Red

“Babe!” Sawyer’s tone was nervous as he yelled across over the balcony to her, holding a giggling Caden out at arms length, his gummy mouth dripping with drool giving notice to his teething. Looking at him cross, Sawyer looked back over the balcony as far as he could see to the living room, hoping that his yell was loud enough for Ro to hear from the kitchen. As he went silent and Caden’s giggles fell silently, he could faintly hear the faint flute to Stevie Wonder’s ‘My Cherie Amour’ come from the kitchen and knew that his call fell on deaf ears, “Goddamnit,” he muttered looking around before his eyes snapped up to his son who’s face seemed to drop as if he knew about the rule.

Living With Children (Ro & Sawyer Edition)

Rule #1: Don’t curse.

Sucking his teeth, Sawyer held his son closer, “We won’t tell Mom this time, aye?” The two pairs of murky blue eyes peered at each other and once more as his stomach gurgled, Caden giggled for him, “Great,” Sawyer smiled before holding his son close and venturing down the staircase to find her. The bright sunlight shone through the ground to ceiling window through the living room of the home he’d gotten for them only a mere year and a half ago. As he crossed the living room that Ro had spent a solid three months furnishing comfortably he moved to the swinging door of the kitchen and the source of the elated voice of Stevie Wonder that played throughout the sound system in the house that Sawyer insisted on. As he stood there for a moment with his son curled under his arm, he listened as he watched the Ro Marks multitasking act. Shaking a fresh bottle of formula for Caden, and the other hand flipping the omelet she always made for Sawyer before he headed off to practice. She hadn’t heard them enter but once Caden’s eyes caught sight of the bottle shaking in her hand, his eyes began to well with tears before he cried out. Jumping from where she stood by the stove in a grey worn in v-neck and black boy shorts, she flipped her head sending her mass of waves flying over her shoulder as she breathed out a scared breath upon seeing Sawyer and Caden standing there, “You’re trying to kill me aren’t you?” she asked putting the spatula down and turning off the stove as she shook her head, “You’re timing is getting good, your breakfast is done babe,” she told him putting the bottle down on the island counter and then proceeding to put the omelet and home fries on the awaiting plate.

Pulling out the barstool chair and taking a seat in front of the counter and his plate, Sawyer placed the now-wailing six-month old against his chest right near his heartbeat and proceeded to soothe him, “Little man over here was getting impatient with his breakfast actually,” he spoke rubbing his sons back for a moment before placing a hand on the table, “By the way, he had a message for you. He wanted me to tell you that you are ‘slacking woman, and you need to pick it up’,” Sawyer spoke with raised eyebrows, before shrugging lightly as Ro rolled her eyes at him, “His words, not mine.”

Grabbing her sons bottle, Ro made her way over to where her two men were sitting and lifted him from Sawyer’s arms gently bouncing him, “That’s funny, you know he told me this morning that I was his favorite because I’m the one who wipes his ass when he makes a mess,” shrugging Ro gave Sawyer an innocent look, “His words, not mine,” she told him causing Sawyer to laugh and snuff her face lightly with his hand. Chuckling to herself, Ro stepped up between Sawyer legs, and with her hand guiding his face to her own, she placed a slow chaste kiss against his lips easily, her teeth pulling slightly at his lower lip, a cheeky grin on her lips as she let go, “Good morning my love.”

Slipping his arm around her waist, his hand travelled down to her backside giving her ass a squeeze while he stole another kiss from her, “A very good morning indeed,” he spoke giving it a slap as she turned from him to sit at another stool to feed her son.

“Watch yourself,” she spoke her eyes switching from Sawyer’s to their son in her arms, causing him to roll his eyes and neck.

Rule #2: Keep the foreplay in the bedroom.

He shook his head at her, piling up his fork, “You started that. You’re an instigator,” he told her wagging a finger in her direction as he put the fork into his mouth. Ro only shrugged in response.

While her son sucked on the bottle of formula, she bit her lip her thoughts spanning over all the things that needed to be done within the day. She closed her eyes as she thought of the worst part of it all. Pushing a forkful of his breakfast into his mouth, Sawyer’s eyes switched over to her concern etching his features as he wondered what she could be thinking about, “What’s eating you?” he asked, resting his forearms against the edge of the counter as he watched her gaze focused on Caden who returned it while he ate his own breakfast.

