Begging You

*Scarlet*

Worry raced through her. Scarlet wasn’t sure if it was the best idea, to leave Patrick alone all day with Brennan but she ran out of options. What was she supposed to do to make this incredibly stubborn man that he needed to do something?

When she walked into his apartment, everything looked just like she left it. Slowly, she made her way down the hallway to Brennan’s room, which had been a former office. The whole place was very quiet. A glance told her Pat’s rooms was empty.

Scarlet stood in the doorway of Brennan’s room and on the rocking chair, Patrick was holding his son. Tears streaming down his face. He was whispering soft things to him. Her heart was swelling. He was finally getting it. She could feel a hot wet tear fall down her own cheek. “Pat.” She whispered.

Bright blue eyes flew up to her. They got wide and apologetic. Every so slowly, Patrick stood and walked Brennan over to his crib to lay him down in there. He looked so peaceful when he napped. “I fed him and changed him and everything.” He told her.

Scarlet couldn’t help it, she walked over to him and pulled him close to her in a hug. His body was raked with sobs. “I’m so sorry, Scar. I just. I don’t know what was wrong with me.” She just shushed him.

For a long time, they just held each other. She didn’t know when all the anger dissipated, but it did. Patrick pulled away from her to look in her eyes. The blue of his had darkened, all of a suddenly, everything between them was consumed with lust. They needed each other.

He kissed her as they made their way to her bedroom, his lips were so soft and patient. She’d never know sex, lust, could be so sweet and so tender. Rough hands moved over her skin, she melted like chocolate in his hands. If you had told her three weeks ago that she be making love with Patrick Kane, she’d have called you crazy and slammed the door but in that moment, she was living that reality.

***

Scarlet woke up in Patrick arms. They were so strong and secure, pulling her right against him. Inhaling his scent, she remembered this moment, because she was never letting them have it again. It was a moment of weakness, they’d both been at low point in their life, they’d needed each other.

After silently suffering for nearly a month, it had been a relief to Pat like that. She’d been watching him screw up, ignore her, and hoping that he’d come to his senses. Of course, Ryan, Jon, Callie, and whatever of Pat’s family had been down to help but it was just too scary a possibility that Pat wouldn’t ever see the right way.

It was overwhelming, but it was in their best interest that it did happen again. Hell, he was her only source of income. It would just be too wrong. They were better off having a friendship and business relationship, this was crossing all the line she’d learn to draw.

She started to drag her fingers over his smooth pale skin. He really was beautiful. The slightly receding short blonde hair were slightly curling. Long eyelashes rested against his strong cheekbones. Soft lips that had worked wonders on her mere hours ago were plump and still a tad flushed. If you only saw Patrick Kane’s face, you’d think that he was a delicate angel.

A tear sprang to the surface. Scar couldn’t explain what emotion she was feeling, only that it was so strong and she couldn’t keep in tampered. Slowly, Pat’s eyes opened. They were bluer than a clear day, they were crystal in their truest form. For a moment, they seemed to sink in the moment.

He leaned forward and brushed away that tear with his lips. “Scarlet.” He whispered. Hearing her name on his lips would have made her knees weak had she not been laying down. “I owe you more than you can ever know.” Pat leaned forward to kiss her, she moved away.

Confusion swam in his eyes, mixed in with hurt. It killed her, Pat was still weak but she’d have to be the one to cut the cord. One emotionally charged night wasn’t going to change anything. It didn’t mean anything more than their need at that moment. “Patrick,” she murmured. “We can’t do this again. It was just one night.”

His eyebrows scrunched together. “I don’t understand. You wanted it too.” Patrick’s moved to hold her hips and pull her closer to him. She let him, enjoying the feeling of being close to him, it would only be this one time, she would take all she could get from it.

“I know, Patrick. I know, but we were both weak. We needed each other for that one moment, but this… It can’t go on.” He moved a hand to thrust into her hair and hold her face inches from him. She could feel his hot breath on her.

“You want this though. I know you do.” He ducked his head so that his nose skimmed the skin of her shoulder. Scar shuddered. He made her body go haywire, he had when they first met, when they fought, even when he was going around screwing up. “I can hear you heartbeat get faster… When I touch your skin, you get goose bumps.”

“Pat,” she whispered as he placed soft kissed on her skin. Her hands had wandered without her permission, they were feeling the strong muscles of his back. His soft hair was tickling her chin. It was all too much, it was pushing her limits.

Scarlet let herself admit to herself that she couldn’t help but have fallen a little bit for the sad, desperate Patrick, and that’s exactly why they couldn’t keep doing it. She had too much to live for to give it all up and play housewife. That’s what would happen. Her role as temporary nanny would change. Maybe it’s why she didn’t try to snap Patrick out of his haze sooner, so she could see just how bad he got.

“Don’t, Scarlet. You can feel how much you want this. You can’t say last night meant nothing. I know it didn’t. I could feel the earth move under us.” He was breathing in her ear. “I remember seeing you for the first time and knowing I had to have you. I still feel that. We’re going to have to go through this together, I want to go through this together. I could give you anything you want. I want to.”

It took everything in her to untangle herself from him and sit up. Patrick rested on and elbow, looking up at her. His eyes hazy. “Patrick, I know we have to go through this together. That’s why we can’t get involved. You pay me to take care of Brennan.”

