| "Gil?" a voice said behind me and I turned slowly to face Natasha's worried expression. "You ok?" I nodded, looking at her and the horse she was sitting atop of. The dogs were now loud, the rest of the horses pawing in their stables. "I'm fine," I replied. "Just an episode but I'm fine now, really." When her expression didn't change, I placed a hand on the horse's shoulders and stuck my foot in the stirrup, pulling myself on horse back. "Ready?" "I guess," she said, clicking to the horse which was coal black, his coat turning white about mid thigh on all fours, his muzzle white in a vibrant streak. "Nudge her gently, Sirius doesn't take too kindly to rough treatment." Slightly I pressed my heels to the horse's flank and she began to walk, down the path, through the gate, into the forest with Natasha at my side. "What's his name?" I asked, indicating the horse and she smiled sadly. "Nikolai...he was a rescue. Shot with a shotgun but he's fine now," she said, patting his neck. "I named him after my father." I nodded, looking upward at the carpet foliage. "I see...you don't have your father's last name?" "No, my father and mother never married." "Why?" Laughing, Natasha reached up and pulled off her t-shirt, shaking her hair and revealing the white ribbed tank top that clung to her skin. "Marriage was an arbitrary thought to them," she explained. "Not really needed. They knew they loved each other, why did, as my mother used to say, 'we need a piece of paper?'. So I ended up with my mother's last name. Easier to spell and say." I watched the muscles move under her skin, almost hypnotized. 'The little things you do...' I thought and unbuttoned my shirt. It WAS hot out here. "Do you have the same idea? About marriage, I mean," I said softly and she crossed her arms, thoughtful. "I do but I don't," she said finally. "It's hard to explain." "Try." "Well...I agree with my mother on one hand; love's hard to put on paper. And on the other, I've never been in a situation where...marriage is an issue. So I can't say how I will react. It *sounds* like a good idea...on paper...but then again, so was the invasion of Iraq." Natasha's voice was serious, so serious I stopped watching where the horse was going and focused on her, trusting that good ol' Sires would know these woods better than I would. "So if I asked, you...you'd say no?" I questioned and she tilted her head. "I don't know..." she said, smirk appearing. "You haven't asked so I can't say." "Do you expect me to?" "Maybe and maybe not. Then again, you surprise me at every turn, Gil Grissom. It's one of the things I love about you," Natasha answered simply, pointing, grinning evilly. "Clearing up ahead. Wanna race?" I blinked. "I don't know how--" "Nudge her a lot," she replied, Nikolai rearing and shooting off like a rocket. Rolling my eyes, I pushed my heels into Sirius' flanks insistently and she took off, closing the gap between the galloping two. I had never experienced a horse at full tilt. It's exhilarating; the world flows past you in a Technicolor blender set on high, the only sound you hear is the pounding of hooves, the intake of air through flared nostrils, the thud of your heart. There's nothing to describe it. As the trees melted away and the horses thundered into the meadow, she brought her horse to a stop, clumps of grass flying. "That was great!" Natasha exclaimed, strands of hair falling from her ponytail. "Fun for you?" Sirius slowed to stop next to her four legged counterpart, snorting and I nodded, breathing. "Yeah," I said, smiling. "Fun. I see why you ride." Natasha continued to grin and dismounted, grabbing the lunch that she had latched on to side of the horse. "Of course. Food time!" Tethering the horses and spreading the white blanket out, she opened the basket and handed me a sandwich; ham and cheese with mayo and lettuce. I looked at her, munching and laying back on the quilt, gazing upwards. "You know, I never took the time to appreciate the day time sky," she mused, swallowing. "I just thought it was blue, boring, the night was always better. It's just beautiful in it's own way." "Like you?" I offered, lounging on my side, propping my head up with one hand. The younger girl blushed. "Now you're just trying to flatter me." "Always," I smiled. "Am I really that unpredictable?" Natasha nodded, eyes closed. "Yes. I wasn't expecting you to come back to me. I wasn't expecting you to give up your job as much as you have. I wasn't expecting you to agree to sketch this morning. But what was was and what is is and all I...we...need to care about is what will be." "And where do you see yourself in 2 months? 6? A year." "With you." "In what capacity?" "In love with you." "That's not what I meant." "I know." Next |