dunder_fic | McLeod's Daughters: "The gift" (Dave/Kate)

Autor: dunderklumpen

Fandom: McLeod's Daughters
Pairing: Kate/Dave
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG
Word Count: 471 words.
Disclaimer: MLD is the property of Channel 9.
Beta: Thanks to

luthien82 .
A/N: Spoilers for episode 89 "Desperate and Dateless" in which Kate and Dave meet for the first time.

You can find the original in german here.

"What is it?"

"Open it!"

Kate untied the bow and began to fold it.

Dave smiled. That was so typically Kate. Whenever she unwrapped gifts, she rolled up the ribbon and folded the paper neatly into a square. Her accuracy could be annoying, but he loved her for it.

When she finished with the ribbon, she carefully opened the dark box. She looked at him questioningly and saw his grin. Her hands reached into the box and pulled out what was inside.

"What is all this?" she asked, holding scissors and a roll of garbage bags in her hands.

"Kate Manfredi, you won’t tell me that you don’t remember," he answered playfully.

For a moment she looked at the things before a smile lit up her face, amusement dancing in her eyes.

He grinned back. "Your own calf emergency kit. I'm just saying: ‘I've got plastic bags so that nobody gets dirty, scissors for cutting the plastic bags, some work boots and ...’," with these words he reached into the box and finished,"’my rain cape!’"

She laughed when he held a yellow raincoat in his hand which resembled the one she had put on back then.

"The incident only proves that you never know when you need one," she defended herself. But her smile betrayed her.

"Exactly," he confirmed her words and put the cape back into the box. "I also packed another bag with medications and a few other useful things."

She put the cover to the side and began to rummage inside the box. Aside from the things already mentioned, she also found a pocket knife, a water bottle and a book with the title "All about calves and their birth". Dave stood there and watched; saw how her expression changed from serious into amused and finally curious. He sighed. Kate was an open book to him and he could tell how she felt by just looking at her.

She stored all the utensils back into the box when she suddenly noticed a small yellow jewel case she had overlooked when she'd sifted through the stuff the first time around. She held it in her hands carefully.

"So what are you waiting for? Open it," said Dave as impatient as a young child. Kate opened the case and caught her breath when she saw what was inside. For a few seconds it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"Dave, what… I mean ... why ... what ...?" She couldn’t find the right words. Millions of thoughts ran through her brain in that moment.

Instead of an answer, he removed the ring from its velvet nest, gently took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger.

"I love you, Kate," he said, and kissed his still speechless girlfriend playfully on the nose. "Happy anniversary, love.”