Cathy and Chris Ch. 15

"Catherine, it's OK." He took both of her hands in his and squeezed just a bit. Her eyes started to water.

"Don't call me Catherine..." she sniffed managing her tears, "he used to call me that when he was cross with me, like a cross parent." She smiled a bit and fished a tissue from the pocket of her jeans.

He smiled,

"Sorry Cathy," he looked back into her eyes.

"Every now and again," she said, "just the odd one as you say, to keep me on the straight and narrow." She unfolded the tissue and stretched it between her fingers. "He'd start to get cross you know? Over a few days, he'd build up to it slowly like, and that was the worst. A one-off slap I could handle but all of the rest of it, making me guess when I was going to get a smack across the face, when he was built up to it. It was torture, come the end I used to wind him up just to get it over with. Friday night so the redness would be gone by Monday, never in front of the kids though."

"Is that why you used to get so stroppy with me so quickly?"

"Could be," she said with half a giggle, "or it could have been hormones, but anyway, I have previous for it. That wasn't the worst though,"

Chris looked scared.

"Worse than that was... well he didn't just treat Dan like he was stupid, probably for the last ten years I was treated like an idiot. I did his books, I had an arm full of A' levels and half a degree, but I was stupid because just because I was a woman, Mike Stafford talked to me like it as well, you remember?"

"Yeah he did like talking down to people,"

"Same as Brian, probably were he learned it." He saw her lips start to shake, "He took my soul Chris; and he tried to make me just like him, my poor Danny..."

"Bastard," said Chris. And that was all, for the first time in her life she was just being allowed to talk, to get it off her chest. And she did and he listened, no advice, no commiseration, no justification. He figured that if she wanted him to say something she would ask him.

After fifteen minutes, big tears where running down her face and he figured she'd had enough. He'd put his strong arms around and just held her, rocking slightly.

"Are you OK now?" he asked.

"Better," she said.

"Cath, I promise on all that I hold dear and holy that I will protect you from harm. No one will ever lay a finger on you I swear, me included."

"Thanks Chris," she said.

"I promise that if you marry me I won't start hitting anyone. If I you marry me I'll be able to hold you all night, and no one has to get up at five thirty in the to go back to their own beds. I promise that we can still be the big huge family that everyone loves so much. Whether you marry me or not, I will still live by that promise. You, Danny, Colleen, Karen, Robert, the whole family. 'Cos that's what we are honey, whatever you and I say, we are a family. And I won't let anything bad happen to you or any of them ever again, I promise. And what the rest of the world thinks? Fuck 'em."

Her bottom lip trembled slightly.

"Come on Baby, bedtime." he said. As she stood, he added, "your room if you want, you know where I'll be."

She shook her head and lifted her legs tucking her feet under his duvet.

"It won't change Cathy," he whispered, "because I want it like it is now, with the bonus of being married to you and all of this being in the open, your timescale, I can wait."

He lay next to her waiting for the sound of her rhythmic breathing to tell him she was asleep. It never came, he was still struggling to get back into his book when Cathy sat up.

"Can't sleep?" he said. She shook her head, "Nah, me neither."

She moved closer to him and he automatically put his arm around her.

"Are you going to see that Victoria again?" He smiled and shook his head, "No," she said shaking her head, "she wasn't the right girl for you."

"No, I realised that,"

"Did you now."

"Yeah."

"Was that before or after you screwed her."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh come on you must have shagged her, she was over you like a rash."

"Did you think so? Funny that, I didn't think she was, what with her being a Lesbian an'all." Her pretty features dropped, "Nope, not once, to be honest you had more chance of screwing her than I did, in fact she does go for brunettes, she told me."

"Surprised you never tried to set me up with her." She smiled for the first time since she came into his room.

"Only if I could have watched, I would have supplied the custard and the spanking paddle." He rolled to one side, "When will you get it into your head, it's you, it's only ever been you since... that wonderful Saturday when we fond each other." She smiled at the recollection.

"But..."

"I knew she wasn't the right girl for me..." he paused "Because she wasn't a bit like you."

"What?"

"Cathy, you are the right girl for me. You know it and I know it. It drove me crazy watching you going out, even with your mates, looking so fucking gorgeous. I could barely stand it,"

Her mouth hung open, Chris had always seemed so cool and in control.

"You know how you felt about me and even the possibility of Victoria, multiple that by ten."

"What?" she was amazed, "you were worried about me?"

