The Kitchen, Rawsone Residence, Denver, Colorado....
Silence filled the household even as both Hadrian and Julia sat down to dinner. She was fond of making baked fish and rice this evening and made sure to monitor her husband's salt intake as he looked over his meal. Physician or not, she was always health conscious and it always showed in the meals she prepared for her family. There wasn't much to discuss with the girls off to college and the two of them simply enjoying each other's company as it were. Julia had missed her husband terribly during the three months he'd been gone but didn't know exactly how to express it. Hadrian did his best to make her feel as if nothing had truly changed, but even he wasn't fool enough to pretend that it hadn't. Truth be told, the distance that began to wedge it's way between them had come long before his absence and the girls moving out.
Julia hadn't touched much of her food before she looked up at her husband. She couldn't understand what it was that made it so difficult for them, when they met they were kids in high school and having a difficult time as it was with their respective lives, but they managed to get on just fine despite the uphill battle they had just to be together. Now it seemed Hadrian was much more interested in his work than in her.
"A penny for your thoughts." said Hadrian feeling as if he should say something, anything to start a conversation.
"What's happening to us, Hadrian?" asked Julia looking as if she were near tears.
Hadrian put down his fork after not having much interest in finishing off his meal as the conversation became directed at the obvious elephant in the room.
"I don't know." he replied honestly. "It's been an adjustment....being back home...with you and I apologize that I am not..."
"I don't blame you for any of that." said Julia with a sigh. "Fact is, our problems began long before you didn't come home."
"I know." replied Hadrian in agreement.
"Perhaps we should...speak to somebody...it's been nearly three years." said Julia suggesting they seek counseling.
"Julia..." began Hadrian.
"At least Maureen." insisted Julia. "She's like family....she would know what to do."
"If you want to seek counseling then go for it." replied Hadrian. "I am not of the mindset to do so."
"Hadrian...it's clear that you are in just as much pain as I am, but burying yourself in work isn't doing either of us any favors." said Julia defiantly. "I miss him just as much as you do but I've still got a life to live."
Hadrian looked over his wife. She was quite right about his chosen method about handling whatever bothered him, but he didn't see how speaking to another in his profession could be any different than him working out the problem himself.
"Alright." said Hadrian conceding. "We'll see a counselor."
Julia seemed shocked that he had agreed so readily.
"Thank you." she said relieved as she took up her fork once more, it seemed she'd gotten her appetite after all.
Hadrian finished his meal without a word not in the least pleased about having to go see a counselor but he was glad to be done with the conversation. He gesture as it were was bare minimum of course, but Julia had not known that. She was satisfied with her minor victory, while he had no intention of caring about receiving outside help or not. He had every intention to go back upstairs and continue his work whether she liked it or not.
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The Master Bathroom, Rawsone Residence, Denver, Colorado....
Hot steam filled the bathroom as Hadrian Rawsone stood beneath the shower head letting the water beat down along his exposed body and aching muscles. He still had a good deal to go before he'd been recovered one hundred percent from the injuries he sustained when he was found by Detective Gordon. The scars from his bullet holes and the surgeries respectively were visible and slightly made him uncomfortable as he rested his hands against the tile and attempted to forget the world around him, if only for a few moments.
Hadrian felt the brief notion of a cool breeze breaking through the steam as his wife elected to join him rather than wait for her own opportunity to take a shower for the night. It was the last thing Hadrian wanted but he knew she was only trying to be as close to him as possible. She struggled immensely when he was gone and it was clear she was desperate for his undivided attention.
Julia was quite a beautiful woman, her long dark hair dangled at her shoulders and her well kept slender body was enough to give most men pause if only in passing. She stepped before him as exposed to the cool air and his eye sight as he had been amid the warm water and generous amounts of building steam.
Hadrian did his best to accommodate his wife and bit back a grunt when her body pressed against his. As sweet as her gesture was and as much as she seemed to want him, he had a great deal on his mind. The file about Alexei Bortnik was once more in his thoughts as he attempted to make sense of what happened with the boy's treatment and why he was pulled from his case.
This Alexei, was fourteen when this all occurred and according to the dates it was over three years prior. Around the same time Julia had gotten pregnant for the second time and the subsequent miscarriage that had taken the life of their would be son.
Hadrian recalled being numb to the events. So much so that he did indeed through himself into work in a bid to escape the pain of having lost the son he so desperately wanted to have for as long as he could remember. He was proud of his daughters, but the desire to have a son of his own always remained.
Julia took his hand in hers getting his attention from his wayward thoughts.
"For the first time in a long time Mr. Rawsone we have the house to ourselves." she said as seductive as she could manage.
Hadrian still had not been in the mood, but he in no way wished to disappoint his wife, she had worked up the courage after all and it would only make things worse between them. Still he knew all too well that he couldn't "perform" as it were in this condition and opted for simply pleasing her instead.
Julia was physically smaller in comparison to him and it seemed almost odd that she was so adamant about leading things off by pulling him closer to her. Hadrian made up his mind to indulge her and whatever happened, simply happened.
Taking a moment to capture his wife's lips in an intensely passionate kiss, the shower soaked man lifted her off the floor and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kept his balance surprisingly and pressed her against the tile on the wall. He didn't doubt that it had been cold but she made up her mind to endure it, if only to heat things up with him.
Normally, Julia's libido had not been as much of a problem as she was always prone to having a low sex drive. Hadrian on the other hand was much more interested in it than she had been over the course of their marriage. There was also the complication of being incompatible physically that lead to less time in bed between them and more appreciation for affection on their respective parts.
Special occasions or holidays seemed to give Julia enough time to recover as it were and the children were usually out of the house on date nights. Hadrian didn't blame his wife for her personal preferences as he had known all too well how she became sexually active in the first place and it had not been her choice in those days.
Julia couldn't hold back the moan that escaped her lips as Hadrian willed himself to adhere to her wishes to satisfy him sexually despite there not being a need for it. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and her panting was filling his ears along with the steady stream from the shower.
She'd never been comfortable with doing anything in the shower and as a result she seemed much too tense when he attempted to at least get her aroused.
"Julia." said Hadrian knowing all too well that this...whatever she was attempting to do to salvage what wasn't in danger of being lost wasn't working.
"It's fine." she said attempting to ignore her insecurities. "We can....it's just..."
"No." replied Hadrian putting an end to this once and for all. "You're trembling and vastly uncomfortable there is no way you're in the mood for this."
"Hadrian..." she attempted to plead with him.
"No." he replied letting her down and stepping out of the shower. "Neither of us are in the mood no matter how much you want to protest."
Julia sighed knowing that he'd been right. She knew better than anyone that intimacy couldn't be forced and yet she'd been so desperate to hold on to her husband that she didn't even consider that he might not have been up for it due to his recovery.
"I get it." he said meeting her gaze. "But we'll get there."
Julia nodded in agreement and turned back to the shower. Hadrian left her to her own devices and made his way into the bedroom where he pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt to get dressed before she got out of the shower.
He climbed into his side of the bed and drifted off long enough for Julia to finish her shower, get dressed and climb into bed beside him.
A few hours later he had been awake and checked to see if she was still asleep before getting out of bed and making his way back up to his office. He had not noticed that Julia had awakened the moment he left and simply pretended to be asleep as tears streamed down her cheeks and onto her pillow.
She knew where he was going, there was little she could do to protest at this point and simply lied there in the dark wondering just how either of them were going to find their way back to each other.