Epilogue
Luis stood at on the platform, holding Ariel by the hand, and carrying Marie in one arm. All three of them waited, anxiously for Sheridan’s train to pull into the station. Ariel tugged on her father’s arm excitedly.
“I hear the whistle daddy, mommy’s almost here.” Luis looked down at his blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel.
“Yes she is baby.”
As soon as the baby heard her sister say mommy, she too became excited and began chanting “mommy,” while her little arms went wild and hit Luis’s chest and arms. The train pulled noisily into the station, and squealed as it came to a stop. But even with all the noise surrounding him, Luis could only hear one thing…his heartbeat. The sound of it pounding in his ears, and pumping through his chest was deafening. It seemed like years later to him, but finally the doors opened. There were many passengers getting off the train, but he only saw one, his Sheridan. The conductor helped her with her suitcase, and she descended the stairs. She immediately spotted Luis and her children, and began walking towards them. Ariel squirmed out of her fathers grip and ran towards Sheridan. The two embraced in a crushing hug. Sheridan pulled back from her daughter, and looked into her eyes, it was like looking in a mirror.
“Don’t ever leave for that long again mommy, I missed you so much.” Ariel said as her and Sheridan approached Luis and baby Marie.
Sheridan reached to take Marie from Luis and held her close to her body. She smoothed the hair back from Marie’s head, and kissed her. She was a carbon cop of Luis.
“We all missed you Sheridan,” Luis spoke up. Sheridan laughed.
“I was only gone for two weeks you guys. You act as though I’ve been gone for years.” She looked up to Luis as she spoke.
The baby had already contentedly laid her head against her mothers shoulder, shut her eyes, and started sucking her thumb.
“It felt like forever mommy,” Ariel said with a pouty face, the same one that Sheridan gave Luis so many times.
Sheridan bent down to be eye level with her daughter. “I’m sorry, but I have a question for you sweetheart. What if you didn’t see mommy and daddy everyday?”
“What do you mean?” Ariel asked, her four-year-old brain trying to comprehend what Sheridan was saying.
“What if you and Marie lived with only mommy, and daddy moved out, and you couldn’t see him everyday?”
Ariel squished up her nose and said, “I don’t think I’d like that mommy.”
Luis swallowed the lump in his throat, which had appeared the moment Sheridan stepped off the train. The tears welled up in his eyes. He knew she was going to come back with an answer, but he never imagined that she would tell him this way, by using his own daughter. He felt his chest cave in, and his heart crumble, it couldn’t be over, it just couldn’t. He thought back to the time this all started, if only he had noticed then, then maybe things would be different now.
Chapter 1
It was Marie’s first birthday party, even though she was a year and a half old. Her first birthday party got rained out, so they rescheduled in the summer so it could be an outdoors party. And fortunately for Sheridan, the festivities were winding down. The last little girl had just left, and Sheridan was starting to clean up some of the mess.
“Can I help mommy?” Ariel asked, her bright blue eyes shining up at her mother.
“Oh, that’s very nice of you to ask baby, but why are you so interested in helping all of a sudden?”
Sheridan asked, unwilling to believe that her eldest daughter would clean up ANYTHING if she wasn’t forced to. Ariel gave her mother the ‘I’ve been caught’ look, and fessed up.
“Well, you said as soon as the party was over and the house was cleaned up that you and I could go to the mall together. Just you and me mommy, remember?”
Ariel finished, with tears in her eyes, thinking that her mother had forgotten about her. Sheridan knelt down to Ariel’s height, and smoothed back the bits of her hair that fell from the ponytail during the day’s hectic activities, and kissed her forehead.
“No, I didn’t forget baby. I’m almost done, but if you really want to help, you can throw away all the paper plates and cups left on the table outside. Why don’t you ask uncle Miguel to help you, okay?” Ariel smiled brightly.
“Okay mommy.”
Five minutes later, Sheridan heard Luis pull into the driveway and dash into the house.
“I’m sorry I’m late honey, I just busted open a huge case, and couldn’t get away. What did I miss?”
Luis asked, letting out a huge breath. Sheridan didn’t answer him, but kept cleaning up the kitchen. Under her breath she muttered,
“Everything, as usual,” but Luis didn’t hear a syllable.
Luis walked up next to Sheridan, and reached out to touch her, but she moved out of his reach, and walked to the patio door.
“I’m ready Ariel.”
“YEAHHHHHH.”
Her squeal could be heard all around the neighborhood. She kissed her uncle Miguel, aunt Theresa and Paloma, and her Grandparents goodbye, then ran inside.
“Daddy.”
She yelled excitedly, running into his arms. He picked her up and kissed her silky cheek, ‘just like her mother’s.’
“How was the party baby?”
Ariel’s eyes and face were so animated, that she conveyed her story nicely.
“Oh, it was so great daddy, there was a clown, and a horsy, and uncle Miguel spilt soda out his nose.”
She covered her mouth with her hands, to hide her contagious laughter.
“He did, that’s sounds gross.”
“Oh, and uncle Hank pulled Marie’s present out of a hat. How did he do that daddy?” Ariel asked with a quizzical look.
“I don’t know how he did that sweetie, maybe he has magical powers.”
Ariel’s face fell into a horrified look.
“Is he going to use his powers to make him invisible, so we can’t see him?”
Luis had no idea where she had gotten that idea, but he found it amusing, although his daughter found it quite the opposite.
“Why would you think that baby?”
“Mommy says that you are invisible, that’s why you’re never home, and I don’t want uncle hank to be invisible too.”
Luis thought about that for a minute. ‘Sheridan thinks I’m invisible?’ He was jarred from his thoughts by his daughter’s dread-filled gaze.
“No sweetie, uncle Hank will not be invisible, no one in this family is invisible. Got that?”
“Yes daddy.”
“Good.”
“Let’s go Ariel.” Sheridan said, holding out her jacket for her.
Luis set her to the ground and she ran to her mother and put the jacket on.
“Bye daddy.” She waved.
“Bye sweetheart.”
Luis said, although he had no idea where she was going. He heard Sheridan open the garage and leave, so he figured Ariel was sleeping over a friend’s house, and Sheridan was bringing her. ‘That’ll be good,’ he thought, ‘if I can have mama take Marie, then maybe Sheridan and I can have some time alone. Won’t that be a change?’
Luis walked out on the deck, where the party had taken place, and talked to his family.
“Where’s the birthday girl?”
Luis asked. His mother gave him a confused look.
“She left with Theresa ten minutes ago, she’s sleeping over our house tonight.”
“Oh, did Sheridan ask you to watch her tonight?”
“Of course, she didn’t know when you were coming home, and her and Ariel are bonding tonight. They plan on shopping ‘til they drop at the mall tonight.”
