He smiled as Eleanor laughed and exclaimed, "You couldn't possibly be hungry, Hannah! It's only been a few hours since we ate."
Hannah grinned sheepishly, "I love these Cornish pasties. Maybe we could picnic on them after the next place."
Eleanor had to laugh again as Hannah put the pasties in Colby's backpack, along with her art suppplies. "Her accessory AND her pack mule. You're one of a kind, Colby."
"Dux femina facti!" They chorused in unison, laughing and nudging each other like schoolchildren on a field trip.
"What should we do next?" Don asked. "Do you think it's a little too late to be heading for St. Paul's Cathedral?"
"Mmm, yes, the last admission is at 4pm, but there's plenty to see and do here. Why don't we walk around here, go on to the Cabinet War Rooms. We can stop after that and picnic on Hannah's pasties in St James Park."
Don laughed, "We'd better buy a few more, then. I've seen Colby eat!" Colby's indignant look only made Don laugh harder.
They paired off as usual, as Eleanor led the way, pointing out places of interest along the way. After a while, Don slipped an arm around her and hugged her gently. "Everything alright?"
She smiled at him, "I'm fine. Just trying to deal with the situation."
"I won't let anything happen to you."
"Oh, Don, I know. It's just all very strange to me. I'm having difficulty adjusting to how matter-of-fact Hannah is about all of it."
"She's had to deal with it before. Far too much of it." Don murmured thoughtfully.
"And yet, she's still with him." Eleanor looked as though she couldn't understand why.
Don looked at her a little sadly. Eleanor's reaction was far more common that Hannah's.
She saw his reaction and slipped an arm around him, "It's just difficult to fathom. I'm only just beginning to understand how strong a woman needs to be in order to deal with the kind of life you lead." She paused thoughtfully, "Perhaps that's what Robin is struggling with."
Eleanor noticed Don's startled look, "I'm sorry, I've overstepped my bounds."
He shook his head, but didn't reply.
"I've always considered myself a strong woman. And I'd always considered Hannah soft, unless she was riled up about something. It's difficult for me to accept how well she's handling all of it, while I'm uncomfortable with just seeing the different sides of you."
"They've been through a lot together," Don murmured quietly. But he was turning it over in his mind now, wondering what it was that worked for Colby and Hannah. And wondering if he could make it work for Robin and himself.
They walked in companionable silence, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Ahead of them, Colby and Hannah talked and laughed as they walked, lost in each other.
Before long, they arrived at the Cabinet War Rooms. This underground bunker had been Churchill's command center during the second World War. When the bunker was closed down on August 16, 1945, many of the men and women working in the shelter cleaned off their desks, shut off the lights, and went home, never to return to the bunker. Everything had been left in-situ, and it was fascinating to Colby, to imagine Churchill sitting in his swivel chair, planning his campaigns.
"Look at that," Colby murmured to Don. That was a large map, filled with wool string and push-pins connecting the string into boundaries.
"They used different colored wool to represent different fronts in the war," Don mused, half to himself. "Red for the confirmed current front."
Colby nodded, "Black for the limit of the German advance in 1941, blue represented the limit of the German advance in 1942."
"And this pink wool for the start of the Russian advance in 1943," Eleanor joined in.
"These push-pins look like military assets and resources, such as supply ships," Colby finished off.
"He had it all at his fingertips. Or as best he could with the communications of the day," Don replied, fascinated by the details of the command.
Hannah was amused at how enthralled Colby was with all the command details. She'd never noticed his interest in military history before, although it made sense, if she'd really stopped to think about it. After all, he'd been in the military, and he was now in law enforcement.
Eleanor's own fascination was with the two men. Even in the midst of their own absorption, they managed to be alert. Their eyes were constantly checking the people around them. Colby was always aware of where Hannah was, and Eleanor realized that Don was doing the same with her. She wondered if she had just never noticed it, or if it was because they were officially protecting her.
They took their time as they made their way around the museum, then strolled on to St. James Park, settling down in a shaded area for their picnic. They sat a while, just chatting and laughing.
"Bogey at two o'clock and closing in," Colby murmured to Don, using the military style of identifying target positions.
"Another at four o'clock," Don replied. "How long has yours been tailing us?"
"Since Chinatown. Doesn't look like they're going to make much of a move though." Colby responded while squeezing Hannah's hand reassuringly. She had looked up at him with wide eyes when he first spoke to Don.
