*You Give Me What I've Been Missing* T:Kayden

[theo22]

The Park. Kayden and Jared had spent many mornings and afternoons just lounging around under the shade of the trees. They had countless conversations ranging from serious to knock knock jokes. Thoughts of Kayden had plagued Jared's every thought and even made their way into his dreams. The park was the one place that Jared figured he'd find Kayden that wasn't at her apartment, which may have been a better option. Jared didn't want to breakdown in front of the other park goers, but he had to see Kayden if only for one more time.

Jared's steps were slow and precise as his eyes scanned over ach face that passed by him, but to no avail. Kayden must have decided to stay home and rest. Even when his thoughts told him to turn around, something..His Heart.. told him to press forward and wait. He felt as if she was going going to show up, but seriously...the odds were highly against him.

Persistence kept Jared's feet moving at a normal pace, but his mind tired of the frivolous act. "She'll be here." Jared mumbled to himself as he looked to his feet as if they'd agree or disagree with him. He continued to walk and spared an occasional glance to make sure he wouldn't run into anything. With his shoulders were slumped and his head hung low, Jared looked absolutely somber.

He felt the pit in his stomach grow as his eyes started to sting from the next wave of tears. Covering his eyes, Jared slammed into a rogue tree and just slumped to the ground. Feeling alone and empty he just rolled on his back and looked to the sky for answers that wouldn't come. Or would it?

He rolled on his stomach and as he did so, call it fate, destiny, or whatever, but a pregnant blond walked through the grass barefoot and just seemed to be carefree. Jared rubbed his eyes and when they focused, he had to wipe the tears from them. "KAYDEN!" Jared yelled out as he scurried to his feet and practically ran full sprint to. "Oh God! Please don't hate me!" He added as he took her into a kiss.

[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

Seeing Jared had been the last thing Kayden had expected as she took her usual walk through the park. In fact, it was the absolute last thing she expected. To be completely honest, Kayden had actually been planning on skipping her walk that day, but something made her go. Something in the pit of her stomach told her she needed to walk. It was important. Now, Kayden was never one to ignore something important, so she changed her shoes to a pair of sandals, smoothed the front of her darkblue button up top over her belly, and then fixed her jeans. The maternity ones seemed to fit her weird. But she didn't have the expertise to know if it was the pants or her.

Regardless, she left for her walk.

A short time later, she was in the park, her sandals in her hand and her bare feet in the grass as she strolled along quietly, watching people around her. Smiles and brief hellos were exchanged with the other 'regulars,' the people she'd come to know from her numerous walks in the park. It was always the same- Walk through the grass a ways, say hi to Ed as he makes his way to play chess with his friend Gene, walk a little ways further, be offered a hotdog from Andy at the hotdog cart, which is politely declined, walk some more, say hello to Anna on the bench, watching the birds, etc. There were always people there. They always asked how she was doing and how the baby was, and she would always give the same speech, "Hey ___! I'm good, how are you? Yup, the baby is good. The doctor's say she's developing normally. Well, enjoy your day, I'm going to get back to my walk." And then she would resume walking.

It was the normal cycle. So, needless to say, when someone called her name, she wasn't too surprised. What surprised her was the sense of urgency in the tone of it. As she turned, any color drained from her face at seeing Jared running toward her. Was she having another mental breakdown? It was possible. But then again, Jared was back in town, so it was entirely possible it actually was him. She soon found out.

As she was swept up into a kiss, her eyes closed and she dropped her sandals as she reached her arms up around Jared's neck. When he pulled back, she gave a small, choked sob, tears streaming down her cheeks "Bloody hell... I know I should hate you, Jared... But I don't. I just... I can't." She pulled herself up close to him again, pressing an urgent kiss to his lips, needing to feel him there one more time, to make sure she wasn't imagining it, "Oh God, I missed you so much, Love." She finally opened her eyes, "Jared, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I should have told you as soon as I knew. I was just... I was scared that you wouldn't want the baby..." She smiled a bit through her tears at feeling something from the baby, sniffling and reaching for his hand, pressing it to her belly where their daughter was kicking, "She's yours Jared... I love you." She let go of his hand and pushed herself up close to him, putting her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She admitted quietly, "I cleaned your apartment while you were gone. Every two weeks I went in and cleaned. I wasn't willing to admit that you were really gone."

[theo22]

Jared's heart seemed to swell when Kayden returned the kiss and choked out that she couldn't hate him. Jared tightened his embraced and buried his face in her neck and blond hair. He loved how she smiled and well, her scent hadn't changed since he'd been gone. She took his face and kissed him, but with a bit of urgency and he wanted to assure her that he was back...for good. Then she started rambling and saying things that didn't make sense. She was blaming herself for him running away from the truth? her hormones must be making her brain functioning a bit off. "Kayden. Hush...Listen to me. I am sorry that I ran, but I am never...I mean, never... leaving you...or our baby again." Jared's voice was stern and solid. His eyes were begging for Kayden to believe him, which he figured she would.