“Why tonight, didn’t Ariel have enough excitement at the party today?”
Martin walked up behind Pilar and placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke to Luis.
“Ariel became very upset that her sister was having a party, she thought you guys didn’t love her as much, so Sheridan said she would take her out after the party so they could do something special together.”
Luis was more confused than ever.
“When was this decided?”
“Two days ago when Ariel locked herself in your bathroom and cried her eyes out for six hours. Didn’t you know Luis?” Pilar asked.
“No mama, I didn’t.”
“Oh, well, it’s getting late, and we have all had a pretty hectic day. We’ll drop Marie off around noon tomorrow. Adios hijo.”
Pilar kissed her son goodbye.
“Bye Luis, catch ya later buddy, bye bro.”
Was echoed by all his family and close friends that were leaving his house.
Luis walked into the kitchen and looked around. He had no idea what he was going to do alone, for the rest of the night. He hadn’t even had a chance to see his daughter on her first birthday party. Luis sighed, thinking that he was spending too much time away from his family. With the time he had from now until Sheridan returned, he was going to plan something special for his family. They needed to spend a day together, just the four of them.
Luis sat at the kitchen table, and planned the perfect day for his family tomorrow. He was very proud of himself. He checked his watch, 6 o’clock, and Sheridan still wasn’t home.
‘Okay, that’s only two hours, Sheridan could shop for days,’ Luis rationalized.
He sat on the couch, with a bag of chips and a beer, and watched a basketball game.
It was eight o’clock, and Sheridan and Ariel were in the car heading home. She looked over at her precious angel and knew that she wouldn’t even last five more minutes before she was fast asleep. Sheridan remembered something Ariel had said to her while they were trying on dresses:
“Marie asked for daddy today, she misses him. I miss him too mommy. How come daddy stays away so much does he not like me anymore mommy? Did I do something to make daddy mad at me?”
Sheridan’s heart nearly broke in two as she heard the heartache in her daughter’s voice. She thought about the party too, Luis had missed his daughter’s first birthday party. That’s something that would never happen again. It seemed like only yesterday that she was born. Compared to Ariel, it was quite an easy delivery, and twelve hours of labor seemed like seconds, compared the endless DAYS of labor she experienced with Ariel.
Little Marie was a blessing, they told Sheridan she should consider not having any more babies after her horrible ordeal while carrying Ariel, but she would endure every ounce of pain again if it meant having another beautiful child. Sheridan was on the verge of tears when she pulled into the driveway, and she collected herself when she pulled into the garage, knowing full well she didn’t want Luis to comfort her if he thought she was crying. She was mad at him, and she wanted to stay that way.
Luis finally heard Sheridan’s car pull into the driveway around 8:30. She stepped in the front door, carrying a sleeping Ariel in one arm, and only two shopping bags in the other, ‘well that’s a shock.’ Luis thought to himself.
He went over to the door to help Sheridan. He reached his arms out, and Sheridan handed him his daughter. She trailed behind Luis as he carried Ariel to her bedroom. Sheridan changed her daughter into her favorite little mermaid pajamas, and went into her bedroom.
She pulled out some pajamas for herself. She could feel Luis walking behind her and just as he was about to talk to her, she slammed the bathroom door in his face, and went to take a shower, Luis tried the handle, but it was locked.
Sheridan had NEVER locked a door to him before, never, and that bothered Luis. He knew she must still be mad about him missing Marie’s birthday party, but he was mad at himself for missing it too.
He desperately wanted to tell Sheridan about the day he had planned for them tomorrow, but he figured he should surprise her, maybe that way; she would be a little more forgiving. Luis changed into his boxers, and got under the covers and waited for Sheridan to get into bed. When she did, he waited for his goodnight kiss, but instead he got the cold shoulder, literally. She faced her back to him, and wouldn’t turn around.
“Goodnight Sheridan.”
He got no response, so he turned away from her and went to sleep. He never felt the bed shaking when her body was wracked with sobs, and he never awoke to comfort her, he had no idea how much Sheridan was hurting at that point.
Chapter 2
The alarm clock went off at seven thirty, like it did every Saturday morning. Sheridan rolled over and turned it off. She was about to get out of bed and start fixing breakfast, and go about her same boring routine she followed every day, only at different times. Before she had a chance to get up, an arm snaked its way around her waist. Luis pulled her close to his body, and snuggled up to her. Sheridan was still mad and spoke coldly.
“You have to let me get up Luis, I have to fix breakfast, or you’ll be late for work.”
‘Work,’ she thought. ‘Work was Luis’ true love, not her.’
“Just lay back down and cuddle with me, I’m not going to work today.”
“You’re not?”
Sheridan asked in an incredulous and shocked tone. He pulled her back to him and nuzzled her neck.
“No, I’m not, now why don’t we just sit here and enjoy the precious alone time that we have together.”
Sheridan still couldn’t believe him.
“Wait, are you sure? This isn’t some kind of April fools joke that you’re playing on me, is it?” (I wrote this chapter on April 1, 2001, hehe.)
Luis held his hand to his heart playfully.
“Sheri, I’m hurt. Do you really think I could be that mean. Listen, I have the day off, and while I was home ALONE last night, I planned the perfect family outing for the four of us. I realize you were mad about me missing the party…”
“AM mad.” Sheridan corrected him.
“Okay, I realize that you are still mad at me, and I want to make up for it. Say you’re not made at me anymore, please, pretty please.”
Luis stuck out his bottom lip, and went in for some kisses, while Sheridan was trying to push him off, and retain her anger, while Luis was still chanting,
“Please, pretty please, pretty please with a cherry on top.”
He snuck his arm down to Sheridan’s stomach, and starting tickling her. Her defenses weakened from the tickling, and Luis managed to plant a big one on her.
“Do you forgive me?”
“No.” She said half seriously.
He tickled and kissed her some more.
“Now do you forgive me?”
“No.” Sheridan answered with a bright smile.
Luis pounced on top of her, and planted kisses up and down her neck.
“Please say you forgive me, I’ll do anything.”
“Anything?” Sheridan asked with a cocked eyebrow.
“Mmm hmm.” He answered playfully.
“Wait, before I grant any requests Ariel isn’t going to wake up, is she?”
“No, she had a long day yesterday, with the party and shopping, she should be out for a little while longer.”
Just then there was a knock on the door.
“Mommy, daddy, can I come in?” Ariel asked in a frightened little voice.
“So much for that theory. Come in sweetie.” Sheridan beckoned.
Ariel ran in and jumped on the bed, and cuddled up to her mother. She looked very agitated.
“What’s wrong baby?” Sheridan asked while checking her forehead…no fever.
“I had a bad nightmare.”
“About what?”
