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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 24, 2013 21:20:21 GMT -5
John was still recovering from a terrible night. His mind apparently wouldn't allow him to be happy for too long. With Katerina's appointment and ultrasound having gone well, John had dropped her off at her apartment after a dinner at the restaurant of her choosing. He'd been happy... ecstatic, even. Then he had the nightmare.
It was the usual... gunfire, explosions... trying to keep a dying friend awake until help arrived. It was all a jumbled mess, just as it had been on that day. As per usual, he awoke just as the explosion happened, the last image in his head the face of his best friend. He'd been drenched in sweat and shaking when he awoke, having to stumble to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. It always helped to pull him back to the present. He probably wouldn't have been able to calm down had it not been for Eric. It was times like that that John realized just how lucky he was to have his older brother... even if Eric did have to slap him to help snap him out of it. John knew it was getting worse and he would have to have it taken care of. The last thing he wanted was to be some mentally unstable father. He'd never imagined, when enlisting, that P.T.S.D. would ever show up, knocking on his door.
It was thoughts of the baby that made it possible to even go out that day. Besides, he was the one who had insisted that they tell his family that day, so he was going to go through with it. When the taxi pulled up in front of Kat's apartment building, John asked the driver to wait a few minutes. Practically jogging to her apartment, John tucked the dog tags around his neck under his shirt. He wasn't quite sure if he had ever even mentioned to Kat that he had been in the marines... but that wasn't the point. The dog tags around his neck weren't his; they had belonged to a friend.
Tapping on the door of her apartment, he awaited her answer. "You ready yet?" he called through the door, wondering if she was even close enough to hear him. Checking his watch, he hoped the taxi was still out there. He didn't want his pregnant... whatever she was to him, waiting in the cold.
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Post by Katerina A. Montgomery on Sept 25, 2013 1:09:50 GMT -5
The day before had gone pretty great in Katerina’s opinion. They had been able to remain civil the entire time, throughout the appointment, the ultrasound, and even while they were at dinner. He took her to her favorite Italian restaurant one that was actually not too expensive but had amazing food. They had been able to keep up the conversation the entire time too, no awkward pauses searching for something to talk about. I was nice.
Now though, she was running late. Her alarm clock had failed to go off so she had had to take a rushed shower. It was too late to do anything but run a brush through her hair and hope it looked okay. She pulled on the clothes she had set out the night before, a pair of well-worn blue jeans, a light blue top with matching flats and a red belt. Looking in the mirror she finished off the look with her favorite red earrings and just a touch of eyeliner and mascara.
Kat just happened to finish all this just as she heard a knock at the door of her apartment. She thought she heard John’s muffled voice through the door, but couldn't quite make out what he said. Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror she grabbed her purse and opened the front door.
She smiled at John, who was waiting outside the door and asked with a small smile “So, are you ready to get this over with?” 249 WORDS FOR JOHN S. RHODES | ROYALS LYRICS BY LORDE | OUTFIT | TEMPLATE BY MERCY
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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 25, 2013 1:39:10 GMT -5
When she opened the door, John was leaning against the wall in the hallways, hands in his pockets. "You act like going to see my family is some sort of nightmare," he responded, rolling his eyes and standing up straight. You look nice, but are you sure you don't want to grab a jacket? It's pretty cool out now and it's supposed to be cold tonight..." He wasn't lying either... she really did look nice. Usually he would say something... well, John-like. Something along the lines of "I'd do you. Oh, that's right, I already did." He chose not to though, opting to stick with the simple compliment. Besides, she was hormonal and he didn't want to get stabbed at dinner.
"Let's go, before I start getting phone calls about where we are and when we're going to be there." He motioned his head toward the elevator, eyes travelling down to her stomach. It was still so odd to him. "Oh, do you have the ultrasound photos?" His mom would get a kick out of those... she would probably even cry. Even John had found it so strange, the dare before, to be staring at their baby on the ultrasound screen. Okay, that was an understatement. He had found it amazing and, for the first time in years, he got a little teary-eyed... though he had used the excuse that he had an eyelash in his eye.
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Post by Katerina A. Montgomery on Sept 25, 2013 16:57:48 GMT -5
Katerina looked John up and down, admitting to herself that he didn't look half bad. The leather jacket was definitely helping his looks though. She shrugged at his comment about the cold; she tended to like the colder weather but said “Nah, if I get too cold I can always borrow that sexy jacket of yours.” She winked at him before taking out her keys and locking up her apartment.
