Author's note: This chapter is a little interlude really, I just liked the idea! Plus, I missed Mike and Rachel a little bit.

Please keep reading, reviewing, following and favouriting, this writer is a praise junkie.

Chapter 10 - Good Morning

"Dad?!"

Tex blinked into wakefulness, registering first the warmth of Nina's skin against his own, then the open bedroom door, and then his fifteen year old daughter staring down at him with an expression of total disbelief.

"Kat!" He quickly dragged the blankets up to cover both himself and Nina, who was blinking in confusion.

"What the- Kansas?" Her eyes finally focussed on the figure at the end of the bed, and she bit her lip. "Oh..."

"Dad?" Kathleen said again, but there was less shock in her voice now. "Want to tell me what happened to the apartment?"

"Uh..." Tex finally got himself together, kind of. "Honey, this is Ca- Nina. She's, ah, a friend of Rachel's, and we, ah…"

"Hi." Nina gave a sort of wave, clutching the blankets to her chest with her other hand. "I've been, er, looking forward to meeting you." She gave Tex an agonised glance.

Kat was still staring at them both, her mouth trembling. Then a snorting noise emerged, and she started to laugh.

"Dad! Seriously! Have you seen this place?" She was laughing really hard now, and Nina started to snigger, and Tex overcame his shock and started to laugh himself.

"Just tell me you didn't do it in my bed?!" Kat pleaded through her laughter.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away...

Something was falling on her face, Sasha thought, half awake. Rain, or maybe… snow? But wasn't it the wrong time of year for snow? She blinked her eyes open and realised it was Tom dropping feather light kisses on her cheekbone, her temple, the edge of her mouth.

"Morning, Sash." He murmured, smiling as she blinked up at him and brushing another kiss over her lips. "Last night was…" He stroked her cheek.

"It was." She agreed, her voice a little croaky from sleep, stretching and feeling a slight ache that made her smile.

"I do have to go to work today." He said softly, "But not just yet."

And she smiled and wound her arms around his neck, and pulled his head down for another kiss, a deeper one this time, a kiss filled with purpose and promise.

Meanwhile, at Mike and Rachel's...

Mike let himself into the apartment and immediately started to take off his mud caked BDUs.

"Fucking recruits." He muttered as he gathered the clothing up into a bundle and carried it through to the kitchen, treading lightly to avoid waking Rachel and Jamie. It was bad enough supervising night exercises, without getting knocked into a ditch by some seventeen year old idiot kid who couldn't watch where he was going. He dumped the clothes on the floor by the washing machine, and padded into the bedroom, expecting to find Rachel asleep. Instead she was sitting on the bed, looking slightly wild around the eyes, Jamie in her arms.

"Shh!" She hissed. "I literally just got him to sleep."

"How long was he awake?" He whispered back.

"Since last night! He hasn't slept, at all. And neither have I."

He rubbed a hand over his hair, then cursed when it came away dusted with dried mud. At the same moment, Jamie woke and started to cry again.

Mike looked down at his hand, then at his wife, then at their son. Rachel looked back at him, her expression halfway between laughter and tears.

"I spent last night convincing Sasha that all this is worth it." She said. "This morning, I'm having a minor wobble. I mean, I know we did all this backwards, and I know the world almost ended, but we just got married and-"

"Okay, enough." He leaned down and took Jamie from her. "I'll be right back."

Still wearing only his boxer shorts, he walked out the front door and across the hallway to bang on Tex's door. The contractor opened it after a couple of minutes, looking dishevelled and confused.

"XO?"

"It's been your turn for two straight days, even Tom is getting some, and this is supposed to be my goddamn honeymoon." Mike thrust Jamie into Tex's arms. "So hold this, I'll be back in an hour. Or two. Maybe three."

And he stalked back across the hallway and into his apartment, letting the door slam behind him as he swept down the corridor and into the bedroom, grabbed Rachel, lifted her into his arms, and kissed her.

"Come on Mrs Slattery, let's make some noise." He kissed her again as she smiled up at him. "And then let's get some sleep." He paused and thought for a second, "Or maybe the other way around." He conceded.