Unwished for Gift

Chapter 4 – Settling Down

God, I'm tired, thought Caitlyn as she finished tidying up the living room. As much as she loved her family, it was chaos to have all of them under the same roof. From the kids to her brothers and sister in laws, to her dad and mom, she felt out of place and overwhelmed. Not to mention Gabriel being here. Even though she gave Kyle a good punch and talking to when she finally cornered him earlier, she was glad that he had brought him. They hadn't really had a chance to talk to each other, but just watching him brought a smile to her face. Kyle had mentioned his lack of family sort of, yet seeing him interact with hers, she was amazed at how easily he fit right in. He joked with her dad, teased Angie and Sam, played with the kids, and even helped her mom whenever he thought she was doing too much. Her brothers even took to him - horsing around and ribbing him just as much as he did to them. Not to mention how devastatingly handsome he was. That is icing on the cake, Caitlyn thought to herself. She chuckled out loud as the thought of him being gay crossed her mind. Just my luck, she thought. Suddenly, a soft voice brought her out of reverie.

"Anything I can do?" asked Gabriel. Caitlyn shook her head and stood up as she finished her task. He noticed how tired she looked. The energy she showed earlier had finally run its course. He was tired too, but he couldn't bring himself to retire before she did. "Would you like some wine?" he asked her.

"That would be nice," replied Caitlyn moving to sit on the floor. She watched as Gabe made his way to the kitchen. He knew where everything was so she was confident he didn't need help getting them both a drink. Leaning back against the couch, Caitlyn closed her eyes for a moment. The quiet peaceful atmosphere soothed her. Everyone else was either asleep, or in their respective rooms snuggling down for the evening. Caitlyn had pushed her mom upstairs and volunteered to finish cleaning up for the night. She knew her mom hated going to bed with the house out of place. But after all the work she did earlier getting it ready for the family, Caitlyn felt this was the least she could do.

A soft touch on her arm startled her. "Hey it's just me with the wine," Gabriel stated. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized. She blushed at her silly reaction and reached out to take the glass from him. Settling back down, she sipped her wine and sighed appreciatively at its wonderful taste.

"This is delicious. I wonder who makes it," Caitlyn commented. She took another sip as she watched him settle down right next to her.

"Ummm, I think some place in California or something. I didn't really look at the label," Gabriel replied. "You're right though," he agreed, "it is quite delicious." Taking another sip, he leaned back into the couch and sighed contentedly. Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle a little as she saw how tired he was. He should be, she thought, thinking back to everything he had done since he arrived with Kyle. Looking at him, she smiled again when he cocked one eyebrow at her. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes as he sipped on his wine some more.

Caitlyn shifted once more settling back against the couch. She allowed herself a few moments to relax and enjoy her wine. It was nice just sitting there but she was a little apprehensive that Gabriel was there. She didn't know him well enough to relax her guard but she did know that she liked him. She could feel the wine kicking in. It had been a few hours since she had something to eat and with her low alcohol tolerance, the glass was getting to her fairly quickly. Coupled with her fatigue, she was so ready to go to bed.

"Here, let me get that," Gabriel said reaching over to take her wine glass. He could tell that she was on the verge of falling asleep. He smiled as she mumbled some nonsense under her breath but didn't fight him over it. "I'll be right back ok," he told her as he stood up to take them into the kitchen. She sleepily nodded, not bothering to open her eyes which had somehow managed to close recently.

Gabriel stopped in his tracks when he stepped into the living room. Caitlyn had slid down to the floor and was curled up sleeping. She is so beautiful, he thought once again. Being as quiet as he could, he lowered himself to lie next to her. He could not stop staring at her. There was something about her that kept pulling him. Unable to help himself, his eyes roved down her body taking in every part of her. She was petite but not overly skinny like many women these days. She had curves in all the right places. The clothes she wore were not designer labels but were of good quality. The soft pastels only helped to highlight her pale complexion. As tempting as her body was, her face captivated him. He noticed that she wore no make-up and her skin was flawless. Her petite nose matched her oval face perfectly. Her cheeks were rosy from the wine and her lips ... oh god those lips, he thought. She has such kissable lips, he said to himself. But looking at her, he knew it would be a bad idea to try. He respected Kyle too much too, and knew he'd get his ass kicked if he tried anything. Instead, he reached over to gently shake her awake. Caitlyn frowned in her sleep, and mumbled incoherently. She pushed his hand away and instead curled closer to him. Reaching out to him, she tugged at him until he moved to cradle her in his arms. Sighing once more, she slipped deeper into sleep.

Now Gabriel started to panic. As tired as he was, and as much as he wanted to stay here with her, he knew he shouldn't. Yet a part of him couldn't help but pull her close. She fits so perfectly in my arms, he marveled. Just a few minutes and then off to bed, he thought. Closing his eyes, he settled next to her and fell asleep.