My Valentine

[Snowfall]

This is just a little Valentine's Day gift to anyone who's reading this....I hope you find it as much fun to read as it was to write.
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“Nate.....” CD whined. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

Nate heard her now familiar complaint from the other room. He looked at the ceiling, sighed, and lifted his three-year-old daughter out of her booster seat at the breakfast table. “Jasmine, would you please go watch Blue’s Clues?” he asked his daughter.

“OK, Daddy,” the little girl with blonde ringlets replied and toddled off to the TV. She held her favorite stuffed caterpillar under her arm as she went.

“I’m serious!” CD whined again. “I don’t have a THING to wear!”

Nate walked to their bedroom door and stopped when he saw his wife standing in front of the closet. Her left hand was on her hip, and her right hand was sorting through the outfits in the closet. Her belly protruded so much that it almost met the clothes. “Honey, you can wear a bathrobe all day if you want. Besides, I’m sure that there’s SOMETHING that you can wear.”

“NO there isn’t, Nate!” she snapped. “I’m the size of a house! I’ve never been this fat in my entire life!”

Nate approached her. “You aren’t fat, honey. You’re pregnant. And there’s nothing more beautiful in the world than the body of a pregnant woman.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t feel very beautiful. I’m the 8-months pregnant mother of an energetic preschooler. My ankles are swollen, I can’t get my hair to do what I want anymore, I’m always tired, I’ve got stretch marks, and I haven’t seen my toes in six weeks.”

Nate just walked up to her and took her into his arms for a big hug. “But you are still the most gorgeous woman in the world to me.”

CD looked him in the eyes. She knew that he was trying to cheer her up, but she also knew that he meant it. “Thank you, sweetie.” She gave him a kiss on the lips, and Nate returned it with a bigger one. “It’s just.....tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and we can’t even go out because I’m supposed to take it easy. I’m just....not feeling....very valentiney this year.”

Nate gazed at her, saying nothing. Then he walked over to her dresser, opened the middle drawer, and pulled out her maternity overalls. Then he selected a t-shirt out of his own drawer, and handed them both to her. “Here. I know that these still fit.”

CD sighed and took them. “Thanks....but you should probably get going. You’ve got work.”

“Yeah, I guess I should go. You have a good day, OK, sweetie?” he said, and gave her a kiss.

“Yeah, I will. You too.”

“I’ll be home tonight. Do you need me to pick up anything?”


“Um....yeah, I guess so. We’re running low on milk and bread and peanut butter.”

“Got it.”

“Oh yeah....and chocolate chocolate chunk ice cream, and pickles, and pepper jack cheese, and
spaghettios, and sour cream and onion chips, and----“

“I’ll make a list,” Nate interrupted and gave a little smirk. Meanwhile, the topic at the front of his mind was Valentine’s Day. And seeing as it was just one day away, he knew that he needed to get a move on.

~ Valentine’s Day Afternoon ~

“Honey, why don’t you take a nice nap?” Nate asked CD. “I’m sure you can use the rest, and I can handle Jasmine for a few hours.”

CD nodded wearily and rubbed her belly. “Yeah....that sounds pretty good. This baby really wipes me out.” She got up and waddled towards their bedroom.

Nate smiled to himself. He loved watching her. Her waited until he heard the door shut, and then sprung into action.

~ Two Hours Later~

CD awoke after her nap. Her eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the light. The sun had almost set, but she could see the stream of light underneath the door, and she could hear vacuuming going on in the living room. ‘Aww, that sweet husband of mine, doing the vacuuming,’ she thought. She turned the lamp on that was on the nightstand beside her, and then noticed a dress hanging on the back of the door. She struggled up, waddled over to it, and took it down. It was the most attractive maternity dress that she had ever seen. She looked at the label, saw that it was in her size, and that it was from Motherhood Maternity. ‘That sweet husband of mine,’ she thought again and smiled. She had to admit that he had been so great to her, not only for both her pregnancies, but also their life together in general. She put the dress on, and then thought that while she was at it, she’d brush her hair and put on a little makeup.