“Yes I grabbed the photos; they’re safely tucked away in my purse just for your mother. I just hope she keeps all talk of the ‘M’ word out of dinner. I do believe that will make for some awkward dinner talk.” Kat said with a shudder. Marriage wasn't something she had thought about much since she was a child and still played with barbies and believed in fairy tale endings. “So yeah, it is kind of a nightmare I never thought I’d be having to tell people I was having a baby this early in my 20’s. But I guess it isn't all bad.” She said as she made her way out of her apartment building, walking beside him. 189 WORDS FOR JOHN S. RHODES | ROYALS LYRICS BY LORDE | OUTFIT | TEMPLATE BY MERCY
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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 25, 2013 17:42:39 GMT -5
John sighed. Women were always stealing jackets and hoodies, he swore. "And then I'll be cold," he said, rolling his eyes. Watching her lock up her apartment, taking full advantage of his view. When she turned around, his smile was a devilish one, but his eyes were back up where they belonged.
"The M word?" he asked, raising a brow and walking alongside her to the elevator. There, he hit the button and climbed in, has hand on the small of her back, guiding her. "Oh... right, marriage." He rolled his eyes at her once more, riding the elevator to the ground floor, where he let her step out first. "I don't think she's the one you have to worry about bringing it up," he said, thinking about his brother, Andrew.
Once they made it to the Taxi, which was still there, meter still running,he opened the door and let her climb in first. "Look at it this way... years from now, when you're taking John junior to his hockey games, you'll be younger than all of the moms who had their kids during their late twenties and their early thirties." Climbed in beside her, he gave her a smile and handed her the one end of her seat-belt, making sure she put it on. Having nearly been killed in a car accident, John wasn't about to let her go without a belt when she was pregnant with his baby.
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Post by Katerina A. Montgomery on Sept 25, 2013 22:16:40 GMT -5
Kat rolled her eyes in return to his comment. She really didn't see herself asking him for his jacket, for one that wasn't what women normally did, and two she would rather prove that she didn't really need one. She had been living on her own for a few years now and doing rather well at it too. One thing she didn't want was for someone to think she couldn't take care of herself.
As they headed down the elevator she wondered just how many of his family members were planning on showing up to this thing. Katerina really hated being the odd one out at a function or get together and she would be the only non-Rhodes there. If only a few people showed up fine, but the whole damn family? Yeah she’d pretty much be screwed she thought.
They finally made it to the cab, the driver of which didn't look too happy about having to wait so long. But it did mean extra money for him. As she was buckling herself she looked at John shaking her head. “Who ever said anything about hockey? There are better sports out there than hockey. Like lacrosse and football for example. Or if we have a girl there’s volleyball, basketball, soccer, cheer-leading…” she said, Kat really did hope their baby was a girl.
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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 26, 2013 0:11:44 GMT -5
John paused and gave her a slight look. "Hockey. Hockey's my favorite sport, do you really think I won't influence our son into hockey being his favorite sport?" He and his father had always connected over hockey, going to games often. Unfortunately, it was after such a game that John and his father were in the accident. Still, hockey continued to be his favorite sport, though he tried his best not to think about the accident.
"If we have a girl, she can play hockey. She can play whatever sport she wants, but she can't be a cheerleader." John glanced over at Kat to see how she would react to this. He was only partly kidding about the cheerleading thing. "I know the way that guys look at cheerleaders. Believe me, because I'm a guy and I look at cheerleaders." He raised his brows at her, as if to get his point across. "But it doesn't matter because it's going to be a boy." He flashed her his handsome smile.
It wasn't long before they were pulling up in front of his mother's home in the Falls. From the looks of it, they were the first ones there, a fact that John was happy about. It would give Kat some time to settle in with his mother. After paying the driver, John climbed out of the car, holding the door open for Kat and offering her his hand to help her out. "You alright?" he asked her. It was something that he had been asking her frequently since he found out she was pregnant and each time that he asked this question, it seemed more worried and sincere than the last.
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Post by Katerina A. Montgomery on Sept 26, 2013 16:10:39 GMT -5
Kat decided to let the whole sex of the baby conversation go for now. It was still too far off for them to even know what it was to get their hopes up. Not to mention what sports the baby would play years from now. They had more than enough time to figure everything out, like names and what not. They were obviously at odds on what sex they wanted the baby to be and she had a feeling there would be more talk during dinner.
Katerina nodded her head to John “Yeah, I’m great right now; you should probably wait until this whole dinner is over and done with to ask if I’m okay. I have a feeling it’s going to be kind of crazy…” she said taking his hand and letting him help her out of the cab. She didn’t blame him for asking her so much but it was interesting to see how much more he seemed to care each time he asked her.
“How many of your family members did you say were going to show up at this dinner?” she asked, looking up at his mother’s house. It was nice. Kat had forgotten what it had looked like since the last time she had been there, though that was understandable. With a deep breath she looked at John and said “Well, come on we might as well get inside.”
