Everyone sat at the table not far from the campfire eating. Everyone but Happy, who sat looking off the way Lady Paige and Walter had walked off well over an hour ago. She looked at the temple Mistress again. "Are you sure you can't shed some light onto what you spoke with Paige about?"

The Mistress shook her head. "The wise Lady wanted me to discuss something with her. That is all I can say Happy."

Happy grunted as she turned in her chair and stood up. Ralph was quick to stand up with her. She smiled as she reached over and messed his hair. "You don't have to do that for me Ralph."

Ralph shrugged his shoulders. "Walter told me I should."

Happy nodded.

Toby looked at his wife. "Where do you think you are going?"

"I'm worried about Paige so I'm going to go check on them." Happy told him a bit annoyed.

Toby shook his head. "You think they can't take care of themselves? We both know Walter is a skilled swordsman and our Lady is without peer in her lands."

"That isn't the type of worry I have." Happy looked back at him.

"You are going to get yourself in trouble. Our Lady is quite capable and if Walter tries something she doesn't like she'd remedy the situation." Toby reached out for her hand.

Happy pulled her hand back quickly and walked off following along the stream bank looking for the Lady and Walter before Toby could stop her.

"Mommy," Alicia called after her.

"Just remember how you ignored my advice last time and you had to clean horse manure out of his backpack." Toby called after her.

Happy rolled her eyes at Toby but waved at Alicia as she continued on. "Mommy will be back soon."

It took her almost thirty minutes to finally find them and her eyes went wide as she saw Paige straddling across Walter's thighs. Her legs wrapped around his waist as they kissed passionately. She saw Walter's tunic was lying on the ground along with Paige's boots, gauntlets and vambraces. "What in the wise Lady's name do the two of you think you are doing?"

They both kind of jumped a little at her intrusion as Walter looked over Paige's shoulder and Paige turned and looked back at Happy. "What are you doing here?" Paige demanded.

Happy glared while growling moving quickly over and began tugging at Paige trying to pull her away from Walter. "I came to see what was keeping you guys. You've been gone for over an hour. Hopefully I got here before you went too far."

Paige pulled her arm free from Happy. "Stop it Happy. We weren't doing anything wrong."

Happy rolled her eyes. "Oh no, nothing wrong at all, you are just straddling a half naked man you aren't married too."

Paige rolled her eyes. "He was stung by a bee Happy."

Happy laughed. "Couldn't you come up with something more original?"

Walter twisted and she could see a large welt on his shoulder blade. "The little sucker crawled down inside my tunic. Paige tried to kill it but it stung me before she was able to."

Happy bent over and looked at it closely. "Okay, I'll give you that. Why do you still have your tunic off then?"

"I wanted to be sure it didn't get any worse. It didn't make sense for him to keep pulling it on and off for me to check." Paige told her. She looked at Walter and grinned. "But on the other hand, watching your muscles move as you took it off and put it on would have been interesting." She smiled and forced her eyebrows to lift up and down a few times.

Walter laughed.

"And the fact that he looks like Hercules didn't enter into your thoughts at all right?" Happy eyed her.

Paige grinned mischievously at Walter. "That was just an extra special side benefit."

Walter laughed again.

"Fine, you've had your fun. Now put your boots back on and let's get back to camp. And you," she pointed at Walter. "Put your tunic back on. You don't want to give all the other guys a complex do you? You'd probably traumatize the Mistress if she saw you like that."

Paige grinned before she kissed him one last time while running her fingers of one hand down his chest and her other hand through the hair on his head.

Happy shook her head.

Walter reached down and grabbed his tunic. He held it out to Paige. "It's your call my Lady. Would you like to put it back on me? Or I can walk back to camp without it."

Paige took his tunic with a smile and she stared into his eyes while she scrunched the tunic up to more easily put it over his head. She reached out and kissed him again and then pulled his tunic over his head. She kissed Walter again. "That was just too long to go without seeing you."

Walter grinned as his hands held on to her hips. "You know, this isn't very fair. I'm wearing leather and it is much easier to caress and squeeze than your plate armor."

Paige grinned. "Would you like me to remove the rest of my armor first?"

