Len woke slowly to the feeling of something tickling his chest. Jo's fingers were playing with his necklace as she slept in his arms. Carefully he pulled his arm from under her. "Daddy?"

"It's ok Turtle, you can stay in bed if you want."

"No, I want to stay with you." The little one sat up in bed. "Can we pick some peaches today? I can climb the trees without any help now."

"Alright baby, but no higher than the first few branches." He didn't want her to get too hurt if she fell out of the tree. He had broken more than one bone doing that. "You need to brush your teeth again and get dressed." He noticed Seri's note on the end table. "Aunt Seri went with Uncle Jim to town. I know your grandma and Uncle George are going into town, so, I guess that leaves us and Aunt Callie. She loves to pick peaches, but she ends up eating as she picks."

"But daddy, that is what makes it fun!" Jo jumped from the bed and walked to the door. "I won't be long. Do you want me to get Aunt Callie?"

"No, I'll go wake her up." He didn't know if she was dressed. "You go get ready and get yourself a bowl of cereal. I'll be down after a very quick shower."

"Ok, daddy!" This was going to be the best day ever! Jo left and ran to her room.

Len went out after her. He went to the end of the hall and lightly knocked on Callie's door before he entered. "Hey sleepyhead, it's 11:00, time to rise and shine." Callie pulled the covers over her head. "You know something? This room smells like sex. Care to tell me anything?"

Callie sat up quickly. The sheets fell down exposing the hickey she had on her left breast. "Len please."

"Callie, I can't believe…actually yes I can. Fuck it! That is the problem. I can't believe he would…" Len passed pissed and went to completely angry.

"Len, I love him and I think he loves me. Please stop, please." She was crying. Her entire life she worked to make Len proud. He had never been angry with, or disappointed in, her before this morning.

"Did you say that to him, did he say it to you?"

"No, I'm not that stupid. But we did promise each other that if either of us met someone we could become serious with, we would let the other one know. Neither of us is ready to make a commitment like you and Seri, but maybe someday. Len, I haven't felt like this about anyone else. He treated me different, he cared about how I felt. He made last night all about me."

"He what?" Len seemed surprised.

"He made it all about me." Len smiled and touched the side of her face. She leaned into his hand. "Please don't be angry. I know I disappointed you. I'm sorry."

"Baby, I'm not disappointed in you, or him. And I am not angry. I was just caught off guard. Jim is in my life till the day I die and so are you. I just didn't want to have it all ruined. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. I understand. Please don't tell him you know anything. He is scared of what you would think. He doesn't know you can smell sex in the air. I always hated that you could do that." She smiled at him. "Now leave, I need to get dressed."

Len jumped up. "Jo wants to pick some peaches, and I have to get the pit ready for the bonfire. I thought I could stack some of the wood."

"Shit, I need to get to town. I want to get to Hancock's."

Len noticed the anchor around her neck. "That is new."

Her hand went to the charm. "He gave it to me last night."

"Callie please be careful. I don't want to see either of you hurt."

"We are being very careful. Len, I want to get him something to keep with him. I take it Seri gave you that." She pointed to his talisman.

"She did. I think I may have something you might want to give him. Throw on something and meet me in my room." Len left for his room.

Callie put on shorts and a tee shirt, Len's tee shirt. That actually went better than she had thought it would. She and Jim survived, that was a better result than she had projected. By the time she got to his room he had his safe opened and a box sitting on the bed. "Len, what's that? I don't remember ever seeing it."

"You haven't. Grandmom gave it to me. It has all of the family jewelry in it. There are a couple or pieces I think you might consider for Jim. If you don't like any of them, we can go for an adventure as Jo says."

Len opened the box. It was huge and had five internal trays. One held rings, one held necklaces, one held the pearl pieces, the other two held an assortment of, brooches, bracelets, earrings, watches, and pocket watches. "Len, I don't know what to say."

