Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

Tony smiled at the lovely sight that greeted her eyes when Megan walked into the kitchen. Her partner was dressed in a casual, sapphire blue suit with the jacket worn open over the matching skirt and off white blouse. The rich blue color offset Megan’s blonde hair and highlighted the gold specks in her eyes.

"You look really nice," Tony said, quite taken with her partner’s beauty.

Cocking her head and smiling at Tony, Megan said, "This is just my work clothes."

"So. You look nice no matter what you wear," Tony said, walking over and kissing Megan before adding, "Coffee’s ready. Want some orange juice?"

Megan gave her partner a hug and said, "You’re so sweet," waiting for her lover’s cheeks to redden like they did every time she told her that.

Watching Tony’s face darken a few shades, she continued, "Orange juice sounds good. You’re really spoiling me having breakfast ready every morning."

Grinning wickedly, she added, "You know you really are cute when you blush."

Tony rolled her eyes, the action in contrast with the warm glow she felt at her partner’s words. Fleetingly kissing Megan before releasing her, Tony got the orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured them both a glass.

"What are you going to do today?" Megan asked, wishing she had another day off.

"Wait for you to get off," Tony answered, and grinned at the surprised look on Megan’s face. Gotcha.

"Very funny. I meant really," Megan said, laughing while looking into her partner’s twinkling blue eyes.

"That is really what I’m going to do," Tony said winking at Megan. "But while I’m waiting, I’m going to call the insurance adjuster and then probably kitten proof the apartment."

"Good. Those two are too curious for their own good."

Megan finished her breakfast, and got ready to leave. Kissing her lover before departing, she said, "I’ll call you later."

Tony savored the short kiss and said, "I’ll be waiting."

They were still doing construction on the interbelt and it was the usual bumper to bumper traffic, moving at a crawl.

The slow drive did not affect Megan’s extremely good mood. It had been so nice to have a normal morning for a change. That was the way she wanted to start every morning… feeling secure and very loved. She wondered if this was something everyone in love experienced. It was such a wonderful sensation, and one she would never willingly let go of.

Arriving at work, there was no more time for the warm thoughts. They were backed up on cases, and before she knew it, the morning had passed and it was lunchtime. Telling David they would finish the other cases after lunch, she shed her gloves and smock returning to her office in her scrubs.

Opening the door, all thoughts of the cases she had just finished left her mind. There in the middle of her desk was a slender glass vase containing a dozen long stem roses. They were a beautiful scarlet red. Walking over to her desk, she picked up the small envelope secured in their midst. Opening it, she read, "I love you," and it was signed simply, "Tony."

Holding the card tightly in her hand, she bent over to smell the sweet pleasant odor they emitted. I love you so much, Tony. Warm fuzzy thoughts began flowing through her mind intermingled with the image of her smiling partner.

Oh, she’d gotten flowers before. But none would ever hold the special meaning these did. Tony had never given her flowers before.

Megan sighed happily and sat down in her chair, her emotions still running rampant. Picking up the phone, she dialed her number.

"Hello."

Megan loved listening to the rich low tenor of her lover’s voice. Smiling into the phone, she said, "I love you. They’re so beautiful. You are so sweet," her words tumbling out in the order the thoughts left her mind.

"I love you, too," Tony said, smiling into the phone feeling a deep sense of satisfaction at the happiness she could hear in Megan’s voice. "I guess you like them."

"Like them? Are you kidding? I love them! They’re beautiful." Megan paused, momentarily at a loss for words.

The silence lengthened because a very pleased Tony was grinning into the phone. Breaking the short silence, she said, "No more beautiful than you."

Megan felt her heart flutter at the words. "Thank you, sweetie, but I better go now or I may decide to come home and I don’t think the boss would like that."

"Sweetie!"

Megan laughed, and said, "See you when I get home."

"Bye."

Tony hung up the phone shaking her head. Sweetie? What was with that? She grudgingly admitted that it did sound kind of nice the way

Megan said it. But she’d just die of embarrassment if Megan ever called her that in front of anyone.

Tony opened the oven door and looked at the lasagna. It would be done in about ten minutes. She had gotten the recipe Sunday when she talked to her mother. Thinking about the conversation, she smiled. Her mother wanted to come and visit. Tony knew Megan liked her mother, and had repeated the question for her partner’s benefit. Megan had smiled and… well, she really didn’t need to say anything. The expression on her face was all Tony needed to see. Her mother had sounded so pleased when she told her she was more than welcome to visit. So many things had changed in such a short time, first meeting Megan, and then the reconciliation with her mother. Life was good.

Her thoughts turned briefly to the inexplicable accidents. The bruise on her leg was still painful, and probably would be for a while. At least it didn’t hurt to walk on it anymore. Tony still couldn’t make any sense of the bizarre events and just wanted to get their lives back to normal.

Last night, while on surveillance, she had decided to surprise Megan with the roses and a nice dinner, then spend a quiet evening together and maybe watch a movie or something. Lately it seemed like all they did was manage crisis after crisis and then the aftermath of each. She could do without all the excitement and knew Megan could too.

Once Tony had everything ready, she walked into the living room to check on the whereabouts of the rambunctious kittens. She spotted them curled up against each other sleeping in the recliner.

Megan had informed her that cats slept 20 hours a day. She wanted to know 20 hours of what day. The kittens seemed to have unlimited energy, and it was a job sometimes to keep them out of things. Not that she minded. Tony was actually quite taken with the kittens. It was really funny that each kitten had seemed to gravitate toward one of them. Velcro always sought out Tony. Huggy seemed to adore Megan, and you could tell she felt the same way..

Tony looked around the apartment once more after meeting with the insurance adjuster. She had spent the better part of the day kitten proofing the apartment, and Huggy and Velcro had been only too happy to help. For some reason cords seemed to hold a special interest for the kittens. Well, at least now they wouldn’t have to worry about them hurting themselves while they were at work.

Tony turned toward the door when she heard the key in the lock. Megan walked in carrying the vase of roses with a smile that lit up her whole face. Walking over to her partner she wrapped her arms around her still clutching the vase in one of her hands. "I missed you. I really love the roses," Megan said relaxing against the tall familiar body.

Tony returned the hug, enjoying the feel of her partner wrapped comfortably in her arms. Looking into the sparkling hazel eyes, she said, "I missed you, too." Lowering her head, she met her lover’s lips and enjoyed a sweet, very satisfying kiss.

Megan laid her head against Tony’s chest smiling contentedly. "I guess I should set the roses down."

Smiling Tony said, "That might be a good idea. They are kind of prickly."