As the plane taxied in to the private airstrip, just outside Oslo, Clarisse decided it was time that sleeping beauty woke up. Giving him a little nudge with her elbow, she turned to look at him. "Joseph…darling, we're here…". The only response she got was a sleepy groan. It was hardly surprising he was tired, given her insistence on flying out so very early in the morning, but she hoped all would be forgiven when he realised her motives. Still showing no signs of waking up, she tilted her head up a little, and touched his lips with her own. She eased back, scrutinising him…nothing. She smiled, and proceeded to kiss him properly, flicking her tongue across his lower lip. That got him. Another groan, not exactly of the convincingly 'sleepy' kind. An arm snaked round her, as he pulled her closer. As they broke apart to draw breath, she raised an eyebrow in mock-indignation.

"You were awake all the time, weren't you?" He smiled, stroking her cheek.

"No, my dear, I was having the most wonderful dream about this crazy woman who kept dragging me into bushes for passionate kisses…no matter how much I beat her off, she still had her wicked way with me…"

"Liar. And anyway," she added with an innocent smile, "that only happened once, and you know it." With that she tapped him on the nose with the tip of her finger and straightened herself out, ready to leave the plane.

Joe smiled, and stretched out himself, glancing round the plane quickly, automatically planning the travel arrangements for the next stage, momentarily forgetting that such duties no longer fell to him. They had only brought three security personnel with them – with Clarisse no longer reigning monarch, she was really not much of a target. Genovia had no contentious foreign policies, generally preferring neutrality in disputes, and the only potential risk Clarisse and himself ever faced was during public appearances in the country itself. Martin and Simon would travel in the second car, with the luggage, and Alex would drive Clarisse and himself in their own car. Excellent.

Stepping off the plane, though, he was confused. There was only one car. Surely someone must have messed up pretty badly for such an oversight to occur. Security threats or not, it was plain irresponsible to travel in a single vehicle, not to mention uncomfortable. He turned to Clarisse, opening his mouth to voice his objection, when he felt the slight pressure of her hand on his wrist. He looked at her, puzzled by the stern expression in her eyes.

"Not a word, do you hear?"

He nodded, more out of confusion than agreement. The three guards deposited the luggage into the rear of the car, and then proceeded to get in. He stepped forward, but again she stilled him,

"Just wait a moment."

Then they closed the doors. The pilot wandered down the steps of the aircraft, and, doffing his cap to Clarisse, smiled. As he wandered off towards the hanger, Joe didn't hear the "…lucky bugger…" which was uttered under his breath.

Totally bewildered now, Joe stepped to face Clarisse and tried again. This time, she smiled, and taking his hand in hers, turned him round to look out over the other side of the airstrip.

"Oh my God…", his voice was hushed, not quite believing his eyes. He had heard about them, of course, but they were not even meant to be on general release yet… He turned back to look at her, bringing her hand up to his lips, still lost for words.

She smiled again, winking as she pulled him across to take a closer look. "So…you like?"

"Me like….it's…it's…" Still he couldn't find the right words to…

"It's a Ferrari 612, 5.5 Scaglietti coupe….in black. I chose it all by myself." She reeled off proudly, impressed with herself for remembering all the numbers.

He spun and grabbed her about the waist, swinging her round a little as he did, not caring that the guards in the other car might be watching, and kissed her soundly. Having loosened it a little, he finally found his tongue,

"I was going to say 'it's perfect', but I suppose your description was more accurate." She smiled again, thrilled by his reaction. Never had she seen Joseph so relaxed and excited.

"Now, darling, I know that you did say that one of the benefits of being married to me was that you'd never have to drive me around again, but I was wondering if you might like to reconsider?"

She stepped towards the passenger door, and dropping one final kiss on her forehead, he opened it with a flourish. "Your Majesty…"

They had been travelling at a comfortable pace down the freeway for about two hours, when the cell phone in Clarisse's bag rang. Joe glanced across at her as she answered, first wondering a little since when exactly his wife had owned a cell phone and then, more interestingly, just who it was she was speaking to. He could glean little from the conversation…

"Hmm…yes, thank you. On the right? I see…yes, that will be perfect. About four, I would imagine…of course, it'll be on."

She hung up, and slipped the phone into her bag. He cast her another suspicious glance,

"So, are you going to tell me what you're up to now?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her grinning again.

"You might want to take the third right after this one, my dear." Her voice was calm, matter-of-fact, and most definitely giving nothing away.

"And why might I want to do that, pray do tell?" He decided to play along, given the last surprise, he was all hers today…

Clarisse, in the meantime, was enjoying herself immensely. Everything was going to plan, security had just confirmed the route, and Joseph was still none the wiser. She smirked as he tried again, attempting to sound stern,

"So tell me, my darling, why am I always the last to know these things?"

She shifted across a little, lifting her hand to cup his cheek, and replied in the most sugary voice she could muster,

"Because otherwise, my darling, I wouldn't be able to surprise you nearly so well…" She ran a thumb over his lips, seductively, causing his breath to catch a little. He didn't question her again after that, simply trying to keep his mind on the road was enough. Another ten minutes of emotionally charged silence, and he turned off to the right.

After a few minutes, Joe realised that the road onto which he'd turned lacked any of the usual signs and markings. He slowed a little, and, deciding to take control of the situation once and for all, pulled over. He switched off the engine and sat back quietly in his seat. He paused for a moment, and then turned across to look at her.

Her face was a picture of innocence. "Um…is there some kind of problem, Joseph?"

She couldn't believe just how much this gentle teasing had got under his skin, how stern he was being, and it amused her no end. Of course, she knew that Joseph was used to planning everything, knowing everything, indeed, having everything his own way, but this was just too funny. This particular game would have to happen more often…

In the meantime, unclipping her seatbelt, she decided to put him out of his misery. Sitting up a little, she ran her hand casually back and forth across the dashboard, stroking it seductively. She stifled a giggle, as she noticed him swallow involuntarily. Moving across a little, she slid her hand down to his knee, his eyes following her movements,

"You know, my love," she paused, idly caressing his leg, "the nice gentleman who advised me on my choice happened to mention that this little thing can do 0-60 in around 4.2 seconds…and…well…I was wondering if you might like to give it a try?"

His eyes flicked up from the delicate dance her hand was performing on his leg to her sparkling eyes. "Really…? Clarisse, where are we?", he looked around outside again, as if to emphasise the point.

"The very extensive grounds of the palace…which have been cleared of all maintenance vehicles, I should add…they are entirely at your disposal, my darling. What can I say, Annalisa owed me a little favour…"

He smiled, clasping her hand in his, caressing her fingers. "So this is why you woke me at such an ungodly hour?"

She closed her eyes and nodded, "Wouldn't have been much fun in the dark, now would it?"

He leant over to kiss her, breaking away only to whisper "Thank you" against her lips. Kissing his nose, she chuckled a little, and raising an eyebrow she pulled back a little. She reached back to refasten her seatbelt,

"Hmm…you can thank me properly later, my love, but first, let's see what you can do with this baby."

Joe needed no further encouragement than that, and slipped the key back into the ignition, and revved the engine loudly. Clarisse laughed, settling back into her seat, faking a yawn… and then he floored it, causing her to shriek with excitement as they shot down the deserted road.