Don't Wait 50 Years - Caroline in the City Fansite

Don't Wait 50 Years

by Margaret Wilson

Fanfiction inspired by "Caroline and the Watch" episode.

Part 1

Richard woke from the dream feeling as though he was falling. His body startled and he fell back on the mattress. "Don't wait 50 years," the voice of Stella Dawson echoed in his head. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Why had he let Caroline drag him over there anyway? She and Annie had been imagining a boatload of romantic crap. God he was sick of it. Then watching Caroline with the old couple, seeing them, seeing her say "Sincere Amore" did something to him. Something totally unexpected. He felt himself loosen, thaw, just a bit. It was as if there was a hairline crack in the dam he hid his emotions behind. He punched the pillow and rolled over. The old lady thought he and Caroline were a couple. Now that was weird. Why in the world would she think that? He was drifting off again when the alarm rang.

He let himself into the loft in a black mood. He couldn't get the old lady's voice out of his head. "Don't wait 50 years." Caroline was polishing the partner's desk when he came in.

"Hi Richard." Caroline said to him in her bright cheerful voice.

"So you let them use the desk huh? I think I'll work on the sofa today." He poured himself some coffee, and sipped. "Hey this is really good." He said.

"Glad you like it. The guy at Starbucks said this is what you always get." She finished polishing and put the polish away. "I did let them use the desk."

"Ugh, now I'm definitely working on the sofa."

"For crying out loud, Richard, they didn't do anything on the desk. They just sat across from each other and made goo goo eyes."

"Goo goo eyes??"

"Yeah, they kind of stared at each other and whispered. It was really sweet. They really have Sincere Amore" She sighed and smiled at him. His heart sped up a little.

"So why are you polishing the desk again?"

"Stella gave me some special polish for it. It smells like oranges." She sniffed the wood. "Check it out."

He walked over to the desk and sniffed. "Yeah, I smell oranges." He sat down at the desk. "So what do you want me to start on?" He looked up to see her staring at him.

"What?"

"Er, nothing. Here, start on the Easter Cards." She handed him a stack of panels.

"Goody, my favorite holiday." They worked in silence for a while.

"So where's the princess of pain this morning?" Richard asked.

"She had an audition, then a matinee. You probably won't see her today." Caroline looked up from her work. "Want some more coffee?"

"Sure, but I can get it." He started to rise.

"I'll get it, you work."

"Slave driver" he mumbled.

"I heard that."

"Good."

She brought the coffee and two muffins on a plate.

"You got muffins this morning?" Richard was surprised.

"No, I baked them. Banana nut."

"Couldn't sleep?" Richard asked. He bit into one of the muffins. "Very good, no allspice."

"Thanks, I did have trouble sleeping." Caroline looked at Richard expectantly.

Richard closed his eyes and sighed. Here we go off on a tangent he thought. "Why?" I don't believe I said that.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was thinking about Stella and Stan. Fifty years went by before they got together. And they loved each other." There was a tear in her eye. "Fear kept them apart." She grabbed a tissue.

"God, you're not going to cry again are you? You're absolutely ridiculous, crying over them." He took a slug of coffee. "Are we going to get any work done today? Or are you going to continue in Danielle Steele mode?"

Caroline looked at him stricken, face streaked with tears. "I'm not crying about them you stupid jerk." She got off her chair and ran up the stairs, sobbing.

Wonderful, Richard thought. I wonder how many other people make their bosses cry. Now what do I do? I know I'll work. He continued to color. There were snuffling noises coming from upstairs for a while, then silence. Richard finished the Easter cards, pleased with his progress. It was quiet without Caroline, and when he thought about it lonesome too. He looked up the stairs. I wish Annie were here, maybe she could tell me what's going on. Wishing Annie were here, now that's a first. Maybe Caroline was coming down with something. Maybe it was that time of the month. Nope, that was last week. Christ, I know her cycle. What was she crying about, if not those two old people. He turned to the desk. God I wish she had never seen it. He looked at the desk again. How in the world could you have sex on that desk? The top was slanted not flat. He walked over to look at it. Maybe it was possible he thought. It was sturdy. If I stood and Caroline was right on the edge then the slant might actually work in their favor. He sat down hard on the chair. Where did that come from??? Caroline naked on the edge of the desk?? How did she get naked??? What the hell is happening here? He broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't get that image out of his mind. Bet she has red hair all over he thought. Bet it's soft all over too. He got up and started pacing. Okay, think about Kafka, or Hesse, or Tristan and Isolde. Slowly his heart rate returned to normal. He glanced at the desk again and BOOM there she was beckoning to him. Great, how am I gonna get any work done now.

He sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. She was his employer. She was annoying. She talked way too much about nothing. She dressed up her cat in hats. I just need to get some, he thought. It had been a couple of months since his breakup with Shelly. Maybe he should call her. Whoa not going there again. Cold showers and lots of exercise. That's what I need. Just then he heard Caroline's voice. He went to the stairs straining to hear. He couldn't make out what she was saying so he headed up the stairs.

He found her curled up in her bed. There was a bunch of tissues on the floor. She was mumbling in her sleep. Something about being 80. He leaned over to hear what she was saying. She looks so beautiful, like that, although she was still talking. Did it ever end?

"Richard" her voice was intimate and soft. His name on her lips felt like a caress. He looked at her face. She was still sleeping. "Richard, I love you." She smiled in her sleep and put her arms around him and brought his face to hers. "Richard" she breathed again, her breath soft and sweet on his face, her scent enveloping him. She kissed him, her warm mouth pressing against his. She has the sweetest mouth he thought. His head was reeling as he returned her kiss. Gently at first, then with more urgency, more passion. She pulled him closer so he was half lying on her. Then suddenly she broke their kiss and started to snore softly. He got up carefully and sat on the edge of the bed. So that's what she was crying about. Better get out of here. He walked downstairs grabbed his coat and left.

Part 2

Richard walked aimlessly, not wanting to go home. Cold, he stopped and got himself a cup of coffee and sat at a table in Starbucks. He warmed his hands on the cup and sipped. She got my favorite, he thought. She came here and got my favorite. He sat back in the chair and closed his eyes. He pictured her in his mind, was there something going on between them? He liked her, no doubt. She was funny, sarcastic, very smart and quite lovely. There was a vulnerability to her that appealed to him. He remembered their trip to Peshtigo. Being with her family undid her, especially her perfect brother. He felt very protective of her then. He tried to keep things all business, asking for boundaries, rules, and walls. She managed to get past that. He liked it when she touched him, patted his back, leaned her head on his shoulder. Sometimes he craved it, would do things to make her touch him. He could talk to her about anything. They communicated without words sometimes, able to read each other.

"Don't rule out the possibility of love" There was the old lady again, her voice echoing in his head. "Don't wait 50 years." Good grief, it was more than a possibility, judging from what her kiss had done to him. Love, he loved her. Maybe she loved him too?? She did say that, but she was sleeping at the time. He smiled to himself. What would it be like to wake up and see her sleeping next to him?

Okay, so he loved her, what if they tried and things didn't work out. Could they work together, still be friends? She and Del managed. Well, Stella. I'm not going to wait fifty years. I'm going to find out now. If nothing else maybe the old lady would stop nagging him. He got up and tossed out his empty cup.

Richard ran into Annie in the lobby. She was on her way to work.

"Hey Richie, what's in the bag?" she asked. "Smells like Chinese."

"It is." Richard dug around in the bag. "Here, I got you a shrimp roll. Have you seen Caroline today?"

"Yeah, I just came from there, she seems a little down. She was polishing the desk again, whole place reeks of oranges." Annie shrugged her shoulders. "Thanks for the shrimp roll, Richie."

He opened the door to the loft. "Caroline?" She was polishing the desk again, stopping when she heard his voice.

"Hi Richard." She smiled at him. "I didn't think you were coming back today. I saw the Easter cards. They look great. Thanks for finishing them."

"Just doing my job." He put the bag down on the counter and hung up his coat. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I took a long nap. I was overtired I guess. I do feel a lot better." She walked over to him and touched his arm. "I'm sorry I called you a stupid jerk."

He took her hand for a moment. "That's okay, sometimes I am a stupid jerk. You look better, your color is good." Her cheeks were pink, her eyes soft. He took the cartons out of the bag. "I brought you some food, Chinese, Mushu pork, steamed dumplings, fried rice, cold sesame noodles."

"Thanks, Richard." She got plates down from the cupboard. "You are staying to eat with me?"

"Sure." He smiled at her. "Annie got my shrimp roll. Can I have a bite of yours?"

Caroline looked at him in surprise. "You can have the whole thing."

He took their loaded plates over to the couch. "Just a bite. C'mon let's eat before it gets cold." She grabbed a couple of beers and sat next him on the couch. They ate in silence for a while. Caroline held her shrimp roll out to him and he took a bite.

"So how long did you sleep?" he asked.

"Don't know, three or four hours I guess."

"Well, naps in the daytime can be very refreshing. Because of REM sleep."

"REM sleep?"

"Yeah, REM stands for rapid eye movement. That's the phase of sleep where you dream. Naps are mostly REM sleep."

"Oh." Her face reddened a little and she touched her lips.

"So, did you?" he asked.

"Did I what?" She was blushing.

"Dream. Why is your face red?"

