015: Chips Fall

The curtains in the presidential suite at the Westin had been left open and now that the sun was breaking over the horizon, the room was bright enough to pull Kayla from sleep. She lifted her hand up to rub her eyes, looking for the clock on the bedside table – it wasn't there. Her eyes opened when she felt something cool on her finger and she looked down to see it adorned with a plain rose gold wedding band. Everything came flooding back and the previous night still felt like a dream. Smiling, she turned over, away from the sun creeping in, expecting to see Rick sound asleep beside her, but his side of the bed was empty and felt cold. Sitting up, Kayla scanned the room and settled on the bathroom door which was open. Listening carefully, she didn't hear any noise, which meant there was a good chance she was alone.

She tried not to panic, hyper-aware of the silence that surrounded her. The night before, Rick had taken her to see the historic Las Vegas sign and had ended up telling her some of his darkest secrets. The fact that he wasn't here now made the doubts resurface – was he regretting asking her to marry him? She tried to think about the night before, if there had been any signs that she'd missed. They'd found a little chapel that was still open and after an hour of paperwork, they'd been legally married. With the Mandalay Bay being closed, Rick had scrambled to find them something off the strip and they'd ended up here, spending hours consummating their marriage. When she'd fallen asleep, Rick had her securely in his arms and for the first time in her life, she felt as if nothing bad could touch her. The memories from the basement didn't matter, because they'd made her who she was – the woman Rick Ravenswood wanted to spend his life with, or so she thought.

Exhaling deeply, Kayla climbed out of bed, trying hard not to overreact. She went to put back on the dress she'd been wearing the night before, but settled on the complimentary plush hotel robe that was hanging up. Throwing it on, she grabbed her phone and tried calling Rick, but it went to voicemail. Instead of leaving him a message, she opted to send him a text.

Hey, just woke up and you aren't here… Wondering if you were going to be back soon?

The last thing she wanted was to blow up his phone with more messages and phone calls. If she didn't hear back in an hour or so, she'd head back to the penthouse and maybe she'd find him there. She couldn't ignore the fact that there was a possibility Rick had regretted the whole thing and had snuck out. As much as she didn't want to believe it, there was always that chance. Instead of sitting and wallowing in what might be, Kayla decided to be productive and get herself cleaned up. Walking into the bathroom she turned on the luxurious shower and wasted no time in stripping and stepping in.

The stall was so big at least four people could shower comfortably in it and she couldn't help but lose herself in how refreshing the rain shower felt pouring down on her. Beyond the sound of the water, she heard a strange sound. It was a bump and then a scraping sound. She froze, holding her breath. There was another soft bump and she called out, "hello?"

When nothing but silence answered her, she shook her head, cursing her overactive imagination. She was thinking maybe she'd imagined it, maybe it was just someone coming or going down the hall. The silence stretched out so long that she relaxed again, going back to rinsing her hair. Another bump outside the bathroom door made her almost jump out of her skin.

In the living room area of the suite, Rick tipped the room service attendant, sending him on his way before shoving the little wheeled table closer to the couch. It bumped against the coffee table again, sending the silverware and dishes rattling. He was oblivious to the noise he was making, how it was sounding on the other side of the wall. Humming to himself, he set up the iced mochas he'd gone all the way to Dunkin Donuts to get, a single long-stemmed red rose resting on the paper tray between the two cups. It wasn't the most beautiful tableau, but he thought she'd appreciate it.

She had just finished her shower when she heard a clanging sound outside the bathroom. Grabbing the robe, she quickly put it on and started to make her way back to the main area of the suite. Her heart was pounding so hard, she thought it might break out of her chest. However, when she saw that it was indeed Rick, she couldn't help but blurt out, "oh thank God." A little laugh escaped her mouth as her hand came up and rested on her chest. "I heard the noise out here and wasn't sure if I was about to encounter some stranger danger."

"Sorry," Rick looked sheepish, absolutely gorgeous in a plain hooded sweatshirt and jeans as he turned to look at her. "I couldn't sleep. Went back to the penthouse for supplies. Took a shower there so I wouldn't wake you – brought you a change of clothes." He broke eye contact, fiddling with the paper wrapper on the straw. "I was trying to set up a nice surprise before you woke up but you wouldn't believe how busy it was at the Dunkin's drive thru. I was there for over an hour – thought I'd never make it out alive and of course my phone died because I forgot to charge it yesterday before we left for our little adventure."

Now that he was back, she realized just how ridiculous her fears had been. "I appreciate it; I can definitely use the coffee since we didn't get much sleep last night." She'd made it over to him and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. "Thank you for braving the craziness for me." Grabbing the plastic cup of mocha iced coffee, she took a long sip from the straw. "Delicious."

He'd been watching her expectantly, almost as if he was nervous. "Is it right? I mean… they made it correctly, to my specifications. I know that. I watched them closely. But did I get it right? The way you like it?"

"You did." There was a grin on her face as she nodded. "It tastes perfect." He seemed a bit different, but not in a negative way. Could he be nervous? The thought was endearing as she set her cup down and grabbed his hand. "So last night we kind of took things to a pretty high level. How do you feel about that?"

His grin was infectious, lighting up his whole face. "Pretty spectacular, actually." He gave her hand a squeeze and lifted it up to his lips, kissing the back of it. "Still feels like we waited too long. Should have done that weeks ago." His eyes sparkled with mischievous glee as he looked her over, fresh and clean in her borrowed robe.

"That means you pretty much would have had to propose the night you met me." A grin was on her face as she looked up at him and went in for another kiss. "Which would have made that a memorable job interview. I'm also fairly certain that I still would have said yes." Reaching over, she picked up the rose, her grin widening even more. "And this is beautiful, thank you."