Walter licked his lips. "You think Happy would give us the time?"

"No, I won't give you the time. You guys are worse than teenagers. And you don't need to get any more heated than you are right now." Happy huffed.

Paige laughed. She bent Walter's arm back and slipped it up inside of his tunic and into the sleeve. "Relax Happy, I was mostly joking."

Walter winked as he forced his hand on through the sleeve.

Paige grinned and feigned shock. "Walter, were you stung here too? Look at all this swelling."

Happy quickly looked over and rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "You know damn well that is his bicep."

Paige and Walter both laughed out loud as she bent his other arm back and slipped it inside his tunic and his hand into the other sleeve.

Walter forced his hand on through the sleeve.

Just before he could pull the hem of the tunic down Paige reached up and placed her hands against his chest. She grinned as she bent in closer and they kissed deeply yet again.

Happy rolled her eyes and stepped behind Walter and grabbed her feet and tried with all her strength to unlock her ankles but Paige resisted all of her attempts.

Paige broke the kiss finally as she looked into Walter's eyes. "I guess we'll just have to pick up where we are when we stand watch tonight when a certain buttinski is asleep."

Walter grinned. "I've never been so excited at the prospect of standing watch before in my life."

Paige laughed as she finally let Happy pull her ankles apart and Paige slowly slid her legs down.

Walter turned and pulled his tunic on down the rest of the way.

Paige decided to leave her boots, gauntlets and vambraces off.

Walter carried her boots with her socks and leather padding stuffed down inside them. While Paige carried her gauntlets and vambraces in her right hand.

The trio slowly began making their way back to camp.

"So what was so important that the Mistress had to come all the way out here to speak with you?" Happy asked as they walked.

Paige grinned at Walter as they walked hand in hand towards camp. "That was for my ears."

Happy looked at Paige with studious eyes. "And yet the second you both returned to camp you tell Walter you need to talk with him and you both disappear for over an hour. Am I really supposed to believe that?"

Paige shrugged. "Since it involved Walter in a certain way I chose to share with him what was said."

"So as your best friend I am no longer good enough?" Happy asked sarcastically.

Paige smiled at her. "If that is the way you choose to take it. I would think you would just be happy for me, as my best friend."

Happy snorted. "Of course I am happy for you. But that doesn't change the fact that I am curious about what is going on."

Paige looked to Happy seriously. "The wise Lady is worried about my jealousy when it comes to Walter."

Happy nodded. "After all the crap Drew did I'm not surprised. I mean he was a decent enough guy most of the time but the way he stared at women sometimes was a bit creepy. Of course given whom his Father was that's to be expected. Merrick was or is rather the biggest womanizer that ever walked the planet. But at least Walter seems to know how to behave better."

Paige looked back at Happy. "Please watch what you say about Drew Happy. He might not have been perfect but he did love Ralph and me."

Happy looked over and slowly nodded. "I know he did. That's what makes all of this so difficult. And as far as I know he never broke his vows. Strained them but didn't break them."

They finally walked through the last of the brush and they saw everyone had left the table and were performing normal camp activities. Cabe was studying his spell book as Toby read to Alicia. Alicia heard a noise and looked up and grinned. "Mommy," she exclaimed and got up and ran over.

Ralph looked up at her exclamation and ran towards them as well.

Happy smiled and held out her arms and scooped her up and hugged her tightly.

Paige grabbed Ralph and hugged him before handing him her armor pieces and her boots Walter had. "Put these in my tent Ralph."

Ralph nodded and ran for her tent.

Walter and Paige moved over to the table and Sara served them both bowls of stew with rolls.

The temple Mistress stepped over and smiled. "My Lady, they told me to put my bedroll in your tent. I hope that was okay."

Paige nodded. "It is more than alright Mistress." Paige reached over and took Walter's hand. "Also we'd like to thank you again for your words. Walter and I had a good discussion about it and I feel more at peace about it."

The Mistress smiled. "I am so glad my Lady. You deserve your happiness."

Ralph came out of his Mom's tent and ran over to where she sat with Walter and he stood there and waited until she finished praying. Once finished he tugged on Walter's tunic. "Walter, I put your bedroll in the tent with mine."