He started to interrupt. “No, Patrick, I’m here to help you get this all sorted out. Then I have to go and live my own life. I have to.” She choked a bit at her own statement. “I’m not ready for all this. No matter how much I like you.” Scarlet reached out to hold his face. He leaned into her palm and closed his eyes, savoring the feel. “If you can’t handle it, I can go.” She whispered.

Pat’s eyes opened and got wide. It looked like he was panicking. “No. You can’t go.” He pleaded. “You can’t, Scar. I need you. We don’t have to be anything, just don’t go.” She just nodded, it had been a low blow, but he needed to know, that she would leave to protect herself, her future.

*Patrick*

Pat watched Scar as she got up and dressed. If he thought he could get away with it, he would have pulled her back down on the bed and ravished her until she changed her mind. But instead, he laid back and watched her cover up miles of beautiful skin.

He remembered seeing her in the doorway, she’d seemed so worried and concerned. Were they all that worried about leaving his son with him? Patrick knew the answer because he would have been too.

Scarlet’s hair was just a tad longer than when he first met her. She was still pale, despite the sunny summer that Chicago had been having. Last night, he got to see parts of her that he so carelessly over looked that last time. She had cute birth marks all over her body, not only that but freckles littered her skin. On her back, it was an entirely clean plate, except for a mole just to the left of the dip in her back.

When he told her he felt the earth move under them, he hadn’t been lying. It was earth shattering, except his world fell into place. Pat didn’t want to be deemed a girl but for some reason, Scar evicted an emotion from him that forced him to confront what he was feeling. At first, it had been the loneliness that had been nagging him. Then, it was the unworthiness, hell, he still wasn’t worthy.

Now, it was a deeper feeling, it was more than want, it was true he needed her but it wasn’t even that. It was a something he couldn’t describe, it was a belonging, a contentment that he’d learn to become heavily attached to in a matter of hours.

It was all happening so fast and yet, to Patrick, it felt like it hadn’t come fast enough. He felt his gut twist when she looked at him and smiled. Regret coursed through him, would she reacted differently if he had just been a good father from day one. If she hadn’t seen him go through hoards of different women in a month?

“You know, you can still live your life and work for me.” He told her. Scar faced him again, this time fully dressed in jeans and loose gray t-shirt. “I know that it was probably a little hard before, but I’m going to be better. I promise.” She just nodded. “So, if you want to go out with friends and stuff, it’s fine.”

“I don’t really have all that many friends.” Her voice was sad, quiet. “I’m still pretty new to the city and at first, all I was doing was looking for a job. And Callie and Jon were gone, so I didn’t know anyone. Then this happened.” She gestured to around herself. He understood and it upset him that it was his fault that she wasn’t able to start her life fully in a great city like Chicago.

For a moment, he thought of some sort of solution, there had to be some way that he could fix this. “Well, I’m going to the rink. To talk to the PR people, I gotta let people know about Brennan. Some guys, they’re going to be there, they can introduce you to their girlfriends.”

“No.” He looked at her confused. “I’m not going to just mooch of your friends, Pat. I gotta do it myself.” Pat should have known he’d pick an incredibly stubborn woman, it was ridiculous.

“Look, you have to go. I’m taking Brennan with me. So you’re coming anyways.” She just shrugged.
“Scarlet, it’s not a big deal, just meet some of the guys.” He tossed a smiled at her and she just seemed to melt.

“Okay, but only because I have to go.” With that she walked out of the room, Patrick got up to get dress and grab Brennan. He wanted to spend as much time with his son before the season started.

When he was ready, Pat walked into his son’s room. His feet and hands were in the air and he seemed to be smiling at him. Lifting him into his arms, Pat thought he heard a giggle. His heart melted. Suddenly, a horrible smell overwhelmed him. Almost too gleefully to be filling out his fatherly duty, he carried Brennan over to the table and started to under his diaper.

“No, I can do that, if you want.” Scarlet’s voice making Patrick jump nearly three feet in the air. Standing there with a bottle, she looked at him apprehensively. She thought he couldn’t change a diaper, if she said this two days ago, he would have taken her up on her offer in a nanosecond.

“It’s okay, I got this.” Patrick continued on changing his son’s diaper. It was still sinking it, that it was his SON. That the little man before him was Brennan Patrick Kane, he would carry on the family name. It was so surreal.

By the time he finished, Brennan was giggling and Scarlet was watching in shock. “Where did you learn to do that? When’ve you ever changed a diaper?”

He shrugged and offered her a smile. “Youtube was helpful." That cause her to go off in a fit of laughter. “Hey, don’t laugh. I didn’t know what to do and it helped.” She just smiled at him and handed him the bottle. Scar saddled up next to him to play with Brennan’s hands.

“And how is little Brenny this morning?” she murmured in a soft voice.

“Brenny?” Pat smirked at her and rolled his eyes. “That is way to feminine. His nice name could be Rick.” Scarlet scoffed at his suggestion.

“That’s stupid. Call him Patty.” All three of them laughed at that. Patrick hated that nickname but it came with the boyish looks. “I’m still going to call him Brenny. Or Bren occasionally.”

“Bren’s not bad at all. Not bad at all.” Patrick agreed. This was all a new step in his life and he’d be lying if he wasn’t enjoying most of it.