Part Seven:

The next few months fly by and they’ve easily melded into a family of four. Nora has returned to work full time and Matthew has begun to come to terms with Rachel’s death and has begun to bond with the baby. He is however, thrilled that his father and mother are back together.

Bo sits behind his desk the afternoon of the first night of Hanukkah. He wanted to make sure this holiday was extra special, especially for her and Matthew. He also had a special surprise for her on the last night, one that would make their life complete. He’s looking at a website on Jewish holiday traditions when there’s a light knock on his door. He looks up and smiles when she walks through the door. He stands behind his desk as she approaches it. He quickly turns off the monitor and leans across the desk. She also leans across, their faces only inches apart, “I need a certain sexy police commissioner to take me to lunch; do you know where I can find him?”

Bo leans in a little closer, “I know exactly where he is and he’s been dying to take out a certain sexy, beautiful, and downright breathtaking, Assist. Distract Attorney with the best legs on the entire eastern seaboard,” he leans in and kisses her, “Did I mention breathtaking.” He says after breaking their kiss.

She leans her head against his, “I’m craving some flan and you know what kind of damage I can do if I don’t satisfy my cravings.” Bo laughs and grabs his jacket off the back of the chair. He walks around his desk and takes her hand. She pulls him to a stop before they walk out into the station, “Best legs on the whole eastern seaboard, huh?”

Bo holds her out in front of him, “Definitely,” he whispers, before taking her hand again and leading her through the station.

They stop in front of Marcie’s desk, “I’ll be gone for a few hours,” he looks over at Nora, “then again I might be gone for the rest of the day, call John,” he says with a wink. Marcie watches them leave and shakes her head. She always knew they’d end up together, she only wondered why it had taken them so long.

They walk into the diner hand in hand and take a seat at the booth by the window. They quickly glance over the menu and turn their attention to each other. Carlotta watches them from the counter, a smile on her face, as Bo plays with her hands, while he whispers in her ear, both of them acting like they can’t get enough of each other. She walks over and stands beside the table, having to clear her throat a few times before they noticed she was there. They laugh and tell her the latest on Matthew and Amalya. She fills them in on Jaime and walks away to prepare their lunch.

Bo leans in close, “Matthew’s in school and MaryAnn has Amalya at her sister’s all day, soooo…” he says with that glint in his eye.

She kisses him before climbing out of the booth and walking up to the counter, “Carlotta, can we get that to go?” Carlotta smiles a knowing smile and pulls out some take out boxes.

They spend the afternoon making love, first on the living room floor, then moving into her office when she went in there to answer a few quick emails, never finishing because he wrapped his arm around her from behind and swiped his other arm across her desk before laying her on top of it. Finally they made it up to their room where they spent the rest of their time alone holding each other after taking a shower together.

Bo watches her as she sleeps, her hands tucked under her cheek. He thinks back over the past five months and every thing that had brought them to where they are, here in each others arms. He watches as her eyes move while she dreams, the corners of her mouth moving as she smiles in her sleep. He never thought he’d have the chance to ever love her like this, he thought those days were gone forever. He watches the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes, listening as the pitch changes while she sleeps and dreams.

She shifts in her sleep, her one hand slipping out from under her cheek and resting between them. He stares down at her hand, longing to brush a kiss against her delicate skin, or to inhale the scent of the body wash he just lathered over her skin a while before. He thinks about the way their hands fit so perfectly together, how they easily intertwine when they make love, the way her fingers shift within his as he moves within her.

He continues to stare at her as she moves once again, the sheet falling down her chest revealing her naked breasts to him. His heart begins to race and his desire for her becomes evident. He resists the urge to reach out and run his hand down her cheek, waking her to satisfy his need. He stares at her lips, still slightly swollen and red from their latest kisses.

She stirs a little while later, the sheet pulling tight across her body, hugging the curves of her hips as she lays there beside him. He rises up on his arm and looks at the clock beside their bed. He reaches out and brushes a strand of hair away, tucking it behind her ear. She stirs, her eyes fluttering open as she comes out of the grips of sleep. He leans in and kisses her, “Matthew will be home in a few minutes.”

She stretches and smiles, “I guess our afternoon getaway is over.”

Bo nods, “Yeah, and if I remember correctly you have a late hearing today.”

Her eyes widen as she remembers. She jumps out of bed and grabs for her clothes. She looks around the room and laughs, “Ummm Bo, I think we left our clothes scattered all over the living room.”

Bo grabs a pair of jeans off the chair beside the bed and pulls them on, leaving them unfastened as he walks towards her. He kisses her neck, leaving her breathless, “Bo…we don’t….”

He removes his lips from her neck, “Just something to keep me on your mind while you’re in court.” He walks out of the room with a wink and runs downstairs, his bare feet padding down the stairs as he makes his way into the living room. He just started picking up the clothes when Matthew walks in the door. Bo quickly throws the clothes into her office closing the door. He notices her underwear lying on the floor by the end table. He quickly grabs them and stuffs them in his pocket while Matthew drops his backpack on the bench.

