Chapter One
Of course, in typical UNIT fashion, Kate was required to be the other side of the UK just on the very day she really wanted to have been at home. She'd been long since reconciled with the fact that she would have spent most of that particular day at work anyway; just as long as it meant that she and Osgood would have woken up first thing in the morning together. And of course, no matter how late it would have been at the end of the day, gone to bed together too. It really hadn't been that much to ask had it? Still, it could have been worse and she could have ended up halfway across the world instead. No actually, given that this was UNIT, what would have been even worse was ending up half a galaxy away from her partner, caught up in the middle of some sort of a war between different alien species. Thankfully it was just good old fashioned Civil Service bureaucracy she could vent at this time around.
As a fully dressed and ready-for-work Kate gathered some clothes into a holdall, Osgood appeared in their bedroom, warm and towel-dry from her shower. She wore only a pair of knickers and was just finishing pulling up the straps of her bra. Kate looked up from packing her bag on the other side of the bed from the door and met her eyes. The younger woman was still able to take her breath away, despite the length of their relationship and the relative domesticity they both found themselves in these days. Maybe there was something to be said for facing ultimate death on a regular basis after all? Something about not taking relationships, people, for granted being part of the deal?
However, as much as Kate really wanted to press a kiss or several to Osgood's bare, freckled shoulders, she also saw there was a slight hint of disappointment on her partner's face and knew that Osgood had intrinsically understood what was going on without the need for words.
"Where this time?" The younger woman asked as neutrally as she could manage, despite the disappointment she felt. She opened the wardrobe door and selected a beige shirt, with a square crosshatch pattern on it, in two shades of brown and slipped it on over her shoulders, before starting to button it up from the top.
"Dublin Castle base, General Avary has requested my presence. He's doing the Senior Leadership Team rounds." There had always been grumbles from UNIT personnel, of all specialisms and ranks, that those in the upper echelons had no real idea of what it was really like to work for UNIT on the ground. The perception was that their senior leaders lived in some sort of a bubble in Geneva or London HQ and didn't appreciate the disruption to family life that working for UNIT caused.
"Why now?" Kate knew that Osgood had meant specifically these few days but Kate shrugged her shoulders, unable to properly answer the question as she wasn't mindreader, especially when it came to her superiors in Central Command.
"Why not? It's not as though he deliberately chose tomorrow because he looked at my private calendar." Kate was inadvertently curt, her own frustration at having to go away evident and Osgood mentally let go of her disappointment. She finished doing up the buttons on her shirt and perched herself on the bit of their bed that she was closest to. Kate stepped around the foot of the bed from her side and sat down close beside her, taking one of her hands in her own as she did so. "I am sorry Os, I know we didn't have any plans but I'd like to have been here with you all the same." Kate nuzzled Osgood's nose with her own before placing a soft kiss to her lips. Osgood kissed her back and they rested their foreheads against each other for a couple of moments. Their joined hands had landed on the bare flesh at the top of Osgood's thighs, comfortable and warm, offering reassurance in the familiarity of it.
"I know and I understand, I really do." Kate knew Osgood well enough by now that she heard the unspoken word at the end of that sentence anyway. She reached out and brushed some of the younger woman's fringe from her eyes, her hair still loose, unbrushed and touch-damp from her shower.
"But…?" Osgood looked away, somewhere into the middle distance, squeezed the hand holding hers and spoke.
"But sometimes I wonder what it would be like just to have a normal life. For us to have boringly predictable nine to five jobs so we could plan holidays, take some time away from it all and simply be." Osgood took a breath and chanced a look back at Kate. "Only sometimes though, most of the rest of the time I wouldn't want it any other way." She leaned forward, slipped her hand through the hair at the back of Kate's head and pressed a kiss to her lips, hoping to reassure her that she was still happy with their life just the way it was.
"Why don't you come with me?" Kate suggested seriously, the idea having just popped into her head but realising it made a lot of sense at the same time.
"What?" Osgood seemed surprised Kate would even make the suggestion.
"Accompany me to Dublin. I can do what General Avary needs me to do tomorrow, you can have your fill of the labs and then we can take a short break for a couple of days. I can't guarantee that nothing will come up that needs our attention but we can both work remotely if needs be. And if the worst comes to the worst, we can charter a flight back to London." Kate took in Osgood's expression and for once couldn't quite work it out. "Bad idea...?" She hedged, wondering if she'd missed the point somewhere along the line.
"No, no… good idea. Great, in fact." Osgood grinned to emphasise her excitement but then her smile wavered slightly. "Can we really do that though?"