"Just take a look and see if there is anything you think would work." He looked both nervous and excited. "Callie, only you, mama, and I know about this. Ginny has no idea this exists, though she knows I got the family jewelry. She has no idea what that means."

Ginny looked at the necklaces. She knew he could ware one when he was at the Academy. Necklaces could be worn under the uniform. "Len, this is perfect." It was a gold medal with a thistle in the middle of a shield. Cal had looked up the Kirk family crest, heraldry was a hobby of hers. "The thistle is on one of the Kirk family crests. I am assuming he is of Scottish origin. I remember reading something like that about his father."

"I think you are right. We had to study the Kelvin and George Kirk. I remember reading something about that. Scotland likes claiming that family, not ours." Len chuckled. "Callie, you can have anything you want. I have a polishing cloth."

"Len, do you think he would like this? I see him when I look at it." She fingered the medal as tears fell down her cheeks. "He said he had nothing like what he gave me. No one ever cared enough for him to give him anything."

Len brushed away her tears. "I think Seri gave him cufflinks. I can read what she thinks."

"Then I guess I shouldn't give him this."

"Why? Callie, this is nothing like what she got him. This will let him keep you close at all times. Cufflinks are more of a gift from a sister, not a…"

"Lover?"

"Exactly. I won't tell him I know anything. I'll let him tell me when he is ready. Sis, he is going to love this, but I would give it to him in private. So you know, this piece is from 1884. It was made to symbolize our ties to our Scottish ancestry. It is based on the thistle found on the old royal standard of Great Britain."

"How do you know all of this."

"I'm brilliant and know all." His eyes played with her. "Grandmom wrote down something about each piece in the collection. I use to read it at night. It is 14k gold, but it is pretty thick. I think we should change the chain out for one of these. They are longer and heavier."

"Can I try them on you? Your neck is a little thicker, but it is close."

"Sure." She tried the original chain. He was right, it was far too short. There was another one that held a crusader's cross. It was thicker than the first. She put it around Len's neck, perfect.

"Is this one ok? If not, I can keep looking." She didn't want to take something Len wanted to keep for himself.

"Baby, you can take it all. Well almost all, there are a few things I want for Jo and Seri. You know you mean more to me than things."

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she buried her face in his neck. "I don't want to mess things up like I always do. I want this to remind him he is an exceptional man."

"He will remember that you are with him every time he feels it. And you are right he is exceptional, just like you."

"Are my earrings from this box?"

"No, I bought them. Took me over an hour to pick out the stones. Why?"

"Just wanted their backstory." She let go of him. "I like that story a lot. My big brother really loves me."

He kissed her on the nose. "You know I do. Okay kid, go get ready. Jo will be in here soon and I need to get this put away." He tossed her the polishing cloth that was in the bottom tray. "Use this. It works great to get rid of the tarnish and polish it. Just put it on my dresser when you are done."

Cal grabbed the cloth and the necklace. It would take awhile to get the piece the way she wanted it, but she had at least an hour of free time even if she picked the peaches with Jo.

Len took a Starfleet shower and dressed just as quickly. Jo would be in the kitchen by now and the last thing he wanted to do was leave her to her own devices. She may have been Joce and his daughter, but she was also Callie's niece. Too much time on her own, and Ollie might be pink or purple. He almost ran down the back stairs.

Jo was eating her cereal at the table. "Hi Daddy. Mommy says you shouldn't run down the stairs."

"Your mom is right. Aunt Callie is going to pick peaches with us. We just have to wait for her." Len poured himself some cereal and sat with his baby.

"Do you think Aunt Callie will marry Uncle Jim?"

Len almost choked on his cereal. "What makes you think that?"

"They do a lot of things together. And they really like each other."

"They are friends. They haven't known each other very long baby."

"But if they are friends then shouldn't they marry. You and Aunt Seri are friends, and Mommy and Evan are friends; you are all getting married."

"There is more to getting married than that."

"What else is there. I thought that being friends was why adults got married."

