Picture This: The Farewell

"No, I'm not upset," Caro assured gently. "I think that's about the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me." She stretched up for a quick kiss and then turned her back to Rowan as she buttoned her blouse. When she turned back to Rowan, tucking a strand of curly hair behind her ear, she wore an impish grin on her face. "Rowan Elizabeth McKenzie, will you go on a date with me?"

Rowan wrapped her arms around Caroline's waist, throwing her head back to laugh. "I thought I was in trouble there for a moment." Caroline's arms slid around Rowan's shoulders and she raised her eyebrow in question. "I would love to go on a date with you, Caroline Amanda Pearson."

Caroline laughed, and they kissed one more time. "Good night, Rowan," she whispered before leaving the apartment. Rowan watched as she disappeared down the stairway. Rowan heard the door connecting her apartment to the main house click to a close. She exhaled heavily and covered her eyes with her hands, convinced when she opened them the world would no longer be upside down. When she looked, the world was still spinning out of control.

Rowan thought, after twenty years, she knew everything there was to know about Caroline, but the next three weeks proved that she was wrong. The hours they spent in conversation revealed new depths of their hearts. Finding ways to touch became a new art form for them. Each accidental brush of flesh against flesh triggered addictive sparks. They sought more. They stole moments alone when the children were home and had to force themselves apart each night. They treated each other to dinner, attended the movies where they could hold hands in the dark, and went dancing in the city. Through it all, their love grew stronger.

Rowan had been concerned about the children's reaction, but so far, Annie had not noticed anything unusual. Rowan thought she had caught Kira smiling their direction when they had lingered too long over a gentle touch. Rowan expected that Kira understood what was happening, perhaps better than either of the adults, and that she approved of the union.

Knowing that Kira approved, Rowan became more relaxed with Caroline. When Caroline found Rowan sitting in the living room reading, Rowan allowed her to take her book and settled on her lap. Rowan only glanced toward the door once before settling her hands on Caroline's hips. Caroline held Rowan's face captive as they kissed. Rowan's hands wandered freely, caressing Caro's body gently. Rowan trailed her lips over Caro's jaw and down her neck. Caroline's lips brushed against Rowan's temple, her fingers playing in Rowan's short, dark hair.

"My phone is ringing," Rowan muttered, though she did not immediately break contact with Caroline's soft flesh. When the phone kept ringing, she reluctantly withdrew and pulled her phone from her pocket. She glanced at the screen and sighed softly. "Aaron has incredible timing." Caroline kissed Rowan's cheek before slipping off her lap and leaving the room to give Rowan privacy.

When Rowan hung up, she walked through the house to find Caro again, her shoulders slumped and a troubled expression on her face. She moved aimlessly into Caro's bedroom, opening her mouth to deliver the news to Caro, but no words escaped her throat. Caro had on a pale yellow nightgown that was made of silk and lace. It had thin shoulder straps and a low bodice. The hem brushed the middle of her thighs. Rowan felt her mouth go dry.

Caro turned and blushed when she saw Rowan watching her. She tucked her hair behind her ear, a habit she had always had but that Rowan had never noticed until the last few weeks. Rowan found it endearing. It amazed her how much she had never noticed about Caro now that she was looking at her through eyes of love and passion. A dazed smile formed on Rowan's lips. "Wow."

"So articulate, my creative sweetheart," Caro laughed, closing the distance between them. She took both of Rowan's hands in her own, gazing into her friend's face. "What did Aaron want?"

Rowan's mind whirled for a moment, trying to remember who Aaron was. "Oh, there's been a coup d'état in Central America. He thinks I should go cover it." She watched Caro's face fall, and wondered briefly how often Caro had worn that same expression over the last year whenever she had announced a new assignment. Rowan had always been excited about her adventures, so she had never considered how taking off for weeks at a time had affected Caroline. She had never had second thoughts about taking one of Aaron's assignments, but now she was tempted to call him back and tell him to cancel her flight.

"Will you be safe?" Caro asked, her voice small.

"Yes," Rowan answered automatically, though she knew the truthful answer was that she would face danger. All of her assignments carried an edge of danger, and it had never bothered her because she had never had responsibility to anyone else. "I'll be careful."

