Page 11 of Unruly Kris

“Cath, are you okay?” She opened her eyes to find Kris squatting stiffly by the side of her chair. He reached up, cupping her cheek, running concerned blue eyes over her face as he assessed her condition.

“I’m fine.” She gently pushed away, vaguely aware that this was another first for him, the first time he had ever seen her like this, pushed to the extreme and not giving her body an ounce of compassion or leeway until her work was done. It was on the tip of her tongue to explain to him that this was her norm, this was how she got things done and impressed her CO with her work ethic. She firmly believed that hyper-vigilance was an asset and she pushed herself accordingly. “Do me a favor? Talk to me about something, anything, that doesn’t have to do with work.”

“Are you serious?” He made a noise of disbelief and turned her chair to face him fully.

“Yes, believe it or not. It helps.” She winced, a headache beginning to pound at her temples. “Something mundane, what are you doing tomorrow, appointments, plans?”

Cath could practically see him rolling through a mental list in his mind until his eyes lit up, and she knew he had remembered something. “Tomorrow night I have to go to LA and do some Christmas shopping.”

“A little last minute, isn’t it?” Christmas was five days away, what minimal shopping she had done had been done weeks ago. Kris’s main gift had been the hardest to acquire, and that was because it had only come to her while they had been laying under the Christmas tree the week before. She pulled strings to have it rushed through production and received it in her work mailbox just before noon the day before.

“No, I schedule it around this time every year, close to Christmas Day.” He smoothed her hair back and kissed her temple. “I was hoping you’d come with me. It’s kind of… special, something I really enjoy. I’d like to share it with you.”

“Count me in.” Cath leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. As she had predicted, his voice had a grounding effect on her senses and putting her focus on something besides her body had a stabilizing effect, the nausea began to abate, and her vision began to clear. “If I don’t get stuck in the office again.”

“You said no work talk,” he pointed out, wagging a finger at her.

“I’m just being honest.” She stifled a yawn and began to turn back to her desk, even as she felt her eyes droop.

“Okay, that’s enough for tonight.” Kris stopped her from moving and began to gently move her chair away from the desk.

“I’m fine, I’m almost done.” Even to her tired brain, the excuse sounded lame and when she looked at the stack of papers on her desk, she had no desire to do any more. Still her stubborn nature reared its head and she refused to budge; no one made choices for her but her and that was how it was going to stay. “Also, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thanks.”

“At this moment, that seems debatable.” Kris glared at her, meeting her stubbornness head on with his own.

“Go to bed, I’ll be there shortly.” She forced herself to reach for a file folder, only to have him gently intercept her hand and hold it. She stared at it and then gave him a warning look.

“Cath,” Kris tipped her chin towards him and stared her down. “I can’t carry you right now, but Iwillroll this chair all the way down the hall to the bedroom with you in it.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” She set her mouth in a firm line and mustered as much of a stern tone as she could.

“Is that a challenge?” He walked behind the chair and began to steer it with his good arm, nudging it towards the doorway. The look on his face told her he was absolutely willing to make good on his threat.

“Okay, okay, okay!” Cath glared at him and rose, throwing her hands in the air. “Fine, you win!”

She grumbled a lurid string of curses and stalked towards the door with him close behind her like a shadow. In her mind, she was ready to remain angry or at the very least annoyed at him for badgering her, however by the time she hit the hallway she was already flagging, and she knew the battle to stay awake was a useless cause. With little else to do but admit defeat, she stripped off, not bothering with any pajamas, and crawled into bed, letting Kris tuck the blankets around her then crashed into a heavy sleep.

10

The next morning, after a rock solid and dreamless night, Cath sat up in bed with a muffled groan. Seeing the light coming through the window, she jolted up, a horrified sense of déjà vu from months before washing over her. She was halfway out of bed in a panic when she remembered a message from her CO hours before. A total stand-down of operations had been affected; she should take the day and work from home.

With a sigh she eased back down onto the sheets, and then realized she was alone in bed. Kris’s side was rumpled and empty and when she ran a hand over the pillow it was cool to the touch. Given that she was the early riser of the two of them, she felt a current of anxiety at how long she had been down and out. She pushed the blankets away and stood, stretching her aching muscles as she tried to wake her body up. Seeing Kris’s black silk robe laying over the back of a chair, she reached out and tugged it on, pulling it around herself and inhaling the faint but familiar scent of the sandalwood soap he used. She tied the belt around her waist and started to pad towards the kitchen and the heady coffee she could smell brewing. As she passed by the mirror above her dresser, she caught sight of the utter wreck her hair had turned into after sleeping on it in a loose braid all night and winced. She pulled the hair tie out of the end and shook her hair out, running her fingers through it until she was satisfied it was under control; letting it fall in wheat-colored ripples over her shoulders and down to the small of her back.

She left the bedroom and started down the hall to the kitchen, hearing Kris moving about. He was in the midst of a conversation and as she got closer to the kitchen doorway, she could hear fragmented pieces:

“No, I’m feeling a lot better…Yeah, still have pain in my ribs, the lung is totally healed but the shoulder and collarbone flares up like a bitch at night.” There was a long pause and the sound of a bowl being moved across the kitchen counter. “No, no, I’ll be there, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. 8PM sharp… Yeah, I’m totally bringing her with me, I think you’ll like her, she’s… amazing.”

Cath walked into the kitchen slowly, taking in the scene in front of her. Kris was at the stove, phone tucked between his ear and good shoulder as he juggled flipping a pancake in her frying pan. Beside him on the counter was a bowl filled with batter and a measuring cup, and further down a plate stacked with flapjacks. On her small kitchen table was a bowl of cut up bananas and another of strawberries. She felt her stomach growl at the smell of the food and fresh coffee. She watched impressed as he flipped the cake onto the plate and quickly measured out the batter for another in an almost smooth gesture.

He inclined his head in her direction as he finished his conversation and motioned to a cup of coffee steaming on the counter, indicating it was for her. “All right, see you tonight.”

Cath retrieved the cup of coffee, bringing it to her nose and inhaling the rich scent for a moment before taking a sip. She leaned against the kitchen counter and observed as he disconnected, tossed his phone next to him and finished cooking the batter in the pan. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” He leaned over and brushed his lips over hers sweetly, trying not to jostle her coffee cup. “I was just about to wake you for brunch.”

For the first time Cath caught sight of the time on the microwave and nearly choked. It was almost 11:30AM, hours past when she normally rose; in fact, in terms of a normal nine to five, the bulk of her day was gone. She made a noise of dismay and white knuckled her coffee cup. “Why didn’t you wake me? I should have been up ages ago.”

“You needed the rest.” He shepherded her over to a chair at the table and guided her into it. Retrieving the plate of pancakes, he set it on the table then returned to the coffee pot and brought it over as well.

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