Vacation: Next Exit - Tagged

[Rachel Murphy]

[googlefont="Oswald"][googlefont="Allura"][googlefont="Abel"]

THE BEST DREAMS

happen when you're awake

A romantic getaway for two. Rachel could hardly believe it was happening if she was honest. It wasn’t like they didn’t get away but usually between work and a toddler it was grabbing what time they could whenever they could. This time Savannah was with responsible adults back in Chicago and there were a good few days ahead that didn’t have plans beyond spending time with her husband. It seemed that would be the easy part though spending time with Braden and not blurting out what she’d tried to keep secret until a reasonable moment was tough going.

Rachel knew how much Braden’s Irish heritage meant, so it didnt seem like a brain wave to make the leap that a romantic getaway there would be a good idea. The flight was great and even the bustle through Dublin Airport didn’t faze her at all. Even stood at the baggage claim waiting on their bags, Rachel was on cloud nine though she tried not to seem over excited by life in general. A healthy level of, yay we’re on holiday didnt seem inappropriate.

With Savannah, telling anyone made her terrified. What if Braden didn’t want kids or what if the million others things that had gone through her head the minute she knew she was expecting. The second time, okay sure there was the what if he didn’t want another baby and what if they couldn’t cope which she figured they would or really in a not so long few months that wasn’t up for discussion. Sink or swim. Her fingers toyed with the card in her bag, it was a simple one small sheet of paper in a white envelope. Gold lettering reading: The only thing better than having you as my husband will be our baby having you as a dad.

Maybe it wasn’t obvious enough she wondered, the airport wasn’t really a venue for that sort of thing she thought as she waited glancing around for Braden. Dinner perhaps or just at the hotel once they got there or the million places in between. To say Rachel was more than a little nervous was an understatement but she hoped the holiday excitement was enough to mask anything Braden might see.

Tag:Braden Murphy

SWANSKI

[Braden Murphy]

[attr="class","bradennah"]

[attr="class","bradenleft"] [attr="class","bradenleft2"]

[attr="class","bradenright"] Braden stood in Ireland for the first time in his life. Granted, right now it was the baggage claim of the Dublin airport, but he and Rachel had two weeks ahead of them. There were castles to explore, museums to discover, and a wealth of other activities and sights. They couldn't possibly do everything in just one trip. Nonetheless, the grin he'd been wearing since the plane touched down still hadn't faded. They both sorely needed this vacation. His thoughts wandered to their daughter, Savannah, safely in Ciara's care for the duration of their trip. One good thing about having a responsible younger sister, she could step in and lend a helping hand. In fact, she'd practically volunteered. Something about Braden needing to take more time off. He took time off -- he just had a family to take care of. As their bags came around on the carousel, Braden reached down to grab them. He'd tried to pack reasonably just in case he wanted to bring back souvenirs. They could do some Christmas shopping while they were overseas, but that was Braden: always thinking ahead. They should probably head to the hotel and get settled before doing anything else. "I think that's everything," Braden confirmed. "How about we get out of here? The hotel should be close." Rachel Murphy [attr="class","bradenright2"]

deltra of gangnam style

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[Rachel Murphy]

[googlefont="Oswald"][googlefont="Allura"][googlefont="Abel"]

THE BEST DREAMS

happen when you're awake

The grin on Braden’s face was all she needed to see, especially since seeing it she knew how much they needed the vacation. It was tough to be away from Savannah, even knowing Braden’s sister had her, she was as safe as houses with her and it was still strange to be away. Her nervousness seemed to subside seeing his grin, she still needed to say something but it wasn’t right then stood at the baggage carousel.

Rachel had always been amazed with Braden’s packing, she herself had packed for every eventuality trying to leave space for gifts but it was limited. Rather she might need to steal her husband’s suitcase space for the trip home. Rachel lost in her own head for a while, his grin taking over most of what she was thinking until she was pulled from her thoughts hearing his confirmation. “Great let’s and yes it said it was close by.” She replied happily, her hand reaching out for a bag.

“Now how about you let me take one of those?” She asked moving to try and remove a case from his hand. “And you can decide what you want to do first? Explore, eat or just have a relaxing rest of the day. We can even go and find some shamrock to take home too? Oh and the giants causeway too, we need to see that.” She added excitedly. Two weeks wasn’t enough for everything but it was nice to get to know their history or at least as much of it that could be squashed into two weeks.

