The show went amazingly well, everyone thought so. As usual the judges dished out more than their fair share of negative comments and low scoresAll the couples skated the best they ever had, and Jayne and Chris were very proud of them all, it was incredibly as emotional for everyone when the time came to say goodbye to the first couple voted out of the competition, it felt like it had happened much too soon for anyone's liking. There were one or two falls during the skate off which was put to nerves, but it was a very close call as to who left.
The next Monday morning was early again and Jayne, Chris and Karen had a lot of work to do, 15 celebrities to get through which meant 15 songs to teach choreography to, this was the point where they all found there were not enough hours in the day to get the work done that they needed to. By 8 30pm they'd just about got through everyone, had an hour lunch break and a couple of shorter breaks in between, and Jayne and Chris had sorted out a bit of their routine to open the following weeks show.
By the time they got home there was no time to do anything and they didn't have a lot of energy left to do much either so it was another night spent cuddled up in front of the television and an easy dinner followed by an early night, and repeated the next two days, until their day off on thursday.
"morning baby" Karen said as she woke at 10am on Thursday morning, letting out a large yawn as she rolled over to face Chris who was still lightly sleeping.
"morning sweetheart" he said tiredly opening one eye.
"what do you say to a cup of tea bought up to you with scrambled egg on toast" karen said temptingly.
"sounds lovely" Chris replied gratefully putting a good morning kiss on Karen's lips before she got up out of bed, wrapped her silky blue dressing gown around her and made her way downstairs to sort breakfast.
"thank you what a nice treat this is" Chris said as he sat up rearranging the pillows as Karen entered the room with two trays in her hands.
"you're welcome baby" she said putting a kiss on his cheek, then climbing back into bed with the tray on her lap.
"what are we going to do today then" Chris asked through a mouthful of egg.
"I was thinking we go back to ours and collect all your stuff, I don't think I can bare another week of you wearing the same three outfits" Karen said laughing "and you're going to need all your other stuff if you're going to live here" she said kissing him.
"you want me to move in then"
"of course I do I love you like I've never loved anyone" Karen replied kissing him again.
"well then that sounds like a good plan... That's if there's anything left in the house of course"
"what do you mean"
"well I only have an average amount of clothes, and shoes... And I don't really own much other than that, my computer is already here... There's a couple of game consoles and that's about it"
"well we still need to get it all over here don't we" "and then we can get that house sorted and up for sale"
"sounds good baby... We'll go when we are both ready then yeah? I'll let you take as long as you like today how's that" Chris said just finishing his tea.
"I'll get myself showered first then" Karen said taking their trays downstairs and then getting in the shower and proceeding to get ready. A couple of hours later they were both all sorted, Karen was wearing her favourite pair of light wash skinny jeans and a dark blue top with a white cardigan, and her brown heeled boots. Chris wore his light wash jeans too, with a stripy polo top and read hoodie, they were both ready to go by 1pm.
"we'll go in my car today" Karen said grabbing the car keys from the top of the one of many shoe cupboards in the hallway.
"if you want baby" Chris said following her out he door.
They got to the house within 15 minutes, it was a house on its own in a private estate and looked pretty empty and deserted as Jill had had the furniture transported to their new house mostly.
"it looks horrid" Chris said as soon as he walked in glancing around him with Karen following.
"we'll get everything you need quickly and go I think" Karen said shivering in the cold house.
"good idea"
They packed up the contents of chris's wardrobe as quickly as they could, and went around picking up all sorts of bits Jill had left, personably for Chris. She'd even been so thoughtful as to leave him a box of photos, mainly of the kids which he took, but quickly flicking past wedding and engagement parties and anything that had him and Jill together in them. By 3 30pm they were all finished and Karens car was full.
"we'll have to ring the solicitors about selling the house and everything in it" Karen said as they drove back.
"yes we'll come back next week and clean eveything up and chuck out all the rubbish, then we should be able to get the house valued" Chris said
"if the girls are free then I'm sure they will be glad to help us sort the place out" Karen offered.
"that'd be great the more people we have the quicker we can get it all done, I'm sure Jayne will help too because phil will be back by then to look after the kids"
The week of training flew by and before long it was time for another dress rehearsal, another live show containing sparkles and sequins and moaning judges, and of course it was time to loose another couple. And then the same again week after week.
"Jayne would you mind coming with us to chris's in a while to clean it up and sort things out.. The more people we have the quicker we can get it done and up for sale" Karen explained over the phone on the morning of their next day off.
"of course I will, anything to help the both of you! Not sure why you rang me at this early hour though" Jayne joked rubbing her eyes.
"sorry... I didn't really look at the time, Chris is still asleep"
"yes I bet he is! What time you going to pick me up then?"
"hows half 11? Has phil got the kids okay?"
"sounds good, gives me another hour in bed before I get ready... An yep I think hes taking them out to the cinema, they do miss him while hes been away"
"ok I'll leave you to catch up on your beauty sleep then... See you in a bit" Karen then went back upstairs to get back into bed next to Chris, she'd went down to the kitchen to phone Jayne so she didn't wake him from his still deep sleep.
"Jaynes coming to help us later" she whispered softly into his ear as he stirred lightly but she wasn't sure he could even hear her.
"Karen what time is it" Chris said through yawning as he opened one eye and realised it was still dark outside.
"7"
"And why have you woken me up at this time for"
"sorry - you know that's exactly what Jayne said to me"
"I think any sane person would say that at this time, especially when it's their day off... What were you speaking to Jayne for at this time"
"to ask her to help us with the house, she agreed by the way"
"oh that's great what time are we going"
"11 30"
At 5pm they were still at the house which over the course of the day had been tipped upside down almost literally and cleaned from top to toe. There wasn't much left in the house, a small childs bed which no one needed and a couple of sets of draws and some tables in the living room, which were all matching, under Jill's insistence.
"right the only thing left to do now is ring the solicitor and value and sell up..." Karen said as they all stood back and admired their hard days work. "I'll ring tonight and we can sort everything out next week"
"I've never in my life seen you so efficient Karen barber" Jayne said laughing to herself as they made their way back to the car, Karen just laughed back. "I can be efficient when I want to"
Weeks later into the competition chris's house was up for sale and quickly found itself a buyer, much to their delight. Training went through its ups and downs but by the time the final came around everything was made worthwhile and Jayne, Chris and Karen all felt like proud parents to the three remaining couples left, all competing against each other with flying, their own choreography, best performances of the series, to get a chance to skate the all famous bolero in front of the legends themselves. It was a huge disappointment to the couple in 3rd place even though still a great achievement, to not get to perform bolero at the last moment was devastating.