He laughed and shook his head,

"I had this major irrational fear that you'd come back one night and say that you'd met this really nice bloke, got his phone number and was going to meet him; and Mike – well;" he sighed and ran a hand across his forehead, "Even though I knew you hated the objectionable little fuck, he was just so much like Brian and... you'd fallen for it once. Those answer phone messages, you going to club to talk about the event, just talking to him, so much so I went out with Vicky and everyone, but it just made it worse."

"Yeah," she said, "I think I knew it too, but I just couldn't say it." Her bottom lip trembled and she gasped out, "The only thing I knew was that before Brian and I were married it was wonderful, you know? He was the nicest, sweetest guy; we were so happy that six months we lived together and... then we got married and... it changed, I... was too scared to admit I'd fucked up, what everyone else had said had been true. Then I tried what all women try, to make the man into what you want rather than what he is."

More tears coursed down her cheek to drop to her lap. "I'd made my bed, and I had to lie in it. The occasional slap I thought I could live with, shit it's not like I've never dealt with domestic violence before but... I was just... well..." She let her thoughts rest on that.

She brightened, "But what we have here, it's perfect, you know?" She dabbed at her cheeks with the bottom of her nightdress, "Everything was wonderful again, we were all so close and so happy after so many said times, then you said you loved me;" his face creased, part happy memory - part guilt,

"It was wonderful. I knew all along, in my heart. I knew you loved me and I was sooooo in love with you, everyone saw it but me."

She sniffed and blotted her cheeks again, "I was terrified, I already knew what it was like to jump in, how people change. I should have trusted you, but I've always gone with my emotions – badly sometimes I'll admit." She giggled. "I risked everything, just to get through each day, just as it was. I didn't want to think about tomorrow or the next day or the next, it was just to get through the day so I could be with you, be around you, and climb into bed with you, sex or not, it was always you."

He sat up, and looked into her face, "Chris, I know that I'm not the easiest bitch to live with, I have a bit of a temper every 28 days, and I always want my own way but," her bottom lip wobbled, and her voice broke, "give me another chance... please." Misinterpreting his stunned but pleased silence she reached a shaky hand out to his cheek, "please ask me again..." her voice was a whisper, "I'll do anything, please." He put a single finger to her lips.

"You silly bitch," he said with a big smile, "Did you think I could ever have walked away from you? Cathy, I love you, truly, madly and deeply; marry me... please?"

She nodded her head, her face creasing into a huge smile.

"Yes," she breathed barely in control of her voice, "Please." She suppressed a sob and hugged him, "Shit, but I thought you wouldn't ask me again!" she burst out, and he hugged her back.

"I just needed you to see what everyone else did... I love you Cathy."

She put her hands to the side of his face and held him.

"I... I never thought I would ever say this again, at least not to anyone I wasn't the mother of." She closed her eyes, for a moment, as if she was making her mind up about something, "I love you." She kissed him, long and slow with tongues clashing, "thank you Chris, for everything you've done for us, do for us, but mostly for sticking with me."

"Aw shucks Miss Cathy," he said, his own eyes misting slightly, enough for her to notice, "I'd stick with you through the next ice age, and beyond."

"Will it still just be about the sex though Chris?" she said with a badly hidden smile.

"Oh Yeah," he grinned grasping the bottom of her nightdress and pulling it up, "All about the sex..." His mouth closed on hers and he rolled over on top of her.

Epilogue.

Michael Stafford was charged with assault, unlawful imprisonment and possession of a firearm without a license and with intent to endanger life, to which he pleaded guilty due to diminished responsibility, only ever saying he found the gun in the house of old army mate that had died and intended to hand in at the police station under the amnesty.

He received two years imprisonment reduced to eighteen months if he undertook counselling and therapy while inside. He was told he was never to go within 100 metres of Cathy, Chris or the children.

For Maureen though, there was no going back; she still blamed Cathy for everything. Her statement to Mike's defence solicitor said that Cathy was a 'dorty slut' and was responsible for leading him on, probably to get her hands on his money too. For heaven's sake how could the judge believe such a filthy whore that was screwin' her own brother and had sold her darlin' brother's house before he was even cold; a brother what was a genuine fookin' war hero wid medals an' all and dragged his kiddies away from her and a family what loved them and the schools they were settled in.

The defence solicitor chose not to put her in the witness box. But the defence solicitor was given the box of china ornaments to be passed on to Maureen, who had wailed loudly in the solicitors office, stopping just once to complain that her darlin' Mammy had always promised them to her and that her brother, God rest his soul, must have nicked them.

