"Well, that was fun. Let's never do this again."
He grunted in agreement as they walked the last hundred yards to one of the side entrances to the palace. His leg was killing him and he knew they were both about to drop. All he wanted to do was get Deeg inside and set her in front of the hottest fire they could find. She had been shivering non-stop for the last twelve hours. Hell, he was cold. If he was then she must be close to hypothermia. Five feet from the gates one of the two guards on the outside stopped them.
"This is restricted area. Turn around and-"
"Shove it." Deeg choked on a laugh as he ripped off his hat. He may have a few days beard growing but this idiot should recognize them. The kid removed the make shift scarf she was wearing over her head and the uniformed man straightened all over before dropping into a bow. He wasn't mollified. He was tired, dirty, hungry, sore, and worried about his girl. "Let us in or I start shootin'."
"Would you be nice to the boy?" The other guard was scrambling to do what he had ordered as the young man straightened. "He's doing his job like he's supposed to."
"No."
He shoved his hat on his head and they walked in. She rolled her eyes and he saw her wink to the man he had yelled at out of the corner of his eye as they passed. Suppressing his mirth he hustled her into the warmth of the palace. They were spotted by a steward immediately. Clearly relieved the older man came up to them and he nodded in greeting before throwing out rapid-fire orders. He was too tired to stand around and be polite. This particular man knew him well enough not to be offended by his attitude. He'd be sure to thank him properly once he had rested.
"We'll be in the parlor in the family wing. Tell the queen and consort we're back and find my children. We need hot food and coffee. If you can find Raw have him come up to look us over."
"Of course."
"Thank you." Deeg called to him as he dragged her up the closest flight of stairs. Five minutes later and he was shutting them into the empty parlor. He was pleased that there was a fire already burning in the hearth and the curtains were open to let in the light from the setting suns. It had taken them the better part of the day to hike here but he was glad they had pushed as hard as they had. They were finally home. Deeg let out a grateful sigh as she shook out of the old coat and tossed it over a chair. He tossed his duster next to it and ushered her in front of the fire.
Tossing a few more logs on the blaze he straightened up and began to unwrap her hands. She hissed and he darted a glance to her face. "Do your hands hurt?"
"A little bit."
He frowned and unwrapped them quickly. They were chaffed red and slightly swollen. "You've got some mild frostbite." She bit her lip and he held them closer to the fire being careful not to jostle them. "It's alright. It's nothin' bad. Raw should be able to fix it in a minute or two. Just keep 'em close to the fire until he gets here." He thought it would be a good idea to keep all of her close to the fire actually. He checked her pulse and found it beating harder than usual but it wasn't near as bad as it could have been.
"Ok."
Hovering over her shoulder as he studied her hands they both jumped when the door banged open. Their heads flew up simultaneously and he saw the consort fly into the room. "Spitfire!"
"Ahamo!" She smiled happily and held out her arms to him as he raced across the room to her and captured her in a bear hug. She giggled as he spun her around and hugged him back until he set her on her feet.
"Are you alright? Where have you been?" He was looking her all over as the queen and her sister came into the room. She was assaulted all over again and he smiled slightly as she tried to answer their questions but was repeatedly cut off by other ones. Then Az caught her hand and she yelped. Alarmed, he stepped forward and yanked her out of the small group in order to put her in front of the fire again.
"What happened? I'm sorry!" Her sister, dressed in a simple green dress, hovered erratically next to the queen.
"She's fine, Princess." Deeg smiled reassuringly at her sister. "Got some frostbite. Needs to see Raw and she'll be right as rain."
Az stepped next to her and apologized again. His girl smiled and told her she was being silly when Jeb and his wife came in followed closely by Raw and Glitch. This was a reunion.
"Dad." His son sagged with relief and he moved past the royal family to his boy and tugged him into a tight hug as Laura smiled at him.
"Jeb." He felt unbelievable better at the sight of his son and daughter. "I missed you son." His boy hugged him back
Raw was already moving toward the kid and he let go of Jeb so he could kiss the red head on the cheek. He had been hit with a number of emotions when Jeb told him he was going to ask her to marry him but he truly thought his son had fallen in love with a wonderful woman. Laura had been orphaned early on in the war, and while he didn't know the details he knew she'd had a rough time of it growing up. Even with all her hardship she had made herself into something. She had joined up with a resistance cell at thirteen and Adora had taken her in. His wife had raised Laura along with Jeb until she died. Laura had become a competent soldier and had a gift with animals the likes of which he'd never seen before. She could break and train a horse in a week.
She was polite as anyone he had ever met and he had a sneaking suspicion she had come from a wealthy background. Her parents had most likely been killed in a political move by the witch. She never made mention of them or where she had come from and he didn't ask. He was sure Jeb knew and that was enough for him. It had only taken her three weeks of quiet work to get on his good side. Considering he was still reeling from the suit and tossing Zero in prison without succumbing to the impulse to kill him he gave her points for that. The only other people that had managed to wiggle their way into his graces were his traveling companions and his son.
