LINDY STOOD BY the sink, warm water gently rushing over her hands as she scrubbed at the dirty dishes that had been set aside once Frances's party ended. In her childhood, she had hated washing dishes and it had always been her least favorite chore that Lee assigned. Yet now, there was something soothing about the mix of soap and water against her skin in the quiet kitchen.
Everyone had left in high spirits, exchanging hugs and promises of reuniting soon. It was a strange but delightful thing to have witnessed. Never would Lindy have guessed that Wendy O'Connor would hug and kiss her brother goodbye like he was one of her own children. Even watching Krist and Dave wave goodbye to little Hannah had been a special moment.
Frances had been the last to leave, her nanny Jackie having come to pick her up. Since there was no room for her to stay in the apartment, Kurt and Lindy had reluctantly agreed to send her back to Courtney rather than host a sleepover. It was disappointing watching Frances leave them both, but until they settled their decision on a house, they would not officially live together as a family.
"You should let me do that," came Kurt's voice from the kitchen entrance.
"I've got it. It's sort of my thing."
"Your thing?" he laughed, walking up behind Lindy with his hands dug into his patched jeans pockets. He removed them in order to rope his arms around Lindy, pressing his body against her back in a way that made her dizzy with happiness.
"Yes, it's a coping mechanism," Lindy said distantly. She was too busy focusing on the fact that she could feel every part of Kurt's frontside against her. It had been far too long since she had felt that feeling.
"So basically what you're saying is, all that stress that I put you through turned you into a lover of dish washing?"
"You didn't put me through that much stress," Lindy quipped.
"Don't lie," Kurt whispered. His breath tickled her ear, and Lindy suddenly remembered how long it had been since they had been completely alone together, let alone intimate. It would have been ideal if she could have ravenously taken him back to her bedroom, but the large bump of her pregnant belly lessened her sexual prowess by a substantial amount.
"It's all better now," she insisted, shutting off the sink and turning in Kurt's arms. She let out a giggle when her bump put a blockage between them, and even Kurt grinned and looked down at the newly placed division.
"You know what's funny? I thought that once I left rehab, I wouldn't be able to cope with the guilt. I thought that all I'd be able to talk about was how sorry I was for what I did to you. But seeing you happy . . . I don't know what it is. It's like as soon as I walked out of those doors with you, I forgot everything that I was worried about. That's never happened to me before."
"There's a first for everything," Lindy said. She dried her hands and then linked them behind Kurt's neck, noting mentally that she must have been the luckiest woman in the world to not only have him, but to be carrying his child.
She was nearly about to kiss him when she gasped, her hand flying to her stomach as she felt a sharp, unexpected nudge from the inside of her belly. There had been several occurrences in which Lindy had felt the odd sensation of movement from inside her womb, but this was the first time it had taken her breath away, causing her feet to lift off the ground in astonishment.
"What is it?" Kurt demanded anxiously, his eyes darting from her face to her stomach.
"Baby's kicking," Lindy said breathlessly, pressing the palm of her hand against the underneath of her stomach. Sure enough, she felt another abrupt jolt against her abdomen. She uttered an amazed laugh, unable to believe that the commotion going on inside of her was coming from her baby's legs.
