Who: Cathy and Josh + Cory What: Date night Where: Cathy's place When: Backdated to Valentine's Day Warning: None
By the time Josh got over to Freedowntown, Cathy had gone upstairs to put a little something more than her pajamas on then she went back into the kitchen to get the rest of their dinner ready. She put the vegetable soup she made earlier back on the stove, preheated the oven for the cornbread then she began getting it together. She just put it in the oven when she heard the knock on the door. Smiling, she closed the over and set the dinner then she checked over her appearance in a mirror in the living room then she moved to the door. "Happy Valentine's Day" She told him with a bright smile, giving him a kiss before she stepped back and let him in. --- Josh had dressed up casually for his trip to visit his girlfriends for Valentine's Day. He wanted to look nice, but knew he wouldn't need to go out of his way too look good for her. He had been in this place for a little over a year, and he never had felt happier than he did when he was with Cathy. He returned the smile and kiss when he walked into her house, looking forward to the night he was about to share with her. "Happy Valentine's Day, my love," he said in return without thought. --- She smiled a little brightly at the added 'my love' but in typical Cathy fashion, she did not make a big deal out of it. Rather than getting shy and blushy like her sister, the blonde instead just gave him another kiss then she took his hand and lead him into the house. "Jory is already down but we'll have to put Cory down in a little while. He's looking foward to getting tucked in by us" She told him as she lead him towards the kitchen so she could get started on the salad. "Help yourself to drink. The usual is in there plus a few beers hidden way in the back" She offered as she moved back over to the chopping board where the vegetables sat. --- Josh nodded with a huge grin. He was getting to know Cathy's boys alongside getting to know his own children, and he thoroughly enjoyed doing both. He walked into the kitchen, feeling comfortable as he opened the refrigerator like it was his own. "Beer? For anyone special?" he teased, pulling one out. He couldn't see Carrie drinking... or well, he thought that maybe she should, but odds were, it was for him and Cathy. Which he was definitely behind. --- "Oh you know, a handsome werewolf I know" She replied with a smile as she looked over her shoulder at him with a smile. "Will you grab me one?" She asked as she turned back to the vegetables. There was no harm in having a before dinner beer, right? She didn't think so. She probably wouldn't drink more than one or two that night. Getting drunk really wasn't her thing. It never had been. --- "Sure," he chuckled, blushing a little as he pulled two beers out of the refrigerator and opened them both before walking over to Cathy, setting one down next to her. "You know... we're possibly eventually going to have a conversation about our living situation." --- Smiling when he brought the beer to her, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and grabbed it, taking a sip of it, "You and your family should just move in here" She suggested without hesitation as she turned towards him, ignoring the salad for the moment. This was more important. "This house is quite large, there's plenty of room for everyone. Erin would even get her own room for when she wants to stay over. No one would have to share"(edited) --- Josh couldn't help but grin widely. "I'd have to run it by them, but as we know, it will be more than likely easier to convince the girls than Aidan," he heaved out a sigh before taking a drink of his beer. "I've been really just let him do his own thing." --- "I don't see my boys having a problem with it" She said with a smile of her own. She frowned a little bit when he brought up Aidan and she reached out, putting a supporting hand on his arm. "Sometimes that's all you can do. If it helps? I'm not sure how Carrie will respond to it either. We may have to tread lightly with both of them on this topic" --- Josh nodded with a smile. He knew that he had missed a lot of time with his children, but he was doing his best to figure things out as he went along. Teenagers were never easy, but throw the fact that they were a family of werewolves in the mix and Josh was definitely in over his head, but he was making it work. "It'll be fine," he took a deep breath. "If he doesn't like the idea, he is eighteen, so..." he shrugged. --- "So we may not have to worry about him" She pointed out before she nodded her head. "It'll be fine" She agreed, leaning over to give him a small kiss as the timer for the corn bread went off. "Ah perfect timing" She gave him another kiss then she pulled away from him to pull it out. "On the menu tonight is the soup I made for Carrie earlier with this cornbread