Walter smiled. "Thank you Ralph. But with as nice of a night as it is, I might like to sleep outside of the tent tonight. There is almost nothing worse than sleeping in a stuffy tent."

Ralph's eyes went big and he looked to his Mom.

But before he could speak she shook her head no. "The tent is safer for you."

Ralph sighed and nodded his head.

Paige looked to Cabe and Sir Sylvester. "Guys, you'll take first watch. Happy, you and Toby will take the mid watch and Walter and I will take last watch. We'll stand four hour watches."

Toby smacked Happy's arm. "Told you she'd punish you, you've never stood the first mid watch before."

Happy rolled her eyes. "You might go check Walter's shoulder blade. He got stung by a bee." She picked up Alicia and carried her into their tent.

Toby frowned but walked over but Walter politely declined his services so he followed along behind Happy.

Ralph entered the men's tent and crawled into his bedroll and tried to fall asleep.

Walter smiled at Paige and kissed her cheek before he whispered. "It is your call of course Paige. But Ralph did such a good job on his school work today. Perhaps he deserves a little reward?"

Paige looked at him with surprise and nodded. "I didn't think about that. I think you are right. I'll go into the tent as soon as we're done eating and tell him."

Walter smiled.

A short bit later Walter and Paige walked into the tent and while Walter gathered his bedroll Paige knelt next to Ralph and kissed his cheek.

Paige looked down at him with a smile. "I'm not saying you can do this every night Ralph but because you did so well today on your school work I'll let you sleep outside the tent tonight. But I want you to sleep between Walter and the campfire, okay?"

Ralph grinned and nodded before he quickly scrambled out of his blankets.

Paige laughed and stood and left the tent while he got dressed in his leathers and gathered his blankets and pillow and almost ran out of the tent.

Walter smiled as Ralph began laying his blankets out between the campfire and Walter's blankets and then he climbed under his top blanket. "Good night Walter."

Walter nodded. "Good night Ralph." Walter began humming a tune very softly and Ralph who was staring up at the night sky began blinking slowly and then after the fifth blink his eyelids stayed closed.

Paige stood by the campfire and smiled and winked at Walter. As the water she'd placed over the fire began bubbling she took the two pots off and carried them into her tent. She quickly removed her plate mail and leathers and washed up. She pulled out another set of leathers and put them on and carried her other leathers and the two pots outside. She used the water to clean her leathers before dumping the remaining water out and set the pots to the side and hung up her leathers to dry.

She walked over and smiled down at Walter. "Sleep well Walter, I'll see you in the morning."

Walter reached out and touched the flesh of her ankle and grinned. "Sleep well my Lady."

The night passed quickly when Happy woke Paige and Toby woke Walter to take over the watch.

Happy pointed at them before she went into her tent. "You guys behave yourself. Remember, you are on watch. And they call it watch for a reason, so minimal kissing."

Walter looked at her. "I promise not to kiss her anymore than Toby and you kissed during your watch."

Happy's face turned red. "Hey, we're married you know. You aren't."

Paige looked at her. "You didn't say anything about the problem was us not being married. You said it was because it was called watch for a reason. So if you two can kiss through your watch then we can kiss through ours if we want."

Happy started to say something when Toby reached out of their tent and grabbed her arm and dragged her into their tent.

Paige and Walter both laughed.

Walter found Sara had pre-measured out the water and coffee so whoever was on watch just had to add them to the coffee pot and set it back in the fire. "Sara is actually a pretty good cook and her coffee is excellent."

Paige smiled as she nodded. "I was so happy when I hired her. The last five years have been a real blessing with her as cook on the road. Before that we all traded turns cooking. It didn't take us long to not let Sir Sylvester cook. He made everyone but me sick. That is not to say my stomach was happy. It was definitely not happy."

Walter grinned as he grabbed his blanket and sat next to Paige. After setting the pot in the fire he covered their shoulders with the blanket and they sat there cuddling until it was time to wake the others.

Greetings!

Franxine - I am so sorry to hear you are back in the hospital. I was wondering what was going on. You'd been wanting Lord Walter stories and then you disappeared in the middle of the Honeymoon story. Get well soon!

To the Adventure! -Tim