Meanwhile, Cam lay on his front on his bed, feeling glum and more than a little lonely with his best friend/sister being out of the country, and to cap it all off, his girlfriend, who not only lived in a different state but was also out of the country too, participating in an archaeological expedition in Britain.
He groaned when the phone rang, hoping half-heartedly that it wasn't Sam's colleagues trying to cheer him up, and he answered it in a grumpy voice,
"What?!"
"Oh, my Major sounds pissed. Did I wake you? I'm sorry, honey... wait, it's six here, which means it's two at home. Hey, it's one in the afternoon in high Colorado. Stop making me feel guilty."
He almost fell off his bed in shock as he exclaimed on hearing her voice, "Tess!?"
"Uh… yeah, who else were you expecting?"
He laughed, turning to lie on his back as he said exuberantly, "Oh baby, I've missed you so much."
She replied in a quieter voice, sounding serious, "I've missed you too."
"I didn't think you'd be able to ring."
She remarked, "Cameron, it's England not Ethiopia."
He smiled, asking, "How's the dig going? Find any mummies?"
"Ordinarily, I'd paraphrase my previous statement, replacing 'Ethiopia' with 'Egypt', but there have been mummies found in parts of Britain and Ireland, preserved by other means such as tar or peat. Anywho… the geophysical survey found two large dark spots in a farmer's Wheatfield. Robbie-bob thinks they could be Neolithic grave circles."
"What did I say about mummies?! It just had to be death-related. You ok?"
"Yeah, fine… everything's pricey here though. Anyway… you?"
"I'm good. Missing you though. Sam's fire-fighters tried to get me to go out with them but I just don't feel up to it… What are you doing now?"
"Oh… going for dinner with the team. We finished up a little early after digging the first trenches. The real digging's going to be tomorrow at sunup. Seriously, all fascination aside, I want to come home… but it's only a week more, maybe two. You heard from Danny and Sam yet?"
He replied with a small sigh, "Yep, they sound as though they're having a whale of a time."
"I was thinking about writing to them but then it would have been silly if they'd come home just as the letter arrived over there. Hey, any news from the witch?"
"No idea. Heard nothing from her since she spent the night sobering up in a cell after crashing the wedding. Damn."
He closed his eyes as he considered the potential ramifications had that day gone differently, if Sam hadn't managed to dodge the blows from Sarah, particularly the one aimed to her swollen abdomen. She said softly, doing the same thing and realising that he was too,
"Baby… it's ok. Sam and the baby are safe now."
"I know, but you know how things could've gone differently. It's scary. I should have been able to protect her better."
"Cam… how was anyone to know that she would do that? Even Danny thought she had more class than that. Huh… even Danny… what am I saying? The guy's scarily oblivious sometimes. Well, my point is that no-one could have known that she would have done something like that."
He said, determined, "I'm going to have to do a better job when they come back."
"Cam…"
"No, Tess. Sam's closer to me than even my sisters, and it would kill me if something happened to her or her kid."
She said quietly after a pause, "Yeah."
He closed his eyes again and said as Isis leapt up from the floor onto his stomach, "Baby… I'd die if anything happened to you. You mean more to me than everything."
"More than Sam?"
Gazing at the cat that he was taking care of for the Jacksons, he frowned, replying as he stroked the feline between the ears, "That's not fair."
After a much longer pause than previously, she said apologetically with a sigh, "I'm sorry, honey. I'm just feeling so damn stressed what with this dig and the limited timeframe we've got to do everything in and still have a report done. I know how you care about Sam… and I guess I feel the same way… for Danny too."
He remarked, his heart feeling heavy on hearing her sound so strained, "I'm saving up my kisses for you, baby. You're getting them when you come home… and there's something I want to talk to you about."
She groaned softly, saying, "I can't wait. What's the little talk thing about?"
"Living arrangements."
When she didn't reply, he continued, a little nervous, "I know we agreed to keep it long distance what with you staying over at Jackson's… and the wedding an' everything, but I've been doing a lot of thinking. I really do want us to live together. I don't mind where it is… I'll get myself transferred to New York if it means being with you."
She eventually found her voice, saying, sounding stunned, "Oh honey…"
He replied resignedly, "It's ok, it was just me thinking… you know what that's like…"
She said after a small pause, "Colorado has a teaching spot… which I applied for."
His eyes widened in surprise and he said, utterly surprised, "Oh, Tess. Did you get the post?"
"Yep. I had an inkling about that Major of mine."
He grinned, and then asked cheekily after a breather, "So… what are you wearing?"
She remarked in an equally cheeky voice, "You first."
"No fair."
"Hey, you're the one being ungentlemanly."
He snorted with laughter and she did too as he said, "It's not like I haven't seen you naked before now."
"You too."
"And it was ladies' first."
"Cam?!... Aww, honey, I gotta go. I'll try to call real soon, ok?"
He replied, inwardly disappointed, "Yeah. Can't wait."
"Love you."
"Love you too, baby."
Disconnecting the phone, he dropped it onto the bed next to him and rubbed his face with his hands, groaning aloud. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment and then looked at Isis, who was watching him with interest. He smiled faintly, remarking as he made to get up,
"Come on, Queen of the desert… there's only one reason you get so cuddly with little ol' me. Meh, let's go have dinner; I could do with the company."
He got up and as the cat walked with him out of the room, he continued, glancing down at her, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about long distance relationships would you? No, I don't mean a crush-on-Garfield kind of thing… Hey, how about lasagne?"
