TasLin
Location: Best Exotic Hotel: Tasha's Room
Interacting With: Each Other, Murphy
Lincoln was in agony but it was nothing compared to what he'd been feeling since Tasha had walked out of his life. He shifted himself until his legs swung over the side of the bed and he shuffled forward with a few groans and grunts before getting himself back up and onto his feet. He slowly walked over towards Tasha, the whole two steps it took felt like two hundred, but he made it and reached his hands out towards hers. He wasn't touching her but he held them there as an invitation.
He watched her face, noticing that she wasn't looking at him, and smiled as he watched the little expressions on her face and took a deep breath before answering.
"Tasha... I..." Tasha felt her nerves bubbling up as he stepped closer to her and reached out, her hands coming down and brushing against his nearly before she jumped and pulled them back.
An almighty banging sounded at the door and Murphy's voice could be heard calling through to them. Lincoln's face turned to thunder and he had half a mind to tear the door open and give him another fight.
"I swear to god I'll throw him down the stairs." He half turned towards the door as if he was going to follow through with his desire. Her head whipped towards the door and she nearly went out the door to beat the shit out of Murphy herself before her eyes fell on Lincoln.
Stepping over and putting herself between him and the door she looked up at him and rested her hand on his shoulder gently. His eyes glanced down to her hand pressed against him before returning to watch her face.
"Oh no you don't, you are hurt enough and you aren't going to screw up my patch job," she said in a firm voice. She didn't want him getting anymore hurt than he already was. He could have a cracked rib and she wasn't about to let it get broken. She would deal with Irish later. Her eyes coming up to his as she slowly pulled her hand away and rested it on her hip.
"And don't try to change the subject." "To be fair, I didn't try to change anything. Your old pal managed to do that all on his own." He let out a laugh laced with an incredulous breath. Tasha couldn't help but smirk, she had to give him that one. He hadn't tried to change the subject, that was on Murphy; which she would deal with him later. He had been so close to admitting everything. Now he had to work his nerve back up again. He stepped back and took his seat on the edge of the bed and rested his hands on his knees.
"Look Tasha, I don't want to change the subject. I don't want to beat around the bush but this, admitting this, it could change my life forever. It's not something I'm taking lightly, I want you to know that." Biting her bottom lip lightly she looked over to him and nodded a little bit. She could tell by the tone of his voice and the way he was acting that whatever his answer was, it wasn't easy for him to get out.
"Alright," she said softly. She wanted to go over to him and tell him whatever it was, he could tell her. He could tell her anything but it wasn't that easy, not now. It wasn't like it was before, it probably would never be that way again.
He looked up to her and watched her eyes, waiting to see if she would look at him or not.
"Tasha, I love you and I want to see if we could work again. Even if it's only as friends, it would be better than not having you in my life at all." Tasha found her heat fall into the pit of her stomach and she nearly choked, coughing slightly and then more roughly as she turned away from him. She knew he still loved her, he had told her earlier but to want to get back together with her. That one she hadn't expected. She had figured he wanted closure, to know why she had ended it so he could move on and put everything behind him; to put her behind him. She felt the color drain from her features and she found herself feeling light headed as his worlds swirled through her mind.
She didn't know what to say. She hadn't felt this flipped upside since the night he had proposed. She kept her face down and hidden, nearly the same thing she had done that night when he asked her to marry him before she had finally accepted. A look of pure shock that could be taken as completely distraught or overjoyed. It was hard to tell.
That Day...
It had consumed his every waking moment for the past month. He had planned this out to the very letter and had been over it more times than he had kissed her lips. He was prepared for this, he was ready and there was nothing that was going to stop him. This was something that he wanted more than anything else and he wasn't going to let his nerves get the better of him now, damn it! Pacing back and forth in his apartment, Lincoln tried to control his breathing as his hands wrung around each other time and time again.
He had the place set up, the staff were aware of what was happening and when, Tasha knew they were going out but not where, not why. It wasn't their anniversary or anything special like that but it was going to be a special day by the end of everything. He was ready. They were ready. He knew this was it, this was the last thing that mattered in his life.
She was the last person that mattered in his life and he was going to do this to ensure that he could take care of her in the best way possible. No matter what.
He jumped up and down on the spot a few times, shaking himself out before taking a deep, calming breath.
"I can do this." He slapped himself lightly on each cheek and then started towards the door, his hands snatching up his keys and wallet before he made his way down to his car.
