A/N: This is my first Heir fan fiction and I hope that you, oh allusive reader, think that I've stayed true to the characters. This story contains minor spoilers and massive lemons so watch out.

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish otherwise the characters belong to Cinda Chima, not me. Unfortunately.

Tonight

His father didn't like her. That was just another lovely addition to crap list of nerves that plagued Ellen Stephenson. Or should she say, Ellen Swift? She wasn't sure because of all the things they'd discussed before their wedding changing her name hadn't come up. Which she supposed was partially her fault. As soon as she brought up the wedding night that seemed to be all either of them could talk about. It was certainly all she could think about.

Thankfully for both of them Becka, Jack's mom, and Linda, Jack's aunt, had done all the planning and preparation necessary for the wedding to go off without a hitch. Except for the argument going on at the back of the long gallery.

The wedding had taken place at Dragon's Ghyll at Hastings and Linda's insistence. It was beautiful in the summer. The wedding ceremony had been conducted in a field of wild flowers with all of Jack and Ellen's friends and family and the few remaining ghost Warriors as witnesses. The wedding had been simple because both Linda and Becka knew that neither of them was interested in a fussy wedding. The priest had said his piece, Ellen said her bit, Jack said his and they kissed. Perfect, simple and uncomplicated.

Or it would have been if not for the never ending feast Ellen was currently enduring.

Fifteen courses. Who needed fifteen courses?

Madison, sitting to Ellen's right, certainly seemed to be devouring her fair share, but then again Ellen was sure that Madison was pregnant. It wasn't just the eating, the larger cup size and erratic moods that lead Ellen to believe this, but the way that Seph was hover over her all the time. Sure he usually hovered around her, but this was different. He was quite literally right over her shoulder at all times. He had a hand almost permanently over her belly and was constantly muttering protection charms.

For her part Madison seemed completely oblivious to her boyfriend's noteworthy insanity. Their kid was going to need therapy if Seph didn't let up or if Madison didn't put her foot down. Thankfully for the little guy or girl it didn't seem like Linda or Hastings knew that Madison was pregnant. Yet.

Ellen had noticed the change in both Madison and Seph three months ago right around the time that Jack asked her to marry him. Ellen smiled at the memory of Jack's proposal. It had been quite memorable if she did say so herself. Glancing over at the three arguing Swifts, Ellen forced herself to remember what could quite possibly be the happiest day of her life.

It had started like any other day. She got up at the crack of dawn, had breakfast and went to the park to get a little practice in before Jack showed up. After the war it had been hard to get him to fight her. He was always so worried that she would get hurt again and he couldn't stand the thought of being responsible for that injury, blah, blah, blah, blah… But if she managed to get him mad… well he was a lot more likely to get physical and that was just what Ellen needed him to be to get out that aggression.

He showed up an hour later and Ellen knew right away that something was wrong. He was nervous and the Jack that Ellen knew and loved was never nervous. He fumbled around with his sword and lost every bout they got into. It was so bad that two hours into their training Ellen stopped. Stopped dead. He kept circling her, waiting for her to make a move, but she refused.

"What's up, Ellen?" he asked.

"What's up?" she repeated, anger sizzling in her bones. If either of them had any right to ask the other what was up, it was her asking him. He was the one acting all weird. Sure she usually beat him, but he'd never made it easy.

"Are you all right? I didn't hurt you did I?" Jack stabbed his sword into the soft ground and walked up to her. He held her cheek in one hand and used the other to check for injuries. She glared at him not only because he patronizing her again, but because his big, strong hands on her body always made her feel all girly inside.

He'd touch her thoughtlessly, not knowing what he was doing to her and he'd do it all the time. His thick calloused covered fingers would run all over his body (often times looking for an injury) and an ache would grow low in her belly. An insatiable desire that only time or Jack could cure. It scrambled her brain and made it hard to concentrate on the fight.

And right at that moment Jack was doing it again. He knelt before, running his hands all over her legs. Searching for something, anything that could possible be wrong with her. If only he knew what he was really doing. His hands stopped on her butt and Ellen felt her traitorous cheeks flush. She loved the feel of his hands on her bottom and as far she could tell he loved it too.

Whenever they stopped fighting long enough to have good long make out his hand always ended up on her butt. That kind of touching was different though. That was intentional touching, with her touching him back. The possibility of satisfaction somewhere in the future, but never actually achieved. And damn it if that didn't just kill her.

She wanted satisfaction.