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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 26, 2013 17:39:59 GMT -5
He couldn't help but smile at her response. He hoped, for her sake, that the dinner would go better than she was imagining it would. "Just my mom and my brothers... I don't know about my sister." Walking beside her, up the steps, John looked over at her side-ways. You're so worried about talking to my family... But you know that, when we talk to your family, I'm probably going to get shot..."
They had barely reached the top step and the door was already being thrown open. John's mother, clad in an apron, threw her arms around her son, letting out an ear-piercing greeting. "You're here before everyone else for once!" she said, letting go of her son before giving Katerina a motherly hug as well. "It's been so long, look at you!" Standing back, she got a good look at the girl, her smile broad. "You won't believe how relieved I was when John told me he was bringing you," Sophia said, letting go of Kat, before speaking in a hushed tone to her. "He doesn't always bring home the best women.."
John rolled his eyes. "I heard that." Ignoring him, Sophia ushered them into the house. "Come in, come in. Eric just called, he's going to be a little late, but I think Andrew is on his way." Sophia Rhodes had always been a pleasant woman, one that many enjoyed being around. She was a pretty woman, even for her age, and always smelled amazing. Her house had always been tidy, and was even more so now that she didn't have four children to clean up after. In the years since John had been in high school, there had been a few changes: new furniture, a bigger television, new paint. Not to mention, there were more pictures. Rather than just pictures of children and teenagers, there were also pictures of the four siblings, each grown a considerable amount. There was one with Eric leaning against a cop car even, before he was promoted to detective. The more recent pictures of John, however, showed him in uniform.
One showed John at his graduation from basic training, another showing him hugging his mother, having come home from his first tour oversees. There were some of him in full gear, one of which he was standing with the men in his platoon, each holding their guns. The most recent photo, however, was a picture of John in a hospital bed, rather beat up, but holding up his most recent medals. All of his medals were even displayed next to his very official looking Marine photo. It hardly even registered to him that he hadn't told Kat that he had been in the marines for the past nine years or so. It just wasn't something he wanted to talk about just yet... like he didn't want Kat to know the things he had done and the things he had been through. He was content with letting her think that he was the same guy he had been the say that he first met her.
"Kat, do you want a drink?" Sophia asked, heading toward the kitchen. "John, don't just stand there, get her a drink."
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Post by Katerina A. Montgomery on Sept 26, 2013 22:18:13 GMT -5
Kat snorted in laughter “This isn't Texas, you won’t get shot. Maybe dagger like glares but I don’t think anyone is going to shoot you. Sorry.” She said shaking her head. She had just finished speaking when his mother came rushing out of the front door. After hugging her son his mother about squeezed her to death hugging her as well. “It’s nice to see you again too.” Kat said after Sophia had let her go.
As she walked inside Kat couldn't help but notice the photos around the house, it took her a moment before she noticed all the photos of John in uniform. Kat turned to look at him questioningly. “You never told me you were in the marines.” She whispered to him, not wanting to make a scene in his mother’s home. But that was kind of a big thing to not tell someone especially when she caught sight of the one of him in the hospital.
As she moved to pick one framed photo off of the mantle she replied to his mother’s question. “Yes, tea sounds quite nice.” She said though she didn’t take her eyes off of the photo. It was kind of a surprise finding out he had been in the marines, she had never thought of him as the military type back in high school but looking at all the photos it seemed as if he had been pretty good at it. “How long were you in?” Katerina asked him. 248 WORDS FOR JOHN S. RHODES | ROYALS LYRICS BY LORDE | OUTFIT | TEMPLATE BY MERCY
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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 27, 2013 0:51:15 GMT -5
John paused, stopping on his way to the kitchen. Almost reluctantly, he came back to her, shrugging out of his jacket and laying it on the back of the couch. "Since just after graduation," he admitted, his eyes on her as she observed the photos. He heard the sound of his mother getting the tea and figured he was off the hook for that one. Though it would have been a good excuse to not answer her questions about the marines, he knew he was going to have to answer them eventually anyway.
"I was honorably discharged over the summer." Looking at the picture in her hands, his smile was a half-hearted one. Even the gleam in his eyes seem rather off as he shifted, as if in discomfort. He didn't want to have to run off to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face, not with her there. What kind of woman would appreciate the father of their unborn child suffering from PTSD? "You're not really interested in this stuff, are you?" Sitting on the arm of the couch, he waited for her answer. If she honestly wanted to know what had happened to him overseas, he would tell her.
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Post by Katerina A. Montgomery on Sept 27, 2013 13:36:23 GMT -5
Kat looked at the other photos in wonder. They made her realize that she didn't really know John all that well anymore. He had never once expressed to her that he wanted to go into the marines so it was really coming as a slight shock to her now. Here they were going to have a child together and she didn't know the first thing about him. So of course she was more than just a little curious about his life after high school. “Yes, I actually am interested in it John.” She said looking over at him.