He jumped in and drove to Tasha's place. His suit jacket was laid out on the back seat, his shirt was buttoned, his tie was tightened, his dress jeans were chaffing and his dress shoes were pinching but it was all worth it. He ran his left hand over the cleanly shaven skin on his chin and then ran up to make sure his hair was settled well and had dried from his shower. He hazarded a glance into the rear view to check on it and smirked when he saw the curls were sitting practically perfectly (at least in any way a curl can sit).
As he pulled up to her building he almost choked and decided to call a raincheck on the whole thing. A minute of silence and internal pep talking spurred him into action once more and he made his way to her door. Using his key he let himself into the building and then he jogged up to her door and knocked before letting himself in.
"Taser, it's just me. Ready to go?" His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat. Keep it together Lincoln!
Looking up from her book, Tasha smiled as she heard the key in the door. For her it was just another night, nothing special about it other than being able to spend it with him. She had actually gotten off work on time and had the next day off. It was a rare event but her boss had been adamant about her taking some time. She wasn't going to complain, she hadn't had a day off in weeks, much less and evening and a day. Getting home she showered and changed before flopping down and getting back to her book while she waited for Lincoln to show up.
Putting her book down as she heard his voice she picked up her purse and stepped out of her bedroom. She was wearing nothing special; jeans, tennis shoes, a light sweater. The usual. Stopping in her tracks as she saw how Lincoln was dressed her jaw dropped.
"I suddenly feel very underdressed." Lincoln beamed when he saw her and he walked over, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her on the cheek.
"Well I think you look like a queen. Do you want me to lose the shirt? I'm all for topless dining you know." He smirked and then kissed the tip of her nose before releasing her from his hold.
"I just felt like getting pretty for you for a change. I mean, one of us has to be the woman in this relationship, right?" Way to go Lincoln, hide those nerves with humour. She'll never see through that. Safe to say he was a bundle of energy and nerves but hopefully it wasn't too obvious.
Smirking she crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot a few times.
"You just want me topless," she stated flatly before handing him her purse and turning on her heels.
"Always." He grinned and held onto her purse as he watched her walk away.
"Well if you're the woman you can hold my purse while I change," she challenged before stepping back into her room. He opened his mouth to quip back but laughed as her words came out faster than his own.
"And no you can't watch," she added before shutting the door and locking it.
Lincoln grinned and then leaned himself against the room door, whimpering outside like a puppy dog and "clawing" at the door as if to get in.
"But I've been a good boy!" He laughed as he pushed himself off of the door and left her to get changed, he probably should have mentioned that he was dressing up but he just wanted her to be comfortable.
She made quick work with the change, Tasha had never been one to waste time. Stepping out of her room she looked over to him and gave him a bit of a coy wink. She had put on a
pants suit of her own, the jacket slung over her shoulder; even completing the look with a hat.
"So, this work?" "Baby you could wear a trash bag and make it look good. This is sublime." He moved over and slid his hands over her waist as he leaned in and pressed his lips gently to hers. Tasha's arms resting on his shoulders as she returned the kiss and sighed happily. He licked his lips as he pulled away and he couldn't help but stare as he took her in.
"You look beautiful as always, Tash. Very strapping and manly." He gave her a wink back and lightly beat against his own chest with a closed fist before he stepped back from her and held her purse out to her. Snatching her purse she stuck her tongue out at him playfully before slipping on her jacket and lacing her arm through his.
"I hope you didn't have pasta for lunch today. We're taking a small trip down memory lane tonight. Hope you don't mind?" Perking a brow she glanced over to him with an odd expression on her face.
"You mean we are dressed up for a food fight?" she asked half seriously, half trying to stifle the laughter.
Lincoln wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.
"That's what makes it more fun. No danger in ruining slacks and t-shirts! Where is your sense of adventure?!" He wrapped an arm around her waist and grabbed her right hand with his left before leaning her backwards, balancing her with his hold. He peered down at her and then kissed her dramatically before pulling them both back upright and laughing as he did so. Tasha gasped, reaching up and holding her hat on her head as he pulled her back up, she couldn't help but laugh; he was in good spirits tonight it seemed.
"Come on beautiful, we've got a reservation to keep." He took hold of her hand and spun her around once before leading her out of the apartment and down the stairs towards his car. He opened up the passenger side door and let her get herself settled inside before closing the door over. He ran around the car and jumped into the driver's seat and turned to look at Tasha, her gorgeous blue eyes melting him from the inside out. He had a mischevious look on his face, clearly his nerves were all but gone now that Tasha was with him again.
