Hello everyone! Haven't forgotten you at all - between real life, research and other stories this one took a few days to come up with. But fret not, as it is the set-up to a great family and food chapter!
When Winnie woke, she felt a little more herself and wasn't at all surprised to see Spike sleeping beside her. She turned over, watched him sleep, a very rare treat since he always seemed to wake up before her.
'My big strong man,' she murmured, touching his face, the little fleck of hair that never seemed to straighten above his right eyebrow. 'Why did I worry so much about this?'
'Because you're you,' he muttered back, then peeled open an eyelid. 'I'm barely awake, by the way, and I have exceptional hearing.'
'I know. You'll be impossible to surprise on Christmas morning.'
'Oh I don't know.' Spike lifted the other eyelid, smiled. 'I'm sure I'll find a stocking stuffer I like.'
'Naughty.'
'Nah, I'm nice and you're my naughty sexy woman.' He grabbed her close, gave her a kiss he knew would make her brain melt. 'Winnie, can I ask you something?'
'Yeah?'
'Are you really okay with us not using condoms all the time anymore.' At her nod, Spike felt something release in his belly. 'Are you sure, because I remember the bitch-fit you pitched when you and Dottie had a girls-night a few weeks ago and you were ready to beat her senseless.'
'That's not even apples and oranges, that's apples and carrots. You and I are in a loving committed relationship. Dottie wasn't even calling the guy her boyfriend, nevermind going on dates with him,' Winnie pointed out. 'The big bad mama bear came out in spades on that one. I'm a very protective person and loyal to my friends. I bend for my friends because I love them, but I'm entitled to be upset with their decisions, aren't I?'
'Sure. Like you've always said before, you worrying shows you care because you're emotionally invested.'
'Were you worried I was doing that just to please you?' When Spike returned her nod, Winnie moved closer to put her hand on his cheek and smile lovingly at him. 'Michelangelo, I have never once done something with you just to make you happy that would compromise how I feel about my own morals.'
'Good. I wouldn't want you to.'
'But while we're on the subject...' Winnie nibbled her lip, looked at him with her brown eyes full of nerves. 'Let's say a year or two from now, we decided we want to get married. I'm not religious in any way, just very spiritual, but if your family is insistent on a traditional Catholic mass, I am perfectly fine with that.'
Spike just looked at her, then kissed her deeply, sweetly. 'I love you Winona,' he murmured against her lips. 'So much.'
'That doesn't scare you?'
'Sure the idea of the wedding itself. I'm a private person when it comes to my love life around my family, so declaring in front of them how much you mean to me terrifies me beyond reason, and I'm a bomb expert. The idea of you and me together forever, well...that's just common sense. Oh, Win.'
Winnie swiped at the tears that spilled from her eyes as she gave a little sniffle. 'I love you so much right back, Mike.'
'Come here.'
Spike gathered her close, whispering gently to her as she sobbed a little against his shoulder. She was such a passionate person, he'd known that before they got together but now seeing the labyrinthine ways her heart worked as she shared herself so intimately with him made him see just how big that heart truly was. He'd never met anyone so capable of simply feeling as much as she did. Yet she was able to compartmentalize because of her job. There were losses that came with being a cop - not everyone could be saved but this she knew and still did her job in a way that made her an incalculably valuable part of the SRU teams. Spike often forgot she had to work with other teams; maybe that was a little of the jealous boyfriend in him he thought on a laugh, or maybe he was a cop who wanted nothing but the best since they were Team One.
Winnie was the best.
'I'm sorry,' Winnie mumbled. 'I've been such a wreck lately, first Jules and the baby, then fighting with Dottie, this morning acting like such a child about the airplane, now this-'
'Hey, hey, your feelings are nothing to be ashamed of, including fighting with friends. You've seen the way we all snipe at each other on a bad day. Hell, when Toth was hanging around two years ago to do our evaluations I accused Wordy and Sam of letting me fall behind so they would look better.'
'Really?'
Spike bobbed his head. 'Like you said, it all comes from a place of being emotionally invested in that person. Remember when you took the skin off my ass because of the bomb call at Hallowe'en?'
'Hard to forget.' Winnie gave a little giggle. 'We sure made up that night.'
'Yes we did. And how did things end with Dottie?'
'We made up,' she repeated. 'I told her I loved her and she told me she loved me back and she wants to hear all the dish when I am back from Italy.'
'You see? Dottie is invested in you too.'
'I promised her lotsa pictures, and also some stuff.'
'Like what?'
'She gave me a list,' Winnie giggled, then sighed. 'God, Mike, I am such a rollercoaster sometimes.'
'Oh the jokes I could make about you screaming,' he teased her.
'You're gross. You know what I mean.'