By the time that CD left the bathroom and entered the living room, Nate had the vacuum put away and she could hear him clanking around in the kitchen. She stopped at the living room, and just gazed around. The CD player was loaded up with some of the sweetest love songs that she had ever heard. The lights were dimmed. Lit candles were spaced randomly throughout the room. All of Jasmine’s toys were put away, and the room was straightened. “Nate.....” CD said in a soft voice, and then turned towards the dining area. The table was set for two, and two more candles were lit. Between them was a clear vase of red roses. Speechless, she turned and faced the kitchen.

Nate could feel her presence behind him. He turned around and gazed at her. “I see you found the dress,” he said with a smile.

CD smiled back, and placed both hands on her belly. “Yeah, I did....Nate, it’s beautiful. This is all so beautiful.

“Just like you,” he replied.

CD blushed a little. “You’ve got to stop being like this or you’re going to make me cry,” she said and wiped underneath her eye.

Nate smiled contentedly. He approached her, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her one long, passionate kiss. “Happy Valentine’s Day, sweets.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, she said, returning the grin. Then she looked at him. He was dressed up a little, too. “You look good. How did you get all this done so soon?”

“Oh, I have my ways,” he answered with a wink. “Why don’t you have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Dinner? You cooked?”

“Well, let’s just say that we are having dinner, and leave it at that,” Nate replied and gave her a wink.

CD laughed. “OK, well, whoever made it, I’m just happy that it’s not me.”

Nate smiled and poured some red sparkling grape juice into a flute. “Would you like some?”

“Awww, yes, thank you, sweetie,” she said, took it, and lowered herself into one of the chairs at the table. “I’d prefer the real thing, but this will have to do,” she chuckled. She took a sip and watched Nate prepare the meal. She couldn’t help but notice how he moved. He still surprised her sometimes, even though they had been together for five years now. It seemed that once she thought that she had finally gotten him down cold, he surprised her. CD silently admired how sexy he still was. She took another sip of the grape juice, and then remembered Jasmine. “Where’s Jasmine?” she asked, a little worried.

“Oh, she’s at Jinny’s. I made arrangements for her to stay there tonight. I thought we could use a little time alone together before the baby comes.”

CD smiled at him. “You are the best, you know that?”

“I try,” Nate chuckled and pulled a pan of lasagna out of the oven. “Hungry?” he asked.

“Famished,” was her reply.


Nate served up the lasagna. He also had salad and hot cheese bread ready, too. They dined together, chatting about the things that were important to them. It seemed that they didn’t get to talk as much anymore about important things, with all the craziness of being parents.

They finished eating, and Nate pulled a bag from underneath the table. He handed CD a card first. She opened it up and it read the chorus of Lonestar’s Amazed:

To my CD,
Every little thing that you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I'm amazed by you.
Happy Valentine’s Day, baby.
I’ll love you forever.
Always yours, Nate

CD’s eyes got misty. “Awwww,” was all she could say, and leaned over and gave him a kiss. Then Nate handed her a wrapped gift. She opened it to find a journal.

“Open it,” Nate directed.

CD eyed him curiously and slowly opened it to the first page, and read the only writing on the page. “The Story of Our Love,” it read. CD’s mind immediately flashed back to a certain movie. “Should I be calling you Noah?” she laughed.

Nate blushed and just looked at his hands. “I hope you don’t think it’s too corny, “ he said.

CD blinked back tears. “Not at all,” she replied confidently. “This is the best gift I have ever received in my life. I can’t believe that you did this.” She turned to the next page, and there, Nate had handwritten the beginning of their story. “This is the most amazing Valentine’s Day ever. No one will ever believe that a man could be this romantic.”

“Oh, well....it’s not that big of a deal,” he replied casually.


“I’ve got something for you, too,” she said and slowly made her way to a kitchen cabinet. She carried back a card and handed it to him. “Now, I would ordinarily give you my usual gift of myself with nothing but a bow tied around my middle, but seeing as that just isn’t possible this year, I hope you’ll like it.”