Tag: Braden Murphy

SWANSKI

[Braden Murphy]

[attr="class","bradennah"]

[attr="class","bradenleft"] [attr="class","bradenleft2"]

[attr="class","bradenright"] Bags in hand, Braden started heading towards the airport exit with Rachel at his side. Always the gentleman, he played a game of keep away with his wife. The two of them had drawn up a list -- the things they wanted to see and do during their vacation -- but before they started crossing items off, they should probably attend to breakfast. "Maybe we should grab a quick bite to eat before exploring the city." Braden stifled a yawn. They could walk or catch a cab, but walking might help with the time zone change. Even the rail system, in Europe, was light years better than what they had back in America. It would make getting around the city faster and more convenient. It was worth it for the expediency alone. Braden spared a glance at Rachel as she started making suggestions from their list. The past few days now, something seemed different about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He'd simply chalked it up to the excitement of their vacation. He couldn't blame her; his own anticipation working into overdrive. It hadn't slowed down any, even being here. Rachel Murphy [attr="class","bradenright2"]

deltra of gangnam style

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[Rachel Murphy]

[googlefont="Oswald"][googlefont="Allura"][googlefont="Abel"]

THE BEST DREAMS

happen when you're awake

"Thank you for being amazing." She said, Rachel smiled playing the game with Braden; she appreciated him being the gentleman eve if she felt she was perfectly capable of carrying bags too. “You’re right, a quick bite sounds like just what we need. Maybe a burger and some pickles?” She asked grinning, so it was a strange thing but then again the thought of eggs to eat in any form was about to turn her stomach. Pickles however not so much, “Or a full Irish breakfast?” Rachel added, the plane was either making her hungry, the mention of food or just remembering she had a two situation.

Unless you want to catch an hours sleep first?” She said nudging him lightly. “I really don’t want you to fall asleep standing up.” Being tired was a way of life, late shifts, unpredictability and family. Tired was a way of functioning and it wasn’t a bad way but add a time zone and she still couldn’t tell what time it really was. The excitement of the trip was adding to an inevitable crash though she hoped that came a lot later than the next few hours.

Two weeks just didn’t seem enough as she smiled at Braden, even walking down the street with him in a different country. It felt like a beach side, sun, sea and sand break away. “This has to be the best time together we’ve spent lately. Seeing you with that look on your face is priceless.” She added enjoying seeing him happy. To her it seemed a relaxed happiness with a dose of anticipation which she herself had in buckets. Not entirely all to do with the trip but then hopefully Braden wouldn’t work anything out before hand, it was a risk being married to a detective. They figured things out faster than most.

Tag: Braden Murphy

SWANSKI

[Braden Murphy]

[attr="class","bradennah"]

[attr="class","bradenleft"] [attr="class","bradenleft2"]

[attr="class","bradenright"] "I got some sleep on the plane," Braden explained. It had been a long flight – almost twelve hours when you factored in the layover. Because of the length of the trip, the passengers had gotten a couple of meals on the plane, but the food wasn't very good. An actual breakfast remained the priority. If they were going to be in Ireland, Braden wanted to sample their foods – not meals he could get back in the United States. "Let's go with a traditional Irish breakfast." The last thing Braden wanted to do was try and get some shuteye now. His internal clock might not be on European time, but he didn't want to lose an entire day trying to adjust. They could do a few things today, then call it an early evening. It seemed the best plan for their first day. Braden couldn't remember the last time he and Rachel had gone on a proper vacation together. The two of them could just relax and take things one step at a time. Even just walking down the street allowed Braden to take in the sights and sounds of another country. It didn't take much effort to wear the smile etched on his face. "It's nice not having to worry about work. Or anything really." Rachel Murphy [attr="class","bradenright2"]

deltra of gangnam style

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[Rachel Murphy]

[googlefont="Oswald"][googlefont="Allura"][googlefont="Abel"]

THE BEST DREAMS

happen when you're awake

“Yeah, that would be the sensible thing.” Rachel said, she had been a little nervous to sleep so her rest turned into a minute or two here and there before her mind started to turn again. The food on the plane was okay, not great but then she had picked at bits of it and given the not so great part she was glad she had an excuse not to eat parts. “Irish breakfast it is then, I know Irish in the states but actually being here.” She said with a wide grin, honestly if she hadn’t been an adult she would have been running in circles already.

Braden had no idea how right he was about it, worrying seemed to take up most of the time that wasn’t spent doing everything else. It was nice to just be the two of them, together in a place and not worrying about anything. It was good just to see another place though when she glanced at the traffic on the road, she held her breath firmly for a moment watching a car turn onto what she’d class as he wrong side of the road.

Expecting an accident but seeing the normal flow of traffic continue she had to remind herself she wasn’t in the US anymore. “Driving on the wrong side of the road will take some getting used to.” She said grinning, it was strange to be in a place that she had heard about, talked about but never been. “And the whole none worried look suits you, it’s very cute.” She added glancing around at the buildings as they walked.