"It is, but there are other things that adults need to feel to get married. They have to have the same goals and similar beliefs."

"But they have those if they are good friends. So, they should get married."

"They also have to love each other."

"Friends love each other." From under her thick black lashes, green eyes studied her father as she finished her breakfast.

"It is a different kind of love."

She got up and placed her bowl in the sink. "What do you mean? What kind of love?"

At that moment Callie came down the steps. "Thank God. Hi sis."

"Daddy, what kind of love?"

"Jo, go put on your sneakers. The boots won't work." He was avoiding the question. The sex talk could come in a couple of years.

"Fine." She walked up the steps still thinking about what her dad meant by a different kind of love.

"Callie, I owe you one. I don't mind that talk, I just don't think she is ready for it yet." He cleared the table and leaned against the counter with his back to the sink.

Callie hugged her big brother around the waist. Len held her to him. I love you idiot, you know that right?"

He rested his head on top of hers. "I love you too jerk. I know how much you love me, its just a little less than I love you."

"I doubt that. I never want to disappoint you."

"You can't disappoint me. Cal, I'm sorry for earlier."

"You don't have to be. You were just worried."

"I had no right to act the way I did. Do you know how long it took me to fall in love with Seri?"

"No."

"About two hours. It was less than a month before I decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."

"I love him Len. I fell in love with him the first night I met him. I don't know why, but I did. I am not stupid. I know when a guy is trying to play me. He is genuine, he never lied or played me."

"He wouldn't do that. Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I think he loves you. He won't say it, and you are right fidelity isn't for either of you yet, but I think at the least you will be lifelong friends."

"God, I hope so." Jo joined them in the kitchen.

"Grandma and Uncle George are up. They said to tell you they are going to pick up the disposable table cloths."

"Thanks Turtle." Callie hadn't let go of him. "Can you go to the summer kitchen and get three bushels?"

"I got this daddy!" Jo left the two of them to their needed time together.

"Callie, you are a good and intelligent woman. You two will make a great team, even if you don't end up together."

"Thank you, Len. I'm just glad you aren't angry. I can handle anyone else being angry with me, just not you."

"I'm not. We should get going before Jo starts climbing too high in those trees." He released her.

"We don't want her breaking her arm the way you did." They walked to the grove where Jo had already put bushels under three of the trees. "The cousins say they need ten bushels for the shine."

"We'll pick these. They can get the rest after the harvest is done. I still need to set up the fire pit. Jo can you grab three more bushels?"

Jo ran back to the summer kitchen. "Good idea. That way we won't have to hear them. Those two whine more than little girls." They started to pick the ripest peaches. Jo placed the bushels under three more trees. She climbed the last tree like a monkey and began to drop the peaches into the bushel.

It didn't take long for them to fill all six bushels. Cal had eaten three peaches and Jo ate one that was half the size of her head. "Okay you two. There is as much juice on you as there is in the peaches."

"We are taking the hint."

"What hint? You are both sticky messes."

"Come on Jojo, lets get cleaned up." Cal knew Len was giving her time to clean the necklace. She wasn't a mess, but Jo was.

Len took the small craft to the bonfire area. This was the first time he had real time to himself. The moments after Ginny left weren't peaceful, and he kept waiting for someone to come to him. Down here nothing had changed from the time he was a teen. The pines smelled fresh as the breeze blew through the woods. He had thought about eliminating most of the trees and expanding the field, but the thought of loosing this place gave him pause. The woods were his place of peace. The woods, the pond, and the chapel were home. His eyes closed as he memorized the smell. All of this was his. Damn, he had never felt that way before this moment. He had felt the responsibility and the weight of it, but not the peace.

Seri and he would live here, marry here, raise a family here, and in the end, they would lie in the grave yard together under the pines. These were the certainties that gave him peace. His heart was here, no matter where Starfleet took him, his heart would always be here. He took the shovel from the craft and began to dig a hole about a foot deep and six feet around. They would need a pit about that size if the bonfire was to be a success.

