Finally Home (Home Series) (50 page)

She shifted so that she was facing him, deepening the kiss.  Mike tightened his arm around her waist and lifted her so that she was straddli
ng him, reminiscent of the last time they sat at the piano.  Only this time, he held her gingerly, afraid of hurting her.

"Mike," she said against his lips, breathless.  "Please."

He pulled back to smooth his hands over her face.

"I don't want to hurt you,
bambina
."

"You won't hurt me.  Please, Mike, I need you."

He knew he could deny her nothing.  Gathering her into his arms, he carried her into the living area, and placed her on her feet.  He carefully pulled her pants off, squatting down to kiss her lower abs and thighs as he bared them, then went to one knee as he helped her step out of her pants.

Lainey looked down at him as he stayed on his knee looking up at her.  They didn't say a word, but their eyes spoke volumes. 
She put her hand on his chest where the bullet had lodged after passing through her.  How could she put into words what she'd felt, knowing that if she hadn't covered him, he'd be dead?  Tears began falling down her cheeks and he slowly stood, wrapping his arms tight around her.

"Don't," he said into her hair, "it's over now."

"He would have killed you.  I saw it.  It was like everything moved in slow-motion.  You were going to die unless I did something."

He lifted her by her waist with one arm while at the same time freeing himself from his pants, then sat down and settled her over him, groaning as she enveloped him in her warmth.

"I could have lost you,
cara mia
," he said, burying his hands in her hair.  "You mean more to me than anything else in this world.  If I had lost you..."

She began a slow rhythm, riding him with sensuous rolls of her hips, eyes locked on his.

"Same goes, my friend.  I can't lose you.  Not now; not ever.  We were meant to be, Commander.  Don't ever leave me."

"I don't plan to," he vowed.

They made love slowly, gently, cherishing each other.  Mike let Lainey drive them from start to their simultaneous rolling climax.  It was beautiful, just like everything he'd come to love about her.  He held her close against his chest, long after their breathing had returned to normal.

"It's all really over now?" she asked softly.

"It is.  He will be moved to a psychiatric facility that specializes in handling PTSD and brain injuries of veterans once he recovers from his injuries."

Lainey lifted her head and met Mike's direct gaze.  He had done that.  In spite of everything that Charles had done, Mike had arranged to have him get the help he needed.  If she hadn't already been head over heels in love with him, she knew she certainly would
be now.

"There aren't strong enough words to express how much that means to me, Mike," she said, "I love you so much."

"He could have been me," Mike said after she kissed him.  "if I hadn't been able to handle all that was done to me as well as I did," he clarified.  "It was why Colt didn't take him out when he had the chance the other day.  He could have been any of us."

Her hand went automatically to cover his bandaged chest.  She knew what he was saying was true. 

"Charles wasn't always been like he is now.  The head injury had done that to him," she said. 

"Do you think Colt will be different like that now, too?"
Mike asked, and she could hear the fear in his tone.

"I honestly don't know.  Head injuries are always scary.  The area where he was hit...it may affect his motor skills a bit.  I don't believe his speech will be affected.  Shouldn't mess with his memory any...but I am worried about just the basic motor functions right at first.  But, honestly, we won't know until they start waking him up.
"

He scooted to the edge of the couch then stood, lifting her into his arms and carried her upstairs. Walking through the bedroom, he went into the bathroom, placed her on her feet then turned the water on in the tub.  He helped ease her sling and shirt off then placed her in the tub. 

"Be right back," he said, leaving her to soak in the warm water.

She watched him go, smiling that he had no issues with walking around nude around her. 
Hopefully, now that the situation with Conroy was over, she would begin to see more and more of the side she saw of him when they were at Melissa's.

He came back in moments later with a tray of fruit and glasses of ice water since she couldn't have alcohol with her medication.
  She smiled and leaned forward as he stepped in and settled behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle.  With him in the tub, the water was high enough to turn the jets on, so for several long moments, they sat quietly, just relaxing.  Lainey thought she could sit like this forever, nestled between his legs, his arms around her holding her close.  It was perfect. It was...

He lifted her left hand and she felt him slide something cool over her ring finger.  She gasped and looked at her hand, seeing a large, emerald cut diamond surrounded by several smaller diamonds and emeralds in a platinum setting.  He raised her hand to his lips, kissing the ring and her finger.

"Mike?" she whispered.

"I don't ever want to lose you,
cara mia.
I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

She clutched his hand tight and leaned back to kiss him over her shoulder.

"Yes, Commander, I will marry you," she whispered when he pulled back.

"
Ti amo, princepesa,"
he said, kissing her brow.

"I love you, too
."

Life began to settle back into some semblance of a routine.  As much as Lainey loved going back to work and seeing her kids every day, she missed seeing Mike all day.  The day she got her stitches removed, he finally took her on what he considered their first date.  She still called the day they went to lunch with the guys at Antonio's their first date, which drove Mike insane, arguing that it hadn't been a date.  She loved him all the more for that.

Today, they were having dinner at his parents
' home, and her parents were coming as well.  It would be the first time for Lainey to see his whole family again since the last time they had dinner with them, and she was glad her parents would be there.  They were going to be discussing wedding plans.  While Lainey had never been one of those girls who constantly dreamed of her wedding, she did have a pretty specific image in her head of how she wanted it to be, and she didn't want their mothers hassling her over it.  The only thing she wasn't sure about was the music.  Mike had told her he had it covered and for her not to worry about it.  She'd been baffled by that and had pressed him for details but he'd insisted that she'd find out on June 24th, their wedding day.