The morning after she told him she loved him, Chris presented Cathy with an engagement ring (having already got the size from her last one) on one knee in everyone's favourite room of the house that they all loved so much.

They asked all of the children if it was OK for them to get married; Robert, the youngest, seemed to sum up and express all of their feelings in one sentence, saying,

"Well you are a Mummy and a Daddy anyway aren't you. So you probably should get married."

Cathy cried. Colleen and Karen seemed equally unfazed and did nothing more than ask to be bridesmaids, and Dan just smiled a big and very relieved, but still quite soppy smile. He looked at them both,

"You took your bloody time didn't you?"

Cathy walked over to the boy now taller than she was and put her arms around him, hugging him.

"Thank you baby," she whispered in his ear, "thank you for sticking with me."

"No worries," he said, sounding just like Chris, "not like I could have left you on your own without my wise guidance was it."

She hugged him tight and they laughed; laughing long and loud in way they never had before and left them both with tears in their eyes.

They married on a summer Saturday in a very cute church walking distance from the house.

Robert was part best man and part ring bearer, in a dark suit like his daddy's and looking even more outrageously cute than he normally did.

They turned to see Cathy walking up the aisle in a cream lacy dress that looked fantastic, on the arm of her son Daniel, tall, elegant and head-turningly good looking in a dark suit like Chris and Robert wore.

Her father had said that he'd given her away once before, and much as he was just as proud, more so in fact, he felt that Dan was much better placed to hand his mum over to the man she loved.

Behind them came Colleen and Karen, in cream lace, looking for all the world like twins and as if they were the real stars of the whole show.

Everyone was there; both of their families, Carole and her family, most of her office, and most of his, including the dazzling Victoria and her partner Sarah, another dazzling blonde.

Chris introduced Cathy to Victoria as they circulated around the evening reception. Cathy, now wearing the most gorgeous designer created dark blue velvet off-the-shoulder dress, with lots of leg and just enough chest, was in good company.

"I have to apologise Cathy," said Victoria, "That Thursday night that we all went out? I did dress up especially; Chris seemed so happy, but none of us could understand why you two weren't 'a couple', so, on the instructions of the rest of the office I put all the slutty and skinny on especially."

"Thanks," said Cathy genuinely, "it was just the nudge I needed. He only told me about you and Sarah a few weeks back, the sneaky bastard."

"Yes," laughed Victoria, "he told me all about that too," Victoria looked behind her seeing her equally sexy partner Sarah talking to someone else from Chris's office and added, "Oh and by the way," Victoria looked the brunette Cathy up and down, "he was right, I definitely would have done; girly, you are hot!"

"Thanks!" Cathy grinned, and leaned in to kiss Victoria's cheek, "That is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me on a wedding day!"

Her parents moved into the house for a week to babysit. Cathy and Chris honeymooned in New York, promising the kids they would all have a holiday as soon as the school summer holidays started in just a few weeks.

She delighting in finally allowing herself to show the world, and him of course, how much she loved him, and she got used again to walking hand in hand or arm in arm with her lover. It was like being a dreamy teenager again, but she loved every second of it.

As they slowly strolled through a sunny Central Park hand in hand, he said,

"You realise we'll have a spare bedroom," he grinned.

"Yes!" Cathy said, "We could invite Maureen to come for the weekend... no?" She raised her eyebrows at his pained expression, "your loss; still it might be nice to have somewhere for friends or family to stay over."

He stopped by a bench and perched on the back of it, pulling her into his arms, "Yes we could do that or, if you'd like, we could always make another baby to put in it."

"But..." she perched her sunglasses on her forehead and looked quizzical, her arms around his neck, "you've had a vasectomy?"

"For you, I'd have it reversed," He pulled her tight and stared into her face, "I'd do anything for you." He kissed her.

Her face creased into a smile, and she bit her bottom lip.

"Chris,"

"Yeah?"

"Whenever I think I've got my head around you, and I couldn't possibly love you more, you prove me wrong; Darling Chris," she sighed holding back her tears, "you are perfect."

She tucked an arm through his and they walked towards the hotdog vendor.

"Yeah," he smiled, "I know,"

She opened her mouth wanting to say something to his now beaming grin.

"Christopher Morris, you are sooooo going to pay for that." She stalked towards him unscrewing the cap of her water bottle and lifted it high.

"Hang on, save the water, do you take..." he grabbed her waist bending her backwards dramatically, "orgasms?"

"Well, the exchange rate is extremely high?" she said doubtfully.

"I have plenty,"

She slipped her sunglasses back onto her nose,

"That'll do nicely sir..."

The End.