"No." Rick's voice came out softly, "it's adequate. You're beautiful."

Kayla's cheeks reddened as she set the rose back down and grabbed his other hand. "I'm thinking that maybe there are things we should talk about – things we probably should have talked about before we got married."

"Such as?"

She seemed hesitant as she murmured, "so we both know where we stand on certain things?" She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. "Would it be okay if we did that?"

Laughing, Rick grabbed her and pulled her into his lap as he fell back on the couch. "O-Negative. Agnostic. Republican, most of the time... although I've only actually been eligible to vote for the last few elections – landed immigrant status and all that." He pretended to consider, "oh and no. I'm still not going to tell you my middle name." When he realized she wasn't laughing, he sobered slightly, a smile still there on his lips. "Sorry. I'm a little loopy from lack of sleep." He settled in against the couch, getting comfortable. "Okay, love. What do you want to know? Ask me anything."

"By the way, mine is Harlow," at the quirked brow of his, she clarified, "my middle name."

"Kayla Harlow... Ravenswood." He smiled at her, a twinkle in his eyes, "I do like the sound of that." 

She blushed, "me too." 

"Ah well. Only fair." Biting his lip for a moment, he made a show of steeling himself. "Roderick Aloysius Warwick Ravenswood." He murmured his full name, looking embarrassed. "It's quite WASP-y. Both are old family names. Grandfather's name on father's side and mother's maiden name. Don't you dare laugh. I know it's atrocious." 

"I would never." Her arm found its way around his neck as her other hand played with the drawstrings on his hooded sweatshirt. "Well, would you ever want to buy a house or stay in the penthouse? I don't mean like a month from now, but maybe a few years down the road?"

"One day. Absolutely." He rested his hand on her thigh, letting her settle in comfortably in his lap. "A nice house somewhere off the beaten path – it'd still have to have a good view. Maybe something in one of those new subdivisions on the ridge." His gaze was distant as he pictured that dream home in his mind's eye. "It'd have to have a big kitchen. One with a nice island for intimate dining. And a grand piano. Somewhere. Maybe a dishwasher. Those are my only requirements: a view, a piano and a well-appointed kitchen." He chuckled, nuzzling against her neck. "And you? Would you be happy in the penthouse indefinitely, with a few little chubby cherubs running around our feet?"

She could picture what he was describing and she loved it. "Wherever the grand piano is, we should have doors that open up to a patio or balcony. On cool nights, we can open the doors while you play." She snuggled in as much as she could and rested a hand over the one that was on her thigh. "I do love the penthouse and am happy staying there for however long we do." Tilting her head, she kissed him softly and then rested her head on his shoulder. "And on the subject of little ones, yes I would love to have them… I've always wanted to be a mom." Her smile became a bit sad, thoughts of the daughter that wasn't meant to be, came into focus. Her little Gracie.

"I can see that," Rick replied, his smile warm. "You'd make a wonderful mother. Probably have a desktop calendar for bake sales and ballet recitals while I'd be struggling to figure out why the doorknobs are always sticky."

The visual of Rick looking perplexed at doorknobs made her laugh as she kissed his cheek. "And you would make an awesome dad. Our future kid would be lucky to have you."

He'd never really given thought to being a father, to dipping a toe into waters he didn't really feel equipped to. He hadn't had a bad childhood – quite the opposite. He was coddled. Spoiled. Sent away to private schools. His parents had provided for him but he'd never really known a love like the way Kayla looked at him. "I've never really thought about it much," he murmured.

"About twelve years ago I got pregnant with a little girl. I named her Gracie. Before that, I'd never thought I wanted to be a mom." Along with her abduction, losing her baby was another thing she held close and didn't talk about. Rick was her husband and this was something she needed him to know.

He knew this wasn't going to be a story with a happy ending. She didn't have a teenager hanging around, had never mentioned having children or dependents before. "What happened?" His voice came out gentle as he lifted his other hand to tuck her wet hair behind her ear.

"Even after I found out I was pregnant, I didn't know if I wanted to keep her, but then I felt her kick that first time and I knew this was right." Her head had gone back to his shoulder. "Fate had different plans, though, and I lost her. I was six months when I went into labor and she didn't survive. As much as that about killed me, I still want to be a mom someday." Exhaling, she laughed awkwardly. "Sorry I laid that on you, just felt like the right time."

"Jesus." Life seemed like it had really enjoyed kicking her down. "When you know, you know. Right?" He patted her cheek gently. "I'll give you what you need. Anything you want, Kayla. Anything."

"Well, you gave me you, so that's a start." Her hand came up and rested over his, giving it a squeeze. "How about if we let the chips fall where they may? Whatever happens, happens?"

"I like the idea." His lips curved in a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Lots of practice, hmm? Are you going to be able to abstain from scheduling that?"

"Well, I think this is something that I can leave off of my schedules." She was grinning, finding it hard not to laugh. "Scheduling it will be the only thing I abstain from."

"Now you're speaking my language, darling." Rick kissed the tip of her nose, chuckling as he did.

"How about if we eat some breakfast and start practicing?" She had a playful look in her eyes as she got off his lap and held her hands out for him. "We can also get this honeymoon started."

He nodded. "If you want to go somewhere, we've got a few weeks free because of this damned virus. We could take a road trip. If not…" he let her pull him up, looking towards the bedroom door. "Practice makes perfect?"

"That's what they say." As he got to his feet, Kayla couldn't believe that someone like him was married to her. She loved Rick with every single part of herself and felt as though the rash decision to get married was the right one. She saw a future with him and knew that no matter what was thrown in their path, they'd face it together.