Matthew looks over at his father, “Where’s Mary…”

Matthew turns when he hears Nora coming down the stairs, “Bo did you get all our clo….” She notices Matthew, “Hey buddy.”

Matthew looks between his parents and rolls his eyes, “I’m going to go do my homework before Hanukkah starts.”

Bo and Nora watch him walk up the stairs. She walks over to him and wraps her arms around his waist, “So where did you stash our clothes?”

He motions over his shoulder, “I threw them in the office, but,” he reaches into his pocket, “I had to act quickly before he saw these,” he says dangling her underwear from his finger.

“Quick thinking, Buchanan, we’re going to have to be more careful during our little afternoon ‘lunches.’”

Bo leans in and kisses her, “Yeah it was a close call, and speaking of close calls you better get out of here before you’re late, and don’t worry about setting up for tonight, Matthew and I have it covered.”

Nora kisses him once more before grabbing her briefcase and heading towards the door. She was just about to open the door when MaryAnn walks in. Amalya reaches out for Nora who takes her for a moment before handing her over to Bo and leaving for her hearing.

Bo places Amalya down in the playpen while he goes up to check on Matthew before they start setting up for the first night of Hanukkah. MaryAnn had made the traditional latkes, or potato pancakes and had even went as far as to make sufganiya, a kind of jelly donut. She had spent most of the morning on the phone with Selma learning how to make them.

Matthew comes running down the stairs a few minutes later and walks over to the closet where Bo is pulling down the box marked “Hanukkah.” He balances it on his hip while he turns the light out and closes the door. He places the box down on the coffee table and pulls out the menorah and the box of candles. He places the menorah in the middle of the table, while Matthew removes all the magazines and places them on the table by the phone.

MaryAnn comes out of the kitchen a few minutes later carrying the plates of food. Matthew helps her carry them over and situate them on the table around the menorah. Bo takes Amalya upstairs and changes her before returning downstairs. He was just placing her in the playpen when Nora walks through the door.

MaryAnn says her goodbyes, wishing them a Happy Hanukkah. Nora walks into the room and pulls Matthew onto her lap while Bo sits down on the couch beside them with Amalya on his lap. Nora looks over at Bo and smiles, “Latkes and sufganiya?”

Bo shrugs, “I wanted our first Hanukkah together as a family to be perfect. And I wanted Amalya to have the same kind of celebration she would’ve,” his voice begins to crack, and the tears welling up in his eyes match her own, “that she would’ve had with Rachel.”

She leans in and kisses him, “Thank you.”

Matthew leans over and picks the dreidel up off the table and shows it to Amalya who tries to put it in her mouth. Matthew takes it back from her and begins to play the game. Amalya soon falls asleep and the three of them sit on the couch together and eat the latkes and sufganiya, before eating the chocolate coins. They exchange their gifts and sit down to watch a movie. Matthew soon falls asleep, his head resting in his father’s lap, his legs draped over Nora’s.

Bo looks over at Nora who is slowly reforming one of the wrappers from the gold coins, the tears rolling down her face. He removes Matthew’s head from his lap and stands up off the couch. He picks him up and carries him upstairs. He returns a few minutes later and pulls her against him. She looks down at the gold coin in her hand and continues to try and shape it, “Rachel used to eat all the chocolate and then she would work for hours trying to reshape the coins. Once she even tried to take them to the local candy shop and buy more candy with it,” she laughs through her tears, “The shop owner actually let her buy candy with the empty wrappers.”

Bo pulls her tight, “That’s a beautiful memory.”

Nora nods and lays her head on his shoulder, “Thank you for tonight.”

Bo kisses the side of her head, “No need to thank me, Red. This was our first Hanukkah as a family and I just wanted every thing to be right.”

She shifts in his hold, turning to face him, “It was Bo, and the rest of the holiday is going to be perfect too.” She leans in and kisses him. Their kisses soon become passionate. She stands up and holds out her hand. He places his hand in hers and stands up. She leads him out of the room and up to their bedroom where they finish celebrating the first night of Hanukkah Bo and Nora style.

The days flew by and before they knew it Hanukkah was over and it was now Christmas Eve. Matthew and Amalya were spending the day with Asa and Renee and they were all supposed to meet at the Palace later for their traditional Christmas Eve celebration, but Bo had other plans for them first.

Nora walks through the front door, shaking the snow off her jacket, as she drops her briefcase on the bench. She was exhausted and had been in court up until the last minute, the wheels of justice certainly didn’t take a break for the holidays. She removes her jacket and hangs it up on the stand beside the door and turns around.

She stops when she sees the sight before her. She looks down at the path of red rose petals that lead from the middle of the landing through the living room and up the stairs. She notices the couch has been pushed to one side of the room and there’s a small candlelit table for two sitting in the middle of the living room.

She follows the path of rose petals up the stairs and down the hallway. She pushes open their bedroom door and looks around the room. There are more candles placed throughout the room and more rose petals cover the floor and the bed. She turns when she hears him enter the room.