"Ellen? Ellen?"

Damn it, she thought. His hands on her butt distracted her.

"What?" she snapped.

Damn him for distracting her. Damn him for getting her all riled up and then refusing to satisfy her. Damn him, damn him, damn him!

"Will you marry me?" he stammered.

Ellen stared at him wide eyed. She'd been so distracted by his hands on her butt that she missed his marriage proposal. She couldn't believe it.

"What?!"

"W-will you marry me?" he asked probably for the third time.

"You want to marry me?" she asked.

Ellen couldn't wrap her head around the idea. After the Game all those years ago she'd decided that if Jack wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, she wanted to be with him too. She knew that that would mean having kids eventually and settling into a more stable life, but she'd never once thought about marrying him. She already felt married to him anyway. Adding a ring and some vows seemed redundant.

"You want to marry me?" she asked again.

"Yes, I do."

"You're sure about this?"

The shock was wearing off and some of Ellen's trademark attitude returned. How dare he act all weird and then ask her to marry him!? It was bad enough that he distracted her so much that she missed his first proposal but she had to draw the line somewhere. Fake losing just happened to where she decided to draw it.

"Yes, I'm sure, Ellen," Jack said, smiling up at her, completely unaware that she was angry. "I've never been more sure of anything in my li- ack!"

Ellen tackled Jack to the ground and punched him a few times in the gut. They rolled around in the grass for a while hitting each other. Jack kissed her neck a few times trying to coax her into making out, which was the usual way their wrestling matches ended, but Ellen wasn't in the mood. Finally it seemed that Jack lost his patience. He rolled her onto her back and pinned her hands above her head.

Ellen could out maneuver him any day, but Jack was much stronger then her. If he wanted to he could probably hold her down for an hour or more before he got tired. Suddenly the thought of Jack holding her down and having his naughty way with her struck Ellen and the fight went right out of her.

"Will you marry me?" Jack demanded.

Jack's lower body was pressed again the center of Ellen's un-sated desire. She wanted to moan and urge him on, but the irritation of being beaten kept her from doing it.

"Will. You. Marry. Me?!" Jack asked again. He pushed his body harder against hers with each word. Surely he only meant punctuate his point and let her know how angry he was that she wasn't answering him. But damn did it feel good.

"Ellen!" Jack yelled.

"Fine! I'll marry you!" she yelled back. "Are you happy now?"

Jack smiled and his body relaxed on top of her. It felt fantastic. "Oh, yeah. Aren't you?"

His lips were a whisper away and Ellen strained against his hold trying to get to his lips.

"Are you happy, Ellen?" Jack squeezed her wrists and pulled her as close to him as physically possible with all their clothes still in the way.

"Oh, yes," Ellen hissed and finally he kissed her.

"Are you going to finish that?"

Ellen shook her head and glanced over at Madison. She couldn't believe that she'd gotten so caught up in the memory. She actually didn't notice that Madison had devoured her own plate of food, most of Seph's and was now reaching for Ellen's.

"You're not going to finish it? Can I have it?"

Ellen rolled her eyes and pushed her plate towards Madison. "You know that you'll not be able to hide this from Linda and Hastings for much longer, right?"

Seph flinched and glanced over to where his parents were sitting. They were cuddling and kissing, just like every other couple in the room. What about a wedding made people all lovey dovey?

"Yeah, I know," he sighed.

"I think you're getting upset over nothing, Seph," Madison said.

"You also thought that no one was going to attack Trinity, Maddie," Seph said, stupidly. Madison glared at him and Seph immediately realized his mistake. "I mean, I, ah… think you're pretty?"

"Nice save, Seph," Ellen muttered.

"That's what I thought you said," Madison snapped.

Jack slumped into the seat next to Ellen a moment later. He sighed and rubbed his hands all over his face. It looked like his parents' arguing had really gotten to him. It really got to Ellen too, mostly because she was sure it was all about her. She still remembered the look on his father's face when Jack told him they were getting married. It was a horrible mixture of anger, disappointment and worry.

His father had tried to talk Jack out of it. He said over and over again that the problem wasn't Ellen, he really liked Ellen, he just thought they were too young. There was a bunch of "you have no direction in your life"s and "if you have a wife you need a more reliable job"s and "if you wait on this marriage thing, I'll be sure to get you a better job"s.

