The Boxer and the Defender

"I didn't go through all that training and rehab for nothing."

Bailey's POV.

The sounds of the traffic outside my window roused me from my sleep. I groaned and rolled over, blinking my eyes open, only to find Kelley's side of the bed empty. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, my mind still foggy with sleep. Sounds of pots and pans clanking come from the kitchen, followed by the smell of something delicious.

I got up and headed towards the kitchen to find Kelley stirring something in a pot on the stove. "Good morning," I said as I wrapped my arms around her from behind, nestling my head into her neck.

She smiled and leaned back against me, "Good morning," She said, "Sleep well?"

"Next to you? Always," I said as I rested my chin on her shoulder.

She smiled and continued stirring the pot, "I made some oat meal, it should be done in a few minutes." She said and I smiled.

"Smells delicious," I said and she nodded.

My dad's loud snoring from the living room interrupted us and we both started laughing. "That man can snore," Kelley said and I nodded in agreement. "Runs in the family, Kel. Now you know why I snore loudly," I said and she just laughed.

"That explains a lot," She said and I smiled.

We both just stood there, enjoying the moment and the smells of breakfast cooking. Eventually dad woke up and joined us in the kitchen, "Mornin'. That smells good. Got any coffee?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, it's on the counter," I said and he went to pour himself a cup. "So, what time are you leaving?" I asked and he took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm gonna head back home in a few hours," He said, "Gotta get back to the house and all that, you know? Plus, I know you two want some alone time before Kelley has to go back up to Utah."

I nodded, "Yeah, that's true," I said, "Thanks for taking time off work to help me move here." I said and he smiled.

"No problem, kiddo," He said and I smiled.

We all sat down and ate breakfast, talking about random things and catching up. Eventually it was time for dad to go and I walked him to his car. "You take care of yourself, okay?" He said as he hugged me.

"I will," I said, "And you take care of yourself too, Dad."

He nodded and smiled, "Will do," He said, "You two have a good time, okay? Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He joked and I just rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry, Dad," I said, "We won't."

He just smiled and hugged me one last time before getting in his car and driving away. I watched as his car drove away until I couldn't see it anymore, then I turned around and headed back inside.

Kelley was cleaning up the kitchen and I smiled when I saw her. "Hey," I said and she turned around and smiled.

"Hey," She said, "Let's get these boxes and stuff out of the way so we can spend the day together."

I nodded, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," I said and she smiled.

We both worked together to get the boxes we didn't unpack last night, unpacked. I was unpacking one box, while Kelley was unpacking another, "What's this?" She asked, holding up a box.

I smiled, "Oh, that's a box of old photos," I said, "I haven't looked at them in years."

Kelley smiled and opened the box, taking out one of the photos. She studied it for a few moments, then smiled, "Is this you and your dad?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, that was taken a few years ago when we went camping," I said and she smiled.

"It's a really nice photo," She said and I smiled.