brushing his lips.
Steve exhaled, a low sound coming from his throat as he leaned back just a fraction.
Catherine shifted slightly, guiding him back with a touch of his shoulders. He responded automatically, one hand tracing her face, the rhythm between them carrying intimacy without words.
A soft, almost imperceptible sigh escaped her lips when he kissed her neck.
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