Caro did not ask when she was going to leave, because she knew that the answer was tomorrow. It was always the answer. She also did not ask how long Rowan would be gone, because she also knew that answer was undetermined. Rowan would be there until she had the pictures she wanted. It was not an art that could be rushed.

Rowan bowed her head, giving Caro the only assurance that she could in a firm kiss. She tilted her head, their hands still joined, as she explored Caro's warm mouth. Caro opened to her immediately, welcoming Rowan's warm kiss. Rowan glided her hands slowly up Caro's bare arms, making goose bumps break out on her flesh. She slipped her index finger beneath the nightgown's strap. "This looks incredible," she whispered, sliding the strap off Caro's shoulder. Rowan dropped her kisses to Caro's shoulder, moving her lips over her friend's flesh. Caro sighed softly, her hands resting on Rowan's hips.

Rowan's mouth moved from Caroline's shoulder to the swell of her breasts, tracing the lace of the gown's bodice. Caro threaded her fingers into Rowan's hair, closing her eyes as Rowan made her way to Caro's other shoulder. Rowan stepped away, her glazed eyes staring at Caro. She turned away, and in that moment missed the expression of disappointment that crossed Caroline's face, but she shut the door and locked it. She glanced over her shoulder to make certain that Caroline did not object.

Rowan walked back to Caro, pulling her t-shirt out of her pants as she did so. She pulled it over her head without breaking her stride. It dropped on the floor as she reached Caro. She placed her hands on Caro's waist, their lips connecting, and did not break her forward momentum. Caro placed her hands on Rowan's shoulders and backpedaled, meeting the hungry kiss with a ferocity of her own.

They didn't stop kissing when Caro's legs hit the side of the bed. Rowan was unbuttoning her jeans and they faded away without effort. Her hands roamed Caroline's back, relishing the feel of the silk against her fingertips. They dropped down to the tail of the nightgown and began pulling it upward. They finally broke the kiss long enough for Rowan to lift it over Caro's head. Rowan cupped Caro's full breasts in her hands, gazing at them as she fought to catch her breath.

Rowan unhooked her bra to free her own breasts. Caro lifted her trembling hands to Rowan's pale, small breasts. She ran her thumb over Rowan's nipples, watching as they tightened and puckered. She leaned forward and licked it lightly. Rowan sighed, running her fingers down Caro's arms and back. She closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure as Caro switched her attention to the other breast.

Rowan pushed Caro back on the bed and they stretched out side-by-side, kissing again, their hands moving over each other's bodies. Rowan's hand glided up Caro's thigh. Caro caressed Rowan's stomach. Their kisses were hungry. Rowan's mouth moved down Caro's throat, her lips finding the throbbing pulse there. She worked her way down, her lips moving over the soft, supple flesh of Caroline's breasts. She kissed around the nipple, and then blew a fine line of air across the damp skin. "Row," Caro whispered, the first sound either made.

Rowan took the sound as encouragement, pressing her tongue to Caro's dark nipple and sucking the globe into her mouth. Caroline moaned softly, her legs shifting restlessly. Rowan turned her attention to Caro's other breast, her tongue and lips moving. Her hand glided over Caro's stomach, the side of her waist, her hip, and then touched Caro's thigh. She let her hand rest there for a moment, her mouth moving between Caroline's full breasts.

Her hand moved up and down against Caro's thigh, working toward the inside. Her fingers brushed against her lover's panties, feeling the heat that Caroline radiated. Caroline opened to her as Rowan pulled the panties away, her fingertips brushed against Caro's slick lips. Rowan shifted to place her mouth over Caro's again as she pushed her fingers inside. Her tongue dipped inside Caro's mouth as she found Caro's hard clit. She swallowed Caroline's moan.

Caro's body responded to Rowan's caresses immediately. Her hips lifted to meet Rowan's exploring touch. Rowan propped herself on her elbow so she could watch Caro's face as she teased the sensitive button buried in her folds. Caro's eyes were half closed, her lips parted, her breasts rising and falling as breathing became more difficult. Her hands were lying beside her head, in loose fists that tightened as a wave of pleasure struck her.

