Frederic noticed Karen was shivering and so immediately slipped off his overcoat. It seemed he'd dressed much more prepared for the temperature today than she, and so he offered her the garment with a small, almost adoring smile. "Please, if you're cold, wear this." He hoped she wouldn't protest- it wasn't as if this gesture could be taken out of context by passerby, it was simply a man offering a lady his coat so she wouldn't be cold anymore. A moment later, he took off his red scarf and offered it as well, as the collar of his overcoat didn't cover one's neck. "I insist." His eyes crinkled with his smile.

She smiled as she accepted his coat and scarf to ward off the cold. "Perhaps I should be gettin' home soon if it's this cold out. I wouldn't want ye ta catch yer death on my behalf." And then her eyes went sad as she realized what she had said, "I... mean, I don't wish ta see ye get sick." Her eyes met his and she sighed, feeling like she just stuck her foot firmly in her mouth. "That is to say, thank ye." There, that ought to do it, right?

For a moment, Frederic felt as if all the air had gone from his chest, but when he met Karen's eyes and saw how bad she felt, he managed to draw it back in. "It's... You're welcome." Searching for something to say, he remembered something Clover told him just toda as they started on the way toward her house. "Clover told me this morning that he's started taking a detour on his way home from school, of his own accord." A small smile grew on Frederic's face and he was certain this information would buoy her spirits. "If you have been finding little trinkets on your doorstep each afternoon as of late, that would be by him." Frederic's heart swelled with pride for Clover as he spoke. What a sweet thing to do, and bright on his son's behalf as well- if Karen ever needed to send for Frederic at a time around the end of the school day, Clover would be there to run home and get his father. Although Clover couldn't have known just how smart and kind this was, Frederic knew, and he was quite impressed with his son for doing it.

"He is a dear boy," she said softly. "That is lovely of him to bring me trinkets. I did not know twas him." She was glad for the diversion in topic. She had not meant to word what she'd said the way she had. She had said it because she didn't want him to be cold either. But now that they were headed toward her home, she felt comforted. She would invite him in once they reached her doorstep. Actually, she would invite him in before then. "Would ye like to come in when we get to my house, Fred?" she asked softly.

Frederic smiled softly. He certainly had the time. Clover didn't get out of school for another half-hour, and if he was at Karen's house, he'd be able to surprise his son on his walk home. And, most importantly yet simply, he wanted to. It would be folly of him to refuse- so, of course, he accepted. "I would lo- I would like that." He felt a slight heat creeping up his neck at his bold near-mistake, but pushed it from his mind as they approached the front stoop of her tranquil yellow home.

She led the way into her house, opening the door wide to admit him. She began to remove the trappings of cold weather. The neighbor who was watching the children emerged and smiled, "Yer bairns are sleepin' soundly, mum." And after polite goodbyes, the neighbor left for home. When they were alone, she all but threw herself at him and pressed kisses to his lips, her arms looping around him. God, but she didn't realize how much she had missed the feeling of his kisses and was so hungry to feel them. "Frederic," she sighed into said kiss, assuming he kissed back.

Frederic wrapped one arm around Karen's waist as she leaned in for a kiss, unknowingly just as needy for her kisses as she was for his, and gently rested his other hand on the nape of her neck, somewhat able to feel her skin through her hair. "Karen," he murmured back when she said his name. His heart was beating almost erratically, but he didn't try to calm it and only relished the feeling of her lips against his and her arms around his neck.

She pulled away at some point, but not to get away. She looked into his eyes, panting softly as she sought to catch the breath he stole from her with his nearness. Her heart beat a tattoo against her chest, and she wondered if he could hear it. Slowly, she pulled further away and said, "I've missed ye, Frederic." She let one hand move from his neck to touch his face, tracing along his lips with her thumb. "And I've thought about ye a lot since last we saw each other."

Frederic was breathing rather heavily too, but he kept it quiet so he wasn't panting right into her face. He could hear her heart pounding against his chest and he found he liked the feeling- it was sort of an affirmation that she was here, in his arms, not a daydream or a wishful thought. "As have I," he replied softly, almost trembling when she ran her thumb over his lip. He couldn't tell if she was teasing him or not, but it was driving him a little mad, and he quickly swooped in for a deeper kiss now.

Her mouth met his hungrily, arms circling once again. She wanted this, wanted him to claim her as his. Her eyes closed and she tilted her head, her mouth opening willingly beneath his. Karen wasn't shy about it, she was melting against him and she didn't want it to stop. "Frederic," she gasped against his mouth eventually. It seemed as though an eternity passed with them kissing each other in the front hallway of her home. She felt her knees weaken as the kissing persisted, her body shuddering against his. Oh, but she knew right at that moment that she was falling in love with Fred even as she had tried to tell herself she shouldn't.