Tasha leaned back in her seat and got comfortable once she put her seat belt on. Glancing over at him she couldn't help but smile as she reached out and ran her finger along the line of his jaw.
"What is with you? Get a raise without having to deal with a promotion today?" she teased a little bit before tapping his nose playfully. Pulling her hand back she rested it over his as she looked away, her fingers lacing with his own as she let out a happy sigh; just glad to be with him right then.
"In a manner of speaking... Tash, you've got a little something in your lashes. Might want to use the mirror in the sun visor to get it out..." He smiled and squeezed her fingers as the laced within his. He loved the soft and gentle smoothness of her skin against his. It was comforting on a level all on its own. It was clear he was prompting her but whether she called him out on it or not was another matter. He wasn't asking her to do anything completely weird or anything, just to check out her eyelashes in the mirror. Nothing unusual about that.
Perking a brow she tilted her head to the side. Shrugging she leaned up in her seat and reached for the visor, tipping it down so that she could take a look in the mirror. As she tilted the mirror down a small envelope fell into her lap. Stopping she looked down at it and picked it up slowly. It was pretty, a small blue wax seal on it. Turning it over she glanced towards Lincoln as she pushed the visor back in place with her free hand.
"What's this?" "A small gift. You're going to have to open it and see, aren't you?" He was trying hard not to giggle, and he didn't giggle often. He loved the look of bemusement on her face, it wasn't often that he could cause it.
"It's nothing bad, honest. Just open it and see, please." He nodded towards the envelope and smiled brightly at her. God did he love her.
Looking down at the envelope she looked it over before popping off the wax seal and peeking inside. An odd look came over her face as she pulled out a fine chain with an ornate silver key dangling from the end of it. Resting the envelope down in her lap she cupped the key in her palm before looking back over at Lincoln, utterly confused and it showed on her features.
"And this is for?" "You. It's a present. Would you like a hand putting it on?" He literally looked like the cat that had caught the canary. He reached over and gently took it from her and opened the clasp in order to be able to comfortably put it around her neck. Once it was there he sat back and smiled as he saw it resting there.
"I felt like getting you a nice little surprise present, not a crime last time I checked." He gave her a quick wink before grinning at her and starting the car up.
Tasha leaned up while he put on the necklace and grinned slightly. Reaching down she picked it up and looked it over, it was beautiful but she was still very confused what the key was for. She was about to ask what it was for when he turned on the radio. She didn't even have to ask what he was doing now, she knew where this was going; it had become a little bit of a thing with them while they were in the car together.
He put the radio on and let the
music play. He smiled as he heard which song it was and bobbed his head along with the beat before breaking out into song, singing to Natasha as he drove.
"Sweeeeeeeeeeeet wonderful you, you make me happy with the thiiings you dooo..." He sang along, singing each word and enjoying himself for the entirety of his performance while he drove. It was a very good job that he was more than competent at driving.
Giggling she rolled her eyes at his antics. He was completely adorable when he was like this but half the time she wondered if he was purposefully trying to make himself sound off key. Shaking her head she waited for the song to end, just watching him and giggling softly as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand from time to time as she bit her bottom lip. Once the song came to an end she switched off the radio and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Going to tell me what the key opens you ninny?" He shrugged and stifled his smirk as best he could.
"Eventually." He pulled up into his parking spot for his apartment and jumped out before heading around to help Tasha out of the car.
"Can't let you get your pretty threads all ruined." Once she was out and sorted, Lincoln held his arm out for Tasha to slip her arm into and they began their walk to the Italian Restaurant that they had had their first date in. Resting her head on his shoulder she smiled as she rubbed his arm some, she loved this little area of town and sure he could have parked closer but she didn't mind the walk, it gave them a few moments alone before they got there; god only knew what was going to happen when they arrived. They had had to break up a fight on their first date.
"Huh, doesn't look like it's open... Wonder where Marco is?" Lincoln let go of Tasha's arm and walked forward, leaning his forehead against the glass of the front door and cupping his hands around his face to peer inside the dimly lit building. He pushed back from the door and turned to Tasha with a frown on his face.