The two couples who did get to skate bolero with their own interpretations were both breath taking and the winner was close as ever, the 20 minutes of public voting was the longest of their lives as they waited for their fate to be revealed. Only one of the two couples would get the chance to go on tour, which added extra excitement to the whole thing, 6 weeks of travelling around the country to different arenas was massive amounts of fun, on the bigger scale rink to what they were used to in the studio, it was a great opportunity, and the 1st place couple treasured it and couldn't wait to get on the road two weeks later.
The tour was right around the corner for everyone and there were 10 celebrities from present and previous series signed up including Kyran Bracken and Hayley Tamaddon, and a great few professional couples too with one special performance from firethrowers on ice. As soon as Dancing on Ice was finished on tv, the rinks around the country were set up and prepared to hold the performances. The skating stars got back to work on the Monday after the final of the television show, there was no stopping for them.
"Come on babe time to get up we're going to be late" Chris said trying to wake an exhausted Karen up at 7:30am, but he wasn't having much luck.
"Nooooo I don't want to I want to stay in bed" she complained pulling the duvet over her head in attempt to hide away.
"Yes Karen come one its 7:30 we've got to leave in an hour" Chris insisted walking over to the bed and trying to pull the covers away from her body.
"I'm so tired though" she mumbled fighting with the quilt.
"I know babe I know but you need to get up now... come on even the kids aren't as bad as this... both your girls tried to wake you up earlier as well before they left... they had no such luck you didn't even stir"
Karen eventually grumpily sat up throwing the duvet covers to the edge of the bed and stormed off quickly showering, which woke her up a bit. As soon as she got in the shower Chris went down and made her a cup of coffee with extra caffiene in another attempt to try and wake her up a bit, so it would be ready when she was out. She pulled on the first thing she found in the wardrobe, black jog bottoms and a white long sleeved t shirt with a bit of decoration along the neckline and on the shoulders, and her dark purple hoodie. She was so tired she didn't even bother to put any make up on and just pulled her hair back into a messy bun. Chris decided it would be a good idea for him to drive given Karen's current energy levels, so just ushered her into the car as soon as they were both ready it was around 8:45, they were already late and hadn't been through traffic yet.
"You haven't eaten anything have you" Chris realised as they drove down the main road.
"No..." Karen answered quietly.
"Oh for gods sake Karen why not? God knows when our first break will be and you've got to last until then! Karen you know I don't like it when you don't eat I swear you just do it to annoy me sometimes" he said angrily as if talking to his daughter.
"I'm sorry I don't know why it bothers you that much I'm not hungry" Karen complained back as they drove along, just pulling up to a big que of traffic.
Chris sighed heavily as they came to a stop in front of traffic lights about 10 cars back from the front of the que, he hated being late. They eventually arrived at the rink and weren't too late, but Jayne wasn't happy with them and neither were some of the professionals who had been there a while and were waiting to get started, they had a lot to do in a short space of time before the show went on the road. They were using the temporary rink at Wembley Arena in London for the first segment of their training, as this was wear the first few shows were going to take place. The first thing they had to do was edit and improve the big opening number, the best one yet - but it had to be adapted to the size of the new rink, which took quite a long time, especially as there was there was such a big team of people to be working with.
By 2pm everyone was still hard at work and hadn't yet stopped for a break, everyone had almost lost track of time. They had nearly finished the opening routine however this one would obviously take the longest to rehearse considering the number of people and props and special effects, etc., that were involved. Once that was sorted they would spend a couple of hours per routine expanding it to fit the size of the arena and hoping it would be just as effective. Each day they went through each routine of the two hour long performance, and the progress being made was unbelievable; by the celebrities and the whole show in general, by two weeks later they were finally ready and everything was perfect for the first Saturday performance the next day, where the doors opened at 2 30pm. Everyone got a good night's sleep and arrived early at Wembley Arena the following morning all ready to rotate around through hair and make up and costume.
Karen had been moved to the end of the judging panel's desk, closest to Chris due to Chris's decisions, maybe a good idea and maybe not, Karen knew there would be moments where Chris would just make her laugh through it and she hoped no one would notice easily. She was wearing a beautiful emerald green ball gown type dress which was proving difficult to sit down in, but it was beautiful all the same, and Chris loved it too. The full circle skirt nipped in at her tiny waist, and then flowed outward, many layers of exquisite sheer fabrics and nets, in a variety of shades of green, the top layer was lightly coated in glitter and diamanté stones.
(http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2249953783138&set=a.2065934462770.86219.1677046404&type=1&theater - this is the dress but i'm not sure if this link will work or not, i tried)
"Karen you look absolutely stunning baby" Chris gushed as he saw Karen in the dress for the first time when she set foot out of her dressing room, she truly looked like a princess.
"Thank you Chris" she said turning around to see the back of the dress in the mirror, and then Chris turned her around to face him before kissing her passionately, while there was still time before they had to go and wait backstage for the show to begin.
"How much time do we have" Chris asked between kisses, the pair of them had now made their way to Chris's dressing room.
"No idea... we'll make the most of it though eh? Someone will come and get us when we're needed don't worry" Karen reassured him and put her finger to his surprisingly soft lips, and then continued to kiss him, closing the dressing room door to as she did so.
"Okay gorgeous princess..." he said not arguing.
Chris let his hands wonder over her beautiful curves, the fabric of her dress had the most amazing feel through the tips of his fingers, he was tempted just to throw her onto the bed and climb on top of her, have her his forever and ever, but resisted the urge. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her and he loved her like nothing else, he was the light of his life.
"Careful the dress will get all creased up and ruined" Karen said through giggles as Chris playfully pushed her backwards onto the bed, unable to contain himself much longer.
"Oh we won't worry about that for now it will be fine trust me..." Chris replied carefully getting on the bed around the dress so he didn't flatten it but getting as close as possible to Karen and putting soft kisses all over parts of her body that weren't covered by beautiful fabric. They enjoyed the company of each other lying next to each other as close as they could get, pleasuring each other until they had to go and wait backstage, when they were called for - they tried to leave it until the last moment in each other's arms before they absolutely had to go.
"Good luck my beautiful handsome prince" Karen whispered loudly into Chris's ear before they went there separate ways and Chris had to prepare to take to the ice.
"Thank you my gorgeous princess...see you in a bit yeah" he said giving her one last kiss before he went to see Jayne and Karen went around to the other side to wait for her time to and take her seat. She found a space backstage on her own where she had a perfect view of the rink through a little gap. There was a space behind the rink where most of the other skaters sat to wait for their turn to skate which also had a little tv with a preview of what was happening on the ice, but Karen preferred to watch the opening in her own little special spot.