He walks towards her, two glasses of champagne in hand. She takes the glass he offers her and taps it against his before taking a sip. She places the glass down on the bedside table and looks back at Bo, “What’s all this?” she asks with a smile.

Bo takes her in his arms and pulls her against him, wrapping his arms low across her waist, “This, my dear, is phase one of your Christmas Eve surprise.”

She looks around the room again, “What’s phase two?”

Bo takes her hand and leads her into the bathroom, “This is phase two,” he says with a smile. He leans in and kisses her. He points to the tub that is overflowing with bubbles, “So you relax and unwind; dinner will be ready in forty five minutes.”

She steps into the warm water and inhales the fragrance that lingers in the air from the bath beads and the candles.

Bo walks into their bedroom a half hour later and stands just outside the closed bathroom door. He smiles as he envisions her relaxing in the tub, her head resting on a rolled up towel, her hair pulled up, and the bubbles that barely cover her. He can see the beads of water rolling down her neck after she brushes a stray strand of hair off her damp cheek. Bo smiles and shakes free of the image and finishes preparing the rest of his surprise.

He lays a box out on the bed that says, ‘Wear me.’ He pats the top of the box and heads downstairs to continue his preparations. Ten minutes later he hears the water drain out of the tub and ten more minutes later he hears her heels as she makes her way down the stairs. He walks up onto the landing and holds out his hand, as she approaches the last few stairs.

She stands in front of him, wearing the dress he had bought for her earlier that day. She was a vision in black satin, the curves of the dress perfectly hugging every one of hers. The thin straps lead to a low cut bodice that left little to the imagination. He leans in and kisses her, “You look amazing.”

She runs her hand over the bodice of the dress, “It’s a beautiful dress, Bo, thank you.”

He kisses her again, “You’re welcome, Red.” He motions towards the table, “You ready to eat?”

Nora’s eyes widen, “I’m starving.”

Bo takes her hand and leads her over to the table. They eat their meals both talking about their day at the office and the party that night. They talked about the new game system that Santa was giving Matthew, and an hour later Bo clears away their plates and brings the dessert out of the kitchen. Bo places the plate down on the table and lifts the cover off of it.

Nora looks down at the plate expecting to find their dessert but instead finds a black velvet box. She looks up, expecting to see Bo still standing by the table. She turns in her seat and finds him down on his knee beside her chair. She takes a deep breath, “Bo…” she says, her voice full of tears.

He reaches out and takes her hand. He takes a deep breath before speaking. He looks up at her and smiles, “We were here before, you and I, and we lost it; we threw it away. We’ve been given this second chance to love, to spend the rest of our lives together, and we’ve been given a second chance to be the family we dreamt about being. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, Nora, and I would be so honored if you’d accept this ring and marry me,” he smiles, “again.”

She reaches out and lays her other hand on his cheek, leaning in to kiss him. She brushes a tear off his cheek as he turns to kiss her palm. She clears her throat, fighting with the tears that are stealing her voice. She nods her head as they continue to look at each other, “Yes, Bo yes; yes a million times over.”

He stands up and pulls her out of the chair. He lifts her up and spins her around. He puts her back down on the ground and takes her left hand in his and takes the ring out of the box. He places the ring on her finger, bringing it up to his lips. He picks up the remote and turns on the CD player. He pulls her close and they begin to dance. An hour later he’s helping her with her jacket and they’re on their way to the Palace.

They walk into the ballroom hand in hand. Matthew runs up to them and looks between them, “So did ya ask her dad?”

Nora looks over at Bo and down at Matthew, “You knew what your dad had planned?”

Matthew smiles, “Yeah, dad asked me if he could marry you and I said yeah,” he looks over at Bo, “So did ya?” Bo picks up Nora’s left hand and holds it out and shows Matthew. Matthew throws his arms around Bo’s waist and kisses Nora, before running off, “Hey, grandpa, I told you we were getting hitched!” he yells across the ballroom.

Bo and Nora laugh and exchange glances. Asa and Renee walk over to them as they watch Amalya sitting on Viki’s lap, playing with her latest gift. Bo has his hands around her waist and her arms are around his neck. “So you finally got off your kiester and asked her to marry you?”

Bo looks at Nora and back at Asa and Renee, “Yes, Pa, I asked Nora to make an honest man out of me once and for all.” She leans in and kisses his cheek, “and lucky for me she said yes.”

Asa and Renee congratulate them both and they all gather around the large Christmas tree that Asa had the staff put up in the ballroom. The entire family exchanges gifts and three hours later, Bo is carrying a sleeping Matthew and Nora is carrying Amalya out to the car.

They arrive home fifteen minutes later. Bo tucks Matthew in while Nora gets Amalya ready for bed. They both say their goodnights to each of them and finally make their way to their room.

Bo lights the candles once again and turns the radio on. She walks out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing a sheer ivory nightgown. He walks over to her and takes her in his arms; laying her back onto the bed, and as Christmas Eve turns to Christmas Day, they celebrate their engagement and their second chance at love.

TBC…