"You have better eyesight than me, do you want to have a look inside and see if you can see anyone?" "What?" she asked, looking confused. The place shouldn't be closed for hours. Looking over at Lincoln she then stepped over and cupped her hands along the side of her face as she leaned against the glass. The place looked deserted, no one moving around inside; which should have not been the case at this hour.
"I don't see anyone...wait..." she said as she pulled away from the door and looked over towards Lincoln as she gave him an incredulous look.
"White lilies? Okay Casanova, what are you up too?" Raising his hands up as if surrendering at gun point, Lincoln shook his head.
"Not me! I did ask Marco to get me a vase for your lillies but I expected him to be here so I could give you them myself and not have you spy on them through a locked door. One second, going to give him a call." Lincoln wandered away down the street a little bit and pulled out his cell and called Marco. He glanced back towards Tasha and waved to show that it was ringing and he turned away again as he waited for Marco to answer.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Tasha tapped her foot as she watched him closely. She wasn't buying it for one second that he didn't know what was going on. Looking down, the key caught her attention and she started tapping it.
"Wouldn't it be weird if this key unlocked the door?" she called out to him while cocking a brow.
Lincoln glanced over his shoulder and laughed.
"You can try it if you want to break it. That key isn't strong enough to open a door lock." He smirked and continued talking into his phone quietly so that Tasha wouldn't hear. He knew she wasn't dumb but he could play up the charade a little while longer. He cleared up the last preparations with Marco and then turned and walked back towards Tasha.
"I left a voicemail for him. C'mon, we're unfortunately going to have to find somewhere else to eat tonight." He wrapped an arm around Tasha's shoulder and they walked back towards his car. Leaning against him she shrugged a bit, maybe something had happened but still her gut told her something was off.
As they turned the corner his car wasn't in it's parking space.
"What the fuck?!" Lincoln let go of Tasha and ran over to where he had left his car.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" He was never one to swear, in fact he hated using it unless the situation warranted it, this definitely warranted it.
Stopping she looked and pulled out her purse,
"So, I call 911? Or gonna tell me this is part of whatever romance novel scene you cooked up for our date?" she asked quickly. She knew he hated cussing but this was becoming a little too obvious. Dressed up, a key, no one there, her flowers there, now the car. To her it was like someone coming in, holding their chest. It was pretty obvious he was up to something.
Lincoln had his hands in his hair and was looking around. He turned as he heard Tasha and he shook his head.
"Look, I was cooking up a fun night for us, treating you with gifts and stuff but Marco not being there and my car going missing were definitely not part of the plan. Fuck!" He wasn't ready yet, he was absolutely shitting himself and his nerves were building up more and more and more. He had wanted this night to be perfect, like their first date had been. He'd planned it to the finest detail but now? He walked over to a nearby street light and just started to gently bang his head against it in frustration.
"Well plans change, we'll figure something out moya zhizn'," she said as she closed her phone and watched him.
"I don't want this night completely ruined with police and questions and reports. I can call them in the morning and ruin our day off together tomorrow with it instead. Tonight is for us. The car is insured and I know I locked it up tight, I can deal with it later. Now I just need to come up with another way to enjoy our night." He looked around and considered how he could salvage this. Could he still ask her what he wanted to ask her or should he postpone? Screw it. Sighing she slipped her phone back into her purse, she didn't like the idea of waiting to call the police but he was obviously upset by the entire thing and it was his truck.
"Well we're at my place, shall we just go upstairs and order some take out and watch a movie?" He didn't want to call a cab for her so it was the next best thing.
"Sorry that I made you get all dressed up..." He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her neck.
Slipping her arms around him she kissed the top of his head, letting out a slow breath as she enjoyed the feel of him close to her.
"Hey, now stop that. You didn't make me do anything for one and two, we will just find the good in the bad," she said, quoting her mother like she always did anytime something went wrong. Reaching up she cupped his cheeks in her palms and smiled at him as she tilted his head back to look at her.
"Anyways, I'd rather have a food fight at your place; the shower is right there," she said in a soft coy voice as she gave him a slight wink.
Smiling softly, Lincoln kissed the palms of both of her hands and then held them in his own as he kissed the tip of her nose.
"You have a very good point, not one I can refuse easily. Let's go upstairs and order some mediocre food while we watch a really bad movie so we can make fun of it." He slipped his arm around her shoulder and guided her into his building. He gave a polite nod and smile to one of his neighbours who was exiting the building as he walked in - an elderly man named Stan - and let him leave before they both entered. Tasha smiled slightly at the man as she leaned against Lincoln and waited before she walked in.
