First of all, I would like to say I'm going to post a chapter of "Noticing Adam: The Uprising" and "Against Nature" in the very near future. I go where my muse goes, but I just wanted you to know I haven't forgotten about those stories. Also, I would like to thank all of you for reading and sticking with this story!

A special thanks goes to all of you who replied to the last chapter. I have decided that I will stick with my initial plans and keep it one large story. The majority of you seem to support that decision, so I thank you. Also, for those few who PMed, questioning if I was giving up on this fic, not at all—that's nowhere close to being true. ;)

With that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Teela's Visitor Chapter 53

Adam smiled at Cringer after the tiger said goodbye to Casidhe. It had been obvious to Adam that Cringer was a little reluctant to leave her, but when he told Cringer again that he could stay, his pet insisted, so he relented.

Now that they were walking away and Casidhe was no longer within hearing range, he couldn't hold it in anymore. "So, Casidhe, huh? How in the world did you two meet?"

Cringer paused for a second and then threw his master a sly glance as he continued to walk. He asked, "Do you really want to know?"

Adam's smile widened into a grin as he exclaimed, "Of course! I wouldn't have asked otherwise!" Cringer kept walking and Adam stopped. "Are you going to tell me?"

Cringer turned around, lifted his brow, and questioned, "Are you going to tell me how you and Teela got together?"

It was at that moment that Adam realized how hypocritical he was being. Here he was asking Cringer all of these personal questions—expecting him to give all the details—when he hadn't really shared anything with him.

His thoughts and self-reprimands were interrupted when Orko suddenly laughed. He rolled his eyes at his little friend's amusement and nodded at Cringer. "Yes, I'll tell you. I'm sorry that I haven't before now." Knowing that Cringer probably wanted him to go first, he began, "It…wasn't really planned. It sort of just happened."

"That's how it usually happens," Orko announced with a chuckle. "I didn't even plan on meeting Dree-Elle!"

Adam sighed and replied, "Yes, I suppose you're right. Anyway, remember the day when Teela didn't show up for our combat lesson and I told you to cover for me when I went to check on her?"

Cringer nodded.

He shrugged and continued, "Well, I went to her bedroom where she was sleeping and…" He trailed off, because he was getting to the delicate part and he wanted to word it well. "Uh, when she woke up, we talked for a little bit. She was in pain because…uh, her stomach hurt, so I was rubbing it. One thing led to another and we ended up kissing several times before Man-at-Arms called over the comlink to say that he was coming to bring her something for her pain. I left. You pretty much know the rest."

Cringer began walking again and Adam followed. They could see the AttakTrak in the distance when Cringer shared his story. "I met Casidhe not t-t-too many days after that. Orko and I were in the courtyard because he wanted to practice that magic trick he told you about for the king and queen."

Already, Adam saw where this was going. He remembered the trick Orko had told him about before he had kidnapped Cringer to go fishing. The trick involved his pet disappearing and reappearing. Undoubtedly, Cringer had wound up in the Vine Jungle during practice somehow. Cringer confirmed his thoughts:

"Orko's ma-magic messed up again. He sent me to the Vine Jungle."

"And, you just ran across Casidhe on your way back to the palace?"

Cringer smirked at Orko and said, "N-Not exactly. I fell a short distance from the ground and landed right on top of her!"

Adam widened his eyes and stopped walking. "I assume she didn't take that too well considering she is a wild tiger. Did she hurt you?"

Cringer looked down at the ground and mumbled. "No, no…she thought I did it intentionally. She thought I was interested in..." He cleared his throat.

Adam nodded and reminded himself that cats handled those things a lot differently than humans. They were a lot more forward and aggressive when it came to that particular topic. "So, I take it she was interested," he replied teasingly with a crooked grin.

Obviously ignoring the connotation Adam was making, Cringer replied, "In a relationship? Yes."

Adam let it slide. Cringer hadn't given him too hard of a time at all about Teela, so he would return the favor. "Well, that's good, old friend. I'm glad you finally found someone," he remarked honestly. Cringer returned the sentiment about Teela.

When the trio reached the AttakTrak, Adam looked around and then lifted his sword to turn them into He-Man and Battlecat. He figured now was as good a time as any. Once they were all in the AttakTrak, He-Man announced, "All right, you two, let's get back to the palace to pick up Man-at-Arms."

=)=)=)

When the AttakTrak came to a stop in the courtyard, He-Man was surprised to see Man-at-Arms sitting in a Windraider with Teela standing outside of it with her hands on her hips. She was looking at her father rather crossly with knitted eyebrows and pursed lips. It was obvious they were arguing and she did not like what her father was telling her at all.

He jumped out and jogged over to them. "Hey, what's going on?"

Teela jumped slightly. She was so focused on her father that she hadn't noticed He-Man's presence until he had spoken. Man-at-Arms turned and sighed as a look of relief settled on his face.

"Where have you been?" Man-at-Arms and Teela exclaimed simultaneously.

He widened his eyes a little at the combination of worry and anger he heard in their voices. He looked at Man-at-Arms and said, "I told you I was going to find Battlecat. It took a little longer than I had anticipated."

Climbing out of the Windraider, Man-at-Arms crossed his arms and asked, "And, you didn't think you could use the comlink to let me know what was going on? You had us both worried. I was getting ready to fly to Snake Mountain to look for you, and Teela was insisting on coming along. If you hadn't shown up…"

He-Man looked at Battlecat and Orko, who shrugged at him. He looked back and explained, "I was actually a little busy. Battlecat and I were talking about several things and it hadn't crossed my mind to use the comlink to tell you where I was, but…" He paused dramatically for emphasis. "I do believe the comlink works both ways. You could have used it to contact me."