This link should direct you to the dress I tried to show you before, hope it works this time; let me know if it does/doesn't! https://twitter.com/#!/livelovedance_x/status/154298542008172545/photo/1
The first show went just as amazingly well as the rest of the series and they had such a wonderful audience in Wembley full of screaming, excited, hyper fans, which seemed to boost the performance by so much knowing all the support was there. Karen and Chris had a few little moments due to how close they were sitting but luckily they managed to hold it together enough for no one to notice when the cameras turned in their direction. The first winner of the tour was previous series winner who had also been proved to be very popular in the last tour: Hayley Tamaddon with professional partner Daniel Whiston. The end routine was always their favourite as well as the opening, and Chris looked directly at Karen for the duration of most of it, especially at the end when the whole cast stood in a long line across the ice and showed their thanks.
Before they knew it, it was Thursday again and their first day off since they started training again for the tour, well earned of course. They decided to spend their day of luxury just having a lazy day, possibly not even bothering to get dressed at all, they'd see how the day went on. Neither Karen or Chris woke up until about half 11ish, near on midday. Laura had a day off college so she was up in her room listening to music and Emma was round her boyfriends - soon to be husband.
"Morning honey" Chris said as he turned over to Karen opening his eyes and putting his arms around her and giving her her morning kiss, slowly she woke up herself finding herself lying in Chris's arms.
"Good morning" she said sleepily kissing him back and cuddling in closer. "Did you sleep well"
"Yep the best I have in ages, what about you baby" he said kissing her again and one hand was gently stroking her hair which felt so soft against his skin.
"Me too, I can't believe we've both slept this long either" Karen replied as she glanced at the clock.
"What do you say we just stay here all day then?"
"Sounds brilliant to me but I do need to ring the solicitor about the house at some point, see if there's any news"
"Well that's fine you can do it from here on your phone in a while" Karen replied happily, kissing him again and wrapping one arm around Chris's neck and kicking the edge of the duvet away from her warm body.
They laid in bed for a few hours after that watching the tv that Chris had moved to put on the wall for Karen, they were both in a very lazy mood with the hectic couple of months behind them, and it made them even more tired to think about what they had in front of them with the tour and then Emma's wedding which still had so much more arrangements to make and confirm.
"Chris can I play that game on your phone again pretty please" Karen asked, getting bored of the tv.
"Sure you can baby... only for a bit though because I want to make that phone call soon okay?" he said taking his arm out from under Karen grabbing the phone from the bedside table next to him and unlocking it for her before handing it over.
"You'll have to remind me how to play it though" she said handing it back.
"I thought you said it was the one you played the other day?"
"It is but I never really got the hang of it and now I've forgotten anyway" she said laughing as Chris clicked on the app he thought it was that Karen meant (Angry Birds) and loaded it up ready to show her what to do.
"The boys would be disappointed in you" Chris said laughing as he thought of his sons.
"Ah but they're young and know what they're doing I haven't got a bloody clue with all these gadgets you lot have... Oh god I don't remember these green things being here before"
"They're the pigs Karen that's the whole point of the game you have to shoot the birds at the pigs" he said leaning across to demonstrate to her.
"Ah okay I get it now" she said moving his arm over so she could have a go herself, eventually getting the hang of it and completing more and more levels, an hour later she was still playing it and it was now almost 5pm.
"Karen I need to make that phone call now please" Chris said wanting his phone back but Karen didn't seem convinced in giving it back any time soon as she'd almost completed the whole thing and made up her own little profile on it and everything.
"Hang on I'm nearly done"
"Okay 5 minutes then because I want this sorted out" he said setting his glance back at the tv screen as he was flicking through the channels, mainly the sports ones, to find something to watch while Karen was fully occupied and contently happy with Angry Birds for the moment. 10 minutes later Karen was still playing with a fixed concentration expression on her face while she tried to figure out how to complete the last but one level on the whole game.
"Karen come on now I need it back please they shut at 6 and say I get put on hold or something who knows when I'll get another chance to call them" Chris said who was starting to get a bit annoyed now.
"No I've only got one level left!" Karen complained.
"You said that ages ago!"
"I didn't know there was more than one page of levels did I? I'm on the 3rd now I'm pretty sure this is the last one"
"Karen come on please I'll let you have it back as soon as I'm done, you can even play it on the ipad if you want"
"No please Chris I'll be done soon I promise!" she whined back at him concentrating harder and harder and Chris could see it on her face clearly.
"Don't you want me to get this house sold? And don't you want to know how its doing, it might have even been sold!" Chris explained to her, trying to bribe her off of it.
"Yes I do I do of course I do but I really want to finish this first!" she said muttering the first bit under her breath and then getting louder and louder.
"Karen - now!"
"You sound like my mother"
"I feel like I'm talking to the boys!" Chris exclaimed back at her suddenly snatching the phone off of her much to her disappointment.
"Urghhhh that's not fair!" Karen practically shouted while he took the phone and quickly dialled the solicitor's number to track the house, and Karen sighed and made a big fuss over nothing which Chris actually found almost amusing, but she ignored him for the next 20 minutes when he was put on hold while his solicitor double checked there hadn't been any more offers on the house. Karen just sat staring at the tv screen flicking through the channels, taking the remote off Chris much to his annoyance, as a formula one race had just begun. When she turned the channel Chris passed her a sideways not-impressed-glare but she ignored that too. After half an hour finally Chris was back on the phone - with good news. A smile spread across his face as he heard how much the house had gone for and Karen tried to still be angry and annoyed at him but she just couldn't, because she knew how much it meant to him and she cared about the house too.
"Well??" Karen demanded as Chris hung up the phone.
"Well... you obviously don't care do you as you've totally blanked and ignored me for the past half an hour"
"Yeah sorry about that... but I do care you know I do!"
"I know you do really... Anyway the house has been sold! A lovely family looking for a more private home I think, and they've got it for much more than valued too, so everything is really great!" Chris said happily hugging Karen tightly.
The tour went on the following day and throughout the next week, after a couple of days spent in Wembley and one exclusive performance in the O2 arena, they then headed to a few dates in Birmingham, followed by Nottingham, with lots of tour bus adventures and fun on the way in between. Everyone was loving the whole tour experience and they'd been out to meet fans at every performance which was one of Jayne and Chris's favourite parts - to meet more of the people that have been supporting them all these years. They were all currently staying in a hotel just down the road from the arena in Nottingham.
"What we gonna do today then babe" Chris asked. It was their day off again a couple of weeks later. They hadn't slept in much this time, Chris had been up since 8am just pottering around the house looking for something to do with himself, and Karen was just lying in bed, but she was awake.
"I was thinking about shopping actually" Karen suggested, not knowing what Chris's reaction would be, like any typical man he didn't exactly enjoy being dragged round shop after shop filled with dresses and shoes and bags.
"You and Jayne?" he asked hopefully.
"Nope me and you silly!" Karen replied to his disappointment.