It’d been only a week ago that she went back to her doctor and things went back to exactly how they were before she got pregnant. He prescribed her a new set, and told her to go back to the old regimen. Her numbers weren’t bad but they’d dropped a significant amount since she’d given birth to Caden proving wrong to the miracle that they’d all hoped for. There was only a slight chance that after giving birth to Caden that the problem would go away but it was slim. Dr. Carnegie had even had her go a full two weeks without the Interferon because her levels were fine. But sure as shit, they’d dropped again. When she took too long to respond and was lost in her thoughts she heard Sawyer trying to get her attention again, and blinked, breaking her eye contact with the beautiful child that she blessed to even be healthy enough to have, “Carnegie says I need to start the Interferon up again this week,” she didn’t meet his eyes because she couldn’t. She hadn’t told him any of this; he had his own worries to be had with the league and everything.

Ro knew he was looking at her, she couldn’t tell whether or not he was angry though because he was just quiet. Taking a chance to raise her gaze from her son she looked at Sawyer from where he sat. He wasn’t really moving, he was breathing normally which was a good sign, but his eyes were just downcast to his plate and she knew he was lost in his thoughts. Closing her eyes for a moment she breathed in softly, preparing herself to speak, “I-“ she halted herself as she heard him speak slightly, she watched him as he closed his eyes and speak, “I thought you were fine,” he spoke, his jaw clenching and unclenching and his neck moving as if it were stiff and he was trying to relieve it, “Your levels were fine all this time after Caden. I-” he sighed, his fist clenching, “I thought it was gone.”

She could hear the frustration and pain in his voice as he spoke and even as he just breathed. Readjusting Caden in her arm and the bottle, Ro looked at him, “No…My levels are spiked again,” she told him softly trying to connect their eyes, but his were cast on the smooth marble countertop, “I need you to give me my shot tonight,” she told him watching his eyes close again. She knew he hated it. He wasn’t scared of it, because there wasn’t much she knew that Sawyer feared and whatever he did he didn’t dare speak of it but it was in the way his hand shook where he prepared the shot for her every Thursday night. She could see the uneasiness in him clear as day. He’d always ask her multiple times if she was ready before he’d give it to her, and he held her arm as gently as he held Caden, as if she’d break like glass in his hands. For someone like Sawyer who prided themselves on being fearless in not only his job but his real life as well, it was humbling to see him actually scared of something but she just wished it was something she could laugh about.

Back when she was twenty-five, only a year after her and Sawyer had gotten together and she’d been diagnosed by the doctor she cried endlessly. The odds were ridiculous, and though she’d always had health issues, she didn’t think it’d be something of this stature. It wasn’t something she couldn’t live with, but it impaired her more and more as she grew older and she could feel it. All the treatments, tests, everything to help find the right kind of method to tackling her case drained her of not only energy but life every time. Bone marrow tests, spinal taps, constantly blood samplings got old and tired after time, and they only added on top of how she normally felt. She was thankful that this wasn’t something she’d acquired over the years and that it was something she’d been dealing with for years, Ro was sure that if she’d acquired this from someone for not being careful she’d never forgive herself.

Her eyes stayed on him though from only a few feet away as she fed the miracle she’d been told wouldn’t be able to happen that rested in her arms. This man was…Sawyer was made up of something Ro was sure didn’t exist anymore. For what she was dealt she always thought of him as her silver lining. They’d only been actually together for a year when she’d been diagnosed but they’d known one another for two before that while working for ESPN for a summer before grad school.

She’d been sent to cover a Rangers game that day with her friend and photographer Davi. It was this friend who knew Julian Reynolds, a defender for the Kings and Sawyer’s best friend. Ro had gotten her coverage and after linking up with Julian after the game, Davi had informed her that he’d been invited out for drinks in the city with some guys from the team if she wanted to come. She didn’t plan on it. She didn’t want to be that type of girl but once she’d told Maura the decision was out of her hands.