She leaned into her mother’s ear and whispered something. Sheridan was almost in tears by the time Ariel was finished, and her anger towards Luis resurfaced, well some of it did at least. Luis laid down, and Sheridan put Ariel between them, and rubbed her cheeks soothingly until she fell asleep.
“What was that all about?” Luis asked Sheridan.
“Nothing Luis, it was nothing, go back to sleep, it’s only 8 o’clock.”
The coldness was back in Sheridan’s voice, but when Luis placed his hand on top of Sheridan’s right before falling back to sleep, she didn’t back away from his touch. ‘She can’t be that mad at me,’ Luis thought before falling into a tranquil slumber.
Luis, Sheridan and Ariel showed up at Pilar’s house around 11:00am. Pilar welcomed them all in and kissed Luis on the cheek.
“What are you doing here hijo, I said we would bring Marie home?”
“Actually mama, the four of us are having a family day, and we’re on a tight schedule, so if you could get Marie, we really need to be leaving.”
Luis picked up Sheridan’s hand and held it in his, while he was driving. He gave Sheridan one if his brilliant toothy smiles, which Sheridan happily returned. She was so happy that Luis was taking an interest in his family again. She figured that the past six months had just been hectic at work, and hopefully he was going to spend more time with his family.
Sheridan looked in the rear view mirror, and saw Ariel singing softly to herself and her sister, and she was kissing Marie’ face after every line, and Marie was loving it. Marie was laughing hysterically at her sister every time she bent to kiss her chubby little cheeks. Sheridan laughed lightly, and Luis looked into the mirror to see what was making his wife so happy. When he saw his daughters’ little display, his smile grew too, and he squeezed Sheridan’s hand. They intertwined fingers, while Luis pulled into a parking lot, and parked the car.
Everyone stepped out of the car, and Sheridan went and got Marie from the car seat. When she turned around, Luis was toting a huge picnic basket, and Ariel held two blankets.
Sheridan looked around at her surroundings; they were at beautiful park about 45 minutes outside of harmony. Luis handed Sheridan one of her big beach bags, and told her to follow him. She picked up Marie, and Luis picked up Ariel, and they followed Luis, over a quaint bridge, allowing people to cross over the big heart shaped lake.
They found a picturesque spot on the landscaped grass, surrounded by beautiful flowers, with a scenic view of the lake.
Luis placed everything down, and took the blankets from Ariel and set them down on the ground, the shade from the nearby tree, and the refreshing breeze made their spot the most perfect place for a wonderful time with his loving family.
Chapter 3
They had just finished eating, and Sheridan was sitting on the blanket, holding her youngest daughter in her lap, while Luis was playing Frisbee with Ariel. It was one of the many accessories he had brought along for the day. Sheridan couldn’t believe the wonderful meal they had just eaten. Luis had packed a glorious lunch, with sandwiches, salads, and a secret desert, that he wasn’t sharing just yet. Marie was starting to get antsy sitting in Sheridan’s arms; she wanted to be out with her daddy and sister too. Sheridan set Marie to her feet and she took of toddling over to her father. Luis squatted down on the ground, with open arms, which Marie entered happily. Ariel threw the Frisbee lightly to her father and sister, and Marie squealed and clapped her hands loudly when Luis placed it in her hands after catching it. Sheridan looked at her family, playing, and having a good time and her heart swelled with love. It had been so long since she had felt this way about the WHOLE family, and she was just so happy now, she wanted to cry. The three of them played Frisbee a little while longer and Luis caught Sheridan sneaking into the picnic basket to see what was for desert.
Luis raced over to her, and scooped her up into his arms. “Quite the little sneak, aren’t we?” Luis asked, while looking at his wife’s conniving grin. “No, I just…wanted something to…drink.” She knew she sounded totally pathetic. Luis gave her an ‘I don’t believe you look,’ and she fessed up. “All right, you caught me, now what are you going to do with me?” Sheridan asked in a seductive tone. Luis bent down slightly, and Sheridan thought he was going to kiss her, but instead, Luis flung Sheridan over his shoulder, and ran over to the lake. Sheridan was screaming wildly, and hitting Luis in the butt. “Ahh, let me down.” She screamed. “What are you going to do with mommy?” Ariel asked as soon as they reached the lake, the girls had run behind their parents to see what Luis had in mind. He looked down at his little angel. “Mommy was a bad girl, so I’m gonna throw her in the lake.” “Luis NOOO.” Sheridan screamed and started squirming. Luis flung her back over his shoulder, and she thought she was heading straight in the water, but she landed safely back in his arms. He shot her a devilish look, and kissed her. The kiss was full of passion, passion that Sheridan had missed sharing with him. Luis set Sheridan to her feet, and said, “Let’s go get the dessert.” Sheridan’s eyes lit up, dessert was her favorite meal, and she knew Luis had packed something special. Marie ran up to her father, and held up her arms. She wanted to be picked up just like her mommy. “Come here baby.” Luis said to Ariel. Luis picked up his two girls, and threw them over his shoulders, just like he did to Sheridan. The girls shrieked in delight when Luis sped up, and made siren noises like he was a police car.
They all plopped down on the blanket, and Luis went into the picnic basket to produce strawberry shortcake. “Ooh Luis, I haven’t had this in the longest time.” “I know sweetie, that’s why I chose it, and it’s sweet just like you,” Luis said as he touched her noise with his finger, and got whip cream on it. Luis looked at the girls. “Mommy looks silly, doesn’t she?” The girls giggled. Ariel was chewing an enormous bite and had whipped cream all over her face, so she shook her head. Marie had stuck her fingers in the dish, to get strawberry juice all over them. She picked up a slippery piece of strawberry, and shoved it in her mouth along with her fingers, and she followed her sisters’ actions, and shook her head yes to her father. Sheridan cleared her throat. “Umm, Luis, I still have whipped cream on my nose.” “Oh, well let me help you.” He licked it off. “Thank you.” She said, implying that someone was going to get very lucky tonight. “Your welcome.” He replied lovingly.
“Ready for the next surprise?” Luis asked his family. They all looked at him with eyes sparkling and shining brightly. Luis produced a boom box, and hit play. Sheridan looked at him quizzically, until she heard the tango music her and her husband were so fond of. “May I have this dance?” Luis asked, while holding his hand out for his wife. “Yes you may.” Sheridan stood up, and joined him on the grass, where they shared a loving tango. Nothing too sexy, because their children were watching, but both conveyed love in their dance moves. As soon as her parents stood up, Ariel took the camera that her parents had been using all day, and took a picture of her parents. “Pretty.” Marie said, and pointed a finger from her dessert-covered hand at her parents. “Yes Marie, mommy and daddy are pretty.” She said. After the tango was over, Sheridan and Luis just stared at each other, and Ariel took another picture. As soon as Ariel snapped a picture of her parents kissing passionately, Marie held up another strawberry, and offered it to her sister. Ariel ate it, and pretended to eat Marie’s fingers. They were both laughing when Sheridan and Luis turned their attention back to their family. They were so lost in each other, while they were dancing, as if they were the only two people in the world.