Once he realized Jeb was serious about his choice he had made an effort to integrate her into their small family. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him. He wanted to be able to help his son and his wife if they needed it. He wanted Laura to feel at home not out of place when she was married. That was how it was supposed to be. It wasn't fair that she didn't have anyone to turn to if she had a problem. When Laura realized what he was doing she had asked him if he would have dinner with them. The ice had broken in a rush after that and now he considered her his daughter. He'd always wanted one and she seemed more than happy to have him treat her like one.
"How're you doin', Blossom?"
"Worried sick!" The young woman hugged him tightly and he patted her back in apology. Then he frowned and held her away from him. Gazing down at her loose yellow dress he made a startled noise when he spotted the small bulge he had felt.
Jeb laughed happily. "Surprise."
Laura flattened the dress over her stomach with fluttering fingers as a huge smile broke over his face. "Oh, Flower. Look at you." Joy exploded in his chest and he stopped himself from reaching out to touch the bulge. He didn't want to scare her. She was a bit jumpy at times.
Her light green eyes found his and she smiled hesitantly before grabbing the hand that was between them and putting it on her belly. He knew he was grinning like a fool at the thought of a new baby in the family. Jeb came up next to Laura and kissed her cheek before glaring at him. "We were going to tell you when you were supposed to get back last month. Where have you two been?"
"That's a bit of a story." He answered distractedly. He was far more interested in the fact that he was going to be a grandfather. "When are you due?"
"Mid-summer." He continued to smile idiotically and the quiet woman squeezed the hand he had on her stomach. "Are you happy?"
"Happy isn't the right word." He smiled at her and took her hand as he let her stomach go. "I'm down right bowled over with joy."
Her eyes brightened and Jeb shook his head. "She thought you wouldn't be excited."
"That's nonsense." He tugged her to a couch and she sat down. Kissing her hand he let her go and smiled teasingly down at her. "Don't even need Jeb anymore with a new one on the way. Let's hope the kid takes after its mother."
"I'm right here." Jeb muttered good-naturedly as he sat next to her.
"We'll talk more once things settle down. You two tell me if you need anything."
"Don't we always?" Jeb caught her hand as he spoke but Laura shot him a grateful smile and mouthed later to him. He laughed and retreated a few feet.
Picking a nearby loveseat he sank down onto the cushions. He shoved his leg out and tried not to wince at the throbbing. He was too happy to care. Around them the royal family were doing the same and Deeg plopped down next to him tiredly. Raw approached him and he nodded at him. "Hey, Furball."
Brown eyes greeted him. Raw said more with his body language than words but he could tell the viewer was happy to them. "Tin man and princess missed. Raw could only see lake and feel pain."
"I'm fine now."
The viewer rumbled softly and crouched down. At his nod of consent he set his gloved hands over the wounds on his calf. "Healing well. Will finish." There was a lull in conversation all around the room as white-hot heat shot into the area. He gritted his teeth and the heat vanished abruptly with all the pain.
"Thanks, Raw."
"Cain welcome." The viewer retreated and then the questions started again.
"Alright!" Deeg held up her now normally colored hand. Raw had fixed her up as well. "Look we have a problem people."
"The two of you ran into a problem? How shocking." Glitch commented without much surprise but a cheeky smile. "Perhaps you should tell us about it from the beginning."
He nodded. "On our way back from the meeting with the guild we got ambushed at the first town we stopped at for gas."
"By who?" Jeb was tapping his fingers on the sofa. It was his normal reaction when he was angered.
Deeg answered. "Longcoats."
He could already tell they'd be telling this story in tandem. "Six of them. We got out of town but just barely. I figure we killed between three and four of 'em but I got shot in the leg."
Deeg nodded. "I managed to call a travel storm when the last of them cornered us."
"You what?" Her mother's lavender eyes were huge.
"I was a little desperate. We ended up at the tepee."
"Tepee? My tepee?" Ahamo questioned. Only another slipper would know what she was talking about.
He raised an eyebrow and turned to his girl. "Is there more than one?"
The kid shrugged. "How would I know that?"
"Well you knew about the one you took us to."
"Yeah, but I'd been there before."
"Two years ago."
"What does the length of time have to do with the original question? I really think you should ask someone else about it. Besides, you know I didn't plan for us to end up there."
"Excuse me?" They both turned to look at the Glitch and found everyone else in the room looking at them with various degrees of amusement. "The problem?"
He grumbled. "Right. Deeg patched me up and we stayed there until two days ago when I could walk back here."
The kid shifted and looked toward the fire. "We think there are longcoats hiding in every town. They started their own resistance cells."
"What?" Jeb was enraged. "How do you know that?"
