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Chapter 38 - Chapter 38 - Spearmint Toothbrushes

It was early in the morning. Peter Tyler was sitting behind his desk inside of the Tyler Mansion. He ran his hand across his head as he re-read the document and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" He mumbled and read it again.

A cup of tea was sat on the end of the desk. He looked up and saw Jackie smiling at him. "Maybe that will help. Do you ever sleep?"

He closed the file and sat back. "Damn, I did it again, huh?"

She sat down at across from him and laughed. "Stayed up all night working. I think you just…disappear into your own little world some nights."

Pete sipped his tea and smiled at her. "I'm sorry. I hadn't intended on it."

"It's alright." She waved her hand.

He rose his eyebrow at her. "What's on your mind, Jacks?"

"I'm curious as to what you said to Tony last night. He sure did leave in a hurry."

He groaned and sat down the tea. "We had a disagreement."

"That much I guessed." She nodded and crossed her arms. "What was said?"

"Nothing that I should apologize for."

She hummed. "I don't agree-"

"You don't know what we talked about-"

"I don't need to know. All I know is that he's very hurt. I don't know why, and I don't want to know-"

"No, you don't." Pete insisted and sipped his tea.

"But! Rose has already told me about Sam and John don't get on together-"

"They seem fine to me-"

"Because they are working on it. Both of them are making a conscious effort. You could take a page out of John's book."

Pete nodded, "I'll talk to Tony."

"I had a better idea."

"What's that?"

"We're going to have a party."

"What? A party?"

"A grand party. Here at the mansion."

Pete laughed in disbelief. "How is that going to help with Tony and me arguing?"

"Tony needs to meet a girl. That's what will sort him out-"

"Tony is gay, Jacks! Did you not know that?"

"Oh. Well, a guy then. Whatever. He's dead set on getting well and leaving. If he meets someone-"

"Like Sammy has. I see where you going with this."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Mum knows best. He needs a reason to stay here. With a girl…or, a guy. Are you sure?"

He nodded his head. "Yes. He told me himself."

"That's not why you're arguing is it?"

"Of course not!"

She nodded. "Interesting. But you still won't tell me-"

"Jacks. It's just not worth discussing. It really isn't."

"Worried I'll fight with you?"

He laughed under his breath. "When am I not?"

She pointed at him and then smiled. "Ah. Whatever. So, party? What do you think?"

He smiled. "So, we're having a 'Fix up our Grown Son Party-"

"No! Geez, Pete. You're not listening-"

"What did I miss?"

"We're going to have a party, where we can….umm…introduce him to-"

"Fix him up. Yeah. I got that earlier."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Whatever then. So, I'm thinking it can be a congratulations party for that Stark and Pepper."

"No!" He shook his head and waved his hand. "Absolutely not! No one knows about that-"

"It's all over the news-"

"I don't want to host a party where the bride publically murders the groom-"

"Fine!" Jackie huffed. "We can't do an engagement party for the children-"

"Yeah, the press would be all over that."

They both sat and thought as they looked at one another from across the desk. Jackie sat back in her chair and sighed. "Well, I suppose we don't really need a reason-"

"I've got it!" Pete snapped his fingers. "Sammy's birthday! He'll be one in a few weeks. Let's just have it early! That's how we can spin it."

Jackie smiled and stood up. "See, I knew you would agree with me. Your breakfast is waiting on you."

Pete grinned, "Thanks, Jacks."

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Lance carefully laid baby Arles in his cot. The small baby grunted and for a moment, Lance was sure he had woken back up.

"Shhh…" Lance said desperately.

Arles pulled his fingers into his mouth and drifted back to sleep.

Lance sighed in relief and lay down on his own bed. The clock on the table next to him blinked that it was 6:18 am. The palm trees, against the windows, danced in the breeze coming from the ocean as the sun rose.

Lance rubbed his face as he relaxed. Jane rolled over and laid her arm across his chest. He kissed her head. "It's early, go back to sleep."

"Have you been up with the baby all night?" She asked without opening her eyes.

He rubbed her back. "Just most of it."

She sat up and looked at him. His heart skipped a beat, seeing her lovely face framed in her dark hair. "Lance! Why didn't you wake me? I could help."

"I don't sleep as much as you do. That's not necessary."

"You're exhausted."

"No, I'm not. In fact, I was going to read this magazine of yours." He reached over and pulled the magazine off of the bedside table.

Jane grinned, "You're reading Cosmopolitan?" It was clear he had invented something to do.

