When The Rain Falls

CHAPTER 8

Kenny had left, taking Amelia's number down and promising to call the next day. Amelia busied herself with the dishes while Fiona carried on with some toys in her room. Ainsley sat in the office with her father, relaxing on the oversized chair, and watched for Amelia to become scarce before giving him a glare.

"You should have asked her Dad." She whispered.

"Why? She seemed too excited to be with him." He grumbled back.

Ainsley stared at him sadly. "Dad, I don't want Amelia to leave. She's the closest thing to a Mum we got, since mum isn't exactly fond of the position."

Callen looked at her curiously. "Why would Amelia leave? Is that why you were pushing me to ask her out?"

"Yes. So at least then she won't be gone. Gran will come back soon, and then she'll move out, and we'll lose her." Ainsley stared at him.

"Now she'll probably fall in love with Uncle Kenny. Then they'll have their own kids and we'll be forgotten."

Sighing, Callen motioned with his hand. "Come here, Ainsley. Sit with me."

Ainsley stood up and sat next to him, leaning into him. He lifted an arm and wrapped it around her. Rubbing her shoulder, he kissed the top of her head. "Amelia is going nowhere. Even after Gran comes back. Even if she moves out, she'll still be around. She loves you both. And loving a child is not an easy thing to get over."

"Mum did." Ainsley said sadly. "Do I really have to go to this stupid party?"

Callen let out a breath. "Well. I can't answer that one other than I need a date, and I want the prettiest one. So you're stuck going with your dad."

Ainsley hmph'd, and lowered herself deeper into the crook of his arm. "I wish you had asked Amelia. She'd have been a prettier date than anyone else." She pulled herself up and stared at him. "Do you even like her?"

That surprised him. "Why would you even think I don't like Amelia?"

"You didn't ask her to this stupid party," Ainsley replied. "You didn't even ask her to mind us there. You just kinda sat there and watched Uncle Kenny take over."

"I did not."

"Yes you did. With that dumb, far off look on your face like you used to have when working on a case." Ainsley yawned. "I don't want her to go with Uncle Kenny. And I don't want Amelia to leave."

"Change is not always wonderful, Ainsley." He leaned on top of her head. "Sometimes it's just change. We adapt. We move on. So, whatever happens with Amelia, we will move on."

"I know dad." She whispered. "I know. I don't need to like it."

He stayed like that until her breathing became deeper, and he knew not even a train crash could wake her. Easing himself up, he leaned down to pick her up when he brought his eyes to the door, and saw Amelia's stricken face. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he picked her up and cradled her as he walked her to her room. Amelia walked with him, as silent as could be. He laid Ainsley down on the bed and went to grab her covers until Amelia stopped him.

"I'll undress her real fast." She whispered.

"Thank you." After a moment, he asked, "How much did you hear?"

"I'll never leave them, Callen," Amelia said sharply. She began to take off Ainsley's shoes, then looked up at him. Her face was blank, devoid of emotion. "No matter what happens between me and Kenny, I'll never leave them. Make sure she understands that the only person who could make me leave, is you."

Callen stared at her for a short moment, his lips separating to reply. Instead, he nodded and turned on his heel. Without looking her way, he spoke up. "Amelia, can we talk when you're done here?"

"Sure, no problem." Came her frosty reply.

Callen frowned and continued out the door, stalking back to the office, waiting for her to arrive. When she showed up, he looked up at her and was surprised at the coldness in her face.

"Yes?" She asked him politely. Her face waivered when she saw him cringe.

"I, ah. I wanted to talk to you. About tonight." He cleared his throat and sat on the oversized sofa. Before he could say anything, Amelia spoke.

"Sure thing." She said coldy. "I hope everything was up to your preference."

Callen nodded. "It was remarkable, actually. I appreciated everything you did."

"I'm happy to do it."

Her smile was as fake as her demeanor. He wanted to press on, but couldn't figure how. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and shoved his hands in his jeans. "Very well. Guess that's about it."

And that did it.

Her face changed, her eyes narrowed, and her teeth clenched. "Oh. So you don't want to talk to me about the engagement party?"

Callen shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about there."

"You don't want to talk to me about Kenny?" She laced her arms over her chest."You don't want to talk to me about trying to make out with me in your bedroom half naked?"

Ouch. There it was. "Amelia, that was a mistake I won't make again."

"You already did it twice."

He winced. "We spoke about that. I was horribly mistaken that night. Can we please get past that?"

"It was different today, Callen." Amelia let her arms fall, and he relished how vulnerable she appeared to him. It was beautiful. "The night at the apartment, you wanted s*x. But tonight, it was different."

