A Family Affair
Disclaimer: I don't own the Witchblade characters. I'm just playing. Enjoy!
Chapter 44.
Ian glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchenette as the movie's credits started to roll. It was 14:00 hours. He felt restless and keyed up, perhaps as a result of the jolt of adrenaline he'd received from the space opera's breathtakingly climatic battle. Or maybe it was the sugar rush from the half dozen or so chocolate chip cookies he'd consumed.
Gina Marie had gotten up during the last half hour of 'Star Wars' and brought the cookie tin over. Ian had eaten his smiley-face cookie with relish, washing it down with the glass of milk the young girl had also poured for him. Then he'd devoured several more of the delicious treats in rapid succession, while riveted by the Rebel Alliance's desperate race against time to destroy the Death Star. After sleeping for nearly an entire day, followed by four hours of sitting on the futon watching movies, he was nearly bursting with pent-up energy. Plus, it had been some time since he'd had a real workout -- notwithstanding the fight for his life on that warehouse rooftop two nights ago. Wistfully, he listened as Sara and her niece planned their strategy for the coming fight, wishing he could join in the fun. However, Sara believed he was still too weak and hurting too badly for that kind of exertion. Ian did not want to run the risk of her discovering just how quickly he healed by insisting he was well enough to participate in the snowball fight. So, with a sigh, he resigned himself to staying cooped up in the apartment and watching from afar as she and her niece waged battle with her nephew.
"Why the big sigh?" Sara asked him, green eyes searching his downcast features.
"I wish I could join you," Ian said truthfully.
"It's a little soon for you to playing in the snow, don't you think? Besides, it'd be kinda hard to make snowballs with one hand," Sara pointed out.
"I could make them for him," Gina Marie offered. "Me and him could share a fort while you and Joey make your own forts. It's not even that cold out. Ten minutes in the snow couldn't hurt him, could it?"
Sara shook her head. "I don't know, Sweetie. He's just getting over a bad case of the flu. I don't want him to overdo it. He could have a relapse or reinjure his shoulder and ribs."
Ian heaved another sigh, and Sara winced when she saw that the pitiful kicked-puppy had shown up. 'Oh, no, not the puppy!' she thought desperately.
"All right, all right!" she gave in, against her better judgment. "You've got ten minutes outdoors. But you have to promise me that as soon as you start to feel tired or if your shoulder and ribs start bothering you, you'll go back inside."
"I promise," Nottingham said swiftly, grinning. Despite his sling, he actually rubbed his hands together in anticipation, causing Sara to raise her eyebrows at him.
"Can we get a head start building our snow fort?" Gina Marie asked.
"Hmmm," Sara tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I guess that'll be okay. Joey's not gonna like it though."
"Too bad. I've got little hands and Ian only has one, so it's only fair that we get to dig our fort first. Aunt Sara, you have to go in the bedroom so you can't overhear us discussing our strategy," Gina Marie told her.
"Hey!" Sara protested. "I won't eavesdrop. I'm not a cheater!"
"I think that is an excellent idea, Gina Marie," Ian told the 11-year- old. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sara. "Your aunt is taking the coming battle very seriously, and we must decide upon a plan of action very carefully if we want to avoid defeat."
"Et tu, Nottingham?" Sara asked, contriving to look hurt. "Fine, I'll go." She got to her feet, snagging a couple of cookies from the tin before going into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.
Gina Marie jumped up and went over to the CD rack. "We better put on some music in case she has her ear to the door," she told him.
"I heard that!" Sara said.
"Good thinking, my Lady," Ian said, grinning. He got up and joined the girl by the stereo, glancing through the extensive collection of CDs, which were stacked alphabetically. "Oh, Led Zeppelin!" he exclaimed, spotting a familiar name. "I like them."
"Okay, let's put that one on. It's a five-disc changer, so I'll chose one, too," the girl said. "I like this CD, 'Supernatural,' by Santana." Using the stereo's remote, she turned on the power, then put the CDs in the changer and pushed play. Ian adjusted the volume to a level that he felt would cover their conversation and that was comfortable for his sensitive ears. He was a little surprised by how much he was looking forward to the coming contest.
"Okay," Gina Marie Siri said, all business. "Here's what we're up against: Joey likes to fight dirty, Aunt Sara's aim is deadly and she really hates to lose, and I'm too little to throw very far and my aim is terrible."
"Although there is nothing I can do about the first two things, I am pleased to say that I have excellent range and aim. You make the snowballs, and I will hit the targets," Ian told her.
"Deal. Now we just have to decide where to build our snow fort. Knowing Joey, we will only have a few minutes head start, so we have to figure out the best location and then declare dibs on it," she said.
"I believe I can also be of help in that matter, but I would like to examine the lay of the land first and figure out the direction of the wind. It would not do to be blinded by the sun or the blowing snow that young Joseph 'accidentally' kicks up."
Gina Marie grinned up at him. "Too bad you're only gonna be allowed to fight for ten minutes, Ian. With your help, I might actually have a chance to beat Joey for once!"
"Can I come out now?" Sara called from the bedroom.