Jack had of course ignored all of this. They were both going to Trinity College and had plans to work for Weir council come graduation. They were the only known Warriors on the planet, it made sense for them to be on the council. Hastings promised both of them a hefty salary if got out of college as soon as possible to begin their work with council. But his father would never understand. He just thought they were moving to England for some crummy desk jobs.

More to the point he knew that Ellen lived in England for a time and was surely convinced that the move had been orchestrated by her. Not that the council worked out of England and that if they wanted to be on the council they had to move. And they both wanted to be on the council.

"Are you all right?" Ellen whispered to him.

"I guess," Jack sighed.

"We could… go," she said, flushing slightly. They both knew what would happen once they left the reception.

"I-if you're ready," he said, an excited glint in his eye.

"Only if you don't mind skipping out early."

Ellen knew what that excited glint meant. Jackson was ready for action. It was the same look he had in his eyes whenever they were about to have a fight that was sure to end with kisses.

"You have to stay for the cake," Madison said through mouthfuls of Ellen's chicken course. "Linda won't cut it if you're not here and it looks yummy… Ohh!"

The waiter came by with the first of the two dessert courses that came before the cake. The poor boy attempted to serve Jack and Ellen first, but Madison wasn't having any of that. She snatched the sorbet dish from the waiter and devoured the tiny scoop of sorbet before the waiter managed to serve anyone else. Seph scooted his dish over so that Madison could eat his too. Too nervous to eat anymore food Ellen forfeited hers as well.

"I don't know what you're so nervous about, Ellen," Madison said, finishing off Seph's sorbet before turning to Ellen's.

"What're you talking about?" Ellen stared wide eyed at Madison willing her silence.

"Sex is fun," Madison blundered on. "Well, not the first time, but it gets much better after that. Trust me, otherwise there'd be no point."

"Please, Madison," Ellen begged her to shut up.

"Ellen, sex really wouldn't be worth it if it didn't feel good. It's honestly the most uncomfortable experience of your life," Madison said. "Seriously, you've got your legs wrapped around someone's rump and then he makes a mess all over your stomach. Or if you enjoy it, you get knocked up. The enjoyment is really the only point."

"What about the baby, Maddie?" Seph asked, rubbing her slightly rounded stomach.

"The baby is making me fat, Seph," Madison snapped. "Besides I hate the fact that you think we have to hide it from your parents."

The waiter, who had learned, placed a fat slice of flourless chocolate cake in front of Madison before serving much thinner slices to the rest of the table. Ellen put her left hand up so that she could avoid looking at Jack. She'd never been so nervous about anything in her life. Not even when she had to face Jack during the Game had she been so nervous and now he knew, damn it!

Damn Madison. She used to be so shy and reserved. Even after the whole mess during the war, she knew when to shut her mouth. But now that she was pregnant it seemed like the only thing she could keep quiet about was the baby. And that was only with Linda and Hastings. Everyone else knew.

Ellen sighed. It partially her fault that Madison even knew she was nervous. As soon as Ellen found out that Madison was pregnant she'd gone to the other girl for advice. It was obvious that Madison had had sex, so she had to know how to approach a guy on the subject. Unfortunately for Ellen it seemed that Madison and Seph had had sex almost completely on a whim. Madison's two younger siblings were in bed, Carlene was at work and they both wanted to.

But fortunately Madison did have some tips on how to brooch the subject with Jack. Ellen had blundered through it almost stupidly. She could willingly and excitedly head into battle with or against her six and half foot tall boyfriend… er… husband, but if she had to talk sex with him… well things went to hell pretty quickly.

Jack had been just about as confused by her attitude as she'd been by his when he asked her to marry him. It was very rare that Ellen asked him to just sit down and talk. They were both intensely physical people and communication was not their strongest suit. That's not to say that they never talked about important issues. They talked all the time, especially since getting engaged, but they really connected on the battle field.

"Ellen is everything okay?" he had asked.

Ellen nodded and bit her nail. For all the sexual aches he'd inspired in her over the years, they'd never really talked about when or if they'd ever have sex. It was a sore spot for both of them because of what Wylie had intended for them. They didn't like the thought of being mated just for the sake of producing more Warriors. And that was about as much that they'd talked about it.

"I want to talk to you about something," she said. Jack ran a hand through his red gold hair and Ellen felt her heart flutter.

He made her feel like such a… girl. And that was part of the problem. She hated seeming weak and being so attracted to her boyfriend that it was actually hard to concentrate seemed very weak to Ellen.

"I know you want to talk about something, Ellen," Jack said. "You said that when you asked me to come in here."