She lifted her hands to Rowan's arms and shoulders, gliding over her lover's slick skin. Her fingernails dug into Rowan's skin as Rowan quickened her pace, her fingers dipping deeper, pushing in and out, her thumb pressing against Caroline's clit. The vein in Caro's neck was standing out as she arched her body and when Rowan stopped, she whimpered. "Not yet," Rowan whispered, bending to kiss Caro's mouth again and pulling her hand free.

Rowan's tongue explored Caroline's mouth for a moment before slowly making her way down Caroline's throat again. She travelled the valley between Caro's breasts, inching her body down as she licked Caro's flat stomach. Her tongue circled Caro's navel, kissing the slight swell of belly. She glanced up to see Caro's skin flushed, her eyes closed, her breathing ragged, before slipping farther down, her shoulders moving between Caro's thighs.

She pressed a kiss to Caroline's lips, not wanting to move too quickly. Caroline again opened to her and Rowan accepted the invitation. Her tongue glided between the slick lips, pushing deeper as she tasted Caro's excitement. When she found Caro's clit with her tongue, she dragged over it slowly. Caro cried out, biting back the noise because of the children in the house. Her fingers pushed into Rowan's hair as Rowan quickened her assault, licking faster. Rowan's arms slid beneath Caro's thighs so that she could delve deeper.

Rowan tried to watch Caro's face without relinquishing her conquest. Her tongue explored inside Caro's heat, dipping into her most intimate depths, thrusting in and out. Caro was pulling her hair, lifting her hips to meet Rowan's hungry mouth. She was panting and moaning, her legs moving constantly. Rowan freed one of her arms to lay her palm on one of Caro's breasts, massaging it as she moved faster.

Caro inhaled sharply, her body arching from the bed as she crested. She bit the back of her hand to muffle her cry of pleasure. Rowan kissed Caro's belly, the gentle swell of her breast, before hovering over her face. Caro was still struggling to catch her breath and Rowan waited patiently for her to open her eyes. When she finally did, her eyes met Rowan's smiling ones and she laughed. "I'm sorry, I've never . . . I mean, I have, but not from . . . Henry never . . . not that." She hid her face behind her hands.

Gently, Rowan forced Caroline's hands away from her face. She bent and kissed Caro again, this time the kiss full of love. "I'm glad," she answered, brushing a sweaty strand of hair off Caroline's cheek. Rowan shifted them so that she was lying on her back. She held Caro to her, her lover's head pillowed on her breast, her arms wrapped around Caroline's waist and shoulders. Rowan danced her fingers down Caro's arm and they linked their fingers. Caroline yawned and Rowan kissed her temple.

"I love you," Rowan said, not surprised by how easily the words came but how truthful they were.

Aaron was waiting on them in front of the airline check-in at the airport the next day. He saw their linked fingers and grinned. "Someone looks very satisfied." Rowan smirked and Caro blushed. He leaned forward and kissed the corner of Rowan's mouth, and then kissed Caro's cheek, pausing to whisper, "She tells me everything." He straightened and the trio began walking toward the security checkpoint, discussing Rowan's flight arrangements.

Rowan did not release Caro's hand until they reached security. They turned to face each other, forgetting Aaron as their arms slid comfortably around each other so that even air could not fit between them. Their kiss was warm and intimate, but lacked the hunger of their last farewell kiss. "Be careful," Caro whispered.

"Always," Rowan answered automatically. She kissed Caro again quickly and broke the embrace while she still had the willpower to do so, and joined the line for security.

Aaron and Caro watched as Rowan weaved through queue. Caroline spoke quietly to Rowan's former fiancé. "Do you remember what I told you when Rowan broke off your engagement?"

Aaron gave a short, sharp laugh, not moving his eyes from Rowan as she neared the end of the line. "Everyday," he replied. Caro did not react to the pain she still heard in his voice. She understood it. "You told me that she had never been mine to begin with. I hated you for your honesty." They both waved as Rowan looked over her shoulder. "I thought you meant your brother. She'd seen him while she was home for her mom's surgery."

"I thought I did, too," Caro said quietly. "Do you think she's always belonged to me?"

Aaron finally looked at her, a tender smile in his eyes. "I don't know, but she's happy."

Caro waved one more time before Rowan completely disappeared. "So am I."