whogeek | Random Fanfic: Hopeless Romantic (Dark Blue) (Reply)

So.... This came to me, and just begged to be written. It's just a little bit of pre-divorce Carter/Nicole fluffyness, and thanks to

taylor_serenil for initial readthrough services

Hopeless Romantic

Carter was in deep. He’d done it now. He’d spilled the red wine on their best white tablecloth, somehow managed to break one of the candlesticks- not the candle itself but the silver candlestick, the pasta was all sticking together, the alfredo sauce was scorched, and the chicken parmesan had turned to blackened rocks. Oh, and to top it all off, he’d ripped the sleeve of his suit in dashing around trying to save the romantic dinner he’d wanted to have ready for Nicole when she got home.

“Carter, honey?” And there she was, right on time. “You’re home early. Did Captain Maynard give you the evening……” Nicole trailed off as she stepped into the kitchen.

“Welcome home.” Carter stood despondently in the middle of the kitchen, shoulders slumped, looking like a kicked puppy.

Nicole struggled not to laugh at the picture he made, still holding a spatula, staring at her with a mix of ‘I messed up,’ ‘please don’t be mad’ and ‘I’m really, really sorry’ on his face. She looked at the two plates sitting on the counter, the glass baking pan with the blackened chunks of whatever sitting on the stove, the pan full of clearly scorched alfredo, and the strainer with one mass of linguine still in the sink. Without saying anything she walked into the dining room and took a quick look around, taking in the stained tablecloth, the broken candlestick, and the open bottle of wine that was short a little bit. Still silent, she turned and walked back to Carter and took his hand, still clenching the spatula, lifting the arm to inspect the tear that almost reached his elbow. “So.” Carter’s eyes closed and his head dropped. “What was your plan?”

“What?” Carter snapped his head up in surprise.

“Your plan. What was dinner supposed to be?” Nicole smiled at Carter’s stunned expression.

“Linguine Alfredo and Chicken Parmesan. Candlelit dinner, wine, just you and me, no pager or phone tonight.” Nicole’s smile widened, before she leaned in to lay a kiss on Carter’s lips and threaded her fingers into his hair.

“Thank you for trying. I’m sure it would have been beautiful.” Carter couldn’t help responding with a kiss and smile of his own. “Come on. We’ll order some Chinese and eat in bed.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Carter, how could I be mad when you went to all this effort just to surprise me with a nice evening at home with the man I love? I’m a little disappointed, because I love it when you cook for me, but knowing you made the effort for me means so much.”

Carter smiled and wrapped his arms around Nicole. “Alright. Chinese in bed it is. I’ll clean some of this up while you call in the order?”

“Of course. But I will have that wine in there.” They separated and Carter started to clear away the mess his attempt at dinner had made as Nicole pulled out the take-out menus and dialed the Chinese place.

Later, leaning back in bed and finishing off a carton of General Tso’s Chicken, Carter was surprised when Nicole snuggled closer to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “What was that for?”

She shrugged. “For making this a beautiful evening for me.”

“And ruining the tablecloth, breaking the candlestick, burning most of dinner, and ruining my suit coat.” He set the empty carton on the bedside table. “I pretty much ruined the evening.”

Nicole giggled a little. “All of that stuff can be replaced.” She lay one hand on his cheek. “You are something special, and I love you for what you’ve given me tonight; a night with no interruptions with the man of my dreams.”

Carter smiled broadly at that, bringing one hand up to cup hers on his cheek and pulling her in with the other to kiss her. “I love you. I love you so damn much.”

“I know. I love you too.”

Hope you enjoy it! It was pretty fun to write, I must admit.

Now, back to my longer piece that I hope to actually post. :D