"Do I have to come really? I'll let you take my credit card if I don't?" Chris bribed.
"Nope Jayne's not coming she's spending some time with the kids today, she misses them like hell! And anyway don't you worry, we'll find something you'll like too" Karen said getting up out of the king sized bed and walked over to Chris putting her hands on her chest and kissing him gently.
"Ah well maybe then, that does sound a little more appealing" Chris said giggling and causing Karen to laugh too.
"See, it won't be that bad hmm? And we won't be too long either, 3 hours max, how's that?"
"Okay... that does seem like quite a long time still though" Chris said uneasily.
"It's not as long as last time is it now?" Karen said sternly as she reminded Chris of the last time she had dragged him out shopping all day, from 9am until 4pm, and he'd been bored as hell for the majority of the day as Karen had forced him to go with her into each individual shop and come to each dressing room while she spent ages trying on about 10 different items in each one, and she demanded his opinion on each one, so by the end of the day he was absolutely shattered and just wanted to sleep, he just said she looked amazing in each outfit she came out in thinking it would get them out and home quicker. He hoped it wouldn't be a repeat of that murderous day.
"Okay I suppose so... okay you'd better go and get ready hadn't you?" he said giving her another kiss and then shooing her in the direction of the bathroom. She showered quickly and washed her hair, wrapping a towel around her head when she was finished and pulling on a white bath robe while she did her make up with great difficulty in the now steamed up mirror, trying to clear it by wiping the steam off with the sleeve of the robe. After she'd been in the bathroom over half an hour she was finally ready and headed back into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe which they'd quickly squeezed all their clothes in when they arrived, to find something to wear, eventually opting for 3/4 length jeans with embroidered back pockets, a simple cotton floaty white halter-neck top and a brown light cardigan, and put on a gold heart necklace that Chris had got her. She decided to have her hair natural which was slightly wavy and a little curly, but it really suited her.
"You look beautiful darling" Chris complimented her as she walked out to where Chris was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.
"Are you ready to go then" she asked getting her shoes and hunting around for her handbag.
"Yes I am... your bag is by the balcony over there" Chris said reading her mind.
"Thanks baby... right let's make a move then" she said as Chris got up off the sofa and grabbed his wallet putting it in his pocket before they walked out the room which was on the 3rd floor of the hotel and locking the door behind them, then walking hand in hand downstairs passing a few of the rest of the team who were having a quick snack and mothers meeting in the cafe. There was always taxis waiting outside so they got in the back of one together and directed the driver to take them to the shopping centre which wasn't very far away, just a 10 minute drive from where they were staying.
"Thank you" Chris said as they got out at their destination, still hand in hand and Karen directed them around to where they were going first.
"Haven't you got enough dresses" Chris asked amazed at his girlfriend's choice of first shop which was filled with beautiful evening dresses and a few immaculate looking ball gowns were on display on mannequins in the window. "Have you ever considered just window shopping" Chris mused as Karen stopped outside the shop for a few seconds before going in, admiring the dresses in the window because she loved them all instantly.
"Nope window shopping is boring then you can't buy anything" she said dragging him into the shop. "Oh come on cheer up a bit its not that bad we've only just begun this is the first shop... it will get better though I promise"
"What about this one, does it suit me?" Chris joked around picking up a purple halter-neck dress and holding it up against him, getting a strange look thrown at him by the person behind the counter, and making Karen burst out in giggles.
"Hey Jayne has a dress incredibly similar to that you'd better put it back quick" Karen said still laughing.
10 shops later Chris was really bored and trying to lighten up a bit but it was so dull, and Karen hadn't bought a single thing. They were now on their way to Debenhams and Chris was almost giving in the will to live.
"Karen how much longer you haven't bought a single thing" Chris complained dragging behind her like a small child.
"Oh cheer up for god sake lighten up a bit would you! I've a feeling there is going to be some good things in here so it could just be becoming successful" Karen explained as she began looking through rails upon rails of clothes.
"What do you need another pair of jeans for" Chris asked as Karen picked up a pair and hung them over her arm ready to try on.
"Chris you can never have to many jeans" she said continuing to look around and picking up a few more items of basic clothing just for going out shopping, or training, like leggings and a few tops. "Come with me to try these on please"
"Okay what do you want me to do try them on for you" he replied sarcastically as Karen lead the way to the fitting rooms.
"No idiot I want you to tell me what you think and I want you to be honest" she said as they got in the que of about 3 people. They quickly got to the front and were sent to the end changing room; there was a chair outside it as it was the very end one in the row so Chris sat down slouched and pulled out his phone while he waited for Karen to come out.
"what do you think of these then" Karen asked pulling the curtain across and standing in front of Chris and looking at herself in the mirror. Chris was totally uninterested and had barely acknowledged that Karen had come out and it was annoying her. "chris look please I need your attention for 2 seconds while you tell me what you think"
"What do you want me to say" he mumbled still looking down at his phone.
"the truth please, what do they look like? Do you think I should buy them" she said turning around at different angles in front of the mirror to try and make up her mind.
"They look wonderful darling yes you should buy them" he said looking up quickly, wondering what the price tag read, then deciding he didn't even want to know, by the end of the day he knew Karen would have burnt a huge hole in his pocket no matter what. She came out to stand in front of Chris another 5 times wearing skirts, tops and another pair of jeans and each time she got not much of a response from an uninterested Chris. By this time the changing rooms had pretty much emptied out and Karen just had one more item to try on; a cute little summer dress she'd picked up in the sale section, always loving a bargain. The only other person in there was the lady in charge of the ques when Karen came out, and she'd been listening to Karen demand answers from Chris the hole time and been slightly amused.
"What do you think of this"
"you look beautiful baby" he said not even looking up this time.
"really? because i'm not sure?" Karen hesitated.
"Look i've said what i think this time and you're still not happy so i can't win can i? Excuse me, what am i supposed to say?" he said directing the last question at the woman at the other end of the row of changing rooms, almost falling off the chair as he leant past Karen to face her.
"What's he like! Typical man" Karen said to her as she just laughed at Chris's question. In the end Karen ended up buying every item she had picked up, much to Chris's annoyance after spending al that time debating in the changing rooms.
"Right do you fancy helping me pick something out of here next then?" Karen asked Chris pointing to La Senza.
"yeah whatever" Chris said not even looking, thinking it would be some other boring shop filled with dresses that he'd have to sit and watch Karen try on.
"Fine" Karen said almost walking past and Chris noticed that time. He tapped Karen's shoulder as he spotted the shop and turned her round and into the shop, Karen sighing and shaking her head as he did so.
"You weren't listening to what I said before were you" Karen said laughing as Chris was already eagerly searching around for something for Karen that he certainly didn't mind paying for.
