Teddy looked intently at Lilly across the table of their booth.

"So. You know the routine."

"Inside and out. I'll monitor constantly, record when I can and call you if I get any significant hints."

"Yeah. If something has been going on while they've been away, we are going to get to the bottom of it."

"Do you think something has been going on?" Lilly asked. Teddy shrugged.

"You say Lucy has been a bit weird on the phone."
"Not weird, just…I'm convinced there is always someone there in the background, but she doesn't room with anyone. It doesn't follow that it is Stig."

"Hmm. Except I overheard my aunt tell my mom that Stig seems to have developed 'responsibility' while he's been away. She can't get over the fact he actually phones home. Aunt Casey thinks he is being nagged into it by a girl."

"I guess they could have met other people while they were away."
"Lilly. Do I have to remind you of the weight of evidence against that theory?" Her boyfriend said, pulling up an over stuffed lever arch file.

Lilly shook her head. "No I get what you are saying. So Observe and Record, then?"

"Observe and Record." He said, taking her hand and kissing it.

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"Looking forward to the kids coming home?" Cathy asked Casey as they had coffee in the local mall.

"I can't wait. The house has been too quiet without Stig. You must be missing Lucy."

"Yes. It will be nice to have her home. We are quite close. I'm glad you've been around or I would have missed having a confidante." She paused. "It's nice of Stig to bring Lucy home. James wasn't looking forward to the trip."

"Interesting isn't it?" Casey said, pointedly. Cathy looked up and grinned at her.

"Do you think they have some news for us?"
Casey chuckled. "I doubt they'll be in a hurry to share."

"I might find it all a bit of a shock if you hadn't warned me that you suspected something when they went off to college."

"Have you had any confirmation?"

"Not exactly, but she's keeping something from me."

"I worried for a long time that he would treat her like some of the girls he dated in school, but I don't think that will be the case. There's just something about the way he looks at her."

"Like Derek, you mean?" Cathy smiled.

A week after Stig and Lucy had gone to college, Casey and Cathy had been having their normal weekly catch up and Casey had looked more thoughtful than normal. Cathy was concerned and asked her friend what was wrong.

"How would you feel about your daughter dating my son?" Casey had asked suddenly. Cathy's eyes had widened.

"Why is something going on?"

"I don't know. It's just…promise you won't laugh at me?"

Cathy looked eager. "I promise."

"It's just a couple of times I've caught him looking at Lucy the way that Derek used to look at me in the weeks leading up to us…'resolving our difficulties'." She sighed. "To be honest, I've thought since the day that I met you that there was a subtext to their relationship. It just reminded me so much of my early relationship with Derek. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to worry you."

"Why would it worry me?"

"Stig is hardly good son-in-law material."

Cathy laughed. "A bit premature?"

"Can I show you something?" Casey asked. She led the way into the living room and hooked up the old DVD player.

"I really must get these converted to a newer format. They get so scratched." She slid in a DVD and switched on the TV and pressed play.

"What are we watching?"

"Marti's eighth birthday party."

Three more DVDs later, and Cathy smiled at Casey, who raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Cathy said. "At least the in-laws get on." They both laughed.

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At first the journey had been fun. The thought of five hours together in the car, on the way home for the Christmas Break and the memory of the previous night when, yet again, Stig had stayed over at Lucy's. This time the excuse was the early start.

Of course, it hadn't been that much of an early start at all because in the past week, getting out of Lucy's bed in the morning had become incredibly difficult for both of them since their relationship had reached its new exciting level. Stig had only been back to his own dorm room to change clothes and pack. He glanced at his girlfriend remembering the feel of her bare skin on his when he woke.

"This vacation is going to be hard." He said as they grew closer to London. Lucy sighed. "Tell me about it."

"Being alone together is going to be impossible."

"I know. Being together at all is going to be impossible."

"I want to spend all my time with you and I can't."

"Maybe we need the space. Things are fairly intense at the moment."

"You mean the fact that I can't stop touching you?" he asked. Lucy smiled.

"Or me, you."

"Do we tell them?"

"If we don't they will work it out soon enough."

"I guess we'll just have to make the best of it. Afterall, we'll be going back to Queens in three weeks."

She grinned. "I can't wait!"

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"Do you think this will win us the Husband and Father of the year awards? Jointly?" James asked.

"If it doesn't there's no justice in the world." Derek replied. "Are you sure Cathy is supposed to be at our house?"

"Oh yeah. It's a weekly date."

"Cool. I can't wait to see the look on Casey's face."

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"You did WHAT?!" Casey screamed at her husband. "Are you INSANE?"