"I want a good look at them. Hannah, do you think you can sketch them later if you get a good look at them?" Don turned to Hannah in time to see determination replace the fear in her eyes.
Colby smiled with pride as she replied softly, "Not a problem."
"No, no, is this a good idea?" Eleanor was alarmed.
"We're not going to confront them," Don said gently, trying to calm her. "I just want to trick them enough to where we can get a good look at them."
"How do you propose to do that?" The alarm was evident in Eleanor's entire demeanor.
Don looked around. "Those boards there, with the posters and playbills. They look like they were put up to section off a construction zone. If we get behind that and walk along it, they might try to follow us, because they can't see us."
"Is that really going to work? Surely they wouldn't fall for something like that?"
Don shrugged, "It's worth a try."
"They've been following you and Eleanor, not Hannah and myself," Colby said. "Why don't you two head towards those boards. Hannah and I will drop back. I'll stop and kiss her or something. They'll have to pass us to follow you. Hannah could get a good look that way."
"Any excuse to get all over Hannah, huh?" Don grinned at Colby, who laughed.
"Well, it'll look natural, anyway."
Hannah giggled softly as Colby swung her around so she faced the pathway and kissed her soundly. Then she was astounded when the two men actually strolled past them. Colby chuckled at the astonishment on her face, "Lucky for us, they're sometimes really stupid. Do you have to sketch them now or can you do it later? We should try to join up with Don and Eleanor."
"I'll sketch them later."
Eleanor was quiet all the way home, alarmed that they'd been followed. She wondered how long that had been happening. She hadn't even noticed it. "Why were they following us? Why didn't they just attack us?"
Don hugged her reassuringly, "They're probably just gathering information right now. Or just keeping track of where you are." He looked over to Colby, "You two just going to settle in for the night?"
"Yeah, so we can get up bright and early in the morning, and visit St. Paul's Cathedral and Tower of London tomorrow. Hannah wants to include trips to Scotland and Ireland, and we'll only be able to do that on the weekends. We'll need to do as much of London this weekend as we can." Colby grinned wickedly at Don, "We'll put some music on so we won't be interrupted by someone screaming."
Hannah elbowed Colby in shocked surprise, but was reassured by Eleanor's laugh.
Don just shook his head at Colby in amusement.
"I can't believe you said that," Hannah said, laughing, after they'd gone into their own flat.
Colby grinned, "I wanted to make her laugh. She looked really scared."
Hannah sobered, "I'm a little scared too."
He wrapped his arms around her, "I'll make sure you're safe. I promise."
Slipping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close for a kiss. "Mmmm. Let's try the sofa tonight."
Laughing softly, Colby protested, "The sofa! That's not long enough!"
"We're not going to be in it, silly!"
"Show me."
Hannah slipped out of her clothes, and draped herself over the arm of the sofa, resting most of her body on the seats. Colby chuckled as he spanked her lightly. Hannah giggled. She'd expected that. This time, it didn't even tingle. Once, he would have spanked her just hard enough to smart, but he'd been much gentler since the shooting.
"I think I know what you want," he murmured in amusement. "But what makes you think that's what you'll get?"
"A girl can hope."
He picked her up just a little off the couch, so he could reach her breasts, making her gasp as he squeezed gently on her nipples. He was already hard and he pressed his erection against the cheeks of her butt, moaning a little with the pleasure the movement provided. Keeping her slightly elevated over the arm of the couch, he slid his hand over the soft skin of her abdomen, and on down between her legs. His strong slender fingers gently wreaked havoc over the sensitive nub and into her.
Her breaths were coming in shorter and shorter gasps as her hips swayed in rhythm with his fingers. Then he thrust deep into her, and continued the rhythm with his hips. He picked her up by her hips and moved her closer to the couch, which angled her down a little more, and groaned with the increased stimulation the angle provided.
Hannah cried out with the pleasure. His hard thrusts jerked her back and forth the seats a little, the nubby texture of the sofa kept her nipples hard as pebbles. Soon, she grabbed the cushions in her fists, as she moaned her orgasm into the sofa. And Colby wasn't far behind with his own orgasm.
"So much for turning on the music," Colby laughed softly, as he picked Hannah up and cradled her close to his heart. She snuggled close as they got into bed, talking quietly till they drifted off to sleep.