"This one?" he asked hopefully picking up a very sexy lingerie set and holding it up to show her, it was hot pink with black lace.
"Oh go on then, are you going to buy it for me then" Karen said laughing and nodding her head toward the checkout.
"Yep I don't mind this one" he joked as they both walked over to the check out to pay. "We're gonna have some fun later I tell you" he said cheekily as they were handed the bag with the underwear in and walked out the shop.
"Okay are we done now then" Chris asked hopefully.
"I suppose so... " Karen said looking down at what she'd bought with all the bags hooked over her arms and looked quite pleased with her day's purchases. They headed outside flooded with the fresh spring air but it was just starting to spit with rain so they quickly rushed to the taxi which was waiting for them, and it only took them a short time to get back to the hotel.
Hope it's not getting too boring for anyone, it's getting better soon and it'll get more exciting!x
Karen put all her bags into the bedroom piling them up on the bed while Chris put the kettle on and they both sat down on the sofa in front of the tv snuggled up next to each other just enjoying the peace and not having anything to stress out about because their next performance wasn't until the following evening, so they'd plenty of time to just chill out and relax. They sat quietly with Karen's hand held lightly in Chris's and her feet were on his lap. They stayed there for quite a while, but eventually decided to go down to get themselves some tea before going back up to the room, much more loved up this time, kissing each other passionately, Chris pushed Karen up against the back of the door as they walked in and Karen flung her handbag across the room in a hurry to get rid of it. They slowly moved around the room to the sofa and then finally decided to take it to the bedroom.
"What do you say I quickly go and change and I'll be back with you in just a second?" Karen said panting slightly as they were lying on the bed, and their clothes were half scattered around the room.
"Sounds fab... off you go" Chris said playfully pushing her off the bed. She grabbed a couple of the bags that she'd come back with earlier and took them to the bathroom. She quickly touched up her make up, puffed up her hair, and changed into the lacy underwear of Chris's choice, and put a short, silky slip over the top which she knew wasn't going to last long as she strolled back into the bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed.
"Why hello Mrs Barber" Chris said immediately going over to her and kissing her intensely before long they both fell backwards on the bed and things were getting incredibly heated as they played around, Karen was now just in the underwear and Chris had just his Calvin Klein boxers on.
"I love you so much" they panted all over each other, hands were wandering and kisses were given in every place imaginable. There was a knock at the door a few times which neither of them heard, one Chris just about made out but chose to completely ignore.
"You're amazing" Karen said a couple of hours later as they both lay under the covers of the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "And so are you" Chris said leaning over to kiss her again. Things quickly heated up again and they had a lot of fun for the next few hours, but eventually they both fell fast asleep lying in each other's arms on top of the soft (not so crisp any more) white sheets.
Sorry this was a bit of a short bit but things should get a bit more interesting in the next few bits! X
After deciding a date for the wedding which was going to be 15th June, Emma had secretly been apartment hunting for months now but wasn't having much luck - she wanted to surprise Josh but time was running out before the wedding and they still weren't living together. She decided she was going to have to ring Karen and ask her for help because it was no use, there was just nothing available that would be suitable for them, who knew house hunting would be so hard? She was looking for a small 2 bedroom house, or a two bedroom apartment if not. She wanted it to be a perfect little home for them both.
"Mum?" she asked desperately as soon as Karen had picked up the phone. It was the next morning and Karen had not long been awake, it was 7:30am, but Emma had phoned early so she knew Karen would be able to answer the phone, not in a rehearsal or a performance.
"Yes what's up honey?"
"I need your help, I was going to surprise you too but now time is running out I'm scared I'm not going to get it in time" Emma said quite quickly, panic filled her voice.
"Slow down baby... what are you talking about?" Karen replied confusedly.
"I've been looking for somewhere for me and Josh to live for months now and he has no idea because I was supposed to be surprising him, but the wedding is in 3 weeks time and we still aren't living together!"
"Oh Emma... you should have told me before, me and Chris could have helped you out and secured you a house weeks ago if you'd have mentioned it! Why didn't you?"
"Well I was going to surprise you too... but now I'm just desperate for anywhere" To be honest Karen hadn't even thought about Emma having her own property, which she should have done ages ago considering the engagement. If she'd had known then they could have moved into the house already.
"Ah baby... I'll be over in a bit and we'll go looking okay? Is it okay if Chris comes too?"
"Of course it is... but don't you have rehearsals and stuff?"
"No it's fine we don't have a performance until 3:30 today so as long as I'm back by 2 at the very latest, we should be fine... I'll get Chris up now and we'll be over as quick as we can, a couple of hours okay?"
"Thank you so much mum you're a life saver" Emma said gratefully hanging up the phone and going to get herself ready, while Karen gently woke Chris and told him what they were doing. He was happy to do it of course, and the pair of them quickly got ready and drove down to London avoiding as much traffic as they could, eventually getting to Karen's where Emma and Josh had basically moved into while Karen and Chris hadn't been there. Karen didn't dare to even go in the house in fear of what a state it was going to be in with two teenage girls and god knows who else was there, as long as it was all cleared up by the time she got home she didn't care. Beeping the horn of the car, Emma came running down the stairs grabbing her bag on the way out of the house and locking up before jumping into the back of the car.
"Right we don't have long, but hopefully we might find something, you never know we might just stumble across your dream home..." Chris said peering at Emma through the mirror and laughing a little as they drove down the road on the way to the nearest estate agents which wasn't far, and there were a few around so hopefully they would find something. The condition of the place didn't matter too much as they could easily do it up to suit them, and Karen, Chris and Jayne would soon be available to help with it too seeing as the tour only had a couple more weeks left before it was all over for another year.
"How can I help you?" A lady with a name badge which read 'Esme' rapidly approached them as they entered the place, she was dressed in a smart pin stripe suit and looked very official with glasses too as she directed them to take a seat.
"We're looking for a small 2 bedroom property for my daughter here, first time buyer" Karen said as the three of them sat down, Chris and Emma on the end with Karen in the middle, and Karen and Chris's chairs seemed to be incredibly close together.
"okay... I'll just search up on the database for you if you'd just like to fill out this to narrow down your choices" she said kindly handing Emma a form to complete with things like the budget, type of area, etc.. She quickly filled out all the information required and then handed it back, Esme quickly tapped the details into the computer before spinning the screen around to show them exactly what was available. There was a huge long list that Emma insisted they look through each one, just in case there happened to be one better than the last. Finally after about an hour of analysing the variety of different houses and apartments, Emma eventually set her eyes on a small 2 bedroom house which looked lovely from the pictures, it was just a few streets up from Karen's house, and looked just perfect for them. It was a brand new property on the market so it wouldn't need any decorating which was a bonus too, but it did mean it was a little higher up on the pricing, not that this was a problem.
