Hi, so here is the second chapter of this final instalment, I hope you like it and I will do my best to bring you the next chapter sooner rather than later as we get into the flesh of this story.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just the character of Erin.

Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.

And there you go, now begins this story. I do start work back up again so please be aware of that when it comes to updates, as always your reading this story means the world to me and I will post the next chapter as soon as possible.

The Growing Good Of The World

Chapter 2-Ninety Miles Away

The Outlaws sail from the Holy Lands back to England. A couple and an almost couple share a moment. Robin and Marian meet a monk who wants to help them in their fight.

She spent morning on the deck of the ship. Kate didn't know why but as she looked at the rapidly retreating line of shore she felt a kind of sadness well up within her. The months that she had spent in the Holy Lands had been the most exciting of her life. It had been a moment of instinct that had taken hold of her and it had changed her life. She had been on a boat (twice) gone to the other end of the world, fought in battles, met (and yelled at) the King of England and had pretty much shot her reputation to hell and back by sleeping in rooms with six or seven men.

There were things that she wouldn't miss about the Holy Lands. There was the heat which was at times oppressive and stuck to her everywhere—she was quite sure her purple gown was ruined beyond repair even after she had hard washed it the morning before they had gotten on the boat—and the sand that got everywhere including her hair. She was never going to miss the sand.

But she was going to miss other things.

She would the smell of the sea coming off the harbour wall. She would miss the smell of meat roasting on a hot fire, she would miss the driftwood fires that Much had created where the flames danced blue and green because they were doused in salt. She would miss how the earth cracked beneath her hands on the hotter days almost like you could see right through to the middle of the world itself. She would miss the distance between her and England. Here it was almost like you were living in another world. Nottingham and all it's troubles seemed so far away when you saw the world here. It was something that even the bible couldn't describe. Kate couldn't begin to describe the feeling in her as she left the Holy Lands but she knew she would never be back and that made her feel a kind of sadness and a confusion because if she was being honest with herself she could not see why anyone would think that this world that the Saracens inhabited was dangerous. They were just people like she was, just trying to earn a living, have children, live their lives.

It made her hate the idea of a crusade even more. What was the point? Kate believed in a loving and a forgiving God and if that was the case then surely He would be able to understand that the world was big enough for them all to live in peacefully.

In hindsight it was a good thing she was totally free to speak her mind. If she did she was likely to be arrested. It was 1194 now. The time for common sense from a common woman was not now.

But there would come a point…oh there would come a point…Kate was sure of it.

"Are you alright?" came a voice to her left and she jumped a little. It was just Much and she felt something flicker inside of her that she didn't understand yet.

"Just a little melancholy" she said truthfully. "I know we have to leave but…there's a beauty here that I just don't understand. It's a whole other world. I can't help but be sad that we are leaving it"

"I know" Much said and with a jolt Kate realised that this was the second time he had left the Holy Lands. "I do get what you mean. It's…strange. But we couldn't stay there forever. And at least we have a plan now. The King knows what we are doing, there is a firm support base in London against Prince John and the Sherriff will have to go on the offensive rather than the defensive. And in battle that makes all the difference"

"For you maybe, you know what you are going back to"

"I suppose. You mean the Sherriff?"

"I mean my mother. But that's another thing, do you think he saw me?"

"He might have done" Much said quietly. That was another thing Kate liked about him. Unlike most men he didn't lie to her about anything. She liked straight-talking men. So much of the world was made up of liars that someone telling you the truth was a rare commodity. Especially if you were a woman.

"So I am in danger?"

"You might have to make a run for the forest at some point" Much said. "You're a woman on borrowed time Kate I won't lie to you about it but…but he knows his plan has been discovered. The Black Knights have been exposed and that will take time, he has to gain support from the enemies of the King now that Saladin won't touch him"

"Like who?"

Much shrugged. "Robin has idea's" he said vaguely. Kate didn't know what that meant but she didn't want to ask. The Holy Lands were still a distant speck on the horizon and she wanted to watch it fade away. This was the most exciting thing that she had ever done in her life and it was fading away in the setting sun.

She bit her lip for a second and then she reached out and touched Much's hand.

"Thanks" she said finally. "For everything"

Much smiled at her for a second and then he linked their fingers together. Uncaring of the comments that it would make she leaned her arm on his shoulder and then he wrapped one arm around her. She leaned into the hug for a second watching as the sun finally set on the Holy Lands and when he turned and their lips brushed together just gently, just once, she felt a pulse of desire that made her almost light-headed. His lips probed hers and she let them letting their tongues mingle together before he let her go.

"How'd you feel about Katie?" he asked into the silence. Kate grinned.