They’d gone to Cielo, which at the time was big; always crowded with people, some of them famous. They’d showed up late because as usual Ro and her indecisive mind didn’t have a clue what to wear and saved it for the last minute. Once she’d finally got there and they’d found Davi they’d gotten the royal treatment. The guys welcomed them happily; some of them bad intentions, which is how Maura and Julian came to hate each other even to this day. But it was Sawyer that caught Ro’s attention. He hung in the back with the rest of the guys, just relaxing and not really looking for much trouble. Or so it seemed.

Ro wasn’t ever really one to be shy but she wasn’t ever as daring as she was that night. Catching his eye only once was all she needed, but she made sure that he saw her, and when he did she pulled her classic and only move.

It was twenty minutes when she went to the bar for another drink that things escalated. She’d been waiting to be served when she’d heard him at her side, “I haven’t had a woman bite their lip at me as blatantly as that since high school,” he spoke nodding at the bartender ordering himself a Heineken and her a Malibu Bay Breeze as if he’d done it a million times before.

Chuckling to herself she hung her head only slightly embarrassed, “Had to get your attention somehow, no?” she spoke with a shrug, handing her ten to him but he shook his head at her.

Pulling his wallet out he handed the bartender a twenty and nodded as the drinks were placed on the bar in front of them, “You had it already,” he told her handing her the Bay Breeze. Cocking her head to the side, “I saw you talking to Julian.”

Nodding, she brought her lips to the straw of her drink taking a sip for a moment before questioning him, “What if I was here for him?” she asked, her hands smoothing over the bottom of her dress, her fingers pulling slight at wear it ended at the middle of her thighs.

“Well if that were the case then I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be sending me suggestive signals,” he told her matter-of-factly as he took a sip of his beer, quirking his eyebrows at her.

“Touche.”

Taking her drink into her hand, Ro uncrossed her legs and hopped down from the barstool causing Sawyer’s eyes to narrow for a moment before he groaned, “You’re not gonna make me chase you around this place all night are you?” he asked her catching Ro’s eye quickly. Not anymore I’m not. “Because if that’s the case I’ll just let you know that I’ve done it before and it usually goes in a direction that’s definitely satisfying until tomorrow morning when you’re awkwardly trying to scamper out of my hotel room.”

Choking on her drink for a moment Ro laughs, placing her drink on the bar and leaning against it with a smile, tilted her head a bit she asks him, “I take it you’ve done this before then,” her tone is light and she still laughs slight as she speaks.

Her eyes watch him laugh himself and nods a bit, “Once or twice,” he tells her with shaking his head from side to side as if he were trying to recount the efforts.

“Okay,” Ro nodded, looking off for a moment before looking at him lowly, “So what do you suggest instead since you ruined my plan?”

Her eyes watched his lips against the bottle as he took in a mouthful before placing the bottle back on the back and then smiling at her, “I’ve already told you have my attention,” he spoke for a moment before shrugging, “You’re a reporter, no? You ask the questions?”

For a moment Ro merely watches him before speaking, “So you knew who I was before I came here?”

There’s a smirk that crosses his face, and he nods, “I know who you are, yes. I may be a brute, but I don’t live under a rock,” he told her making the edge of her scarlet lips twitch up into a smile.

Looking down and away from him she breathed in, “Well this isn’t the best environment for an exposé-“

“How about dinner then?” he asked quickly looking her directly in the eyes with the same boyish smile he’d use numerous times in the future to coerce her into a number of things, “We go up to Boston on Monday, so tomorrow you’re gonna come to dinner with me,” he tells her bringing the mouth of the bottle up to his own again, keeping his eyes on her though.

Caught by his gaze for a moment she just kind of stands there her mouth slightly ajar but turned up at the corners still, “I can do dinner,” she tells him with a nod, “so what now, we just awkwardly hang out in the same club all night?” she asks with a light chuckle.

“Not necessarily,” he tells her, taking his beer from the bar and in his hand, “You wanted your hide and seek game still right?” he asked her for a moment before quirking his eyebrow at her almost in challenge and walking off back to the section where the players were sitting.