He was glad to live on the top floor as it meant no noisy upstairs neighbours but he could do without the three flights of stairs to get there when the lift was inevitably broken which it had been for the past three weeks. Oh well, at least he could get some extra cardio in each day. As they made it up to his
apartment he unlocked the door and let Tasha inside. It was the usual bachelor pad on a budget but on the cleaner end of the scale.
Stepping in she slipped off her jacket, the full of her back showing as she turned around from the low dip of her haltered dress shirt. Resting it over the back of a chair she pulled her hat off and hung it there as she tossed her purse into the chair. This was not how she expected to spend her evening but she wasn't going to complain. She didn't have to work and she was with him.
"So since Italian is off the menu, do you want Chinese? Thai? Sushi? Indian? Mexican? Cantonese? Burgers? Pizza? You name it, I'll find a place that delivers it... somehow." He chuckled as he took his suit jacket off and moved into his bedroom to hang it up.
"Chinese food for dinner, Goonies for the movie," she quipped as she slipped her shoes off and set them next to the chair. Flexing her toes out a bit as she walked around the room slowly. Taking a breath she thought about the tests she had had to do earlier that day and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath trying to push the through out of her mind.
He spotted the long but thin mahogany box that was sitting on the bedside table on Tasha's side of the bed and he smiled. There was a small ornate lock keeping it shut. He placed his jacket on a hanger and placed it in his closet. He then slipped his pants off before putting on something much more comfortable - sweatpants. He began to unbutton his shirt as he walked into the lounge area.
"You've got some sweats in the drawers in my room if you want to get comfortable." He gave her a wink and began to slowly unbutton his shirt as if he were a chippendale and then laughed as he remembered how uncoordinated he really was.
Looking over towards him she couldn't help but giggle. He was about as sexy as she was when she was trying to be right then, not at all. Shaking her head she walked over to him and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt.
"Nope, I want this," she said as her fingers worked their way down, unbuttoning the rest and helping him out of the shirt. He grinned wide.
"Okay okay, but you better not spill any Chinese on it tonight!" He called after her as she took his shirt and draped it over her shoulder as she stepped out of the room, winking at him as she left before walking into his bedroom.
"If I do, you'll just have to take it off me," she said with a coy smirk playing on her lips.
"Minx!" He chuckled to himself before jumping over the back of the sofa and landing on the cushion. He grabbed the cordless phone and then pulled open a drawer in the coffee table and pulled out a couple of menus from some local Chinese joints. He fingered through the menus deciding what to have and leaving them out for Tasha to decide as well.
Spotting the box on the bed she perked a brow as she looked over it. Well this was an interesting twist. Tapping the key on her neck she thought about trying the key but decided to wait as she changed out of her clothing and slipped into his dress shirt, a pair of his boxers and some socks to keep her feet warm. Grabbing the box she stepped back out into the living room and smirked towards him.
"And what's this?" Lincoln leaned backwards and watched her walking towards him from his upside down vantage point before twisting his body around and resting his chin on the back of the sofa and looked at her innocently. His stomach was doing somersaults.
"Just a little adventure." He gave her a goofy smile as he just lay there, watching her from his perch.
Stopping she cocked a brow and chuckled.
"Oh like every date with you isn't already an adventure Casanova," she chuckled as she stepped over to him and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his forehead before flopping down on the couch and resting the box on the coffee table. Tucking her bare legs beneath her she leaned against the back of the couch and propped her head against the palm of her hand.
"Does my key open it?" "Only one way to find out." He gave her a mischevious wink and smirked. He stood up and stretched his back out, leaning backwards and then forward. As he ducked down towards her he kissed the tip of her nose and then walked over to his desk. He grabbed his laptop and then wandered back over to her with a knowing smile on his face. He sat down beside her again and kept the knowing look on his face.
Smiling she carefully took the key off from around her neck and placed it in the keyhole. Turning it she heard the click and then placed it back around her neck. Resting her hands on the box she took a deep breath as she bit her on bottom lip. Slowly she opened it and looked inside. Picking up the flash drive she perked a brow, then her eyes fell on the plane tickets. Grabbing them she took a close look and her eyes widened as she saw they were to St. Petersburg's, her mother's home town.
Tears started to well up in her eyes as she smiled, she had always wanted to go but never had the chance.
"Lincoln..." she said breathlessly as she looked over to him, completely speechless right then but it was clear in her glacier eyes that she was overjoyed and touched.