"Not if you like your balls between your legs"

Much laughed and it was a lovely sound and then he kissed her again and Kate thought like some stupid lovesick village girl she would usually hate on sight, that this was heaven.

"Do you mind much? Living in the forest I mean?"

Luke posed the question as they were in their bunk. With their relationship mostly exposed to the Outlaws they gained privacy from everyone, especially considering every one of them were in some form of relationship with the other. Carter who had been pressing lazy kisses into his ribs trying to count to five hundred paused his mouth achingly close to Luke's hipbones. The rush of desire almost made him dizzy and Carter, the bastard knew that by the smirk that was pulling up the corners of his mouth.

"You saw my tent at the camp right? Trust me the forest is a hell of a lot easier. Not as much sand. Good earth, the rain, a warm blanket, you between my legs. Not a bad way"

Luke laughed.

"You still wish to do this when we are in the forest?"

He didn't know what possessed him to ask that but he asked it anyway. Because they were not Will and Djaq, Robin and Marian, Allan and Erin. They were different. A different couple perhaps for a different time. But Luke was going to ask anyway. He wanted to know anyway and Carter, God bless him knew that and answered honestly.

"I want to do this everyday and any day" he said softly. "And we don't the sanctity of anyone or anything to stand in our way. We will save the King, save Nottingham, save all of England if we have to, side by side like any other couple"

Luke smiled.

"I like that."

"Like what?"

"Any other couple"

Carter smiled and then dropped his gaze down to a nice spot of skin under Luke's ribs.

"You remember the number that I was up too before you interrupted?"

Luke gave a soft smile and his hands came down to curl through the blonde of Carter's hair. It had been cut short since the Holy Lands and yet it was growing a little bit back now, golden curls that he could wind around his fingers.

"Three hundred and sixty four"

"Ah, okay." His kiss came down on her ribs. "Three hundred and sixty five"

It was John that knocked on the door.

Honestly with the way that they were all behaving he didn't want to. Considering the fact that he remembered the early days with Alice and their marriage he did not blame any of them but as he thought about Alice the more he was confused. He had thought as he was dying that he wanted to be with her but the truth was she didn't want to be with him and he the more he thought about it the more he thought of Matilda and the common sense that she brutally imparted. She made him laugh and feel a little bit lighter than almost anyone else and he liked that. Everyone else was happy and though he and Alice were still technically married he was not going to begrudge her a life with someone who could make her happy and didn't have a bounty on his head. Even if they did save the King, save England and get their pardons he didn't expect her to come skipping back after all these years.

But that left other things to figure out. Matilda for one. John had always assumed he would die alone. After actually nearly dying alone surrounded by people who were dying together he had come to the realisation that he actually didn't want to.

However he had been enjoying the ship alone. He had gone out to get some air steadfastly ignoring Much and Kate in the corner—he was going to have to have a talk with that boy at some point, he owed Rebecca quite a bit to have her found out what her daughter had been doing for the last three months by her being made pregnant by Much (and it would be Much, it really, really would be Much. Out of all of them it was always Much, it was just the way the world worked) when the dark-skinned monk came over to him and that was how they ended up here.

With him knocking on Robin's door.

Robin answered it. he was stripped down to the waist and his hair was rumpled. Of what state that left the Lady Marian in John really did not want to know about. He remembered Lady Kate and her kindness all to well.

"John…I…this had better be fucking good"

"Oh it is" John said grinning. "I think I just found us another outlaw"

Robin blinked for a second and then John saw through the opening of the door dark curls and white skin from the bed and he immediately began to look at the beams on the wooden ship.

Fuck his life. Seriously. Why was everyone here most of them young enough to be his children (and they were weren't they?) having sex but not him?

He heard without warning a laugh in his head and he thought in that reckless moment that he was going to find Matilda as soon as he was off this boat and show the children how it was done.

"John why on earth do you look like that?"

"Because I can Robin, because I can. Now will you get outside preferably dressed so we can carry on with stopping the regicide of the monarch and the Sherriff winning? Because God knows I seem to be the only person here who seems to be able to keep it in his pants long enough for the current mission to be forefront"

"Ugh"

"Robin—I am warning you—"

"Oh alright…give me five minutes and I will be up on deck. Are you sure this man is trustworthy?"

John thought about it.

"Pretty sure"

"What's his name then"

"He's a Friar, actually. And his name is Friar Tuck. I don't know what is Robin…but I really do think that you will like him"

Robin eyed him for another long moment.

"Okay" he said finally. "Okay, John, I trust you. Let's go and meet him"

And so it was that the fight for England really, truly, began.

And there you go, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will bring you the next one sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-As the Outlaws go back to England, Tuck is introduced to the camp, the Sherriff returns to the castle to prepare his next move and Kate slinks home to her mother but knows that she is on borrowed time.