“I mean this is a pretty big thing to not say anything about don’t you think? I know that we aren’t exactly together but it would have been nice to know that while I was here enjoying my freedom and all that, you were overseas defending my right to do just that.” Kat told him, trying her best to keep her voice down. Secretly Kat was glad they hadn’t been together during his time serving the country, she didn’t think she would have ever been able to handle not knowing what was going on at all times. And the photo of him in the hospital made her just the tiniest bit glad that he wasn’t still in the marines. At least she hoped he wasn’t.
“You aren't… you’re not going back are you?” she asked quietly, looking down at the photo in her hand. It scared her to think that their child might grow up without its father not always being around.
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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 28, 2013 12:02:29 GMT -5
Rubbing the back of his neck, John resisted the urge to sigh. "Does me being an ex-marine make me a different person all of a sudden?" he asked her, his tone serious for once. He could hear his mother rummaging around in the kitchen and, whether she heard them or not, he couldn't say. He didn't quite want to admit to Kat why he hadn't told her before about being in the Marines, especially considering that he wasn't enitrely sure himself. The dog tags around his neck suddenly felt heavier.
When she asked him whether or not he was going back, John stood and approached her, gently slipping the picture out of her hands and setting it back where it belonged. "No, he admitted in a surprisingly soft tone. It was rare that he spoke in such a way. "I can't go back, and even if I could, I wouldn't." He couldn't even handle the nightmares, let alone the real thing. Sure, he missed it, but he was damaged goods. When he stood in front of her, there was hardly any space between them. The look in his eyes as he peered down at her was rather explainable, even to himself.
"I'm here for you and the baby now, I'm not going anywhere." Finally, a smile curved his lips once again,, his usual fervor returning. "I still have the uniform though, if you're into that sort of thing." Winking at her, he knew he would have to tell her about his issues eventually, but right then, he was going to push it all to the back of his mind.
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Post by Katerina A. Montgomery on Sept 28, 2013 12:04:57 GMT -5
Instead of thinking of all the reasons why she shouldn't kiss him right now Kat just went with it. They were so close and the moment felt so intimate despite his kinky remark about his uniform that she just leaned up and kissed him.
Smiling a little she pulled away after a moment or three and said with a wink in return “I may just take you up on that someday, you know before you get fat and lazy and no longer fit into it anymore.” Yeah she totally had a sense of humor of her own, and she never failed to use it when called for. Kat ran her fingers through his hair before ruffling it, making it look like he had just rolled out of bed.
“It does make you a little bit of a different man. Partly because the John I dated my freshman year never once talked about the marines or any type of military establishment for that matter.” Kat said quietly in response to his first question. It also made her want to actually forgive him for breaking her heart. This whole time she had been holding her breath for the day he left her all over again but this changed how she looked at him quite a bit.
214 WORDS FOR JOHN S. RHODES | ROYALS LYRICS BY LORDE | OUTFIT | TEMPLATE BY MERCY
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Post by John S. Rhodes on Sept 28, 2013 14:08:40 GMT -5
He would admit to being caught off guard by her kiss, but John still responded to it as if he had known it was coming all along. As a matter of fact, he met her half way, leaning his head down and taking hold of her waist. It was over all too soon though and she left him wanting more when she pulled away. "You really think this beautiful body is going to get fat and lazy?" he asked, arching a brow and gesturing to his own torso. He made a slight face when she ruffled his hair.
Pulling back a little, he looked back to some of the pictures. "I didn't enlist for any glamorous reasons like "fighting for your freedom" or to bring honor to my family or any other bullshit like that." His tone was a little more serious now. "I enlisted to get the hell out of here." He was pretty sure he didn't have to remind her about what he had been like in High School. He had acted out in so many ways after his father died. Not to mention, when Andrew insisted that he go to college, it was the last thing that John wanted to do, mainly because it was Andrew who suggested it.
"I learned during my first deployment that it wasn't all fun and games though. I escaped one version of hell only to walk into another." And yet, he had stayed. There, among his platoon, he had turned into someone entirely different. Sure, John had brothers who shared his flesh and blood, but he counted his friends in the marines as his brothers as well. "I was promoted to Staff Sergeant before my last deployment." John wasn't sure he had ever spoken quite so seriously to Kat... or any woman for that matter.
Looking back at her, he wondered exactly what she was thinking. During the moment of silence that followed, Sophia came in with Kat's tea and John turned his face away to look at the other pictures, ones that weren't from his days as a marine. "Wasn't he so handsome in his uniform?" she asked Kat, letting out a sigh and handing her the cup. "He just better not reenlist. I don't think I can go through that again. Especially after what happened before he was sent home." John made a point of not looking at either of them. "John, would you set the table for me, sweety?" Pulling his hands out of his pockets, John walked by them, gently touching Kat's waist as he squeezed by.
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