'Yes, I do. But I've always had a problem with that metaphor.'
She looked at him, intrigued. 'Really?'
'Yeah, because a roller-coaster may go in crazy places but at the end of the day, it's always safe and sound back in the station, and always has people who care to keep it on track.'
'That is very wise.' Winnie yawned, gave a little groan. 'What time is it?'
'Well our bodies are still on Toronto time a bit, but according to that clock it is...' Spike trailed off, winced a little. 'Almost seven in the morning. Too early.'
'Ugh, international travel screws up the body clock. You'd think working shift work we'd be used to it.'
'Big difference between adjusting your body's clock and your body to the clock.'
'True. Wanna join me for a shower, save time so we can go get some breakfast?'
'God yes.'
Winnie smiled as he tugged her to her feet, towards the ensuite bathroom where it took more than a little effort to get naked - both had slept in their clothes out of sheer exhaustion. The moment they were standing in the cast-iron bath tub, the hot water beating down on them, Winnie felt the ugly thing that had taken up residence in her belly the whole plane ride over retreat. Here and now there was only her man making her feel like herself again.
'Mike,' she murmured, kissing his jaw line, 'I don't think we've ever done this?'
'Done what?'
'This.' She took his hand, kissed his fingertips. With her eyes on his, Winnie slowly licked the pads of each one before guiding it to her breast, putting gently pressure on his hand with her own to guide and arouse. With his other hand moving to close over her other breast, Winnie arched into his touch with a light moan. 'I love you, I love what you make me feel.'
'I know.' Spike kissed her again, sweetly and tenderly. The urge to make it dirty right now, even a little rough, was overwhelming; it was how he liked to take her when he felt out of sorts. The hardness of their passion would make the cathartic nature of the release clean and pure, and that was what was needed now to get the cobwebs of international travel out. But he held back, knowing that it would be better, more gratifying than just fucking if they took the time for sweetness like this. He thought of when they'd fought back at Hallowe'en, how they'd had make-up sex like they were inventing the damn stuff - hot and dirty and passionate all at once.
Something like that was needed now.
He pressed his lips to the curve of her neck, let a hand slip down between their bodies. He was already half hard for her anyways from morning wood, the tease of her bare taut nipples against his chest got him the rest of the way there. When he found her, also in the early stages of arousal, he slipped his fingers back and forth, back and forth. She moaned deeply into his mouth, her tongue finding his as she did so; he was momentarily confused when she tried to turn away from him.
'Winnie, what-'
'Fuck me, Michelangelo,' she whispered in such a sweet voice it made Spike groan. 'From behind.'
'No.' Spike took her chin in his forefinger and thumb. 'I want to see your eyes when you come.'
'Oh.' Winnie closed as she felt his head dip to taste her breasts, felt her foot slide a fraction of an inch. 'Mike, baby, we're in a shower, we gotta be careful here.'
'I know. Here.'
Spike manouevred them so Winnie's back pressed against the handrail for the tub, nudged her thighs apart so he fit between them. He closed his eyes as he felt Winnie's hand close over him, guide him between her thighs so he was fully inside her, buried as deep as he could be. Then her finger was on his lips.
'Don't say anything,' she murmured, and began to move herself against him so she was riding him as they stood in the shower without risk of serious injury. She felt his hands go onto her hips, pulling her down on him over and over again until she felt the tightness in her core grow exponentially; then she was in the freefall of release, as was he, and she felt him ooze down her thigh as he came in a furious burst of gasping breath. 'Oh, God I love it when you do that, baby.'
'Do what?'
Winnie just smiled, nibbled his earlobe before murmuring to him, 'When you come deep inside me like that. I never understood it before but now I get it, the appeal of just you and me and nothing between us.'
'How do you mean?' Spike was confused.
'I mean it makes me feel powerful, as a woman. I don't know how to explain it beyond that. It's... it's like it confirms I'm sexy to you, that you'd be so vulnerable with me and you are so eager to be with me you just can't wait to get into me as hard and deep as possible.'
'Well, here I thought a quickie in the shower would make you feel naughty, like the good girl with a wink.'
'That too.'
Spike chuckled lowly, looked around. 'I can't remember the last time I got lucky with a girlfriend with my mother downstairs making breakfast.'
'Me neither.'
'Girl on girl?' He pretended to drool, earning a swat on the cheek for it. 'Seriously, I'd love to watch you with another woman.'
'Just watch?'
'Well...maybe if you two wanted to, you know, play with me too I'd be down for that.'
'And who might this mystery woman be?' Winnie played along, looking around for soap. She caught the smug little smile on Spike's face as he twisted a lock of her dark damp hair around his finger.
'That's an easy one. You?'
'Huh?'
'Two of you, my love, so that it's double the fun without cheating. Everyone's a winner.'