"I bit into a hot pepper." She took a long slug of beer. "I had a wonderful dream as a matter of fact."

"Yeah, was it about shopping?" he grinned at her.

"No, no not about shopping." She put her plate on the table. "It was about- never mind. You wouldn't be interested."

"Sure, I would. Dreams are our subconscious minds trying to communicate." He touched her knee lightly. "Try me."

"Okay, promise not to laugh?" she said. He nodded and put his plate down. "Well, it was about Stella and Vic. And we were in it too. We were them in a way. But not"

"Hold on, you mean I was short, and deaf and you were running around putting plastic on everything?" He smirked. She punched his arm. "Not laughing!!"

"Forget it." She rose and carried their plates to the kitchen. He followed with the empty beer bottles. She put the plates in the sink. He tossed the bottles in the trash and saw that she was still standing at the sink, head down.

"I'm sorry. Please tell me about your dream."

"What for? You'll just think I'm ridiculous. You think I'm silly anyway. There's no point to this." She stomped over to the desk and sat in her chair, refusing to look at him.

This is going well, he thought, made her cry again. He sighed, "I think I should go home. Good night, Caroline."

He was reaching for his coat when Stella's voice rasped in his head "Don't wait fifty years."

"God can't you just shut up." He cried.

"What did you say? Shut up? I'm not talking." Caroline turned around in her chair.

"Not you, Caroline." Richard walked over to her. "Stella, I keep hearing Stella." He took her hand. "Her words "Don't wait fifty years." I can't get them out of my head." His shoulders slumped. She didn't pull her hand away. Instead she brought it to his face.

"I dreamed that you and I didn't wait fifty years, Richard. I told you I loved you in my dream. Then I kissed you." Her eyes closed. "It was the best kiss, so warm, so real. I could actually feel you, smell you. It was incredible. I never wanted to wake up." She took her hand away. "Okay go ahead and laugh now. Tell me I'm ridiculous."

He tilted her chin up. "I think we should try to make your dream come true." He pulled her into his arms and kissed the corner of her mouth tenderly. She tensed for a moment and he almost pulled away. Then she wound her arms around him and kissed him back, making him dizzy. When she opened her mouth to let him in, he wanted to stay there forever. His hands moved into her hair and she pressed herself against him. He was unable to think about anything but kissing her. She finally pulled away just a little.

"Wanna do it?" she said against his mouth. He opened his eyes, totally disoriented, drugged on her kisses. She was smiling at him as the tears ran down her face.

"God yes, but isn't that my line?" He trailed a line of kisses down her neck. She moaned in his ear. He pulled back to look at her. "I love you, Caroline, I love you."

"You do? Really? Even though I'm ridiculous?" she was laughing now.

"You're not ridiculous, you're perfect." He kissed her again, running his hands up and down her body. "Caroline, tell me, tell me how you feel. Please."

She kissed his neck finding a spot just below his hairline that made him groan when she kissed him there. "You know how I feel about you. I told you this afternoon. I love you, Richard." She kissed him again.

"Wait a minute, you were pretending to be asleep?"

"No, I was asleep, at least I think I was. But I don't generally bring these to bed." She pulled a colored pencil out of her pocket. "I found it when I woke up. Then the kiss, it had to have been real." She put her hand on his chest. "So warm, so good, so perfect. I want more of them." She kissed him again. "And everything else that goes with them."

"So do I, Caroline, so do I."

~

Richard woke in the middle of the night, Caroline tangled around him. He breathed in her scent, nose buried in her hair. His hands moved over her body lightly. He couldn't stop himself from touching and kissing any part of her he could reach. She sighed and kissed his chest.

"Did I wake you?" He asked.

"No, I'm too happy to sleep." She kissed his chin. "Are you really here?"

He pinched her bottom and she yelped. "Okay you're really here." He kissed her passionately, as he reached for the softness between her legs. She hummed against his lips. "You're insatiable."

He looked her in the eyes. "Too tired?"

"No, In fact I think five is my lucky number."

He chuckled.

"What are you thinking?"

"About the desk. I think it's physically impossible to do it on that desk. Although it might be fun to try."

"Stella assured me that not only was it possible. She even gave me some hints."

"Good God, was Vic in the room?"

"No, he spent a lot of time in the bathroom, prostate I think." She sat up and crawled on top of him. He kissed her breasts. "Want me to show you?" she asked.

"Not tonight, let's work our way up to that." Richard smiled at her. "I love you."

"I love you too. But I still want to try the desk. Don't want to wait fifty years." She buried her face in his chest.

"I was thinking in the morning after breakfast. We can give Annie a surprise." He tilted her face up and kissed her. "Did you say five was your lucky number?"

Maybe it's six, not sure." She said

"Let's find out."

The End

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