"When can we view it?" Emma asked politely as they were showed the pictures of the interior.
"I can actually take you there now if that's possible for you... normally we obviously wouldn't be able to do it so quickly but this is a one off occasion" Esme said scanning the list of appointments she had with clients. "Unfortunately we haven't been as busy lately"
"Yes we'd love to see it today" Emma said eagerly, then looking at Karen to see if it was okay.
"Well we can come with you for a bit and then I think we will have to head off" Chris said glancing at his watch. After that night's performance they were headed off to Newcastle.
"Yep I think we will just about make it" Karen decided getting up to leave as Esme had and they all went to get in their cars, and followed Esme to the property about 2 minutes away, they seemed to get there in a flash. It looked really great from the outside, and as they walked around the house they seemed to like what they saw, eventually opting to buy the house. It even had a small garden out the back with a small decking area. The whole house was already beautifully decorated so there wouldn't be much to do in that department, they just had to find some nice coordinating furniture which they didn't have long to do, but as soon as it was confirmed the property was there's, again unusual to get such a quick response, Karen and Chris headed back up to Nottingham which had been their longest staying venue, and Emma couldn't wait to get back and see Josh and tell him about her exciting news.
Emma and Josh were very lucky with the new house and Josh loved Emma's choice when she told him all about it, and their luck continued when they got to move in the following week, and settled relatively quickly. They still needed a few bits to finish off the house but they could be sorted later and for now they were both really happy and in great places. At the same time the last few venues for the Dancing on Ice were going brilliantly and the tour finished on a total high, another brilliant series over until the next. It was now the day before the wedding and Emma was getting slightly nervous but she also had some other very exciting news that wasn't expected at all. Josh had already gone out to his mates house to get ready for his stag do and Emma's girlfriends were due to come over in a bit for her hen night, they were just staying in to watch girly movie chick flick and just have a good night in before the big day.
Emma rushed round to Karen's as quickly as she could as they were back now, and she just hoped they were in. She knocked on the door hard and Karen answered within a few seconds wondering who it was. She wasn't expecting anyone so neither her or Chris had bothered to get dressed and were just lounging around the house after not long getting out of bed, so she came to the door in her big pink fluffy dressing gown, surprised to see her daughter with a worried look on her face.
"Emma are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost" Karen quickly got her inside and told her to sit down.
"Yeah... no... I don't know" she said slouching on the sofa throwing her head back to rest on the back of it.
"What's wrong baby?"
"Okay don't shout at me please..." she started nervously. "I'm pregnant"
"Oh Emma baby why am I going to shout at you??" Karen said laughing.
"I didn't think you'd be pleased" came the still nervous reply.
"Emma it's not like you got knocked up off the street and still at school... you're not a little girl anymore and you have your own life now, your own house, and nearly a husband" Karen said hugging Emma comfortingly. "providing the baby is Josh's?"
"Yeah it's Josh's... he doesn't know yet I'm scared to tell him"
"Well by the sounds of things you were scared of telling your own mother... mind you so was I when I got pregnant with you, but that all worked out fine" Karen said. "He'll be fine with it I promise" Karen went on still having hold of her daughter.
"How do you know" Emma asked still not convinced.
"I just know he will... you're getting married, he loves you... it will be all fine I promise you okay?" Karen said looking directly into Emma's eyes and trying to convince her the situation was fine.
After a little while and a cup of coffee in order to relax a little Emma went home a lot happier than she'd arrived. She was still nervous about telling Josh though and thought she'd put it off a little while more, maybe until after the wedding when she'd got used to the idea herself.
The next morning came much quicker than Emma had anticipated and she woke with butterflies in her stomach, she was so excited but a bit nervous too. Karen was round at 7am with the dresses and shoes and she joined the rest of the bridesmaids to get them ready. Laura did all the hair and make up and then Karen helped Emma into her beautiful dress, before changing herself. They all looked beautiful, and before long Chris arrived to take them to the church, he'd left them to it for a few hours he definitely didn't want to get involved with all the hair and make up and everything else.
"Ready then girls?" he said as they all got into the huge car that he'd hired for the occasion that Emma didn't know about but she was extremely happy when she saw it. It was covered in wedding ribbons and confetti and before they drove off Chris had to take a few pictures of them all to mark the day. It took them about 10 minutes to get to the venue and there was lots of people already there waiting for the moment, and Josh was standing nervously at the alter looking very smart. The 5 bridesmaids walked down the aisle perfectly in time and stood at the top while Karen and Chris quickly took their places in the front row, just as Stephen arrived to give Emma away. Karen hadn't seen him in years not properly but she wasn't going to kick up a fuss as he glared at her when he walked arm in arm with his daughter down the aisle. The vows were said and everything went smoothly, Stephen chose to stand on the opposite side of the church to Karen just to save any difficulties. The rings were beautiful and had their names engraved on the inside, both a perfect fit.
Once the ceremony was over everyone made their way to the venue for the reception which was about a half an hour drive from the church, a hotel nearer the center of London which Karen had especially booked out. It had been beautifully decorated with Karen and Jayne's help and it looked wonderful, Emma was incredibly pleased with everything, but she still hadn't told Josh about the pregnancy, she didn't know how much longer she could hold it in though. Everyone had eaten and were enjoying the party when Emma decided it was the right moment to tell Josh while no one was coming up to them, so she took him to the side and said 'she needed to talk'.
"I've been trying to tell you this all day but I didn't know how and I've been worrying myself sick about it..." she started as they stood closely together.
"What's up baby?" he said kissing her soft lips.
"I'm... pregnant" she finally managed to get out, wincing as she did so to see what his reaction would be.
"That's brilliant honey!" he said kissing her again "why didn't you tell me before if you knew"
"I was scared that's why... I didn't know what you'd say or how you'd react..." she said laughing with relief. "Now we're going to be a proper family and that second bedroom will come in handy" she said relieved that he'd taken it so well and kissing him again. "I told mum last night but I was petrified of even telling her" Emma said laughing again realising she'd made a much bigger fuss than she needed to.
The evening was very successful and they were all dancing away to the slow romantic music in their couples on the dance floor, Emma and Josh, Karen and Chris, Jayne and Phil and other guests, but by 1am there wasn't many people left. Chris needed to find away to get Karen aside as he had something really important to ask her and it really couldn't wait any longer he had been waiting for the perfect moment all night but it hadn't come yet; but he couldn't possibly delay it any longer.
"Karen" he whispered into her ear pulling her hair away from her face while they were slow dancing in the middle of the room joint at the waist, Karen's hands were around Chris's neck and Chris's were around Karen's waist.