Winnie cracked up. 'Find me some shampoo.'
Fifteen minutes later, out of the shower and dressed for the weather of southern Italy in wintertime, Winnie and Spike headed into the kitchen to the smell of freshly baked bread and good strong coffee. At the stove, Michelina was stirring a pot of something already, dressed in pants and a warm sweater each the colour of crushed plums, while at the table Monica was sipping tea and looking as fabulous as ever in Winnie's mind.
'Good morning, lovebirds,' Monica chirped merrily, trying not to grin too hard. 'Did you sleep well?'
'Like a rock,' Winnie replied.
'And a nice fresh shower is just the thing to start the day off right.'
At Winnie's blush, Spike rolled his eyes. 'Nosy pervert,' he told Monica in Italian. 'You heard everything?'
'No, I just guessed when I knocked on the door and got no answer but heard the shower running.' Monica shook her head, looked at Winnie. 'How you put up with his rudeness, Winnie?'
'I'm used to it by now, and besides he is pretty charming,' she replied, giving Spike a squeeze before going over to Michelina at the stove. 'Smells good.'
'Is for later,' she replied, then patted Winnie's cheek, gripped the flesh between her fingers. 'Skinny bones. Eat, you need-a eat.'
'There is fresh bread and fruit, cheese too. Winnie you want an espresso?' Monica asked, leaving her magazine at the table and rising to get Winnie a plate.
'Sure I-'
'We need to talk about the big family supper on Friday. Everyone is coming to the farm to help with the first harvest so we're having a small party that night.' Monica didn't bother adding that she'd spread the word amongst her brothers that Spike had brought his girlfriend to meet them all; that she figured was common knowledge already. 'Michelina and I agree we want you to help with the menu.'
'Me?' Winnie squeaked the word out. 'Why?'
'Mike says you're amazing in the kitchen. He always loves how you make healthy things so tasty.' When Michelina added something as she sliced bread, poured coffee for her son, Monica rolled her eyes. 'And Mama Scarlatti also says that we need to show you we aren't trying to scare you off. So, let's fix up a plate and we can speak about dishes to make.'
'Drink.' Michelina set down a cup in front of Winnie; to her astonishment it wasn't the rich espresso she'd scented on the way downstairs but an herbal tea with a heavy lemon fragrance. She sipped, and wanted to cry. 'This is so good,' she very nearly moaned. 'But I don't want to impose, it-'
'Mike told us how you do not like coffee all that much so we made sure to have tea,' Monica told her, laying a maternal hand on her shoulder. 'I know you're nervous but you forget that Michelina and I talk to Mike all the time. We know he loves you and how nervous you are to fit into a big loud family like ours. We want you to enjoy your time here and you should feel at home here.'
'Hence the tea,' Winnie concluded.
'Exactly.'
'How do you get such a rich lemon taste?'
'It's from our family orchards.'
'I thought Mike said you make wine here,' Winie replied, a little confused, then looked up in gratitude when Michelina put a plate of fresh fruit, sliced bread and a dish of small round white cheeses in front of her along with a jar of some kind of preserved red fruit.
'We do make wine, but not this farm. The wine is a small part of our business. Mainly we have orchards and a small brewery for limoncello. We sell to a lot of, uh...' Monica trailed off, waved her hand to find the word. 'beds with breakfast hotels?'
'Oh yes, I know what you mean.'
'Anyways, we are harvesting the first of the winter crop starting this week so we are having a big traditional dinner to celebrate. Since you're with Mike, you get to help us make the food. Michelina, where is the tablet?' Monica asked her aunt, which had Michelina disappearing; as his cousin had his girlfriend plenty occupied, Spike followed his mother into the parlour which had been turn into a mini office for running the family business.
'So, Ma, what do you think of her?' he asked eagerly.
'I think I need grandbabies, Michelangelo,' was her reply, 'and I have no idea why you insist on making me wait so long.'
'That's not what I asked.'
'Really?' Michelina straightened, pinned her only child with a stern look. 'Then why it takes you six months already to bring her to meet me?'
'Ma-'
'I knew the first time I saw her in your kitchen you loved her so why all the waiting?'
'Because we're not ready yet,' Spike told her simply. 'It's not a matter of not loving Winnie, I love her with all my heart. But she's been spooked before, she's been hurt before and I'm not that guy.'
'I know you're not.' Michelina touched his face. How her sweet boy became a cop she never knew, but he was good at it, and he was a better man for it too. 'But don't make me wait too long, yes? I wanna enjoy the wedding.'
'Of course you will, Ma. And I also want you to come to Toronto to meet Winnie's family too.'
'Soon as you tell me you're getting married I will make Monica buy me an airplane ticket.'