It took around an hour and a half for Len to finish the pit. He was covered in dirt and sweat. Nothing could have felt better. When Seri got home he was going to suggest they take a short nap to get ready. If the three of them could even get an hour of sleep in it would help. He felt her as she pulled up with Jim. "I'm down at the pit. I'll meet you on the porch. Jo and Cal are getting cleaned and dressed. If I know them, Jo will be in her room reading and Cal will be in the tub. You should send Jim in to get her."

"So, you know."

"Callie won't lie to me. Don't tell Jim I know. I think she wants some time with him. I desperately need a shower, and we all need to rest."

"I know he needs some time with her. I'll meet you on the porch. Jim, I'm going to wait here for Len. You should go get Cal. She is getting washed."

"What if Len guesses?"

"Let me deal with him. It feels like she needs you. We should all rest before the guests start to arrive. Jim, don't overthink this. You can overthink things like this." Jim gave her a kiss and ran to Cal.

It was only a few minutes before Seri heard Len pull up in the craft. He got out of the truck and came bounding up the stairs. "Give me a kiss." She threw her arms around his neck and gave him the kiss he asked for. "Now that is true love.

She had dirt on her face. "Yes, it is. Now I need to wash my face and change into clean clothes. Here is the PADD from Mrs. Garnett."

He took the PADD and followed her into the house. Len stopped by Jo's room first. "Hey Turtle. Why don't you come to my room?"

"DADDY! You are really dirty!"

"Yes I am. Come on baby." She followed her daddy to his room but walked a few feet behind him.

"You smell too."

"Keep it up and I'll hug you." She squealed and ran past him into the bedroom.

Seri was in the bathroom washing her face. "Hi kid. Look what your dad did to me."

"Aunt Seri, you need to learn how to duck."

"Probably. Jojo, we all need to take a nap." Len had gone into the bathroom and closed the door. Seri could hear the water turn on.

"I don't think I can sleep. Will daddy be angry."

"No baby. But he wants you to rest. You can lie in bed, or in our sitting room and read a book until grandma and Uncle George come home. Is that okay with you?"

"It is. Tell daddy I'll be in my room until grandma gets home. I'll see if she needs any help. This will be the first time I can help."

"You can put the bed linens in the sunroom for your sleep over. But do that after grandma tells you what to do."

"Okay. Tonight, is going to be fun. I love roasting marshmallows. And this year I won't get burned." With that she left for her room. Seri heard the door close before she took off her pants and shirt. They needed to go into the hamper after what Len had done. Burned? What the hell went into roasting marshmallows?

"They melt and can drip. Plus, she put it in her mouth before her mother or I could stop her. She was almost six then."

Seri locked the bedroom doors and went into the bathroom. "Ok, now I understand. I've never even eaten a marshmallow, let alone roasted one."

Len was still in the shower. "We'll have to remedy that. I'm not very tired, but I bet you could nap. Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No, I think I could tire you enough to nap." He hadn't noticed her strip completely. She was in the shower with her hand on his dick and her tongue in his mouth before he knew what happened. Len knew the sex wouldn't always be this frequent, but newness hadn't rubbed off yet. They enjoyed each other until they could barely stand. "Ready for a nap?"

"God yes." He kissed her under the water one last time before shutting it off. Sarah had put fresh towels in the bathroom. They were soft and warm from the heated towel rack. After drying off they both climbed under the covers and cuddled into each other. It wasn't long before they were both asleep. Len had set a wakeup call for 17:30. That would give them around an hour to rest. The guest wouldn't be arriving until around 18:00 or 18:30. If the cousins came early that didn't matter, they knew where everything was and would make themselves at home.

Jim knocked on Cal's door, no answer. Shit that was right, she was getting cleaned up. He went in, locked the bedroom door, and softly knocked on the bathroom one. "Cal, may I come in?"

"Sure." He walked into a bathroom lit solely by candles. It smelled like warm vanilla. "Come here Jim. I don't bite. Well, that isn't exactly true." Her giggle was sweet.