Man-at-Arms looked down and almost seemed to blush. "Yes, well, I hadn't thought about the comlink either until I was face-to-face with you. I was upset that you had seemingly decided to go to Snake Mountain without me and then I was distracted by convincing Teela to stay here."

He-Man turned his attention to his wife, then, and stated firmly, "Teela, no matter what had happened, whether I was at Snake Mountain or not, I don't want you to ever compromise yourself or A.J. You're carrying my…" He looked around and whispered, "You're carrying Prince Adam's son. I want you to be safe at all times and going to Snake Mountain is just not in the playbook for you anymore."

She narrowed her eyes and said, "If you're hurt or in trouble…"

He shook his head adamantly and raised his voice a little. "It doesn't matter, Teela! Your father, the Sorceress, or my father can handle that. YOUR job is to protect A.J. and yourself now, not me."

She frowned at him and crossed her arms.

He sighed and continued softly, "I know how hard that is going to be for you. You are used to being a warrior and helping me, but you can't do that anymore. We already agreed that was the way things had to be. It's one thing to fight here to protect our home and our kids one day, but to actively seek dangerous situations while you're pregnant is entirely different. You can't do that, Teela. If something happened to you or A.J., I don't know what I'd do; it would kill me. So, promise me right now that you won't endanger yourself from this point forward: no going to battle, no rescue missions, or any other deleterious activity that might come up in the future!"

When she simply glared at him, he begged, "Please, Teela! Be mad at me for speaking to you in such a way or taking away the life you loved—that's fine if you feel the need—but don't make me worry about your safety. Don't make me imagine an existence without you and A.J. If you don't agree, that's what you'll be doing."

Sighing, she stated finally, "Fine. I promise. I don't like it, but I promise."

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. She was a little resistant at first. She had stiffened her body, but as he continued to hold her, she relaxed and melted into his embrace.

"I just can't imagine you being hurt or in danger either. I want to help you. I don't ever want to question one day whether I could have been able to stop it if something ever happened to you," she explained against his chest.

He tightened his hold and kissed her temple lightly. "I understand that, but it's the life wives have when they're married to soldiers—there's no difference really."

She pulled back and whispered, "Be careful, Adam. I can't lose you now."

He smiled softly and questioned, "Where is all of this coming from? Why the sudden worry? I've been to Snake Mountain without you plenty of times for the past two years as He-Man and Adam. What has gotten you so worried?" He brushed his fingers across her cheekbone as he gazed into her eyes.

She shrugged as a faint blush covered her skin. "I don't know," she admitted. "I think it's way too soon for A.J. to be affecting my emotions, but I just…want you here with us, safe and sound. I know I keep saying it, but I don't want to risk losing you, and not being there with you during battles is making the desire so much worse."

He-Man responded by looking around quickly and changing himself and Battlecat back into Prince Adam and Cringer. Before anyone could question why, he gathered Teela in his arms and kissed her deeply. Their eyes had been closed during this display of affection, but once Adam reopened them and pulled back from his wife slightly, he saw that Man-at-Arms had walked off several feet away to give them a little sense of privacy. He was facing the palace gate and Orko and Cringer were at his side.

Adam turned his attention back to Teela and mumbled, "I think it's called being a newlywed and a mother-to-be at the same time. I can hardly bear being away from you right now, too. That's probably why it's customary to have a honeymoon after couples get married, so they can get their fill of each other."

"I don't think we ever will," she whispered. Their lips met once more and when Adam pulled back this time, he rested his forehead on hers.

"Probably not," he agreed. "But we'll just have to get used to sharing one another with others." He grinned with a chuckle and she popped him on the chest lightly.

"Are you going to Snake Mountain now?"

"I'm afraid I have to. I have to separate Durriken and Skeletor. Otherwise, they might bring Morgoth back from the other dimension quicker than anticipated."

She nodded and just when they were about to pull apart, a deep voice exclaimed, "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you two! I thought you would have been with Marlena all day!"

Adam turned and looked over at none other than his father. "We've been here with Man-at-Arms," he replied, using his head to gesture towards Duncan, who was walking back with Cringer and Orko following him.

King Randor nodded in greeting at Man-at-Arms before the soldier even reached them and continued to speak to his son and daughter-in-law, "Well, it doesn't really matter. I'm just surprised Marlena actually let either one of you out of her sight. She's really excited about the wedding and crowning, among other things." He grinned at Teela and winked.

Teela smiled back but didn't say anything, because Randor was still speaking and made a big announcement.

"I just wanted to let you both know that this afternoon I'm going to make the announcement of your engagement and the upcoming wedding. We can expect an increase of visitors, royalty and diplomats. Also, we'll have to pick up security, just in case Skeletor or any overzealous citizens want to get to either one of you. For the foreseeable future once this announcement has been made, I want you both to be cautious and inform any guards you see throughout the palace where you are at all times. I don't want any surprises, and I don't want to have to worry about either one of you. Better yet, it's probably wise to assign you both several bodyguards until everything settles down and we see how everyone responds."

Teela widened her eyes at the king and then abruptly turned to look at Adam. Both knew this could be a problem…

=)=)=)

This chapter is a lot shorter than was initially planned, but it's getting late so I decided to post it as is. Hopefully, you enjoyed it even though a whole lot didn't happen in it. In any case, your thoughts are greatly appreciated if you are so inclined to give any! ;)