"Stop being a smart ass, Jack," Ellen snapped.

"So, what's up?" he asked, ignoring the insult. He took a sip of lemonade and Ellen just blurted it out.

"I want to have sex with you."

Jack choked and coughed a few times before he was able to breathe normally. And even then all he could do was stare at her.

"Like right now?" he asked finally. Even though it was clear that he was still very surprised by Ellen's admission there was a subtle glint in his eye that told Ellen that Jack was very interested in the direction of this conversation. Very, very interested.

"Oh, ah, I don't know… maybe…" Ellen bumbled. "I thought, you know, since we're getting married this is something we should talk about."

"Oh," Jack cleared his throat. "Yeah, definitely should talk about it."

Great, Ellen thought, now we're both uncomfortable.

"Why does this have to be so complicated," Ellen said. Jack ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. Ellen made a snap decision. For better or worse. "I am going to completely honest with you, Jack. And I expect you to be completely honest as well. Don't beat around the bush, just say what you mean, all right?"

"Okay," he nodded.

"You have been driving me crazy for years-"

"What'd you mean?"

"Whenever you touch me, whenever you smile at me, whenever you run your hand through your hair, I just go all…" Ellen sighed.

"All…" Jack prompted.

"Mushy inside, you know," Ellen finished lamely. Jack looked confused. "I ache for you."

"You're in pain!" Jack exclaimed.

"No! I mean I yearn for you, not painful kind of ache, more of a sexual ache, you know?" Jack still looked confused. "Shit, how do I explain this?"

Jack began to run his hand through his hair, but stopped. Ellen sighed.

How did I screw this up so damn much!? She thought. Be blunt, be honest. If he doesn't understand, put it in terms he can connect to.

"When a man is sexually attracted to a woman, he gets a boner," Ellen said. Jack started choking again, but Ellen continued on. "A woman's attraction isn't as obvious. I get urges and aches instead of an erection. Do you understand now?"

Jack cleared his throat. "Yes."

"Do you have anything you'd like to say?"

"I, ah, feel the same?"

Ellen sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go beat the crap out of each other," she said, getting up. "This talking shit is way over rated."

That, of course, wasn't the last time they talked about it. They made vague plans for their wedding night after they both decided to wait. Ellen noticed that it was a lot easier to talk about their sexual relationship during or after an intense make out session probably because they both were feeling pretty sexy anyway. Even for all their planning and talking, Ellen was still nervous. They'd never seen each other completely naked before and even though Jack seemed to enjoy touching her body through her clothes, there was no telling if he'd feel the same once the clothes weren't there anymore.

"It's time to cut the cake, guys." Aunt Linda's voice cut through Ellen's musing.

Jack and Ellen got up and made their way over to the massive cake.

"Are you feeling all right, Madison?" Everyone froze at Linda's question and unfortunately she noticed. "I can't be the only one who's noticed the amount you've been eating, Maddie. Would someone like to explain?"

"Um," Seph said. "Later, Mom. Not during Jack and Ellen's wedding."

Swayed by her son's logic, Linda let it go. "Fine, but the three of us are sitting down with your father after the reception is over."

Jack shuffled Ellen along before the shit hit the fan. The cake had been the only thing that Ellen had insisted on being involved with. She hadn't wanted anything extravagant, but Linda and Becka had reminded her about the number of people attending the event and told her that the cake would have to be on the large side. But the red velvet cake inside and the cream cheese frosting coating every inch had been all her idea.

"It looks good, Ellen," Jack said.

"It had better be," she said. She picked up the cake knife and flipped it around a few times. "I went to ten bakeries looking for the best tasting red velvet cake."

Jack grabbed hold of Ellen's hand and they cut the cake together to a chorus of "ohhs" and "ahhs." Jack very nicely popped a piece of moist spongy cake into Ellen's mouth and she returned the favor just as nicely. People clapped for some reason that Ellen couldn't discern. Two of the waiters took the cake back into the kitchen to be cut for the rest of guests. As much as Ellen really loved the cake, she loved Jack more… And it was time.

Tonight was the night that Ellen would prove to herself and to Jack that she loved him in the most intimate way possible.

With Aunt Linda distracted by Seph and Madison's situation and Becka still muttering angrily at Jack's father, Ellen shuffled Jack over to a side exit from the long gallery. As soon as the door closed behind them, she pulled off her strappy sandals and took off at a run towards her and Jack's room. A few seconds Ellen heard the heavy pound of Jack's feet on the stone in pursuit of her.