"Of course! What's the point of being the boss if you can't take advantage of it?" Osgood raised her eyebrows, especially considering the reason Kate was being requested in Dublin in the first place. "Oh Os, I'm half-joking! It'll all be above board and I'll pay our expenses myself, consider it a birthday treat." The younger woman smiled up at her girlfriend again and nodded her head in the affirmative.
"Yes, okay then, why not? I'd love to come."
"Great, come on then. Get your trousers on and pack some clothes!" Kate stood from the bed and offered Osgood a hand up. She took it but was surprised when Kate pulled her flush against her by the hips. "I do love you, you know?" She leaned in and pressed a firm kiss to Osgood's lips once again, her hands snaking up the sides of her stomach, underneath the shirt she'd just watched her put on.
"Of course I know! I hope you didn't think I was having a dig at you? I really do understand." Kate looked away shyly, her self-confidence was often a fragile thing although many would be hard pressed to imagine that being the case. Sometimes she wondered just what she had done right in this world to end up with Osgood. Someone who appeared to love her unconditionally and accepted all the difficulties that being head of UNIT brought with it. Of course they had their differences, both in the argument sense and in the opinion sense, but life together would have been exceptionally boring if they both always agreed. Osgood placed the palm of her hand on Kate's cheek and gently lifted her face to meet her eyes.
"I love you too and I'm looking forward to spending the next few days with you in Dublin, even if it is on the clock. I just want to wake up with you next to me on my birthday." That was Kate's desire too but she caught a glimpse of her bedside clock and realised that they really needed to get a move on.
"Enough of the mushy stuff! We've got a tower full of people to scare before catching the plane later this afternoon. I'll get someone to sort out the logistics of you coming with me while you sort yourself out." Osgood had already stood up off the bed and was unfolding her trousers from the top of the dresser where she'd set them down the night before.
Kate's heels clip-clopped loudly on the stone floor of Dublin Castle as she strode along the cool passageways just a step behind General Avary. Her dark blue blazer was buttoned in the middle and her light blue shirt collar poked out over the lapels. She looked every inch the officer in charge, exuding confidence with her back straight and her head held high. General Avary was dressed in his military uniform, as was his usual custom. Central Command was still very military-based, despite Kate leading the UK UNIT branches from a scientific standpoint since she'd taken charge.
Most of the available personnel had been gathered in a large conference room so that General Avary could address them all at the same time. A series of standard messages had been delivered; everyone was doing a marvellous job, he reassured them that their concerns were being listened to and that he was open to questions and suggestions from the floor. Kate had given a brief speech as well, introduced herself for the benefit of anyone who had recently been recruited and outlined that she made it a point to make a face to face visit at least once a quarter to each of the Castle bases.
The Q&A session hadn't been as terrible as she'd anticipated, there were of course some 'constructive' suggestions and not all the options were within the General's or Kate's control. But most appeared to be reassured that they'd been deemed worthy of a visit and endeavored to continue protecting the planet as best they could. The General and Kate were now just on their way to meet with Major O'Reilly, the officer in charge of the Dublin Castle base.
"General, Kate. Glad you could make it." Major O'Reilly offered her hand to her senior colleagues. She was a short, stout woman in her early sixties. British army born and raised but fell into all things UNIT through an experience with some aliens back in the mid-eighties and it had changed her outlook considerably. Brigadier Bambera had been in charge of UNIT back then and she was just as gung-ho and militarily oriented. They'd gotten along very well until Bambera's long line of successors had muddied the waters considerably. Kate's tenure had been a much needed breath of fresh air and Major O'Reilly had been a vocal supporter of hers over the years.
"Thank you for the invitation Major, it's good to be here." The General shook her hand firmly and took the proffered seat.
"Marjorie." Kate greeted her and they briefly hugged before they took up their own seats. "So, how are things?" It wasn't a benign question, Major O'Reilly understood it to mean that Kate and the General wanted the real story, for her to recall the things that had happened which weren't on the official records. They talked through a couple of recent large-scale incidents and a few things Major O'Reilly had been concerned about at the time but hadn't had the chance to bring it up until now.
"But generally things are good here, despite the usual disgruntled moans and groans. There's always going to be the feeling that UNIT UK is too London-centric and that Central Command is even further removed from the day to day realities of our job." She was interrupted by the sound of a knock on her door, the refreshments having finally arrived. The trolley with freshly brewed coffee, hot water and tea bags of various types and a plate full of biscuits was wheeled up to the short end of the Major's desk and the brakes applied. They were invited to help themselves to their preferred options; Kate going for a cup of builder's tea and delicately sneaked in a couple of ginger snaps. The General went for a straight black coffee and a couple of shortbread biscuits, which would later turn into at least half a dozen! And Major O'Reilly had a simple cup of peppermint tea and chose not to indulge herself with the biscuits. They took a few moments to enjoy their impromptu break before Kate picked the conversation thread back up again.