Sheridan looked at her youngest daughters’ messy appearance. “Why don’t I go clean her up?” Sheridan picked Marie up, and took Ariel with her to the bathroom. Just as was walking in to restroom door, a man exiting the mens room, bumped into Sheridan. He picked up his expensive handkerchief, which had fallen to the ground. “I’m so sorry miss.” He said politely, and Sheridan smiled back at him. “It’s no problem.” She answered. Sheridan and the girls entered the bathroom, but the man stayed glued to his spot. ‘That is the most stunning, breathtaking woman, I have ever seen. Oh forget it, she has children and is probably married.’ The man thought to himself. He walked away.
Sheridan and the girls returned from the bathroom, to see that Luis had picked up the dishes from desert, and was holding a bag with some bread. Luis met his girls’ half way, and reached for Sheridan’s hand. They interlocked fingers, and Luis handed Ariel the bag of bread, and as a family, they walked down to the lake to feed the ducks. Ariel and Marie were having a marvelous time throwing bread to the animals, while Luis and Sheridan watched on. Luis tugged on Sheridan’s arm. “We can’t leave them alone.” “We’re not going far.” He said while still trying to get her to move. He gave her a playful look and said, “Come on, you don’t want me to throw you over my shoulder again?” Sheridan loosed her stance, and followed Luis. They went to the bridge, and crossed halfway over, standing in the middle. Sheridan made sure she had a clear view of the girls, and gave her attention to Luis. Luis lifted Sheridan’s hand, and played with her wedding band. “I want you to know, that the day I decided to marry you, was the best decision of my life.” He brought the wedding band to his lips, and kissed it. He turned Sheridan around, and she relaxed into his warm embrace. Luis held her tightly, wrapping his arms around her body. He laid his head against Sheridan’s and they stood there, slightly swaying, watching their beautiful daughters.
Chapter 4
After playing a few more games with the girls, Luis thought it was time to head home. It was 6 o’clock, and the sun would be setting soon. Luis loaded all of the bags in the car, and the girls entered the back seat tiredly. They had two exciting days in a row, and they were exhausted. When Sheridan buckled Marie in her car seat, she was rubbing her sore, tired eyes. Sheridan brushed some hair from Marie’s face, and ran a soothing hand under her daughter’s eyes. She always knew how to make her daughters feel better. She gave both of them a kiss, and headed to the passenger side. She was surprised, when Luis grabbed her arm, spun her around, and pulled her into the most passionate kiss. He just wanted to give her a preview of things to come, so he pulled back and Sheridan asked,
“What was that for.” Luis caressed her face.
“That was for being the best mother and wife ever.”
Sheridan kissed Luis’ thumb, they shared one last kiss, and got in the car and headed home. Sheridan couldn’t wait to make love to Luis that night. Today was special, it was a day to heal all the bad feelings she was harboring, and Sheridan was sure that making love with Luis tonight, would help her attitude even more.
When Sheridan and Luis got home, both of their little angels were asleep. Sheridan had Marie in her arms, and Luis had Ariel, while he tried to unlock the front door. Sheridan followed Luis in the house, and up the stairs to their daughter’s rooms. Sheridan watched as Luis undressed Ariel, and put on cute little pink pajamas. He laid her in bed, and placed a kiss on her cheek. Sheridan felt like crying, she hadn’t seen Luis do this in a long time.
Together, they went to Marie’s room, and changed her, and set her down in her crib with her favorite stuffed bunny that Hank had given her. Luis wrapped his arms around Sheridan, as they watched Marie suck her thumb in her sleep.
“We’ve got to get her to stop doing that.”
“Doing what?” Luis asked.
“Sucking her thumb, she’s been doing it ever since…”
The words died on her mouth. Luis turned Sheridan around,
“ever since what.”
Sheridan took a big breath and said,
“since you haven’t been around the past few months.”
Sheridan lowered her head, and tried to swallow the tears that were threatening to be shed. Luis lifted her chin and look into her watery blue eyes, but instead of words, he pulled her into a comforting kiss, to console her.
The kiss started out slow, and soft, but it quickly turned hungry. Luis picked Sheridan up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to their bedroom. He set her down on her feet, and she grew frantic, and deepened the kiss. Sheridan pulled Luis on top of her, as she laid down on the bed.
“I haven’t wanted you this badly in so long.”
Luis looked at the passion in her eyes, and moaned.
“I want you too.”
Sheridan pulled Luis’ shirt over his head, and undid his belt. She threw them both on the floor haphazardly. They were both so hot for each other. Sheridan hadn’t felt the need to make this kind of love to Luis in over three months, but she was going to take full advantage him tonight. Luis kissed Sheridan wantonly, and Sheridan ran her hands over his amazingly buff abs. She couldn’t feel his body enough, her hands were everywhere, dying to feel his hard body. Luis couldn’t take it anymore, he had to touch Sheridan, like she was touching him. He grabbed the bottom of her cotton shirt, and ripped it open. Sheridan looked up in surprise, and then started giggling. The giggles stopped, and turned to moans when she felt Luis’s hot tongue run it’s way over the swell of her breasts. They continued to pleasure each other, and made wild love.
After it was over, Sheridan turned over in Luis’ arms, and stared into his entrancing hazel eyes. She placed her hand on Luis’ cheek, and continued to stare at him. She missed being with him like this. She needed him again, only this time, she wanted to make love, not lust. She wanted their connection this time to be purely emotional, and not as physical. They made love for hours that way, and got very little sleep before their munchkins were up and out of bed, and running around the house.
Sheridan heard little feet scamper by the bedroom door, then she even smaller feet running very wobbly after the others. She heard it again, only this time there was another noise. She heard some VERY fast running, followed by Ariel and then Marie. Sheridan gave a sleeping Luis a kiss, got out of bed, put a robe and slippers, and silently opened the door. She waited to see what was going on, and boy did she find out. She couldn’t believe what she just saw, what was running around in the hallway with he children chasing after it.
Chapter 5
She threw open the door, and they traveled past her again. She turned back and glared at Luis. She was fuming.
“LUIS!”
Luis jumped ten feet in the air, and hurriedly got out of bed, and joined his wife.
“Did you bring that dog into our house?”
She asked, eyeballs bulging from their sockets, and steam coming out her ears.
“What dog?”
Luis asked, totally confused. Sheridan breathed a sigh of relief, at least Luis didn’t do it, or he would be sleeping in the proverbial ‘dog house.’ Sheridan and Luis walked down the stairs.