The sunlight that was in her eyes flashed for a moment in the kitchen snapping her from her reverie and she looked up and over as Sawyer was in the fridge examining something. Her eyes scanned over him with a small smile as she remembered yanking Maura from their section and telling her what had happened that night. The entire night they moseyed about the bar minding their business but Ro could remember exactly how fast her blood pumped as she kept her eyes peeled for him that night. He kept her waiting ‘til late in the night, she was passing through the crush of the dance floor when he’d grabbed her hand softly and pulled her on to it. She didn’t think by looking at him that he’d know how to move when dancing with her but he proved a worthy contender. She only looked back to see him nod at her to come over to him and she did. She smiled in the kitchen as she remembered his hands soft on her and staying generally PG until she moved them for him. He’d kissed at her neck softly twice and it’d been enough for her to press herself against him completely. Ro had been putty in his hands.

“What do you need?” she asked, as she looked at him seemingly facing a dilemma as he looked into the fridge. Caden stirred a bit in her arms and she only now noticed that he’d finished the bottle.

“I could’ve swore I’d had a shake in here,” he spoke, his tone uneven and obviously bothered. Maneuvering her son to sit up, Ro’s hand patted at his back to burp him.

“Oh baby it went bad. I checked it when I was putting the groceries in the fridge; it was all moldy and gross. I forgot to tell you, my bad,” she spoke hearing Caden burp a little bit, but kept patting.

Closing the fridge, she watched Sawyer grab a glass from the cabinet and fill it with water. She knew he was uneasy, and it forced the tension to hang thick and heavy in the air around the kitchen. Caden burped again and giggled. Wiping his mouth Ro placed a kiss against his forehead as she smiled brushing her nose against his own making him giggle. Those murky blue eyes cleared right up and turned crystalline as joy filled his little features. Her baby boy.

That night she didn’t know how they’d end up. The only part of their future that was sure was the dinner they’d planned on the following night, but she saw what he meant on the dance floor as they quickly got caught up in one another. It turned less into dancing as it did them teasing one another. Faces already closer than friends would have, it was a test now of who would give in first. Who would be the one to blanket their lips over the others? She remembered when she felt the game grow unbearable she took a cue from him and allowed her lips to press against the end of his neck towards his collarbone, leaving a red print of her lips against the skin where his shirt had been moved by her fingers.

He’d walked her home that night and commented on it as they joked about nothing. They laughed at each other’s methods of tantalizing the other until he’d walked her all the way to her doorstep where they faced one another. Trying to fight against the awkward elephant squeezed with them on the door step Ro reached up after retrieving her keys to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a hug and she knew Sawyer felt like a high school boy after a dance; expecting a pay off and getting a hug? As she pulled away she slid her arm down to his and slipped him a small folded piece of paper, before bringing her lips right to his ear and bidding him goodnight only allowing her lips to press beneath his ear for a moment before entering her home and leaving him on her doorstep.

A pair of hands emerged on her shoulders, rubbing them easily and subconsciously she rolled her neck a bit before leaning her head back to look at him, “You’re going to be late,” she told him, her eyes opening to meet his own. They were etched with a concern that always set her on edge, and she offered a small smile up to him, but he stayed the way he was, “I know,” he told her.

From above her, he looked at her, and in her arms rested their son; the two things that meant the most. His family. His eyes reverted back to her, she was observing him trying to gage his current state but instead he just cleared his throat. From her shoulders his hands sank down to her arms rubbing them a bit, “It’s only a lift right now,” he told her watching her nod softly moving to get up with Caden in her arms looking around the kitchen as if he’d never seen it before, “Do you want me to get him changed for you?” he offered. He knew that she had things to do today and he would shower after the lift, why not give her some time to get cleaned up?

“I don’t wanna keep you,” her voice is even, she’s fine. He wished he could say the same. She hikes Caden up on her hip, and he reaches for her him taking him in his arm again, and shaking his head at her, “You’re fine.”

Ro merely nods, and looks at him for a moment. They stay there just looking at each other in the eyes before Ro steps up to him and wraps her arms around his waist, her head moving into the side of his neck where Caden’s wasn’t occupying placing a kiss there softly just where she’d had that night and ever since then, “you okay?” she asks, her voice muffled against his neck before she pulls her face back to look at him.

Nodding, Sawyer kisses her forehead before nudging her towards the door, “I’m good. Go shower,” he lies to her eyes, and he knows she doesn’t buy it but he just needs her to not let him think about it at least until later tonight. After a moment she listens and leaves the kitchen through the door, and her feet can’t be heard against the floor anymore.