His hand was shaking. He felt it. Distractedly, he reached for an expensive decanter and poured a half finger of a rich and thick whiskey, and swirled it in the matching glass. "There are so many things I need to explain, Amelia-"

"Like what?" She glared at him, emotion filling her face again. "The engagement party? You wanted to throw the invite away. Kenny? He asked me out and you got pissed. The kiss? I think that would be a good thing to start with."

"Amelia, I am not in the right to talk about all... that right now." Callen sat down and pressed his fingers to his temple. He brought his glass to his lips and sipped ever so slightly. "Please. Just thank you for tonight."

She pressed her lips together and stalked towards him. "No. You are not going to get out of this one, Callen. You kissed me."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"So you didn't mean it?"

He took a deep breath. "I was emotional. I was upset. My wife just sent me proof that things are... they're truly over." He looked up at her and silently pleaded with her. "Please understand. I don't want to harm our relationship. We need to be amicable for me girls. They're scared of losing you."

Amelia stared at him. She stood that way before she whispered, "What about you?"

"What about me?" He asked.

"Are you afraid of losing me?"

"That's a silly question to ask Amelia." He replied. "Of course not. Me mum will be back in three weeks. I won't have any issues. I would like to discuss-"

"Okay. You got it boss." Amelia interrupted him. While her face remained stoic, he saw the hurt in her eyes. "I think youo're right. We're done here."

Callen stood, his full height engulfing hers. "Well... okay then. Goodnight Amelia."

She turned and walked towards the stairs to her room, ignoring the pain of his eyes as they bore into her back. Her door was locked and the key thrown on the dresser before she allowed herself to let out a single sob.

Downstairs, Callen stared at the staircase she had ascended, refusing to move, hoping she would come back down. He'd tell her then. When she did.

When she remained in her room, he pulled himself from his seat and went to his own bed. Not bothering to strip, he laid down and stared at the ceiling.

They'll talk tomorrow. He was sure of it. They'd be fine.

He hoped.

~♤~

The rest of the week went undisturbed. Even though he was off work, Amelia still took care of the kids, and he didn't feel the urge to ask her to leave. She took them to school so he could sleep in, made breakfast, lunch, and dinner even if she didn't eat with him, and got the kids from school without being asked. Sometimes she would set his coffee in front of him in the mornings. But only if he had arrived to the kitchen after her, and she wasn't done with the area yet. It was tense and unseemly, and he didn't like it. He didn't like this Amelia. This Amelia was Jules' work horse, always obeying. Not the firecracker he enjoyed back and forth banter with.

"I'm taking Ainsley with me to go shopping. Surely you can handle Fiona?" It was the first time she had spoken to him directly in days. He was surprised.

"Thought I already went to the grocery already?" Callen asked. "Did I forget something?"

Amelia gave him a sour look. "No. Dress shopping. For the engagement party. Ainsley and I are going to find something to wear if that's alright with you."

"I don't see why that would be a problem. Did you want my card?" When her eyes narrowed, he spoke quickly before she could. "For Ainsley, for a dress for Ainsley. And Fiona. Would you mind finding something for Fiona as well?"

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she held out her hand and waited. Callen pulled his wallet out and pressed a thin card in her hand. She tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped her fingers in his own. Rolling her eyes, she gave him a scowl. "What Callen?"

"Stop." He said quietly. "Please. Just stop this."

"Stop what?" Amelia asked politely. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"This, Amelia. This." He let her hand go. She palmed the card into her pocket and stared coldly at him, urging him to continue.

"You're closed off from me. You were open with me before. And now you're gone. It's been this since we had dinner with Kenny." He hated how desperate he sounded, but she deserved to hear the truth from him. "Please, tell me. What happened?"

Amelia's shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes. "Callen, you called me your children's caretaker."

"Well, aren't you?" He asked.

"You kissed me."

He swallowed. "That was a mistake. I shouldn't have done that. We need to talk about that."

"I know," Amelia said. "But you called me your children's caretaker. Callen, is that all I really am to you?"

Callen stared at her, his face becoming stone again. "Should you be anything else?"

Stunned, Amelia took a step back. She didn't know what else she should have been. Or could have been. Or what she wanted to be. All she knew was that being only the children's caretaker just wasn't enough.

So if she didn't know, he surely didn't. And it wasn't fair to make him feel guilty about it.

Looking towards the back hall, Amelia called out "Ainsley, let's get going. Grab Fiona too?"

"I can care for Fiona. Just pick up something-"

"One thing you need to know about women, in general, Callen," Amelia spat his name like a curse. "Is that we need to choose what we want. And in this case, Fiona's opinion matters as well."