Lincoln reached forward and tucked the stray strands of hair behind her ear and pulled her closer before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. He then placed the laptop on her lap and pointed to the USB slot.
"It's not over yet." Looking down, nearly dumbfounded she took a deep breath as she slipped the drive into the port and held her breath. She had no idea what he was doing, maybe it was what all the trip entailed? Leaning back slightly she watched the screen and waited to see what was pulled up.
The
music began to play and the screen lit up with video footage of Lincoln standing in Tasha's room, her singing coming from the shower. Tasha cocked a brow as she watched the scene and chuckled a bit. Lincoln stood with a card that read "To me you are perfect...", the scene changed to Lincoln sitting in his truck while Tasha slept on the back seat, the world dark and twinkling through the windows. A soft smile coming to her lips as she blushed softly, she could feel her face warming because of it. Lincoln sat holding a card that read "...and I wouldn't change a thing about you." Her hand coming up to her cheek as she nibbled on her bottom lip. Another scene change, Lincoln stood in a rainy forest while Tasha danced around in the rain in the background. He held a card that read "Actually that's a lie..." Swallowing slightly, she had to wonder just how long he had taken to put this all together.
The scene switched to the hospital where Tasha is standing at the nurses station with some colleagues having a cup of coffee. The camera walks up to Tasha and Lincoln swoops in kissing her on the cheek before leaving her chasing him away. As Lincoln walks away with his body camera recording those he passes, each person turns and holds a card that states a single word to form the sentence. "I would change one little thing." Her eyes widening a bit that so many seemed to be in on this little thing. Had it been anyone else she might had suspected something at this point but Lincoln had always made it a point to do grand romantic gestures, even from day one so she was still clueless for a time.
Lincoln's bedroom is illuminated in morning light and Tasha's sleeping face lays there while Lincoln kneels down beside her and strokes her hair gently, a post it note sitting between their faces says "I love you. Tasha reached out and touched his face on the screen as she mouthed
I love you too." She was so touched by all of it, a few tears slipped down her cheeks as she continued to watch. Then the camera changes once more to Tasha studying hard in her apartment while Lincoln glances over his shoulder at her and smiles brightly. Another card; "Will you..." and then the camera fades to black but the music continues to play. Tasha felt her breath going short and shaky at this point, her hands trembling a bit as the scene faded and she watched earnestly to see what came up next.
Lincoln taps Tasha on the shoulder and holds out a small envelope with the same ice blue wax seal as her necklace was in earlier today. The front of it reads "...marry me?" Turning her head to look over to him she lost her breath as she froze in place reading the note he held up. She just sat there in complete shock for a moment before she looked away her eyes darting around and a look came over her features that one couldn't tell if she was ecstatic or petrified. Slowly she gazed back over to him and tried to say something, anything at that point.
Finally she was able to draw a breath. Her lips trembling as she squeaked out a whispered
"y..yes..." Gradually a smile formed on her lips as her head gave a quick bobbled nod and she repeated herself with far much more happiness than before.
"Yes," she giggled.
He puffed his chest out and let out the breath that he'd been holding in for the entire video. He was grinning so big and so wide he was surprised that his face hadn't split in half yet.
"You will?! YES!" He jumped on the couch and wrapped his arms around her before leaning back and planting so many kisses on her lips and on her face it was amazing that her skin was still attached to her body. Tasha couldn't help but to continue to giggle as she returned each kiss he placed on her lips as her arms wrapped around him; the lap top spilling out of her lap and onto the touch next to them. She didn't care she was just so happy right then.
He was still holding the envelope and calmed himself enough to clear his throat and hold the envelope out to her.
"C-care to make it official?" The envelope was slightly weighted, the ring was inside. Looking at the envelope she snatched it out of his hand and pushed him back on the couch as she popped the seal and looked inside. He chuckled as he hit the sofa back and watched her with the most ecstatic look on his face imaginable.
"Oh my god!" she gasped as her eyes fell onto the
ring as she turned over the envelope and let it spill into her open palm.
"It's perfect," she whispered as she placed the envelop down on the table and took it between her fingers. Holding it out to him she couldn't stop giggling lightly between nervous breaths.
"You do it, I can't stop shaking," she admitted as she bit her bottom lip.
He let out a nervous laugh and grinned.
"You and me both, beautiful." He took the ring carefully from her and then gently took her left hand and slipped it onto her ring finger before cupping her hand in his.