The living room looked a little disheveled. A lamp was knocked over, and some blankets and cereal bowls were on the floor in front of the TV.
There was a loud crash in the kitchen, and they both ran in to inspect it. Sheridan gasped, and put one hand to her heart, and the other one out to brace herself, which Luis grabbed. Luis and Sheridan stood there, mouths gaping open, staring at their kitchen. The cereal boxes were tipped over, their contents spilling on the floor. The faucet was running. ALL the cabinets were opened, even the glass case holding some of Sheridan’s expensive china. The refrigerator was hanging wide open, and the milk was spilling from its container all over the floor. There were paper towels soaking up liquids all over the floor. There were muddy paw prints all over, including the island, and some of the countertops, and the refrigerator. They heard a noise come from under the table, and looked down. Marie was sitting on the floor, dog slobber all over her face, and mud covering her pajamas.
“Doggy.”
She said, while splashing her hands in the dish of water that Ariel had gotten for the dog, which also happened to be one of Sheridan’s good china bowls. Sheridan and Luis looked over to the other side of the island.
Ariel was petting the dog, and it was eating the roast beef that was supposed to be their dinner, sitting beside that was a stack of bologna. Sheridan looked down at her daughter, who was smiling up at her parents.
“Look what I found mommy, can we keep him?”
Sheridan stared at Ariel, dumbfounded. Luis took one look at Sheridan’s face, and bent down, and grabbed his daughter.
“Ariel, sweetie, where did the doggy come from?”
“His mommy silly.”
Ariel laughed at her cute little joke. Luis smiled, but not too large, because Sheridan was about to blow.
“No Ariel, how did the dog get into the house?”
“Well, me and Marie came downstairs for breakfast, and I heard something at the door. I looked out the window, and the doggy was knocking. He wanted to come in and see me. Isn’t that cute daddy? The doggy was knocking on the door.”
She laughed some more. Luis had to think about his words carefully.
“Yes sweetheart, that is very cute, but you should never open the door without me or mommy with you.”
Ariel’s face fell into a pout.
“I know daddy, but the doggy wanted to come in.” She said, almost crying. Her little chin quivered,
“can we keep him daddy…please?”
Those sad blue eyes pierced right into his soul. Ariel was looking at him so sadly, her gaze questioning. He looked over to Sheridan, and her face said, ‘don’t you dare say yes.’ Luis looked at his daughter again, and he just couldn’t take it, when she put her tiny hand on his face, and kissed his cheek. Again, he looked at Sheridan thinking, ‘don’t make me do this. Ariel will be so disappointed.’ Sheridan knew exactly what Luis was thinking, but she stood firm in her decision. Luis looked at Ariel.
“I’m sorry baby, but we can’t keep the dog. He probably already has a home, you wouldn’t want someone to keep your doggy, would you?”
He asked while pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. Ariel crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was very mad.
“I don’t have a doggy.”
She squirmed to get out of Luis’ arms, and he set her on the ground.
“I knew you didn’t like me anymore daddy.”
She burst into tears. Luis was shocked at the words that just come from his daughter’s mouth. Ariel had expressed these feelings to Sheridan before, so Sheridan knelt down to her daughter’s height, and reached out for her baby.
“Come here Ariel.”
Ariel buried her head in Sheridan’s shoulder, and wailed.
“You know daddy loves you just as much as I do.” Ariel sniffed, and pulled back from her mother.
“Does that mean I can have a doggy.”
“I’m afraid not baby.”
Ariel gave Sheridan one of those infamous stares that she used to give Luis, when she worked for him at the youth center. She glared coldly at her father, and then to her mother. She walked right up to Sheridan, and got in her face. She stared into her eyes and grated out.
“If you don’t let me get a doggy, I’m going to tell grandma I saw you kissing daddy’s pee-pee, last night.”
Luis almost choked on his tongue, and Sheridan fell from her squatting position, onto the floor. That was the last thing she expected to hear out of her daughter’s mouth. Sheridan recovered from her state of shock, and looked at Luis. They were both crimson with embarrassment.
Sheridan was going to talk about this rationally, but frankly, she didn’t like the attitude Ariel was giving here. She was still staring at Sheridan with narrowed eyes, and the fact that her three and half year old daughter just threatened blackmail, added to her anger. Sheridan stood up, and looked down at Ariel.
“I suggest you go to your room young lady, and don’t come out until I come up there. We are going to have serious talk.”
Ariel crossed her arms over her chest again, and stomped up to her room, and slammed the door. Luis looked at Sheridan, not knowing if she had done the right thing.
“Don’t give me that look Luis. I understand we need to explain some things to her, like staying out of our room when we’re having sex, but she just tried to blackmail me, and did you see that attitude? She squinted at me, did you see those eyes?”
Luis couldn’t help himself, he had to laugh.
“Those are the same eyes her mother used to give me.” Sheridan scoffed.
“Well, if you think it’s so funny, then you can clean up this mess.”
“Dada.”
Luis looked down to his filthy daughter, attached to his leg, her big brown eyes looking up at him lovingly. The dog walked over to Marie, and started licking her face again. Sheridan watched the scene pointed to her messy daughter, and the unwanted guest.
“Starting with that.”
She walked upstairs to have a talk with Ariel, and left Luis to do the dirty work. She could hear him groan, and scream bad dog, then Marie started crying. She laughed heartily as she ascended the stairs. It was obvious the dog had peed on the floor.
Sheridan entered Ariel’s room, and saw her pouting on her bed. Sheridan sat down on the bed next to Ariel, but Ariel turned her back to Sheridan.
“Ariel, I’m not mad at you, and I don’t think you should be mad at mommy.”
“Well I am.” She said, and huffed.
“Okay, tell me why.”
“I’m mad because I want a doggy, and you won’t let me have one.”
“Ariel, dogs take a lot of work, and responsibility. You’d have to walk the dog everyday. And clean up after it, and bring it to the vet. How are you going to bring a doggy to vet, you don’t know how to drive the car?”
Sheridan said, while tickling Ariel’s sides. Luckily, most of what Sheridan was saying made sense to Ariel, and she laughed and turned to look at Sheridan while she was speaking.
“Did you see that mess in the kitchen, you would have to clean big messes like that up all the time, do you really want that?” Ariel shook her head no.
“Are you mad about the kitchen mommy?”
“Well, I was at first, but now I’m just more surprised. Ariel baby, how would you feel if we got a fish?”
Ariel’s eyes lit up, and she became extremely excited.
“A fishy. Thank you mommy.”
Ariel threw her arms around Sheridan’s neck, and hugged her close.
“No problem, but you have to feed the fishy everyday, can you do that?”
Ariel shook her head vigorously.
“Good, now we have two more things to talk about.”