He picked up the conversation as Deeg retreated internally. He knew she was still reeling from what they had watched. They may have been able to distract each other last night but even that particular activity couldn't keep the memories away for long. "To be honest we don't know for sure. It's the only thing we came up with that makes any type of sense. We got ambushed out on the west side and when we were hiking back-" His eyes darted to the kid. "We ran across two more longcoats."
Deeg nodded. "They were talking about wearing their old uniforms too close to town."
"What town?" He could see the queen thinking.
"No idea. We didn't stop."
Ahamo stood up and started pacing. "Did you head straight here? Dead north?"
"We did."
"Thresher." The consort stopped in front of the window. "That town is as big as a breadbox."
The queen nodded. "Master Raw, we need your help."
"Understand. Must contact other viewers in city. Stronger together. Will see farther and better." Raw made some quick calculations. "Should be able to find answers by late afternoon tomorrow."
"Thank you."
"Majesty is always welcome. Must go. Contact must be quick. Quiet. Raw will visit tomorrow. Happy back."
The viewer left quickly and passed two stewards on his way out. Deeg let out a grateful sound at the sight of a tray of food and he sighed at the sight of two steaming cups of coffee. The men set the plates in front of them and bowed. Deeg thanked them and he nodded tiredly as they retreated. The girl was on the stew they had brought them in an instant and he watched her closely as she pulled her legs up to prop the bowl as she ate.
He decided he'd rather have coffee and picked up the cup and leaned back into the sofa. He knew they were being critically inspected by everyone left in the room and grumbled as he drank. Deeg paused in her rapid consumption to mutter to him. "They were worried. Let them get it out of their systems."
Jerking his head he glanced over to Jeb. "What's been happenin' here?"
For the next half an hour they were given a brief overview of what they had missed while they ate and relaxed. The large majority of it had been trying to figure out where they had vanished to and Raw's insistence that he knew they were safe. Then there had been the corresponding hushing up of the incident until he and Deeg showed up again. By the time their families had filled them in they had both finished eating and his girl was leaning into the corner of the sofa to keep herself up.
Ahamo noticed the problem as quickly as he did. "You two have done enough for the day. You should clean up and sleep. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."
"Wyatt?" Deeg leaned over to him and he raised an eyebrow at her purposefully loud whisper. "I think he's trying to tell us we stink."
Glitch chuckled as he answered her. "That's you not me."
She hit his arm and stood up. "Please. I'm a princess. We do not smell, ever." She glanced at her sister. "Do we, Az?"
Dark eyes widened as her sister scrambled for a response. It took her a moment too long and came out less than believable. "No."
He smirked and Deeg huffed. "Fine. I see how it is. No support from anyone." Sticking her tongue out at the room in general as she bent down to hug her sister. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
He followed her about twenty minutes later. He didn't want anything to be obvious until they talked about how they should go about this and he wanted to be sure Jeb and Laura didn't need anything before he left. It had taken him less than an hour to turn into a mother hen. When Jeb raised an eyebrow and pointed out that he had been the one shot and trapped in the middle of nowhere he had wished them goodnight promising to find them for lunch the next day. He had a feeling he would be sleeping through breakfast.
He walked into his room with his duster over his arm and tried to decide how to sneak into his girl's rooms. It shouldn't be hard considering her suit was one door down from his. First he wanted to get clean. Walking into his bedroom from his sitting room he tossed his coat over the chair in front of his desk and headed for the tub. Starting the water he stripped out of his clothes pleased that he wouldn't have to wear this particular shirt or pair of trousers again. They may have gotten him through the last month but he was tired of them. Kicking them to a corner he got into the hot water and sighed.
Letting the heat run into him he enjoyed it for a few minutes before working up the energy to wash himself. Fifteen minutes later and he had gotten all the grime off and stepped out of the cooling water. Wrapping a towel around his waist he bent down and dug his razor out of his vest. He was starting to feel like a new person. Scraping the stubble from his chin he wiped off the last of the shaving cream and picked up a clean set of clothes he had taken into the tiled room with him.
Dressed, he ran the towel over his head once more before heading to the door. He wanted to find his girl and curl up with her. He wanted to hold her now that he was clean. He wanted to make her come again. He wanted to hear her cry out without having to worry about someone sneaking up on them in the darkness. He wanted to see her cheeks flush tomorrow morning when they woke up tangled together. If he were honest with himself he just wanted her.
Opening the door to his bedroom he turned on the light and paused in the doorway. Deeg was already under his blankets sleeping peacefully. Smiling softly at the picture she made he stopped next to her long enough to push her wet hair away from her face. The kid sighed and shifted. He saw a flash of blue and pulled the blanket away a bit. She was wearing a silky blue nightgown that clung to her body.
He sighed. Unwilling to wake her up after the long day of hiking he collapsed into the bed next to her after making sure his door was locked. Wrapping his arm around her waist had her twisting toward him in her sleep with a satisfied murmur. Maybe all he wanted was to have them stay like this for a little while longer. Everything else could wait until they had rested.