in the middle
by Susan

E-mail: touchstone98@tx.rr.com
Classification: moment-in-time prose thingie
Spoiler: I Want to Believe
Archive: No archive without permission.
Disclaimer: On paper, these characters aren't mine.
In my head, they are.

Summary: maybe this is the way he likes it
the way that he needs things to be right now
*********************************************************

~~~~

standing in the kitchen
a pan in one hand
an uncracked egg in the other
she watches him from afar

he's been in his study for hours
a pair of scissors in one hand
an article from one of a dozen 
newspapers in the other

i'm worried about you, she wants to tell him
as he sticks another clipping onto the wall
then walks over to the window
and stares out at the falling snow

but she says nothing

cracking one egg on the side of the pan
then another
she adds a few drops of milk
and two spoonfuls of bacon bits
just the way he likes it

and it is then that she understands

maybe this is the way he likes it
the way that he needs things to be right now
the two of them 
in the middle of nowhere
him
in the middle of a messy study

and maybe it's the way she likes it now too
the two of them
getting the chance to be together
her
getting the chance to make a difference again

stirring the eggs with one hand
grabbing a plate with the other
she pours them out of the pan
takes the bread from the toaster
butters it and cuts it into halves 
then sets it on the plate

though his back is to her when she enters the room
he knows that she's there 

here you go, just the way you like it, she says
as she sets the plate and a glass of juice
on the cluttered desktop

just the way i like it, he repeats
as he turns around and smiles
pulls her into his lap and kisses her
once on the cheek, twice on the lips

and she thinks that maybe she really does understand 
maybe this is how things are supposed to be now

giving him half the toast with one hand
and giving herself the other half
she takes a bite 
and watches the crumbs scatter onto his chin
as he takes a bite too

here, let me get that for you, she says 
softly running her fingers through his beard
then leaning in for another kiss

yes, this is how it's supposed to be, she thinks
the two of them 
in the middle of nowhere
surrounded 
only by each other

his buttery lips pressed against hers
his whiskers tickling her chin
she closes her eyes and smiles


~end~

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