and that salad" She told as she set it on the top of the oven to cool. --- "He's actually been staying in the dorms, so I figure we can set up a room that is for him, as well as a secondary guest room of sorts, so he doesn't have to feel unwelcome," he gave an awkward smile, leaning against the counter, a good distance away to give her room. --- "So we'll have to rotating guest rooms for Erin and Aidan. That'll work out well" She commented as she moved back to the salad to finish putting it together. The soup was already in the crock pot on low ready for them to dish from when they were ready. "I'm excited for this" She told him. looking over at him with a bright smile on her face. --- "As long as I get to be with you," he grinned, leaning over to place a kiss in her hair. "This feels so right." --- After they finished eating, Josh quickly stood up, gathering the dishes and doing his best to insist on cleaning up himself. "Thank you so much, Cathy. This was all great." --- "Not bad for throwing it all together last minute, huh?" She asked with a smile as she sat back, letting him clean up like wanted to. Who was she to argue? When he was just about done, a Cory came into the kitchen with a sleepy 'Mama' as he rubbed his eyes. "I think someone's ready for bed" She said as she looked towards her brother turned son. --- "Well someone has great timing," Josh chuckled as he worked on cleaning up. "You want to put him down while I finish up in here?" --- "I promised him we'd do it together" She reminded him with a smile, patting for lap for Cory to come with with her. "We can wait, right?" She asked, smiling when the little boy nodded his head as he sat on her lap. He shifted until his was comfortable then Cathy put her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. --- "Well, if you insist," Josh stated sarcastically with a chuckle. He did genuinely love his time with Cory and Jory. He walked over to them. "I think I can make a little time for you." --- Cory smiled up at him when he came over and hopped off of Cathy's lap. Reaching out, he took both of them of their hands and together the three of them walked upstairs to his room. "Put Micky back in his cage" Cathy requested when she saw the white mouse was rolling around in his ball. While the little boy did that, Cathy went to pick out a book for them to read to him. --- "There's a chance we'll need to talk about keeping Mickey behind closed doors at certain times," Josh stated quietly after the mouse was mentioned and Cory scampered off to take care of his pet. He knew that Cathy would know what he was referring to, but didn't want Cory to know anything just yet. --- "That won't be a problem" Cathy assured him as she looked for a book. Yes, she knew exactly what he was talking about and she would make sure Mickey stays in his cage when needed. They didn't need anything happening to Cory's best friend. Pulling a book out, Cathy turned back to her boys as Cory finished and climbed up onto the bed. --- Without really asking or looking for confirmation, Josh walked over to the foot of the bed and sat down, not wanting to impose too much. Granted, it did seem like Cory genuinely wanted him there. Which did make him feel very good. "What are we reading tonight?" --- "We are reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. And we call the mouse Micky right buddy?" She asked, smiling as Cory nodded his head enthusiastically. The boy just loved his mouse. It was the one good thing that came out of the attic. Settling down on the edge of the bed, Cathy opened the book and read the first page then she handed the book to Josh so he could read the next one. She didn't want him feeling left out.(edited) --- Josh nodded with a grin, "I know this one..." He followed in time with her reading, taking turns for each page and being rather animated with each word, his expressiveness showing he was meant to be a dad. --- Cathy knew he would be good at reading the story with her and she couldn't keep the smile off of her face every time he read his page. Cory was loving it too and his face lite up. "Alright, mister, time to sleep" Cathy told him as she closed the book and moved to get up. Leaning down, she leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead then she tucked him in as she stood up. "Thank you reading to me" Cory said sweetly and quietly to Josh as he got comfortable. --- "You're very welcome, buddy," Josh grinned as he got up and ruffled his hair and slipped an arm around Cathy's waist. "Good night, Cory," he gave the boy a little wave. --- Cory gave him a little wave back then he settled back with his favorite stuffed animal and closed his eyes. Cathy smiled and reached out, taking Josh's hand so they could leave the room together. "I'm so glad we both have you in our lives" She told him, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked towards her room.