"Actually, I've already got a team working on developing a series of programmes to encourage cross-base working and to spread our skill sets across the UK. I can see if we can make some sort of provisional announcement about it sooner rather than later. Hopefully the troops will find that positive news?" Kate took a welcome sip of her tea and relished the taste of it. It was gone lunchtime and she'd only managed the one cup at breakfast in the hotel earlier that morning.
"Sounds like just the sort of thing they're after." Marjorie agreed and smiled at Kate in thanks.
"Perhaps something similar could be arranged from an international point of view? If you don't mind me having a look at what you've got so far Kate, I'll take the idea back to Central Command. If they go for it, perhaps we can get your team to work that up as another project? I'll keep you in the loop with regards to progress on that Major." The General promised and he was usually a man of his word.
"It's more than I hoped for really, we just didn't want to be forgotten about. We all understand London gets more than it's fair share of attacks and you need your most skilled people to be based there but we're always here to back you up and want to be just as important and valued as you."
"You are most definitely important to us and we value your contribution highly. Thank you, it means a lot Marjorie." Whilst Kate and Major O'Reilly weren't exactly good friends outside of the day job, they did have a solid working relationship and strongly supported each other. With the business of the day done however, Kate changed their conversation to a more personal one. "How's Jan?"
"She's well thanks. Six months all clear last month and she's steadily regaining her fitness and energy levels. Actually, I was going to ask if perhaps I could put in for a sabbatical? Just a few months to spend some time together." General Avary took the opportunity to munch his way through yet another biscuit whilst the two women carried out their own catch up around him.
"Of course. Do you have anyone in mind to cover your absence?" Kate was mentally ticking off a list of possibles in her head from HQ just in case.
"Captain Maguire is a possible candidate, he's been right up front and centre with me during the last couple of incidents. I think he's ready for the challenge and is probably in the right place professionally and personally for the added responsibility. I'll be honest Kate, I'm not even sure that I will come back. After what Jan and I have just been through I'm beginning to wonder if we oughtn't just retire and enjoy life for a bit?" That was definitely Marjorie and not the Major talking now and Kate could certainly empathise with her thought process.
"I'm not going to advise you either way, it's entirely your own decision. I'd be sorry to lose you but I also completely understand that your priorities are with Jan right now." Kate smiled kindly at her and it was reciprocated.
"Thank you Kate, that means a lot. How is Osgood? I see that she's taking the opportunity to visit my lab boys and girls today?"
"She's good thanks, although I'm concerned I'll have a heap of plans and suggestions on my desk tomorrow morning for an upgrade of your labs." Both women chuckled lightly, knowing that Kate was only half-joking.
"Sounds like Jan while she's been off work sick. I stopped anticipating what colour the living room was going to be when I got home or what sort of extension she'd designed next!" They laughed out loud at that and even General Avary had joined in. Once the laughter had died down Kate spoke again.
"Actually, Marjorie...? It's Osgood's birthday today and we've decided to stay on for a couple of days, have a short break away from the usual routine while it's relatively quiet." General Avary's eyebrow's shot up then and his interest was clearly piqued, although he did his best not to show it. He'd never admit it to anyone in a million years but he'd instantly felt guilty when he'd heard it was Osgood's birthday.
"Oh, I didn't realise, do pass on my best wishes when you see her later. It does sound like a lovely idea though?" Marjorie set down her mug, her peppermint tea finished long enough ago that it was no longer warm to the touch.
"Yes, I thought so. You wouldn't happen to have any personal recommendations for restaurants or sights to visit would you? There's the usual touristy stuff and I've already got something in mind for tomorrow but I could still do with some other ideas." It wasn't as though it was the first time either she or Osgood had visited Dublin, so most of the main places of interest had already been ticked off their lists, so to speak.
"I have a couple of favourite restaurants I would certainly recommend to you and of course, you'd be most welcome to come over to our place and have dinner with us one evening." Marjorie was warm and open in her expression, genuinely happy to host her boss and her partner for an evening.
"That's a very kind offer, I'd have to ask Os first though. Although, I think she'd been banking on getting me all to herself for a couple of days for a change!"
"Fair enough and completely understandable. We'll leave it for now but drop me a text if she decides she can share you for a few hours. It would be nice to catch up with her as well." They finished up their conversation with more general pleasantries before Kate waved General Avary off in his cab back to the airport. She turned back to the castle and headed straight for the labs; she was on a mission to find Osgood and then they'd finally be able to celebrate her birthday properly, away from work.