Nate chuckled and opened the card to find a gift certificate to Julio’s and concert tickets to Kenny Chesney. “Wow, honey, this is amazing!” he exclaimed. “As great is this is, though, I’m thinking that you picked Kenny Chesney for yourself, too,” he laughed.

“Oh, so sue me,” she chuckled back.

Nate kissed her, and then heard “My Valentine” starting on the CD player. He took her hand. “Dance with me,” he whispered sexily.

CD grinned. “OK.” Nate took her in his arms, and they slowly moved around the living room to the music.

~
If there were no words
No way to speak
I would still hear you

If there were no tears
No way to feel inside
I'd still feel for you

And even if the sun refuse to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart
Until the end of time
You're all I need
My love, my valentine

All of my life
I have been waiting for
All you give to me
You've opened my eyes
And showed me how to love unselfishly
I've dreamed of this a thousand times before
In my dreams I couldn’t love you more
I will give you my heart
Until the end of time
You're all I need
My love, my valentine

La da da
Da da da da

And even if the sun refuse to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart
Until the end of time
Cuz all I need
Is you, my valentine

You're all I need
My love, my valentine
~

“Thank you for making me feel so special tonight, Nate. I love you so much,” CD whispered.

“I love you, CD.” By the end of the song, CD and Nate brought their lips together. For this Valentine’s Day and for the next fifty Valentine’s Days, their love would go on.

[Jo_Luvs_Ketchup]

Aww I love your holiday fics Tara!! Nate is such a sweetie! I hope you had a very nice Valentine's Day! That made mine very nice Thank you for writing the fic and I especially liked the song. hehe

[candace~n~nathan]

Tara, you know how i feel about the fics and the division as a show. you know that my love for it has simmered, and i have continued to read and enjoy, but never to the extent that i used to.

this fic is so amazing. not only did i cry (which is a first in a long time for a fic and me), i also smiled b/c i know the real cd and nate would really be like that. they're, in a way, allie and noah in my eyes. i loved the way u incorporated them in here, and the way you used country music b/c that all touched my heart, too.

this was plain wonderful. it was the epitome of an amazing relationship-- a relationship we all hope to obtain one day.

thank you for blessing us with this fic-- with ALL of your fic-- and thank you for blessing me w/ your presence in my life. happy valentine's day!!!!

[Snowfall]

Originally Posted by candace~n~nathan

Tara, you know how i feel about the fics and the division as a show. you know that my love for it has simmered, and i have continued to read and enjoy, but never to the extent that i used to.

this fic is so amazing. not only did i cry (which is a first in a long time for a fic and me), i also smiled b/c i know the real cd and nate would really be like that. they're, in a way, allie and noah in my eyes. i loved the way u incorporated them in here, and the way you used country music b/c that all touched my heart, too.

this was plain wonderful. it was the epitome of an amazing relationship-- a relationship we all hope to obtain one day.

thank you for blessing us with this fic-- with ALL of your fic-- and thank you for blessing me w/ your presence in my life. happy valentine's day!!!!

Oh my.......*sniff*

That warmed my heart more than you can imagine, Lisa. And I would also like to say the same thing about you.

[BlAcKrOsEjInNy]

LOVIN it! More please~omg that song by Lonestar touched me LOL i never usually get touched by anything. TY for puttin me ina good mood Tara.

[TDivisionInspector]

HEY YOU!!!! Keep up the great work in your other fic! This one was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You even worked my song that I sent you into this fic! MY VALENTINE! AWWWWWWWWWWW so sweet! YOU ROCK. It's like I've said before. You make us feel like we're right there when you wrote it. It's just so believeable. TARA'S DA BOMB! hehehe

[#1_Nancy_McKeon]

I seriously need to get better at remembering to post. lol I read this the other day, in fact. This was very well put together, and a pleasure to read. Your writing style is awesome!

[maria1986]

I just read this and it was friggen great!!! I love reading your fic!