Sheridan and Ariel didn’t notice, but Luis had just gotten to the door, and was watching his two blond-haired angels. He had cleaned Marie up, put her in her room, with the gate up, and left her on the floor to play with her toys. The dog was in the back yard, and the kitchen would have to wait.
“Let’s talk about the thing you said to mommy in the kitchen.”
“What thing?”
Ariel asked, there was a lot of stuff she said. Sheridan visibly became uncomfortable.
“The thing you said you were going to tell grandma about.” Ariel remembered.
“Oh, you mean about you kissing daddy’s pee-pee last night.”
Ariel had no idea what she was saying. Sheridan was upset by it, and Luis was holding a hand over his mouth to stop the laughter, although he didn’t want to scar his child so early in life. Sheridan thought about what she wanted to say, and continued.
“Ariel, when a mommy and daddy love each other, especially as much as your mommy and daddy love each other, they kiss, and not just on the lips. You’ve seen me kiss daddy’s cheek, his neck, and his hand…”
“And his pee-pee.” Ariel said again, interrupting Sheridan.
Sheridan covered her face, partially embraced, and partially frustrated because she didn’t know how she was going to stop Ariel from telling every single person she knew.
Luis’ hands quickly flew to his mouth to keep from bursting, but his laughter stopped suddenly. His daughter had seen him naked, and she wouldn’t stop talking about it.
“Ariel Lopez-Fitzgerald,” Sheridan said sternly, “please stop saying that.”
“Why?” Ariel asked, amused that she was making her mother blush.
“Because it’s making me upset.”
“Why?” She asked again innocently.
“Because, I love your daddy very much, and you shouldn’t have seen that. Mommy and daddy need time alone to tell each other how much we love one another, and what you saw was very private. It’s something only mommy’s and daddy’s can share. I am very upset that you saw that, and I want to ask you to never say that again.”
“About seeing…”
Sheridan threw her hand over Ariel’s mouth.
“I asked you never to say that again. No one should ever know about it but us. It’s very personal Ariel, do you understand that?”
Ariel shook her head no.
“It’s like if I took a picture of you naked, and showed it to Adam (Grace and Sam’s three year old boy), wouldn’t you be embarrassed?”
“Yes.”
“That’s how mommy and daddy feel. You saw us loving each other in a very special way, and no one should see that but me and your daddy. It’s embarrassing to me, that you saw it, and I’m very sorry you did, because it wouldn’t have put us in the position we are in now.”
Ariel stopped her mother from talking any further.
“I understand mommy.”
“You do?” Sheridan asked eagerly.
“Yes mommy. You and daddy love each other very much.”
Ariel waited for conformation.
“That’s right, go on.”
“And I saw you and daddy loving each other specially, and I should never talk about it again, because it’s private, and I don’t want Adam to see me naked.”
For the most part, she hit the nail right on the head, and as long as she understood, that was good enough.
“That’s right sweetie. I am very proud of you for understanding. You are such a big girl.”
Ariel gave her mother a big hug and a huge smile.
“I’ll never say that again mommy.”
“Thank you baby.”
It was at that time, that Luis let his presence known. Sheridan turned to Luis. She held her arms out for him, and he sat on the bed, in front of his wife. Sheridan wrapped her arms around Luis’ waist, and kissed his neck. She leaned her head on Luis’ shoulder, and winked at Ariel, and Ariel cutely winked back.
“I’m glad you’re here Luis, because that’s the last thing I wanted to talk about. Ariel, tell your daddy why you think he doesn’t like you.”
Ariel looked at Luis hesitantly.
“It’s okay baby, you can tell me anything,”
Luis said encouragingly. Ariel stayed silent, so Luis had to try another way to get it out of her.
“Are you mad at me?”
“No daddy.” Ariel said vehemently.
“Are you mad at me daddy?”
Luis became very upset, why did Ariel think he was mad at her.
“No baby, of course not, why would you say that?”
Ariel tried very hard to stay strong, but when Luis brushed her cheek she got up and ran to her mother, crying. Sheridan unwrapped herself from Luis and took her baby in her lap, and rocked her gently. Ariel was very upset, she was crying intensely, and didn’t want to stop.
She buried her head in Sheridan’s chest and held onto her as if her life depended on it. Sheridan continued to sooth her, by rubbing little circles on her back, just like Luis did to Sheridan to calm her down. She whispered soothing words, and tried to assure her that Luis loved her unconditionally. Luis watched on in agony. It hurt him so much to see his daughter hurting like this, especially because he was the cause.
“Ariel,” Luis whispered.
“Please tell me why you’re upset, maybe I can help.”
Luis looked into Sheridan’s eyes, she was almost crying herself. She hated seeing her baby cry even more than Luis did.
“Ariel, sweetie, please talk to daddy, he loves you very much, and wants to help you.” Sheridan said.
Ariel pulled back from her mother, her breathing erratic. She pushed the tears away with her fists, but the tears still fell, although in a lesser amount. When Luis saw her tear streaked face, and puffy eyes, his heart just broke in two. Ariel sat up in Sheridan’s lap, and put her back against Sheridan’s chest for comfort. Luis brushed her tears away and smiled at her.
“Talk to daddy. Tell me why you are upset with me.” He said calmly.
“You are never home anymore. Mommy always says ‘I miss Luis,’ when she talks on the phone. You used to be home a lot, and you played games with me. We never play anymore. You didn’t even come home for Marie’s party. Are you staying away because I made you mad? Why don’t you love me anymore daddy?”
Ariel burst into tears again, her question piercing not only her own heart, but her parent’s as well. Luis grabbed Ariel, and pulled her hard against his chest.
“Ariel, don’t you ever think that I’m mad at you, or have stopped loving you. I love you with all my heart. You, and your mommy, and Marie mean the world to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you all so much.”
“Then why are you never home?”
Ariel sobbed into his shirt.
“Baby, I have to work. I need to make money so we can eat and have a nice home.”
“Why, mommy is rich.”
Sheridan laughed at that remark. That was a question she had asked Luis a million times before, but always got the same answer. It just boiled down to that he was a macho man, and wouldn’t live off his wife’s money.
Luis glared at Sheridan, now was not the time for that discussion. Sheridan turned Ariel around to face her, but Luis kept his arms wrapped around her.
“Daddy works all the time to catch bad guys, you know that. If there weren’t police like daddy, then the world would not be a safe place. Besides, I think your father would get very bored if he didn’t have a job, and he would miss all of his cop friends at the station.”
Ariel turned around to her father.
“Is that true?”
“Yes sweetie, it’s true. I have something to tell you, a story.” Luis put Ariel on his lap.
“A story?” Her eyes shined bright.
