wheelsy_sheriff | In Charleston, South Carolina

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In Charleston, South Carolina

["I'm exhausted in a good way for once."]

The room is bright even with the curtains drawn when Bill cracks his eyes open.

He smiles to find Kate in his arm, her back pressed against his chest, her arm over his around her waist.

Tightening his hold on her, he pulls her closer and presses a kiss into her hair.

Breakfast will be ready soon (if they haven't missed it already), but this is a good way to be waking up, and he wants to enjoy it a bit.

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The look in his eyes -- something close to quiet horror -- makes her ache.

"No, it's -- "

Reaching for his hand, she shakes her head.

"You didn't hurt me."

"I wasn't tryin' t'be-- rough."

But he was. He remembers gripping her in the heat of the moment, and wanting more, but didn't realize how much force he was using to get it.

"Are y'sure you're alright? I'm sorry, Kate."

"Bill, hey."

She gives his fingers a gentle squeeze before shifting onto her back, all the better to see him.

"Last night was great. This isn't -- I bruise easy."

She chances a tiny smile, for his sake and hers.

"Remember that time in the shower?"

He studies her before giving a small nod.

"Yeah, I remember."

He hadn't felt so guilty then, and he doesn't know what to make of the feeling now.

Last night was good, but the thought of hurting her hurts him, especially after her time in the infirmary.

He tries for a smile, squeezing her fingers back lightly.

"That was a good time, too."

The small lilt in his voice almost makes it a question.

"It was."

She lifts his hand to her lips, and presses a kiss to his knuckles.

"And besides, if you roll over, I bet I'll see some damage on your back -- I don't hear you complaining about that."

He knows she's right, he can feel the slight sting of the sheets against the scratches on his back, and there's even a few raised welts on his chest from her nails.

"That ain't-- I don't mind that."

"Well, I don't mind this," she says softly, guiding his hand to rest low on her stomach.

"You've been so careful with me since I got sick -- "

She looks up at him, eyes filled with concern and something close to regret.

"Sometimes, I thought you were afraid to touch me."

"No, I-- "

He stops himself and thinks about it a moment. Looking back at her, there's apology already written in his features.

"Have I been too careful?"

"Only because you love me, sweetheart."

"I do, but I'm guessin' it's bothered you."

He knows how much he's hated all the extra worry spent on him since getting back to work.

"I just didn't realize that's what I was doin'."

"It doesn't bother me so much as it — "

She pauses, angling a glance at his hand on her abdomen while she runs a fingertip along the ridges of his knuckles.

"It can be a little frustrating, sometimes, because I don't want you to think you have to walk on eggshells with me."

Though she's the pot calling out the kettle, because she was afraid to touch Bill while he healed after the shooting in Wheelsy.

"I can understand that," he says, his own eyes on their hands.

He thinks back to his behavior over the past few weeks and realizes that he has been treating her like something fragile; asking her if she's alright and not overdoing it, going out of his way to make things easier for her, worrying too much that something is going to happen to her.

He's been turning into a wreck, and probably driving her crazy.

Glancing up, his regret shows, and he wonders how long she would've kept putting up with it if it hadn't come up now.

"I don't mean t'be overcareful, it's just... hard for me t'turn it off."

"I'm not mad, sheriff," she says, the beginnings of a small, soft smile turning up the corners of her lips.

"I can't yell at you for caring, especially when I'm guilty of doing the same thing to you."

Her smile and her continued assurance help convince him that she's not upset.

Feeling foolish now for being so concerned (even though a part of him still is), he offers up his own, slightly crooked, smile.

"Y'can always get after me for bein' a pain in the ass, though, alright?"

"You're not a pain," she says, her smile growing by fractions as her eyes meet his.

"I told Kate about the vitamins, and she said she'd've done the same thing."

"Beckett?"

His smile turns warm and embarrassed.

"She didn't call me ridiculous?"

He'll admit now that six different kinds might have been overdoing it.

"Mmmnope. God forbid if you two ever join forces against me."

His smile quirks and he gives a small sound that's chuckle and a throat clearing.

Curling his fingers against her belly, he bends to brush his lips against her cheek.

"s'only 'cause we care."

She turns into the kiss to nuzzle his jaw.

"Yeah, I know."

Feeling better about the situation, he gives her a smile and brushes his nose against hers.

"Good. We ready for breakfast, then?"

Eyes closed, she breathes a laugh.

"After a shower, yeah."

"Shower sounds great, let's go."

His shoulder gets a teasing nudge.

"And you say I'm the one with the one-track mind?"

He gives the most innocent expression he can, and shrugs.

"You're a bad influence."

"So ... "

She sits up, running a hand through her disheveled hair.

"You're saying you want to shower alone."

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