Jim hadn't realized he had frozen as soon as he saw her in the tub. Her dark brown hair was piled on the top of her head. A few loose stands hung on either side of her face and down her back. Not many, but enough to give her the look of an Edwardian fantasy. Her eyes were lined in a green black that showed off her long lashes and deep green eyes. The candle light danced on her hair and face, it gave a warm golden hue to the room. "Cal, I…"

"Take off your clothes and come here. The water is warm, and the bath fits two. Come here blue eyes." With that she draped her feet over the sides of the tub. Jim couldn't see all of her through the bubbles. He closed his eyes and created a mental picture of what had opened just for him. "Take your clothes of slowly."

With all of the self-control he could muster, Jim took of his clothes as slowly as possible and draped them over the chair in the corner. He stood in front of her completely naked, completely exposed. "Is this what you wanted?"

"It's a start." He climbed into the tub and knelt between her legs. Instead of leaning back, he leaned over her with each of his hands on either side of her head. Her legs wrapped around him as his mouth descended on hers. Her tongue ran along his bottom lip, slow and promising. One day he wanted her to do that to other parts of him. But that would be up to her. He would never push her. He opened his mouth for her. Their tongues tangled and massaged as they tried to get as deep as possible. No matter how deep their tongues went, it was never deep enough.

"How about that. Better?"

"Definitely." Her voice was just above a whisper. Jim could feel her hand rub the inside of his thigh. He had started to get hard as soon as he saw her. This was going to drive him insane. His lips crashed onto hers. No more softness. He needed her. It was an almost primal need. He wanted to be a part of her, to have her be a part of him. Cal pulled out of the kiss. "What do you want, tell me what you want."

"I want you. Fuck, Cal I need you. I have never needed a woman, but I need you."

"You have me. Let's get out of the tub." He stood up, his body glistened in the candle light. Every ripple, every muscle, stood out. Cal got out of the tub. He watched her as the water trailed down her breasts. His dick was throbbing, twitching. She glided to him as he stepped out of the tub. Her fingers danced over his arms feeling every dip and bulge. Jim wanted to grab her, to take her, but something told him that letting her go would be much better.

Cal had seen sculptures and paintings of male bodies. She thought they were idealized fantasies. No man could be that perfect. She had been wrong. Jim was better than any work of art. The water trickled trails down his pecs and over his abdomen. She allowed her finger tips to follow the trails. As she lost herself in the fantasy his head fell back. He needed to gain some control or this was going to be one of his more embarrassing moments.

Her hands moved from his abdomen to his sides. This was a memory that would stay with him until he died. There would most likely be other sexual encounters in his life, but they would all be compared to Cal and he doubted any would stand up. As he reveled in his thoughts he missed her dropping to her knees on the bathmat. He missed all of her movements until he felt her tongue lick across his head.

His sharp intake of breath encouraged her. She flattened her tongue and ran it slowly up the back of his shaft. Jim's fingers tangled in her hair. If she were any other woman he would have begun to thrust deeper into her mouth. With Cal he wanted it to last as long as possible. She placed him into her mouth, wrapping her lips around his dark pink dick. She couldn't take it all so she used her right hand to jack him off as she sucked and licked him. He tasted amazing, not to salty, just perfect. She had never enjoyed giving head the way she did at this moment.

Cal was never cock crazy. She had known girls in university that gave head the way some gave handshakes. That was never her. But this was Jim. She couldn't get enough of him. To her he was perfection, even with all of his imperfections. She could feel his legs begin to shake as his balls started to pull up. "Cal, stop. Please, Cal I don't want to…" His fingers tightened in her hair as he tried to pull out. She wrapped her tongue around the head of his dick as she pushed him further in to her mouth. Her tongue released as she grabbed his ass and pushed him forward. As much as he tried he could not pull out. All control was relinquished.