Ellen made a sharp turn into her and Jack's room. They had planned this moment fairly well. Whenever she was ready she was pull him out of the reception, they would then run down to their room to get the blood flowing. As two very physical people it was imperative that they get their adrenaline going before doing anything so intense together. After they both reached the room, they would strip down to their underwear, beat the crap out of each other and hopefully the next bit would just come naturally. If not they were in trouble, because they hadn't planned past beating the crap out of each other.

Ellen shook off her worry and her nerves. She wanted to be completely focused for the battle to come. And if Jack was about to see her in nothing but her bra and panties she needed to be as level headed as physically possible. Ellen steadied her heart beat and pulled the zipper down on the back of her simple wedding dress and shrugged out of it.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window. Ellen had never thought much of body beyond its fighting capabilities. She'd never thought of herself as sexy or attractive. But in that reflection even she noticed the fine slope of her breasts, small as they were. The seductive arch of her back where it flared to her pert bottom. Her simple lace panty and bra set only served to accentuate the subtle sexiness of her body. And if Jack's reflection was anything to go by he certainly seemed to be enjoying the view.

She was definitely enjoying looking at Jack's body, but his form had always been spectacular and he'd never been shy about showing it off. He often took his shirt off during their practice sessions and Ellen had always noticed his strong body. The ropes of muscles that sculpted his abs and the firmness of his chest, it all made her feel so safe, so sexy being held by his thick sinewy arms. And when he let that hair fall loose around his handsome face it just made her want grip it by the roots and ride him hard while he pounded into her eager, yielding flesh.

Ellen looked down from their reflection to her strapless bra. It would probably slip down around her waist during their wrestling match. And when it did Ellen was fairly sure that the match would come to an abrupt end.

She felt rather then heard Jack's approach. He ran his hands down her arms, rubbed his lips over her shoulder. Ellen tipped her head back, closed her eyes and elbowed him in the stomach. Not too hard though. She didn't want to hurt him. Not this time. If he was in too much pain he couldn't satisfy her and damn it she needed satisfaction.

Jack responded immediately by throwing her down on the cushiony carpet in front of the fire. They rolled around hitting each other without much gusto for about fifteen minutes before Ellen's bra snapped open. Jack had trapped her in a full nelson when her bra popped open and flew across the room. She was so shocked that she stopped fighting him off and that was when Jack noticed.

With her arms still trapped above her head, Jack picked Ellen up and moved her to the bed. He laid her half on the bed with her legs dangling off the edge. Jack laid on top of her, holding her down. The position gave him absolute control over her body and Ellen couldn't help remembering her fantasy of Jack holding her down and having his naughty way with her. Even though Ellen's knee jerk reaction was to push him off, she stayed put eager to see how far he would take this. Eager to find out if her fantasy would come true.

Jack planted her hands on the far side of the bed and kissed her ear. "Keep your hands right here, Ellen," he commanded. Ellen would have usually made a smartass comment in response but all she could do was moan. Jack ran his fingers down Ellen's arms, over her shoulder blades, down the sides of her torso teasing the edges of her breasts, until his hands landed on her butt.

He messaged her butt cheeks, the tips of his fingers slipped under panties, teasing the soft flesh there. Jack kissed the end of her tail bone, up her spine to the back of her neck. Ellen shivered when she felt his erection nestle into the cleft of her bottom. She wiggled against him. All of the tender, sensual teasing was driving her mad with desire. She needed him to get on with it.

"Jack," she moaned.

Without much ado Jack pushed her panties down to her ankles and she kicked them off. When he pressed his body against her again she felt that he had removed his boxers. Ellen groaned happily and rubbed again him. This was the single most sensual position that they had ever been in, but hopefully not the most sensual position they would ever be in.

As Ellen wiggled against Jack's erection she got a vague idea of what it must look like. She had never seen a man's erect penis in real life and didn't for one second believe that the pictures in her anatomy text book did the appendage justice. From what she could feel he was thick and long. For a split second she was worried that he wouldn't fit, but damn this would be fun if he did.

While Ellen was wiggling and contemplating his size and shape, Jack had been busy kissing every inch o her body that he could reach. He had his arms planted on either side of her body and pinned her hips against the edge of the bed with his lower body. Jack moved his body so that his erection was firmly placed between her legs. She could feel the slid of his cock against the swollen lips of her sex.

"Please, Jack," Ellen begged. "Please, please, please."

