Chapter Text
“Lovey…” Kate awoke to soft fingers in her hair. A quick glance towards the open window saw it was still dark out.
Lucy never wakes before her – something was wrong. She blinked the sleep from her eyes, confused. Lucy was dressed. Now she was very confused.
“What the—” Kate’s voice was heavy with sleep.
“It’s time to go surfing.” Lucy flipped on the bedside lamp blinding her momentarily.
Kate covered her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m clearly still dreaming. What did you say?”
“Come on. Kai is meeting us.” Lucy pushed her softly.
“What?” Kate sat up on her elbows. Her eyes adjusting. Lucy wore loose shorts and a tank top covering a bathing suit top. Her left ring finger was bare. What was going on?
Lucy noticed her glance. “I put my rings on the dresser. I didn’t want to lose them while… surfing.” Lucy shivered, clearly not excited about the prospect but putting on a brave front.
She pulled on Kate’s arm. “Anyway, it’s time for you to get back in the water. It’s been over 6 months. You’re no longer using your cane, you’re back to field duty and you’ve been swimming laps in the pool. You haven’t gone surfing, and I know it’s because you’re a little bit afraid. It’s time to face that fear. And if you remember – I promised that we’d get you back on that surfboard even if I have to be there with you.”
Lucy wrenched open the closet door and saw their cat, Alfred, hiding. She pulled out Kate’s bathing suit, maybe grabbing the blue one she was most fond of and threw it in Kate’s direction. “Now come on. I know how much you hate to be late!”
“Lucy. This is crazy. You’re scaring Alfred.” At the mention of his name, he sauntered out of the closet and gracefully jumped onto the bed, tucking himself into Kate’s side. Alfred was black and white, looking like he had a tuxedo on, so naturally Lucy asserted he needed a distinguished name to match his coloring. Thus, Alfred was dubbed.
Kate lazily brought her hands through his fur. “And I’m not ready to surf.” Her balance wasn’t totally back yet, and she was still favoring her left leg over her right. Surfing would be a total disaster.
“So then, you’ll go sit on the surfboard in the ocean. I don’t really know how surfing works. But you’re getting out there.” She pulled on Kate’s arm again. “I’ve made you a smoothie and it’s in the kitchen. Come on.”
How the hell had Kate slept through the blender going? She must have been more tired than she thought last night… or Lucy had worn her out more than she expected. Smiling fondly at the memories.
Kate realized more and more that this was happening whether she liked it or not. With a kiss on Alfred’s head, she extracted herself from his cuddle, and began her morning routine. She started by putting her rings next to Lucy’s on top of the dresser, next to the little frog she’d won for her all that time ago. She’d agreed with Lucy’s logic, not wanting to lose them in the water.
Kate smiled every time she saw that frog. Learning one night after Lucy had a bit too much to drink, that it had a name – “Legs”. In tribute to an apparent feature that Lucy particularly liked in Kate. Confronting Lucy of this fact the next morning and watching her blush deeply, a feat that doesn’t happen often, immediately became one of Kate’s core memories of their relationship. Even now when Lucy caught Kate looking at it and getting ready to tease her, she blushed and often yelled, “let it go!”
“Legs” sat next to a framed photo from their wedding. A candid shot of them smiling fondly at each other, totally ignorant of the chaos surrounding them. True to form, everything that could have gone wrong with their wedding did. It had rained, the cake was delayed, and a former case had almost canceled it. But despite everything, they’d still managed to find their moments.
When they looked back now, they laughed at the imperfections, only remembering that the day was filled with love and laughter. Promises whispered and fears assuaged. And Lucy got her wish, she was now a Whistler.
She made her way to the kitchen to see Ash, their other cat, a mix of white, gray, and black fur staring at the empty food bowl. Kate named Ash for her coloring, an obvious leap.
Kate leaned down and gave her a kiss. “Staring at the bowl won’t make food magically appear.”
Ash made a particularly frustrated mew in response. The bowl was connected to an automatic feeding system, and it was still an hour or so before it would release the tiny pellets.
She accepted a smoothie from Lucy with a kiss, laughing. “Are you sure about this?”
“We’re going surfing!” Lucy was adamant, grabbing the keys.
Thirty minutes later she was standing on the sand next to Kai, surfboard under arm. The waves were manageable this morning, the sun just starting to break over the horizon. It was perfect for her first day back.
Kai nudged her softly. “Come on. I’ll be right there with you.”
“Me too.” Lucy said with conviction. Kate was trying not to laugh watching as she could see Lucy psyching herself up. Lucy had a bodyboard under her arm rather than a surfboard. Her eyes darting between each wave washing upon the shore.
Kate took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Kai ran in first, breaking through the waves easily as he always did. Lucy was walking towards the water as if she was going to war. Head held high, pure determination on her face.
“Luce.” Kate called out. Lucy turned immediately.
Kate closed the few paces and grabbed her hand. “I really appreciate you arranging this. I needed the nudge, thank you.” She squeezed the slightly trembling hand. “But you most definitely do not need to join me out there. In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t. I don’t want you to be miserable. You got me this far, and that’s all I needed.”
Lucy let out the biggest sigh of relief. “Oh thank god.”
At Kate’s laugh, Lucy continued. “I’d most definitely do it, you know!”
“I know you would. Which is how I know you really, really love me.”
“I really, really do.” Lucy kissed her softly. “Go. Have fun. I’ll be watching, giving you all the encouragement you need… From the shore... Likely in the parking lot. God, I hate sand.”
Kate laughed and kissed her again. “Thank you.”
With that, Kate ran into the ocean, surfboard under her arm. Her heart full and content.