"What is it baby"
"Come with me" he said taking hold of her smooth hand and leading her off outside onto the veranda in the garden, there was a full moon lighting up the sky and there wasn't a cloud above them, it was quite warm for that early hour of the morning but there was a sense of romance in the atmosphere.
"Where are we going" Karen said giggling slightly tipsily after all the alcohol that had been consumed but neither of them were drunk, just a little merrier than normal!
"shhhhh" he said still dragging her across outside and then pulling her close to his body, his hands covering her back and kissing her intensely, loving her dearly. "Karen Karen Karen.... I love you so much, I love you like no one I've ever loved before.... when I'm with you I feel magical, it's like a dream come true to be spending this part of my life with you... I've been waiting for the right time to ask you this question and I think now I'm finally ready..." he now had hold of both her hands and staring deeply into her eyes, his own filled with nothing but love, and Karen's eyes were welling up with tears of pure joy and happiness.
"Karen... will you marry me?" he said slowly sinking down onto one knee pulling out the most exquisite, beautiful, diamond ring and holding it out to her, staring up at her stunning features that he'd fell in love with.
"Yes! Chris, you've no idea how much I love you" she knelt on one knee herself not caring about getting the dress creased or dirty. Chris slipped the ring on her finger and it was a perfect fit, and then they kissed passionately under the moonlight, stayed there for the next half an hour celebrating their love for each other, the happiest people on the planet who were now engaged. Eventually they made their way back inside the hotel venue, only Emma and Josh were still romantically swaying on the dance floor - everyone else had gone home, including Jayne and Phil.
"Mum? I thought you two had gone to bed!" Emma said turning around as Karen and Chris came waltzing back into the room.
"Emma look!" Karen was more excited herself than Emma was when she got engaged, she thrust her left hand at Emma showing her the wonderful ring which she admired lovingly, so proud and pleased for her mum.
"Mum!!" she squealed excitedly leaving Josh for a second and squeezing Karen tightly and then taking a closer look at the ring. "It's beautiful!"
"I know... and so is yours" Karen replied taking hold of her daughter's hand to see the wedding ring itself which she'd only managed a quick glance at earlier. "Where's your sister?" Karen asked " I need to tell her too" she continued excitedly.
"I think you're more excited than I was!" Emma said laughing "and she went upstairs to her room, god knows who with" she said, Karen guessed she'd have to wait until the morning to tell Laura the news and she'd be ringing Jayne too and a few other close friends who she was dying to tell. Karen said her good nights to her daughter and new son-in-law before her and Chris went back up to their room excitedly still, there was no way they were going to get to sleep any time soon....
The next morning it was much closer to afternoon when Chris woke at around 12:30, he laid in silence watching his beautiful fiance sleep peacefully dreaming of weddings, it was at least another hour before Karen woke to Chris just looking at her wishfully. The first thing she did as her eyes fluttered open was lift her hand in the air in front of her admire again the engagement ring that she absolutely adored with all her heart.
Hope you all still liking the fic - keep the feedback coming I love reading your comments!!
It was now nearing the end of July and summer had well and truly began with spells of beautiful hot sunny weather and days spent outside in the garden, or on long romantic walks.Karen's newly installed outdoor swimming pool was getting lots of use and was definitely worth the money they'd joint paid for it. Both Karen and Chris's birthday's were rapidly coming up soon with Karen's on the 21st June and Chris's on the 27th July just over a month apart, but they wanted to celebrate them both together, but weren't sure what to do so they just dropped hints to Jayne here and there to see what she could come up with, Emma and Laura both talked to Jayne secretly too; they wanted to arrange something for their mum and Chris too.
In the end they had planned a secret party with loads of friends and family invited around Jayne's on the 1st of July, a date that everyone was told to put in their diaries and no one was allowed to forget about it. Karen and Chris didn't suspect a thing even with a few what the others thought were close calls, although at the beginning of the month they'd both joked around about their birthdays they weren't expecting anything special, if anything at all.
"Karen what are you doing tomorrow?" Jayne asked hopefully, praying that she didn't have any plans as it was the evening before the 1st, she'd left it a bit late, but if she had asked earlier then the plan wouldn't have worked and Karen and Chris would both be getting suspicious.
"Erm nothing I don't think..." she said racking her brains to try and think of anything she might have had planned, hair appointments, shopping dates, etc.. while Jayne breathed a sigh of relief at the answer.
"Oh good..." she muttered just loud enough for Karen to hear "Please be round mine at 2pm tomorrow, dress nicely" Jayne added hoping Karen wouldn't ask too many questions "Oh and with Chris too"
"Okay, why may I ask? A bit random isn't it? And dress nicely - where are we going?"
"It's all a surprise okay I can't tell you anything right now you'll just have to wait and find out, just don't the pair of you turn up in your trackies or anything"
"Okay..." Karen was mostly confused by her best friend's orders she was finding it hard to read what Jayne was getting at like she normally did but she couldn't recall her saying anything before now, she was dying to find out what it was so she hung up the phone, pleasing Jayne that she hadn't asked too many questions and just agreed quickly, and then went to find Chris to see what he thought and if he knew anything about it.
"No I don't have a clue what Jayne wants us round there for..." he said only half listening to Karen as most of his attention was set on the apple mac computer screen he looked like he was concentrating very hard on something that Karen didn't even want to ask what it was it just confused her too much and then Chris got annoyed with her as he tried to explain what it was he was doing and how it worked, it was so much easier just to stay out of it - when he did bother to explain to her which he had the first few times he'd asked - it just went in one ear and straight out the other.
"Oh look there's a message from Jill" Chris said unenthusiastically as he signed into his email account and scrolled through the huge amounts of junk mail and spam. Karen was now perched on his lap and he had one arm around her waist as her body leant backward slightly against his.
"What does it say" They both sat and read it, Chris's eyes straining at the screen as he carefully digested each word and Karen just lay back and skim read it all just getting the gist of what it was about. "She's... bought a house in America? She'd not one to settle easily is she!" Karen said shocked as she read on at Jill's long winded unnecessary explanations, somehow she seemed much more comfortable ranting on to them in an email than she did face to face or on the phone, but at least this way Chris was actually getting all the information.
"Looks like it... oh look she's been kind enough to give me the address too how nice" Chris copied and pasted the address into google quickly searching up the new house, which he had to admit did look rather good and had lots of features he was sure the boys were enjoying, and also assumed her new partner paid for the majority of it too which annoyed him and a lot didn't cover it. As he was searching around the area of Colorado Springs plenty of lovely properties popped up as suggestions. Karen soon got bored of Chris's endless obsessive scrolling. She went to get herself a coffee and sit down to find a movie to watch by herself while Chris continued searching up the new place and began to search into properties that he liked the look of. He emailed Jill back to let her now he'd be wanting to see his kids often as he could in between work and warned her that would mean there would be a high chance he would want to have them most of the summer when the series wasn't taking place and neither was training. He also included that he'd be buying a property out in Colorado too so when he had the boys they would stay there together and wouldn't have to keep flying between the two countries, although he would like to eventually get to the stage of bringing them back to his and Karen's for a couple of weeks.