Tag: Braden Murphy

SWANSKI

[Braden Murphy]

[attr="class","bradennah"]

[attr="class","bradenleft"] [attr="class","bradenleft2"]

[attr="class","bradenright"] Braden soaked it all in – the architecture of the surrounding buildings, the smells of a local bakery plying their trade in the early morning, even the traffic flowing in the wrong direction – as they walked to the hotel. If Braden were a few years younger, not well into his thirties, he probably would have been skipping down the streets. The palpable excitement would continue building to a crescendo – it needed to find a home somewhere. His stomach growled, reminding him of the breakfast plan, but they didn't have much further to go. Nonetheless, the momentary distraction gave himself something else to focus on. Honestly, until he'd gotten here, stepping off the plane, Braden hadn't realized how much he'd needed a break from work. Nothing from back home would be a problem. It was just… them. Braden needed to remember to do this more often – even if it wasn't always overseas in another country. "It's a good thing we're not driving then," Braden chuckled. What he and Rachel thought was the wrong way was perfectly normal for everyone living here. The Irish didn't even think twice about it. Of course, it probably didn't help that the two of them were both law enforcement – the kind of people on the lookout for illegal activities – but in Rachel's case, especially, working patrol. Just the fact they were having this conversation made Braden smile a little bigger. A few years ago, he couldn't have envisioned standing in Ireland while bantering with his wife about the traffic. Yet here they were doing just that. "Then I guess I'm not the only cute one here." Rachel Murphy [attr="class","bradenright2"]

deltra of gangnam style

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[Rachel Murphy]

[googlefont="Oswald"][googlefont="Allura"][googlefont="Abel"]

THE BEST DREAMS

happen when you're awake

If this was the excitement of holiday, they really needed to get away more often as she wondered if she’d even be able to sleep later in the day. Jet lag or simply too much excitement, though honestly just the relaxing feeling of being so far away. No call to say come into work or even a spoiled day off because Bob was sick and there was a flu epidemic. It was surprising how being half way across the world fixed all kinds of things like that.

“Oh yeah, pretty sure I’d be a nervous wreck driving here.” Rachel admitted, it was the same as driving anywhere really just doing things the other way around which was great in theory until someone forgot. Watching traffic was like watching ten tickets pass before her eyes, wrong side of the road, turning the wrong way into traffic not that it wasn’t the right way here but it was just amazing to watch. Honestly she was on holiday and it wasn’t like she didn’t spend all day with traffic in Chicago. It was just as fascinating in Ireland too.

The most fascinating thing to her at that moment wasnt the traffic but her husband’s smile. Rachel didn’t think it could get much better but every time she looked it did as she laughed and grinned. Her face held a light blush, Braden could call her cute or anything more than that and her face would give everything away. Rachel felt like she was a teenager, an overly excitable teenager and even walking alone like a relatively normal human being was proving difficult.

Rachel leaned up and pecked his cheek lightly before she tried to link her arm with his. “Keep smiling like that and there might be another surprise for you too.” She teased grinning up at him, well it maybe was the surprise he might think and whatever way he took it, good or bad there wasn’t any taking it back. “I might get you two breakfasts.” Rachel added with a smirk as she tried not to burst with excitement. If kids went nuts for Disneyland, then Ireland was her Disney.

Tag: Braden Murphy

SWANSKI

[Braden Murphy]

[attr="class","bradennah"]

[attr="class","bradenleft"] [attr="class","bradenleft2"]

[attr="class","bradenright"] The traffic patterns might be different overseas, but that wasn't what held his attention now. Braden felt like cringing with each infrequent horn, expecting an accident each time he looked up from the sidewalk. He wasn't even a beat cop that handed out tickets, but that didn't make watching the cars passing by any less painful. He nodded in agreement with Rachel. Driving here wouldn't end well… for either of them. "Of course," Braden teased, knowing exactly what his next words would do to her, if calling her cute turned her that shade of red. As tempting as it would be to sample the local cuisine or start touring Dublin, perhaps getting better acquainted with their hotel room would provide the best start to their vacation. He flashed a knowing smirk – the kind that told her he was up to no good. "We could just skip breakfast and sightseeing and go straight to bed." They weren't rich – not by a long shot – but they were happy together. There might not be an abundance of opportunities to travel overseas, visiting foreign countries, and experiencing other cultures, but the two of them could afford a few hours alone. Braden nudged her hip playfully, the implication clear. "That's our hotel just up ahead." Rachel Murphy [attr="class","bradenright2"]

deltra of gangnam style

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