Ainsley came from the hall, with Fiona's hand in her own. Amelia plucked the young girl and picked her up. Callen stepped towards her, and leaned to kiss his young daughter on the head. "She's just going to ask for an obnoxious bright tutu reminiscent of unicorns, Amelia."

Fiona wrapped her arms around Amelia's shoulders. Amelia raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Then she's going to wear a f*****g bright ass unicorn tutu."

"Please don't-"

"I'm going to. These are your kids, but I'm helping raise them for now." Amelia grinned at Fiona. "We're gonna get you something you love. Sound good?"

Fiona nodded enthusiastically. Beside Amelia, Ainsley smiled. "Don't worry father. We won't show any T or A. Well, Amelia might."

Callen stared at Ainsley. "That's enough internet for you."

Amelia smiled. "Alright girls. Let's go max out your father's credit card."

As they left, Callen watched the door for a long second. Normally, he'd relish the time alone, but he felt empty. Somber. He went to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge door. Amelia had left some lasagne from the night before, packaged carefully, on the bottom shelf. Knowing she was going to make something else that night, he counted mentally how many hours in the gym he would have to work if he ate half of it.

----

"Ainsley, you've hated every single one of the dresses I've tried on. So please, honey, help me out here." Amelia looked at the young girl, her head tilted, and her arms outstretched in desperation.

Ainsley had shaken her head at every option Amelia had tried on. The kids were easy. Both of them found great options and were done, with Ainsley finding a lovely blue dquare top top dress with a cardigan, and Fiona going straight for the unicorn tutu her father warned them about. But with Amelia, Ainsley wasn't making it easy. She didn't want a regular department store, she wanted a specific boutique. She didn't want a reasonably priced simple gown. She wanted glitz and shine. She sat on a seat and shook her head at every dress Amelia tried on, citing being too conservative while she entertained Fiona.

"You need to go strapless." She said simply.

"Er. That's not a good idea," Amelia replied. She pressed her hand to her breasts and looked down. "I'm a bit too much to hold up here."

"Don't worry." Ainsley stood up from her seat and began rummaging through a rack. She pulled out three dresses and slung them over her shoulder. "There's corset backs that'll take care of that. But we need you to look amazing. Better than anything. Better than Arya."

That shook Amelia. "Arya? Ainsley, that's your mom-"

"She hasn't been my mum in years," the young girl replied. She pulled out another dress, a sparkly number, and threw it over her arm. "She left us for greener pastures. It's been me, Fiona, and dad for five years. I don't expect that to change."

"Hey now. Sit. Let's talk about this." Amelia pulled off a dress and put it aside, yanking her sweater back on. She sat down on the seat, and nudged Ainsley with her knee. "What's really going on honey?"

The girl shrugged, showing complete disinterest. "Arya hasn't given us two thoughts since she abandoned us for Jason. Jason isn't fond of kids, but he likes us."

"Ainsley, can I ask a question?" When the young girl nodded, Amelia took a breath. "What happened in Italy? You were gone less than two weeks."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Jason got some weird call. It was mostly a work thing, but he was stressed. Arya decided he was more important to wait on than us. She was going to send Fiona and I on the plane alone but she couldn't get ahold of dad."

Amelia wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "Oh no, Ainsley. I'm so sorry."

Another shrug from the young girl. "Jason at least told her to fly out with us. But he had to tell her to. She wanted to stay. She tore out of here that night because she had an immediate return flight."

Ainsley stood up and handed Amelia a dress. "But whatever. That's what it is. Try this one."

"I'm not going to leave you, Ainsley."

The girl stopped, and looked at her. "What?"

Amelia stood and walked towards her, and took her into her arms. "I'm not going to leave you. Ever. But Ainsley," Amelia said softly. "I'm not going to try and show up your mom. This is her night."

"I know. But you should look amazing." She pulled away and grabbed another dress. Looking it over, a smile formed on her lips, and she handed it to her. "Try this one. I think this is it."

"I promise Ainsley. Whatever happens between me and Kenny," Amelia said as she picked up the dress Ainsley handed her. She grabbed the price tag. "Oh Hell no, Ainsley. This is way too much. I can't afford this!"

Ainsley looked up at her, and pulled out her phone. Texting furiously. She stared at her screen and waited. Once the chime rang through. She smiled. "Dad said put it on his card."

"Your dad pays me plenty. He doesn't need to buy me clothes." Amelia was about to put the dress back until Ainsley's hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist.

"Wait." She said. "Just at least try it on. Let's see if it's something you'd like?"

Amelia shrugged. "Well, okay. But it's going right back on the shelf."