He then went back out to join Karen to watch the end of the movie with her which he totally didn't understand but Karen found it quite emotional and wept slightly at the ending, by which time she was snuggled up in Chris's arms on the sofa.
"I think it's time for bed" Chris announced before carrying Karen upstairs in his arms and told her all about the house in America and how he was just waiting to hear back from Jill before he put an offer in on the house he loved.
The next morning they woke at a reasonable time making themselves a cooked breakfast before they got ready to head over to Jayne's for their surprise. Karen didn't even notice that Laura wasn't at home when they woke up, as she had already gone to Jayne's to help set everything up and make sure everything was in place in time. Karen wore a pale pink/red dress with a scoop neck and sleeveless, and a chiffon skirt which stuck out slightly and came to just above the knee. She wore some black mary jane shoes with them which had toes the same colour that matched the dress. Chris wore straight legged jeans and a shirt with a few buttons undone at the top due to Karen's wanting.
"You look beautiful, as always" Chris said before kissing her soft lips which had a coat of shiny nude coloured lip gloss smeared over them, and her hair was natural with tousled waves.
"I love you baby" she replied as they climbed into Chris's car and they drove off to Jayne's, arriving at about 10 past 2. All the guests that were meant to be there were there, and Karen and Chris did get a little suspicious as they saw all the cars parked outside Jayne's house but still didn't catch on what was going on until they walked in the unlocked door.
"SURPRISE!" everyone called out as if it was a child's birthday party and they were all 'hidden' behind curtains and sofas etc. Both of them were delighted and straight away went to hug Jayne and thank her for everything before making their way around all their guests, some they hadn't seen in over a year but very happy to see, spreading news about their engagement.
"I know it's already been your birthday and I gave you your present the other day" Jayne said talking to Karen while they were alone in the kitchen "but here's another one" she handed Karen an amazing pair of court heels several inches high, and Karen's eyes were practically glazed over as she set her eyes on them.
"Jayne?! Haven't you spent enough on me already?" Karen said quite angrily to Jayne but she did love the shoes and was incredibly grateful for them as she held them in her hands.
"No, no, I was given them a couple of years ago but I've not one worn them, they're a bit big for me but I know you have smaller feet and when I found them the other day whilst I was tidying out I immediately thought of you!" both girls laughed as Karen used Jayne as a leaning post as she took off her own shoes and slipped on the new ones, suddenly becoming several inches higher, they were killers but her feet fitted snuggly inside the design of the shoe.
"They're beautiful" Karen thanked Jayne hugging her again this time having to bend down to do so as she'd decided she was keeping the new shoes on and went to put the other ones by the door.
The whole afternoon was successful and everyone had a great time catching up, drinking wine, and those that were driving lemonade and cream soda, either way everyone enjoyed themselves. It was the first time Karen had seen Emma since she'd got back from her honeymoon where she'd been to Greece and had a wonderful time, and she felt like the bump had grown already even though she was only a couple of months gone, she was really excited for her daughter expecting her first child.
Over the next few weeks Chris was in touch with Jill a lot in order to sort out the property in America and eventually it was confirmed the place was his, naturally both him and Karen wanted to get out there as soon as they could to go and settle in and Chris to see the boys. Jill and the boys had all settled in pretty quickly to their new living environment and Chris demanded Jill to send him constant updates on how the boys were doing at school including plenty of pictures which he loved to look at - but skype calls were the worst for making his heart melt, each time reassuring his sons that he'd be over to see them very soon, as soon as he could. Within a few weeks of securing his payment on the house Chris managed to book a flight over there for him and Karen, he couldn't bare to leave her again not after last time, he decided Jill would just have to deal with the fact that he had moved on with his life. He didn't see why she should have a problem because she was the one introducing a new man into the kid's life and total new way of living in a new house, new school and new country, Chris wasn't even introducing anyone new into their lives as all three boys were already very friendly with Karen and Jill was aware of this.
A couple of days before their flight Karen had started feeling a little rough but put it down to maybe a bit of a cold that would soon pass over. When they arrived at the house they were both shattered and jet lagged from the flight so quickly unpacked a few things and went to relax on the sofa which they'd had ordered in with some other bits of furniture so the house wasn't bare when they got there. Chris went straight in front of the tv which didn't have many channels at the moment as he still had to sort out the payment on it and all the telephone and broadband, but Karen went straight to the bedroom to have a lie down as she was suffering from a banging headache and stomach cramps, but as she didn't want to upset or bother Chris she just tried to get through it and suffer silently, she thought if she went to have a little sleep she might feel better when she woke up.
Chris rang the boys on his iphone while Karen was resting to let them know he was there and that he'd see them incredibly soon, probably the following morning once they were settled in a bit more, and the reaction he got was pure excitement from the little ones, they all missed him so much and it worked both ways he hated being separated from them and it hadn't got any easier for any of them. Even Jill had to admit she was suffering a bit by herself.
The next morning Chris woke early as usual despite the slightly still existent jet lag, but Karen slept peacefully at last after being awake a lot of the night with the pains again, but she still thought nothing of it even when she woke with random hot sweats several times during the night. Maybe it was just some kind of food poisoning or non-serious bug that would pass in 24 hours, she thought and hoped.
"Morning...When are you seeing the boys?" she said sleepily gradually becoming aware of her surroundings as became concious.
"I'm not quite sure I've got to ring Jill in a while to sort it out, but when I spoke to them last night they were so excited," Chris said happily thinking of his kids.
"I bet they are, getting to see their daddy again!" Karen said leaning over to kiss Chris. She got up to go to the bathroom, she stood up and felt a bit of a pain in her stomach, her hand flew to her tummy and she sat back down on the bed again, making Chris jump.
"Karen?? What's wrong??" he asked with panic.
"Oh its nothing I just felt something in my stomach I think I've got food poisoning or something because I was up most of the night with these random sweats and I didn't feel too good last night either" Karen went on beginning to worry herself.
"Is that why you disappeared in here yesterday? Why didn't you say anything baby?" Chris was quite concerned about her, he came around to her side of the bed and sat next to her, putting his hand on her stomach.
"Yeah, well I didn't want to worry you..." Karen said feeling a bit sick. "I'm sure I'll be fine and it'll pass over in no time." but then she had to make a sudden leap for the bathroom followed by another pain in her stomach and threw up a little making Chris even more worried about what could be wrong with her.
Sorry I don't have time to finish this bit at the moment, hope you like so far, but I might be continuing in a little while!!