"Sure, I am." Lance told her and rubbed his eyes.

Jane giggled and lay back down on his chest. "Read it to me then."

He flipped through the pages. "This is a girl magazine."

"Very girl magazine." Jane smiled.

"Oh, there's a quiz. 'How perfectly matched are you?' We should do it."

Jane laughed under her breath and pulled the duvet back over her shoulder. "Okay. Go ahead."

"First question. When is your anniversary?"

Jane rolled over. "Well, of when we first met? Or first date?"

"Well, our first date was when we went to Miami and I got into that fight. Right?"

"That stands out in my mind, but I don't think so. I think we did something else. Well, I have no idea." Jane laughed.

"Neither do I." Lance admitted.

Jane giggled. "So, we agree on that. Next question."

"Where did you meet?"

Jane smiled, "Rose's photo session that embarrassed you so much."

"Correct!" Lance insisted. "Next question. Does your partner have a nickname for you?"

Jane smiled, "No."

"You call me 'Tough Guy'." He smiled.

She giggled and snuggled into his chest. "And you just call me Jane."

"And that works." He smiled.

"Next question."

"Is there something, you want to do with your life, that you've never told your partner?"

Jane put her hand under his t-shirt and smiled, "Travel, I suppose. I'd love to take photos of all of the beautiful things here, and other places."

He ran his hand through her hair, "What else do you want to do?"

"Maybe, publish a book with those images. And I'd love to see a photo I had taken, on the cover of a magazine one day. A major magazine. Like Time or Life. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

He grinned, "It would."

"What about you, Lance?"

He closed the magazine and put it back on the table. "I don't know. Maybe learn to cook. That's rather interesting."

She giggled, "Proper cooking, or what we do?"

"I like that plan. More of our sort of cooking."

She sat up and pat his chest. "Give me a bit."

He watched her climb out of the bed and walk to the loo. She wore a grey tank top and pair of lacey, red knickers. She closed the door. He lay back and closed his eyes.

Within what felt like seconds, Jane was lying on top of him, kissing his lips. He woke up and smiled at her. "I must have drifted off."

She smiled at him, making his heart leap. "You say you don't need to sleep. I think you might, Tough Guy."

He became lost in her eyes.

"You look tired, Lance. You need to sleep."

"No." He told her quickly. "I need to…"

She leaned back to meet his lips with her own. He slipped his hands from her back to her bum. He could feel the cloth of her knickers in his hands. As she began to snog him, he pulled them off of her hips. He could feel her smile.

She whispered, "I'm going to stop wearing knickers."

He smiled under her kiss.

She giggled and returned to snogging him.

Arles began to cry from his cot.

Lance sighed. "And this again."

Jane pulled back on her knickers, and went to rescue Arles from his cot. As soon as she picked him up, he stopped crying.

"See, he's fine." She told Lance.

Lance pointed at his nephew. "Man, we're going to have a chat later."

Jane kissed the baby's head. "Don't worry about that uncle of yours. Aunt Jane has you, Sweetheart. Let's go get some coffee."

Lance rubbed his face and groaned. "That baby doesn't need coffee!"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Coffee is for me. Not the baby. Go to sleep, Lance."

He sat up to go after her, and decided that sleep did sound good. He lay back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

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Samuel woke up feeling completely refreshed. He rubbed his face and opened his eyes to see the light from the sun coming in through the drapes that had been pulled over the window.

He never pulled the drapes. He always woke before the sun came up through them. It was 8:56 in the morning. Karen must have pulled them together.

He looked next to him in the bed, expecting to see Karen laying there. But, she wasn't. He lay on his back and ran his hand through his hair. He quickly felt of his wrist to make sure he wearing his watch and his bracelet. He was.

How had he gotten home?

As he grew more awake, he heard his Dad's voice speak in his head. Samuel smiled in relief upon hearing the message. "Good morning, Samuel. I enjoyed our chat last night, and today is going to be much better for you, son. Ring me if you don't remember, but I think you should. Love you."

He grinned as he remembered his Dad and him having a long chat last night. He had told him about the blueberry. He had been right. His Dad already knew, and was very pleased and excited for them.

The more awake he became, the better he felt. He hadn't noticed how much of a dull ache throughout his entire body he had been living with, until it wasn't there.

He propped his head up on his arm and took a deep breath. He could smell the wonderful aroma of something Arles was cooking in the kitchen. It smelled like sausages. He focused his attention on that smell and his stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten anything in hours.