She turned on her heel and closed the dressing room door. Ainsley waited until she heard the rustling of clothing before she quickly called her father, turning on FaceTime.

"Dad," Ainsley said to her screen. "Convince her to get the dress."

Callen appeared on her screen. He looked disheveled, tired. "Get the dress? How much is this going to set me back, Ains?"

She shrugged. "About £1,500.00. But seriously. You can afford it, you tight old pickle."

Her father slowly closed his eyes, as if mentally counting to ten. "That much. For a dress. For one night. For a woman going with my friend. To me ex-wife's engagement party."

"Uh huh. And she'd be going with you if you weren't such a dufus." Ainsley looked up when she heard the door open. Her face softened, and she smiled. " She's coming out. Wanna see?"

Callen glared at her through the screen. "We're going to have to have a talk about respecting your elders, Ainsley."

"Save it for when I'm out of my rambunctious teen years." Ainsley smirked. "So you wanna see or be surprised?"

"Fine. Show me, you daffy little shite."

Ainsley switched her facetime to the camera and caught Amelia as she was stepping out of the dressing room. She stepped out barefoot, in a long, shimmering dress slit up to the thigh, that ombred from black to red, and puddled slightly at her feet. The top bodice curved around her, zipping tightly in the back, and the deep neckline showed more cleavage than she seemed comfortable with. As Ainsley requested, the dress was strapless, and curved her waist further than what he deemed possible in a woman. Flared hips swished the long flowing skirt, adorned in glittering sequins that matched the color of the fabric. Amelia turned and faced the mirror, looking at the back, of the dress, not knowing Callen was admiring her from afar.

And he was admiring, his mouth opening and closing as he gazed at her. Without knowing his eyes were on her, she seemed less demure, more confident in the dress, her hands smoothing the fabric every which way around her body. He swallowed. Hard.

Seeing her dad's face, Ainsley smirked. Needless to say, he was awestruck."So what do you think?"

"Its a bit revealing, don't you think?" Amelia said, adjusting the skirt, and sliding her hands to her rear. "I mean, how formal is this party? Kind of makes my butt look bigger though."

"I think it's perfect," Ainsley said. She switched her camera back to face her, and smiled at Callens' gaze. "You should totally get it. Dad said to do it."

Amelia looked at her and c****d an eyebrow. "Your dad would never agree to pay this much for a dress."

"I dunno. He seems to like it." She looked at her phone. "Hasn't blinked since he saw you in it."

Amelia stared at her. "Your dad is on your phone right now?"

Callen cleared his throat. "Get the dress Amelia."

"Callen, its expensive." She replied. "It's-"

"Consider it a bonus." He interrupted her. "Just... just get the dress Amelia."

With that, he disconnected. Leaving Amelia even more confused, and Ainsley grinning. Fiona giggled loudly.

"I... I guess I'm getting this dress."

Ainsley smiled. "Gotta do what the boss says."

Amelia pulled out his credit card and handed it to the sales rep, who nodded kindly. "Did you want to wear it out?"

"Oh. s**t. Sorry." Amelia carefully took the tag off and handed it to her. "Sorry, I'll change."

The sales girl nodded and looked at Ainsley. "I haven't seen you in a bit, Ainsley! How have you been?"

Ainsley gave her a nod. "Been okay. Mum's been here, hasn't she?"

With a polite smile, the sales girl nodded. "Yes, indeed. She came here trying on dresses for her party. You must be excited about getting a new stepfather."

The young girl took a glance at Amelia and nodded. "I guess. But speaking of dresses, don't you think Amelia looks great?"

The sales girl gave Amelia a once over, and a genuine smile pressed against her lips. "That dress was made for a woman of your figure, Miss Amelia. It accentuates and is revealing, but not so much the glances turn to recoiling."

Ainsley smiled. "Good. Arya can suck it." Standing up, she took Fiona's hand in hers and looked at Amelia. "Can we get ice cream?

Amelia looked at the younger girl, and sighed. This party was not going to be a good idea after all.

---

Callen stared at his phone long after he had hung up, the screen saver turning it black.

He couldn't breathe. She stole the breath from his lungs. He would have paid a million more pounds if it had meant she would wear that dress, careless and free, and a million more if she would allow him to peel it off her and run his tongue along those sharp collar bones, round shoulders, long neck-

No. Stop it. Stop. Hate it. Hate her. Don't do this to yourself. This was wrong.

Kenny's face, grinning, came into his mind, and she danced away with him in that flowing, crimson dress that seemed to stain the ground with rose petals and blood. Her head tilting, torso turning, those eyes reminiscent of maple and sugar looking back at him with the same smile he had begun to yearn for in the mornings.

Oh, God.

He was f****d.