"Well then, how does it feel to be the future Mrs. Brinne-Roberts? Roberts-Brinne? Brinne? Roberts? I don't even care which name you choose really, I'm just glad you said yes! Call yourself Mrs. Clause for all I care, so long as you're mine." He laughed more nervously than before and then held his hand up to his mouth to shut himself up. He hated rambling when he was nervous but no changing that ingrained and annoying trait now.
Reaching up she took his hand and pulled it away from his mouth as she crawled into his lap and curled up. She didn't care that he rambled like this, she loved it about him actually. He was beyond adorable when he got like this. Sighing happily she tucked her head beneath his chin as she looked down at the ring on her finger.
"Dr. Natasha Roberts will do just fine," she said in a giddy voice as she tilted her head back and looked up at him, cupping his cheek gently in her hand which now wore her engagement ring.
"I love you," she whispered softly as she pulled him closer and kissed his lips.
He lost himself in her taste and warmth for as long as she would allow. As they parted ways to come up for breath, Lincoln stared down at his future and smiled warmly as he stroked her hair down and lightly tapped her on the end of her nose before chuckling.
"I love you way more though." Lincoln remained seated on the edge of her bed and watched her still, the silence making him more and more certain that she didn't feel that way for him anymore but so long as she could accept in her life as a friend then he could deal with that. He'd survived this long without her, to be able to just have her friendship would be a damn blessing right now.
That look was still etched on her face, the same one from that night so long ago. Her breath just as shaky and her hands trembling just as much as she bit on her bottom lip. Her eyes slowly coming back to his, it was like a movie of that night all over again. Trying to find her breath to say something, anything. Could he tell how she was feeling right then? Did he remember the look or was it so gone in the past that he had forgotten how she looked that night?
He knew that face but he didn't want to misjudge. He could just be being hopeful. He was being careful now, so ridiculously careful that Tasha would probably cuss him out for it if she knew. He wanted to get up but he still ached from the fight and didn't trust his legs right then with the nerves flitting around him so much. He took her silence as an answer and felt his stomach dropping.
"Well then... Thanks for the patchwork, Doc. If you need some actual payment please just let me know." His face crumpled in on itself as he stood up and he winced from the pain.
Tasha looked over to him and bit her bottom lip.
"Lincoln..." she said as she tried to reach out to him. She didn't want him to go. He took a half step towards the door when a knock sounded and then the door fell flat into the room. Tasha jumping slightly as she spun around to look at what had caused the sudden noise and her eyes narrowed a bit.
Lincoln's eyes widened as he saw a topless Murphy standing there looking like he was just as shocked as they were.
"Damn it Irish, what the fuck do you want?" she snapped as tried to compose herself. Murphy looked over to her slowly and chuckled a bit.
"Needs me a bit of a wrap up Doc, can't do it meself," he said as he stepped inside and looked over towards Lincoln.
"Seems she patched you up right fast," he chuckled. Tasha growled under her breath before looking back at Lincoln. Lincoln glowered at Murphy but said and did nothing.
"Sit down until I can help you down the stairs," she barked, frustrated at the situation. He stopped and did as he was bade, not wanting to piss her off anymore than he had done with his admissions to her. Grumbling she pulled her hair up and into a bun to get it out of the way as she turned her back to Lincoln, a large semi-circular scar could be seen that ran out of her hair line and back into it; one that wasn't there when they were together.
A frown creased his brow as he spotted the scar and he sat down, tracing the line of it with his eyes and wondering what the hell could have caused that kind of scar. He was worried that it was something medical or perhaps she'd been in a fight that went too far or a car accident that had caused it. He'd have to ask her later if she was still willing to talk to him after all of this. Lincoln glanced over to Murphy and bit his tongue.
Bending over she grabbed what she needed, the key that Lincoln had given her so long ago working its way out from under her shirt and dangling there in the light. Grabbing it quickly she tucked it back away before moving over to Murphy and nearly manhandling him to get his ribs wrapped up.
"Damn woman, that hurts," he hissed as she spun him around this way and that.
"Serves you right for goading him Irish," she said as she finished up and shoved him right back where he came from. Murphy looked back as she picked up the door from the floor and shoved it into the opening, shutting it in the only way possible now. Murphy snickered a bit as he turned to go back to his room and looked for Cass. Turning Tasha snatched up what was left of her things and shoved them back into her bag.