When Kayden grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach, a faint kick could be felt and Jared nearly lost it again. Kayden grabbed him and pulled herself into his chest and nuzzled herself. Then she confessed that SHE had been the one cleaning his place, and that's when he lost it. Soft sobs came from him and he pulled Kayden as close a possible. He wanted to tell her over and over again that he missed her dearly, but the only thing that escaped his lips were, "Marry me." He felt something strange at the words, but the feeling seemed...right. He got on his knee and looked up into her eyes and repeated, "Kayden Paige Mackenzie, will you marry me?" Jared smiled and his eyes, red and puffy from crying, were soft and longing.

[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

Kayden looked up at Jared as he assured her he was never leaving. She wanted to believe him, she did believe him. She pushed herself up closer to him, burying her head against his chest, taking a deep breath. He smelled the exact same as she remembered him. The same way his sweatshirt did. The one she wore to bed almost every night. She closed her eyes as memories flooded back, of him when he was mad, him when they were taking the paint pictures, him when they first started dating. All of it came flooding back.

She held on to the front of his shirt as he pulled her in closer, and she cried with him. Finally, she stopped as he spoke, "Wh-what?" She watched as he pulled back, a hand moving to cover her mouth in surprise. Had he really just- Yes. Yes he did. She gave a small, choked sob, and then a quiet squeal as she pulled Jared to his feet, "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" She pulled him into a kiss, then smiled as she pulled back, "I missed you so much, love. I'm so glad you're back." She wiped her cheeks, "I love you so much, Jared." It was perfect. He was back, and they were engaged.

She paused a moment, blinking. They were engaged. The thought was foreign to her, but it seemed fitting. It was perfect.

[theo22]

Jared wasn't sure if Kayden would say yes, but when she did accept his proposal he could have died of happiness at that very moment. He allowed Kayden to pull him up then kiss him then express how much she missed and loved him...again. It never got old to hear that you future wife loves you that much. "I won't EVER leave you, again. I am here for good, Future. Mrs. Carson." Jared teased as he gave her a sly wink. He loved the sound of that and well, he was on the verge of heading to Vegas and getting hitched. He just wanted Kayden. "So, let's walk and talk. We'll head back to my place and get my car so we can start moving your stuff into my place." He started rambling, but caught himself as his hand went to her lower back. She was still perfect, perfect smile, posture, and attitude. Nothing had changed and Jared was sincerely happy about that.

[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

Kayden held onto Jared, not wanting to let him go for anything. She couldn't lose him again. No. She couldn't go through that again. Never again. No.

Still, she liked the sound of what he said next. It was like he was reading her mind. "Well, Mr. Carson, that's good. Because otherwise your daughter and your wife would miss you terribly." She winked at him, stepping up close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She took a deep breath, smiling at the way he smelled- still just like she remembered. "So you want me to move in right now? A little fast, huh?" She laughed, "Oh, what am I talking about, I'm already five months pregnant, you can't get much faster than that." She bit her lip, giggling happily, suddenly feeling safe because Jared had his hand on her back. It was like he was protecting her, keeping her safe from the world.

"You realize we have to plan a wedding now, right?"

After a pause, she shook her head, "...And now I really do need to find a new job to pay for it..."

[theo22]

Jared's lips quivered and he felt a smile, but his heart seemed to ache as if someone had punched him. His mind was thinking about leaving Kayden behind again, and he seemed to literally feel the pain, like a hot poker just stabbing him. He wanted to wince, but then Kayden would worry and she didn't need to worry anymore. He wanted to just hold her and never let go...but the woes of being a human and surrounded by other awkward humans. they would stare -as they are now- and make faces that would put Jared on edge...well nudge him closer off the edge he is already tiptoeing on. "Kayden, you practically own the place and yes especially with the pregancy so far along. I want to be able to watch over you." Jared smiled as he kissed the top of her head.

Jared laughed at Kayden's observations, but then his smile faded when she mentioned a job. He felt terrible for the way that he fired Kayden, but hell, she couldn't do much on the pole anymore. "Okay so wedding is taken care of and since I am in need of a new secretary, You are hired." Jared stated as he grinned down at Kayden. He didn't need a new anything at work, but he needed to be with Kayden for as much as possible. He didn't realize how much he truly had missed her.

[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

Kayden nodded a bit as Jared said he wanted to keep an eye on her. That was actually a good point. At that stage of the pregnancy her belly was getting bigger and it was getting harder for her to do things... Like pick up her necklaces when she dropped them on the floor. Just that morning she'd had to leave a necklace there and choose another one because she hadn't felt like bending over to pick up the one she'd dropped. It was just way too much work. She gave a smile, wrapping her arms tighter around Jared as they walked, her head still on his shoulder, "That's good. I need someone keeping an eye out for me. It's even better that it's you.""

As Jared started speaking again, telling her the wedding was taken care of, she looked up at him, confused, but understanding dawned on her as he explained that she was hired. "Jared... Are you sure? Sahara has been... It's been rough lately, it sounds like. A lot of girls quit..." She shook her head, "I haven't gone back there since the whole 'thing...' Come to think of it I don't even know if any of the workers that are still there even know I'm pregnant. Won't that be a shock..." Smirking a bit, she looked up, her smile fading as she bit her lip, pondering for a moment. She looked up at Jared again, "You'll need to hire new dancers..." She almost wondered if he was going to replace her as a dancer. She would be back to her normal self in a few months, after having the baby and losing her baby weight, but she really couldn't be sure that Jared would let her back on the stage again.