He was driving her crazy and he had been for months- no years. Now he had to follow through, damn it she needed him to follow through. Ellen felt Jack shake with arrogant laughter, before the mushroom tip of this erection brush against her intimate entrance. He lay completely on top of her, kissed her cheek before gliding slowly into her tight channel.

"I love you, Ellen," he moaned. "I love you so much."

The momentary pain that came with his intrusion only served to intensify the pleasure that was suddenly flooding her system. She'd always gotten a high from minor pain, specifically the minor pain that came from Jack. He began thrusting gently, almost completely on instinct. It was a slow, pleasant pressure deep in her belly. As his thrusts became more confident, they got harder and faster and Ellen felt the pleasure build to an almost unbearable point. If Jack didn't do something to alleviate the pressure she was sure to explode.

"Jack, I need… I need… Please! Please!"

Ellen didn't know what she needed, but she needed it now. As if sensing her true desire, Jack moved his right hand between her legs. Using his rough, callous covered finger tips his flicked over her clit until Ellen was thrusting, arching and wiggling madly against him. She no longer had the capacity to form words she was so turned on. Nothing made sense to her. Nothing mattered but the pleasure that Jack was giving her.

Ellen's legs began to shake as Jack thrust as hard and as fast as he could, when all of the sudden she broke. The pleasure came suddenly and without warning. The edges of her vision blurred and darkened, she screamed herself horse before the pleasure began to fade.

Her body relaxed. She was so lovingly satisfied that she barely noticed that Jack was still thrusting into her. He continued in his rhythm for a few more minutes before Ellen felt a hot spurt within her and a groan from deep in Jack's chest that told Ellen he had finished. Jack collapsed on top of her.

With all of his sizable weight pressing her to the bed and his length still hot and heavy inside of her, Ellen realized that even with his father's bad attitude, the super long reception and the argument that Linda, Hastings, Seph and Madison were no doubt already having, her wedding was perfect.

After a little bit Jack rolled off to the side and pulled her into his arms. Ellen kissed his chest in silent thanks.

"We should probably get under the covers," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"I don't know, Ellen. I'm liking the view," Jack said, making a point of leering at her exposed nude body.

Ellen punched him in the stomach and they both laughed. She curled closer to him, content to simply lay in his arms for the rest of their life together, when her leg brushed the very thing that had given her so much pleasure. Ellen bit her lip. She wanted desperately to look at it, but certainly staring blatantly at it wouldn't be okay. Would it?

But the more she thought about it, the more okay it seemed. He was her husband after all. If anyone had the right to stare at his naked body it was her. Besides he'd looked at her naked body, it was only fair that she got to look at his.

Mind made up Ellen propped her head on her fist to get a good look at his body. She started at the top, looking into his eyes. They shone with love and desire and genuine happiness. Her eyes glided down to his strong shoulders to his chest. His firm upper body tapered to his narrow hips and strong legs that lay casually over the edge of the bed. And at the center of his body was his partially erect penis.

After laying her eyes on it, Ellen couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried. At first she wanted the look to seem casual, but once she caught sight of it she couldn't break eye contact. It was long and thick and heavily veined, with a smear of blood on it.

Damn, Ellen thought. That's my virginity right there.

Thankfully Jack hadn't seemed to notice the blood, but he had noticed Ellen's staring. He ran his hand through Ellen's hair drawing her attention back to his face. "See something you like?" he asked.

"This new found arrogance of yours is either very sexy or very troubling," she said. Jack laughed. "To answer your question, smart ass, I like everything about you."

"That's good to know." Jack crossed his arms behind his head and sighed happily.

"That's good to know," Ellen repeated sitting up.

"Very good to know."

"It had better be better then good to know, Swift," Ellen snapped. "And you'd better speak up soon, or I'm going to kick your ass."

"You know if we're ever going to present a united front for our kids, you've got to stop threatening to kick my ass all the time," Jack pointed out.

"Well, then maybe you should stop being an ass all the time," Ellen suggested.

Jack reached up, cupped the back of Ellen's head and pulled her down so he could kiss her, but she head butted him.

"Damn it, Ellen!"

"That's right, Mr. Swift! That's what I think of your 'that's good to know'! Mrs. Swift doesn't bend over for anyone!"

"Well…" Jack grinned knowingly, reminding her of the fact that she had quite literally just bent over for him.

"Shut up, Jack."

"I love you too, Mrs. Swift."

The End