“Yes baby, it’s about the first day you were born. You were such a little miracle. Mommy and I were so happy the day you were born. Mommy was taking a nap, she was very tired after just having a baby. You started crying, and I didn’t want you to wake mommy up. So, I picked you up out of your crib, and rocked you in the rocking chair, but you would not stop crying.”
“Who me?”
Ariel asked, knowing she just did the same thing.
“Yes you.” Luis said, and tickled her tummy.
“I looked down at your cute little face,” he pinched her nose, “and I started singing to you.”
“Did I stop crying?” Luis and Sheridan smiled brightly.
“Yes you did. When I held you in my arms, and sang to you, you held on so tight to my finger, like you never wanted to let go. It was at that moment, that I knew you were my little angel, and I would love you forever. There is nothing in the world that I love more than my girls, and you make me so proud, and so happy, but most of all, you fill my heart with love. You fill it so much that sometimes I think it’s going to burst. Daddy loves you with all of his heart, and I will never stop, ever.”
“Aww daddy.”
Ariel said, and gave him a big kiss and a hug. She sighed against his shoulder, and he hugged her harder, making her giggle. Sheridan looked at the two of them, she hadn’t been so filled with joy since Marie was born. What Luis said was beautiful, and it just added to the list of things that made her love him so much.
“Daddy, will you sing the song for me tonight.”
Luis looked into his daughter’s bright eyes, “of course I will baby.”
She hugged him again, as hard as she could.
“I promise I will be spending a lot more time with you guys.”
Sheridan stood up,
“good, and I know the perfect thing for you two to do together. Ariel, you and daddy are going to clean the kitchen.”
“Aww MOM!”
Luis and Ariel said simultaneously, causing them both to giggle, but when Sheridan raised her eyebrows, they knew she was serious.
“Then, we can put your Little Mermaid CD in the player while you and daddy go swimming.”
Ariel clapped her hands together excitedly,
“can we go swimming daddy?”
“Absolutely, just you and me.” Ariel gave her dad another kiss.
“What about mommy?” Sheridan asked, in mock sadness.
Ariel went over to her mother, and Sheridan picked her up.
“I love you mommy.” She said, accompanied with a kiss.
“I love you too baby, but the faster you guys clean the kitchen, the sooner you can go swimming.”
“Come on daddy, let’s go.” Ariel grabbed Luis’ hand and dragged him out the room.
Luis and Sheridan’s eyes met, and Luis put the breaks to his feet, and left Ariel tugging. Sheridan knew the look he was giving her.
“We’ll talk later.” He smiled, and gave her a kiss.
“You better go before your daughter pulls your arm off. Oh, and she definitely needs a nap later. I think most of the tears were from not getting enough rest.”
Luis nodded his head, and followed Ariel down the stairs to clean up the dirty kitchen.
Sheridan walked to the next room, and saw Marie on the floor, playing with a book. She loved books. Sheridan smiled widely and in a baby voice said,
“Hi baby.”
Marie looked up from her book, and smiled widely.
“Ma-ma.”
She held her arms out for Sheridan. Sheridan climbed over the fence, and picked her baby and the book up. She kissed Marie’s chubby little face, and Marie laughed loudly.
“Why don’t I read you this big while your daddy and sister clean up the kitchen. Yes, that’s right, they made a mess. What did that doggy do?”
Marie giggled continuously at her mother’s insane questions.
“Doggy.” She repeated after Sheridan.
Sheridan sat a chair, and brushed Marie’s hair back, and started to read her book to her.
Luis had just tucked a sleeping Ariel into her bed, and Sheridan put a sleeping Marie in her crib. Luis and Sheridan met in the hallway.
“Is she asleep?” They asked simultaneously.
They laughed, but shook their heads yes. Luis led Sheridan into their bedroom.
“So, we have a couple of hours to ourselves, whatever shall we do?”
Luis asked playfully, while wrapping his arms around wife, and working his magic on her neck. Sheridan pretended to play his game, but moaned at the feelings he was stirring in her.
“I don’t know, you need a shower, maybe I should make dinner, while you take one.” She suggested.
“I have a better idea,” Luis said, and then scooped Sheridan into his arms.
“Why don’t you take one with me,”
and he carried her into the bathroom. He put Sheridan down and shut the door. When he turned back to her, his eyes were full of playfulness, and tenderness, she wondered which one he would act upon. She got her answer when Luis ran to her, and started peeling her close off. When they were both naked, Luis started to place kisses all over Sheridan’s body.
“Luis.” Sheridan said in between kisses.
“We should lock the door.”
“Why?” He asked.
Sheridan pushed him away from her.
“So we don’t have another incident like last night.”
She locked the bathroom door. Luis came up form behind her, and wrapped his arm around her waist. She could feel his arousal rubbing against the back of her leg. He whispered in her ear,
“you know, I never did thank you properly for kissing daddy’s pee-pee last night.”
Sheridan turned around, with her mouth gaping.
“LUIS! That was not funny. As a matter of fact, it was quite embarrassing. And we’ve scarred our daughter. I had a hell of a time trying to explain to her what we were doing.”
“I know.” Luis confessed.
“I was listening. But you didn’t explain it well enough for me. I think I need a more hands on tutelage.”
He said in a sultry tone, while running his hands up the insides of Sheridan’s thighs.
Sheridan skillfully began walking Luis backwards, he thought she was going for the shower, but she walked behind him. Anxious to know what Sheridan was going to do to him, Luis stood there, with his eyes closed, ready to experience whatever she had in mind.
“OWWWW!”
Luis yelped when he got snapped in the butt with a towel.
“That was for not helping me out, and making me explain everything to Ariel by myself.”
She snapped him again.
“And that was for not locking the door last night.”
Luis picked up his own towel, and snapped her back. She yelped.
“That was for hitting me.” Luis said.
“Oh Yeah.”
“YEAH!” Luis retorted.
That was it, it was an all out towel snapping war. The old saying make peace and not war, held true, because Sheridan and Luis stopped the war, and ended up making a lot more than peace in that shower. Although, it was the last moment of peace that either of them were going to have.
Chapter 6
It was now six o’clock, and Luis still wasn’t home. He told Sheridan he would be home at five, and she was becoming extremely worried. The phone rang, and Sheridan dove for it.
“Luis?”
“Yeah baby, it’s me I aldvknsbv…(static).”
“Luis, Luis.”
“Sheri… crazy and…be home…late…”
With the sounds of the police sirens, fire engines, and the commotion of wherever he was, added to the static, Sheridan couldn’t make out what he was saying, although it was obvious he wouldn’t be home before the girls went to sleep.
Ariel would be so disappointed. They had picked out their fish today, and the girls were so proud of it. They showed it to aunt Ivy, and uncle Julian, even though he pretended he was going to put it in the bottle of brandy and kill it. On the way to see Pilar and Martin, Sheridan thought about how her visit lacked something.