His body tensed as he came. He hadn't wanted this. He never came in a partner's mouth, it was rude in his mind. But, she had wanted this, she had made sure it would happen. The after shocks were almost as intense as the orgasm. She didn't stop the suction, before he knew it he was cumming again. "Agghh! Goddamn it! Fuck. Please don't stop. Cal I can't stop. I can't stop." He was unconsciously thrusting into her mouth as his hands held her tighter. She smiled around him. Cal doubted he ever allowed himself to completely lose control. This was what she wanted, to give him something, to make it all about him.

After what seemed like an eternity to him, Jim came down. He almost collapsed. Cal removed her mouth and stood quickly, giving him stability as she put her arms under his. She guided him back to the tub. "Jim sit here on the edge." He did what he was told, even if he wanted to protest he didn't have the energy. She drained some of the water, added hot water, and put in some of the vanilla bean bath gel. Gently she helped him into the tub. He was still a little unsteady.

"There you go Jimmy." Cal didn't get in with him. She took the wash cloth and gently bathed him. He never had anyone give him this kind of attention. Is this what love was, complete surrender? She took care of him, cared about what he wanted. He was good in bed, he even had a reputation for it, but no one had ever given to him without expecting something in return.

"Cal, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I wish I could reciprocate, but I don't even know how I am going to get to the bed."

Cal had finished washing him. She put her hand under his chin and lifted his head. "I don't want you to do anything. This was me doing something for you. I want today to be for you." He kissed her gently. She helped him out of the tub and dried him. Jim still didn't have the strength to do much more than stand. "Jim, let me help you to bed." He allowed her to help him walk to the bed. She had already turned the bed down. The covers were pulled over him as he settled in. "Jim, don't go to sleep yet. I have something for you."

Cal went to the mantel and picked up the necklace. It was hidden in her hand as she sat next to him on the bed. After Jo had go to her room, she had taken the time to clean and polish the medal and chain. It had taken her almost an hour, but by the time she was done it looked brand new. She was nervous but didn't know why. His approval meant a lot. She wanted him to know how she felt, that he was special.

"Cal, what do you have?"

"I wanted to give this to you. It has been in our family since 1884. It reminded me of you. Your family crest has a thistle in it, and this has one. So, it is you. Anyway, I wanted you to have it. If you don't like it, that's ok. Just tell me."

"Cal, I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh, sorry, here." She placed the necklace in his hand. He turned it over. The thistle stood out, shiny against a rough pebbled background. His thumb traced the thistle as a tear ran down his cheek. "Jim, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Let me get rid of that." She tried to take the necklace from him.

Jim clutched it tightly in his hand. With the other hand he guided her to him for a soft kiss. As they broke from one another his eyes captured hers. "No, I have never had anyone care about me, not like this. I under stand how you felt last night. I will always have you with me. Can you put it on me?" Cal put it over his head. "Thank you Honey." He kissed her forehead. "How did you know about my family crest?"

"It's a hobby. I like heraldry. I looked it up right before the first time we made love. It took all of a couple of seconds."

"Oh. I love this. Cal, please don't ever leave me. I need you in my life."

She got up and walked to the other side of the bed. Once under the covers she drew him to her. "I am not going anywhere. Jim, I promise no matter where life takes us, I will always be a part of yours."

"I will always be a part of yours. Cal, I'm not going anywhere either." They fell asleep in each other's arms secure in the fact that no matter how crazy things got they would always have each other. That day they did not know how much that promise would mean, or how much it would cost both of them.

They all rested until 17:30. Len heard Jim go to his room, and Jo go down to Mama. He hated to wake up Seri. She looked so peaceful. Slowly he rubbed her back until she woke. "Good morning baby. The cousins will be here soon. Let's go play." With that they both got up, got dressed and rushed down the stairs. Seri was waring the outfit Callie had bought her. There were women at the bonfire who were going to seethe with jealousy. This was turning into a fun evening. Len smiled as he ran down the front steps. Definitely a very fun evening.