Cathy meanwhile was smacking her husband on the arm. "After everything I told you...and you still went ahead and did it."

Derek sighed. He was slightly more robust than James when it came to being beaten up by his spouse.

"Casey. Back off, okay. I know you think we should be banning them from even glancing at each other, but…"

"I never said that. I don't have a problem with them dating."

"But, if they are dating the chances are they are going to have sex whether they are living under the same roof or not. Our staying in the same ski lodge is not going to make any difference. They'll just wait until they get back to Queens." He looked at her pointedly. "That's what we did."

James took his cue from Derek. "Exactly Cathy. They are adults. If there is something going on between them the chances are it is already sexual, and we can't stop them. Your mom tried and look where it got us."

"But going on holiday together, staying in the same lodge…" Casey objected.

"With the rest of their families." Derek said calmly. "Come on, you've been wanting a skiing holiday for ages. And it was too good an opportunity to miss. There are only a handful of those big lodges available, and they had a cancellation."

"So how did you see this working?" Cathy asked.

"We thought Lilly could share with Lucy, Stig could share with Teddy (don't start Casey – It doesn't freak Ed and Liz out so it shouldn't freak you out.) and Bethany could have a room to herself because the youngest two will share."

"Sounds okay to me, Casey." Cathy said.

"A skiing holiday would be nice."

"A skiing holiday would be awesome Casey! Come on!" Derek said, catching his wife's waist. "And the kids will love it."

"If we're grandparents in nine months time, it's not my fault." She said. Derek laughed.

"Maybe they are just friends."

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"Don't get too comfortable." Derek said to Stig after the welcome home party had dissolved to its various holes. "You've just got time to shower and pack a bag."

Stig looked up, concerned.

"Why?"

"We are going on a vacation!" Derek announced, thinking to himself that he really sounded like George.

"You might be Dad, but I'm not."

"Oh yes you are…skiing."

Stig shook his head. "Sorry. I'm staying here."

Casey passed on the landing. "Come on Stig. I promise this will be the last guilt trip we take you on, and it's only for a week."

"Oh I doubt that. I wanted to see my friends."

"And you can do. Just not this week. And most of them are going away anyway. Even the Morgans aren't going to be here."
"What do you mean?" Stig said, sitting up.

And Derek knew then.

"Cathy told me James surprised them all with a last minute cancellation."

Stig sighed. Whilst he knew he could resist being made to go with his family, he knew Lucy couldn't.

"Fine. Okay I'll go." He said.

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The journey wasn't too bad. He had plugged in his ipod, turned up the volume and sulked like a teenager again – while he was awake. Since he had driven for five hours himself that morning, he was very tried.

Fortunately, the journey to the ski lodge only took three hours, and although it was dark it wasn't late when they pulled into the little complex and parked up outside their lodge.

"It's a bit big, isn't it Dad?" asked Bethany. Derek chuckled.

"It has to be for there to be room for all the stuff you've brought. Stig. Help your mom unload the shopping into the kitchen, please."

Stig thought about behaving like a teenager again and then realised he didn't want to.

"Sure, Dad." He said, picking up a box of groceries and carrying them into the lodge. He walked up the stairs and into the large kitchen area, deposited the box on the work surface. Then he turned around and made his way back passed the living room to go down stairs.

"Hi." A voice said from the living room doorway.

Stig turned in surprise. Lucy grinned.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"What the hell kind of greeting is that?" she retorted. He rectified the situation, crossing the distance between them in an instant.

As his hands found their familiar place on her waist, she giggled against his neck.

"This is our parents' idea of a 'prank'." She said. "Our families are sharing this joint for Christmas."

"No Way!"

She nodded.

"Wow! What a Christmas present!" he said.

"Don't get too excited. I'm sharing with Lilly and you're sharing with Teddy."

"I'm sure a financial arrangement can be worked out to sort that one out."

She shook her head. "I can't do that under the same roof as our parents. Besides, they already thought of that. The rooms are at opposite ends of the house, we'd have to walk passed both parents bedrooms and more importantly, Bethany's room."

"Ah. That is a problem." He kissed her.

"Spending Christmas together is good, though." He said.

She pulled his head to hers. "Spending Christmas together is perfect." She whispered, kissing him back.

"STEVEN! Put her down and come give your mom a hand!" Derek's voice called up the stairs.

"That guy has eyes in the back of his head." Stig muttered as he pulled away.

"At least they know. No sneaking around."

"Hmm. Stolen kisses might have been fun."

Lucy laughed and followed him down to help unload.

"It still can be." She said suggestively.

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Author's Note:

A little bit more to go on this, I think.