She missed Ethan, he should have been there to see his little cousins. After they had showed the whole town their new fish, Sheridan brought the girls home and started dinner. She was making lasagna, every time she made it her and Luis would laugh for a while, she was hoping to recreate that day…somewhat. She thought back to their first lasagna incident
~Flashback~
Sheridan had started to feel better, and then Luis came back to the bedroom. As soon as he entered she felt terrible again. She could smell it on him. It was in his clothes, his breath, in his hair. Luis went over to the bed to give Sheridan a hug and she held up her hands in a ‘stop’ fashion. She threw up and the pain in her head was very intense. Luis started walking towards her again, and she screamed,
“STOP.” Luis was upset.
“What’s wrong Sheridan?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way Luis, but could you please take a shower?”
Luis gave her a hurt look,
“are you trying to imply something Sheridan?”
All of a sudden she became very pissed at Luis and said very sarcastically,
“Yeah, I can smell the lasagna all over you, it’s in your clothes and well everywhere Luis, it’s all over you. Can you please take your clothes off?”
Luis could see that she was having another mood swing and tried to lighten the mood.
“Sheridan, I know you want me, but demanding me to take my clothes off, well it just isn’t going to happen.” Luis said playfully.
Sheridan laughed and Luis was happy to see her smile. He knew these mood swings were going to happen more often now, and he wanted to make sure nobody got their feelings hurt because of them.
“Luis, even if I could make love to you, I wouldn’t want to because you smell like cheese, and I don’t like my men smelly.”
They both laughed and Luis walked into the bathroom to take a shower, but he left the door open. Sheridan yelled in to him,
“what are you doing Luis?”
He didn’t answer her, instead he started to strip. He pulled his shirt over his head, and Sheridan wanted to run up to him and run her hands over his gorgeous buff body. As he bent down to take off his jeans, his abs just seemed to call Sheridan’s name. Luis winked at her, and she watched him take off the last of his garments. Luis pulled down his boxers, and threw them over his back. Sheridan giggled a little, but Luis’ little strip tease turned her on.
Her eyes roamed his body, starting at his eyes. She gave him a sexy flirtatious look, and then looked at his manly chest, and defined abs. As her eyes went down to his manhood, she became excited, and the throbbing inside her turned to pain. Apparently getting turned on was wreaking havoc with her insides, and her uterus gave her a dull ache, telling her this was not a good idea. Her face contorted oddly, and she put a hand on her stomach.
Luis knew something was wrong and ran into the room. She told him to stop, that she was fine, just a few cramps and that she didn’t need to smell him to make it worse. He backed into the bathroom, and Sheridan tried to make him feel better and said,
“I always told you, your sexy body did things to me.”
He smiled back at her and put his clothes in the hamper, and took a shower to ‘de-stinkify’ himself as Sheridan put it. He was very glad that in the midst of all the bad circumstances surrounding them, that they both had a sense of humor, and could cheer each other up.
Luis stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, and returned to the bedroom to put on some boxers. When he stepped out of the steamy bathroom he asked Sheridan,
“better?”
She looked at the water running down his exquisite body and said,
“Come closer. I can’t smell you from so far away.”
Luis climbed on the bed and smiled as he saw Sheridan inspect and sniff every inch of his body. Sheridan said,
“You smell better but this is much worse than before.”
His smile fell into a frown and he asked,
“What’s wrong now?”
He didn’t like the thought that he made Sheridan feel bad, in any way. Sheridan looked into his eyes and said;
“Well you saw what your body did to me before, but seeing you all wet with water running down your chiseled body, has turned me on much more than before.”
He wasn’t expecting this answer so he asked,
“You aren’t in any pain?”
She wanted to be completely honest with him and said,
“well, actually it’s just a dull ache, but even if you were dressed in a wool coat, just being close to you, is a huge turn on.”
He kissed Sheridan and said,
“Maybe I should go get dressed then.”
Sheridan put a hand on his arm stopping him. He sat back on the bed, and watched as Sheridan walked her fingers from his belly button up to his chest. She rubbed his chest and shoulders, and it was now his turn to be turned on. She slid one hand to the back of his hair, and up his neck. The other hand traced his lips and Luis came closer to her, so she could kiss him.
They both had so much love and at that moment lust for each other, that it was almost unbearable. Sheridan tried to turn onto her side and slide on top of Luis, but as soon as she moved, the dull ache spread through her lower abdomen and she changed her mind. She put her hands on Luis’ shoulders and pushed him back down to the bed. He watched as her hands slid down to the towel he was wearing and opened it. She stared at him, and he was showing signs that he was very, very, excited. She then took him into her small warm hands, and Luis flung his head back. He had no idea Sheridan was going to do this, but he was extremely pleased. He felt the heat of her hands and just wanted to connect their bodies together, and make the heat intensify, but he knew that wasn’t a possibility. He just sat there, thoroughly enjoying the sensations Sheridan was causing him, by making love to him with her hands. It didn’t take too long for Luis to go over the edge, and scream Sheridan’s name in ecstasy. She watched his beautiful face as he orgasmed. He looked so striking at that moment.
~End Flashback~
Sheridan fell asleep at midnight, thinking about Luis and how much she missed him. Her dreams were consumed of him. It felt like all she ever did anymore was dream of Luis, of his touches, his kisses, making love to him, but he was never there. Every time Luis missed out on something or wasn’t home to hold her Sheridan her heart broke a little more, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to be a cops wife any longer.
Luis got home around 2 in the morning. He went into the kitchen, and there was a plate for him on the table, covered with foil, with a note on top. Luis saw the plate, and smiled Sheirdan always made sure he was taken care of. Luis lifted the foil off, and saw the lasagna. He felt awful for not being home tonight, whenever she made lasagna it meant they were going to have a very interesting night ahead of them. Luis heated his food and ate it.
He walked upstairs and checked on his babies. Marie was sound asleep and sucking her thumb, something they really had to wean her off of. He gave her a kiss and went into Ariel’s room. She was gripping a new stuffed animal, and her blankets were kicked off the bed. Luis covered her back up and gave her a kiss. He went into his bedroom, and saw Sheridan sleeping soundly in their bed.
He cursed his job for keeping him away from her and his family for so long. He slipped out of his clothes, and crawled into bed. He gave Sheridan a little kiss on the cheek, and then laid on top of her. When she felt his body against hers, she woke up. Her blue eyes slowly focused on Luis’ handsome face.
“You’re home.”
“I’m home.”
He said, and began to make love to his wife. Every time they made love it healed some of the cracks in Sheridan’s heart. She felt guilty for being mad at him, because she knew he loved her. Afterwards, Sheridan fell asleep against Luis’ strong chest, with a renewed love for him.