Then he heard Karen's voice come through the halfway opened door to the bedroom. "Okay, are you sure about playing softball, Arles?"

"Sure. I told you I would before Sammy came back."

She giggled. "I still find it strange that you don't know how to play. You're really good."

"Phhh. Stick. Ball. It's not that hard." Arles insisted.

"You would be surprised how many people wouldn't agree with you."

"Well, I should show you how to play football….well, I suppose Sammy would be better to do that."

"I suppose he would. I'll wait until he gets better before I suggest it. We'll need to go to Mom and Dad's before the game so I can get my softball gear."

"Hopefully, Sammy will be awake by then."

"John said he would wake up about ten this morning. He has to be hungry. Maybe, he'll smell your cooking and that will wake him."

"Well, this is his favorite. Crepes and sausages." Then Arles' sounded like he was speaking with a mouth full. "Hot sausages! Oh, that's the best."

Karen giggled.

Samuel rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he stood in front of the mirror looking at himself. He had put on a pair of pants and jeans, and looked at his chest in the mirror. All of the bruising was gone, but most of his muscles he had managed to form were gone. He looked so frail.

He sighed and looked in a drawer for a toothbrush. He pulled three out of the drawer, all with white handles meaning they were peppermint flavored.

He groaned. "Never spearmint."

He looked back at himself in the mirror and decided to shave. As he spread shaving cream on his face, his thoughts became consumed with how much he should start training. Not only to be ready for the Vesuos' return, but also to get back to the way he preferred to look. He carefully shaved while he worked it out and was wiping his face clean with a towel when Karen's lovely face looked in the doorway. She was dressed already in a pair of jeans and grey t-shirt that Samuel recognized as his own.

She smiled, "Hi, I didn't know you were awake."

He grinned and put on his aftershave. "Just got up."

She leaned against the doorway. "How did you sleep?"

"Like my Dad had put me in a coma." He grinned as he picked back up the toothbrushes to put them back in the drawer. He stopped and looked at them. They all had green handles which identified them as spearmint.

Karen noticed his look of confusion. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "I….umm….I thought these were peppermint."

Karen smiled. "Arles gave me a yellow one. I think that one might be my favorite."

Samuel nodded and closed the drawer. "I like that one, too. That's lemon. But, green is my favorite."

"What is green?"

"Spearmint. Venetian spearmint." He turned to face her and leaned against the cabinet, rubbing his bare chest. "That's Dad's favorite, too."

Karen looked at him in surprise. "This looks different."

"What?"

She walked over to him and looked at his chest. "This looks…like it did."

He turned and looked at himself in the mirror. Indeed, his frail form had returned to his usual slender, muscular form. "What?"

Karen stood behind him and ran her hands down his back. Her touch made his skin tingle. "And your scar is gone."

"Dad repaired the scar." He told her as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"Did he do anything to your chest?"

"Umm…I don't think he did."

Karen wrapped her arms around him. Her touch relaxed him.

"You smell so good. How do you feel, Samuel?"

He turned to face her with a smile. "Better than I have in weeks."

She smiled as he met her lips with his own. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"We're fine. Blueberry and me." They held one another. "I had to borrow a shirt."

He laughed under his breath. "Stealing my clothes. I see what hanging out with my sister has started."

She grinned, "I knew you wouldn't mind."

"I don't. What's mine is yours."

He ran her fingertips up and down his back. Her touch against his bare skin continued to send the tingle throughout his body. He closed his eyes and savored it. "I love that feeling."

"Arles and Legate helped me move everything from my apartment in New York, to the new place on the island. It's so beautiful. I can't wait to see it in the sunlight."

He nodded, "Is that ready for us? Why aren't we there?"

"I didn't want you wake up in a strange place. I thought that would upset you, what with everything else going on."

"Yeah." He agreed. "That was probably a good idea."

"We'll go there after the softball game today. And please. I haven't unpacked anything. It's a mess. You have been warned. Let me put everything away. I don't want you make yourself tired dealing with that."

He nodded his head and seemed to become lost in his thoughts again.

"What is it?" She asked him.

He looked back at the drawer. "That was just…strange."

She tapped the end of his nose with her finger. "You need to eat. You have to be hungry."

He nodded as she turned and walked out of the bathroom. He started to follow her, stopped and opened the drawer to look at the toothbrushes again. They were green.

"Samuel?"

"Coming." He told her as he closed the drawer.

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