The only thing that kept her days from being truly happy was that Colt and Baby Chris were still in the hospital.  Colt was showing significant signs of improvement and they had begun slowly reducing the medication that kept him asleep, but he'd yet to wake up.  She and Mike went to the hospital every day.  Sarah had since
been released, but she went up there every day, going back and forth between her two boys.  Several times, Lainey had let her cry on her shoulder, but Sarah would only do that if they were away from the rooms.  While she was with Colt or her baby, she kept her demeanor confident and bright.  Everyday, she worked Colt's muscles the way Aubrey had showed her, moving his legs and his arms to prevent him from getting too stiff.  Baby Chris was also improving greatly.  Everyone was hopeful that he would be out of the hospital by the wedding.  As for Colt, it would just depend on when he woke up. 

"
Cara mia,
" Mike said, bringing her thoughts back to the present, "we're here."

She blinked, seeing that they were pulling into his parents' circular driveway.  He pulled up and allowed the valet to take his key as he got out.  Lainey was still in awe of the fact that his parents had valets to park visitors
' vehicles.  She'd grown up with the Adtkissons and they'd never done that unless it was for a social event.

"Do I have to be nice to your brothers?" she asked as they walked to the front door, making Mike chuckle.

"You can be however you want to them,
cara mia
, I don't mind."

"So I can tell Andre off again if he calls you
soldato?
"

He kissed her brow.  "Damn Irish," he chuckled, "I love you."

She was smiling up at him when the door opened, and once again they were greeted by Nick.  This time, however, Lainey didn't detect any hostility from Nick as he let them inside.  On the contrary, he seemed downright pleasant, which puzzled her.

"Mike, Lainey," he said, leading them inside.

Before he could say anything, Jeannette came into the foyer, Lainey's mother Lisa beside her, both ladies smiling.

"Oh, that can't be good," Mike said, his voice low, "remind them that we don't want all of Springfield at this wedding.  They will turn it into a replay of the Founders Day Ball if you let them."

She patted his arm.  "Let me handle them, you go play with the boys," she said, kissing his cheek.

Mike's eyes flashed at her and she could tell he knew she was trying to maneuver him.  She just smiled and walked toward their mothers.

"Guess she just threw you under the bus, didn't she?" Nick said as they watched them walk away.

"Looks like," Mike agreed.

"I'm happy for you," Nick said, turning Mike's attention to him.  "Lainey is...well, she's really something."

"Yes, she is," Mike agreed.

For a moment, the twins stood still, studying each other.  Mike had never felt more like a stranger in his life than he did at that moment.  Some things that Lainey had said over the past few weeks began pricking his consciousness, however.  Nick had never really seemed to care or support his decision to join the Navy; never really asked questions about what he did.  Neither, he had to admit, had he really cared or asked questions about anything Nick was involved in as well. 

Nick cleared his throat.  "Dad and Andre are in the lounge with Chief Riley.  You want to grab a drink?"

"Sure," Mike said, but as Nick turned to walk away, he almost called him back.  They needed to talk.  Mike just wasn't sure how to begin.

From the shadows across the way, Lainey watched the twins walk off toward what Jeannette referred to as Lorenzo's Lounge.  She almost hated seeing them together, just for the fact that seeing Mike and Nick side by side was a reminder of all that Mike had lost.  There were no scars on Nick's face. 
His eyes were just as pale as Mike's, but the iciness that was so often in Mike's gaze wasn't present in Nick's.  Nick had never been jolted from a fitful sleep with nightmares of all the unspeakable things he'd seen, done and had done to him. 

She was just about to walk away to rejoin the others when four children came running through the foyer, following the brothers.  Intrigued, she watched them approach the twins.  Their ages looked to be between four and eight or nine.  One girl and three boys.  She was intrigued because the kids all had that excited edge to them, as if they were doing something exciting and scary all rolled into one.

"Uncle Mike," the oldest boy said, drawing Mike's attention.

"Yes, Nicos?"

"Is it true that you were captured?"

Lainey saw Nick's complexion pale and his eyes narrow.

"Who told you that?" he asked. She was assuming Nicos was his son.

"We heard all of you talking earlier."

"You had no business listening in on our conversation," Nick scolded him.

Nicos ignored him, shifting his gaze back to Mike.  "You have scars on your face and your neck and your hands and arms.  You were captured, weren't you?"

"Yes," Mike replied.

He was so formal with them.  She thought of how he interacted with Cam and with little Petey.  He was still a little reserved with them, but not like this.  It was interesting, however, that the kids didn't seem bothered or intimidated by him.

"You were?" the little girl asked, eyes wide.

"I was, but I'm all right now."

What happened next had Lainey's heart both breaking and soaring.  The little girl, who looked to be around five, stepped closer to Mike and raised her arms for him to pick her up, which he did without hesitation.  Lainey pressed her fingertips to her lips to keep from making any noise when the girl put her little hands on Mike's cheeks and leaned in to place a kiss on the scar under Mike's eye.

"All better?" she asked him, her innocent sincerity taking Lainey's breath away.

"
Assolutamente, bellisima
," he answered her, making her smile and kiss his cheek and throw her arms around his neck.

Beside her, Gia stood with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes as well. 

"Can't fool kids," Gia said, making Lainey nod.

"No, you can't.  Whose is she?"