"Yeah," her niece said. "I know you like my Aunt Sara and all, but you have to promise not to go easy on her," the girl whispered to Ian as her aunt came out.
"I promise," he said, expression serious.
"Good. I'm going back home to get my sand pail and shovel to build our fort with. Let's meet in the backyard in, say, 30 minutes?" Gina Marie said, taking her coat from the back of the barstool.
"I will be there, my Lady."
"A pail and shovel!?! That's not fair!" Sara protested, helping her into her coat.
The girl held up her hands. "Tiny hands, remember?" but she could not refrain from grinning impishly. "See you outside, Ian." She left.
Sara regarded an entirely too smug-looking Ian Nottingham. "You are in for a rude awakening, my friend. Nobody builds a snow fort faster or better than me, and my aim is legendary for its accuracy."
"We shall see, my Lady," he said, his lips turning up at the corners in that provocative almost-smile of his.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You gotta promise not to use any of your superpowers, Nottingham," she stunned him by saying. "It's only fair since I don't get to use the Witchblade."
"I am not sure what you mean, Sara," he murmured faintly, hazel eyes wide.
"You forget that I witnessed how fast you can move. I also know you don't really need that sling anymore, but you probably should leave it on or Joey won't show you any mercy," she rendered him speechless with. "However, I am serious about you only staying out there for ten minutes. It's kind of soon to be exerting yourself, even for you. I don't want you to overdo it."
"How did you find out about my healing ability?" Ian asked her quietly when he found his voice. "Did Gabriel tell you?"
She shook her head, grabbing another cookie from the tin on the coffee table. "Although he hinted about it by warning me not to be surprised by how quickly you got back on your feet, I realized the real deal when I noticed that the cuts and welts on your back had disappeared overnight. Or scarred over, to be exact," she told him.
Nottingham's gaze dropped to the floor. "I am sorry you had to see that," he muttered, wondering how he had failed to notice her reaction to the discovery of his master's cruelty. Then again, he had been pretty out of it.
"Irons did that to you, didn't he?" It wasn't really a question.
"Yes."
Sara gazed at him in silence for several long, uncomfortable moments, and then she did something completely unexpected. She went to him, slid her arms around him, and simply held him, her cheek pressed against his chest.
At first, Ian stiffened, his breath catching, but then, just as he had whenever he felt her touch during the height of his fever, he relaxed, his right arm going around her and gathering her even closer to him. Mentally, he cursed the sling on his left arm, which prevented him from getting as close to her as he so badly wanted to.
They stood there in the middle of the living room like that for quite some time.
"You better go put your boots on," Sara said finally, pulling away from him, leaving him feeling bereft. She turned and bent to pick up the glasses and plates from the coffee table, but not before he saw the moisture on her cheeks. "And don't forget to put on your gloves, hat, and scarf before you go outside."
"Yes, my Lady," he said, brushing his own tears away before going into the bedroom.
****
As Gina Marie had surmised, her brother gave them only a five-minute head start building their fort before he and Sara began constructing their own.
"No, don't stop!" Gina Marie reprimanded Ian when he paused to gawk at the amazing rapidity with which Sara was building her fort. "As soon as she's done she'll start making ammunition!"
"Oh my God, Sara's way ahead of everybody!" Ian heard Paula Siri say, and he and Gina Marie turned to see her parents standing on the back deck of the house. They, too, were bundled up against the cold.
"Well, then there's no time to waste," Robert said grimly, jumping off the deck into the snow, which came up to above his knees.
"Wait a sec! You're joining the fight, too?" Joey said, digging furiously.
"Yeah, but we're sharing a fort. Got a problem with that?" Robert responded, choosing a spot and beginning to excavate it with his wife's help.
"I guess not. Darn! Aunt Sara's already making ammo!"
"You all are toast!" Sara cackled maniacally.
"You can't start throwing snowballs until we're done, Sara!" Paula cried. "That's no fair!"
"Hey, I didn't make the rules!" Sara defended, her pile of snowballs growing with frightening speed. "Rule is as soon as your fort is done, you get to start making ammo. And when you think you have enough ammo, you get to start throwing snowballs."
"We're almost done, Ian, just a few more -- Oh!" Gina Marie flinched as a snowball whizzed past, just missing her.
"Heh, heh, heh! Suckers!" Joey chortled, quickly firing another toward his sister and Ian.
"Incoming!" Gina Marie screamed ducking down. She handed the pail to Ian. "Just put a few more bucketfuls on top and we're done!"
"I think you should begin making ammunition, my Lady," Ian murmured, hunkering down just in time to avoid getting hit. "Our fort will just have to do as it is."
"You're right," she conceded, and began making snowballs as fast as she could.
"Oh, you rotten scoundrel!" Paula yelled as Sara began zinging snowballs at her and Robert mercilessly, most of which found their mark. "Stop laughing and keep building, Robbie!"
"Not my fault you guys were late to the party!" Sara panted. "Your butts are mi-- Oof!" she grunted as a snowball hit her squarely in the chest. Stunned, she glanced to her left just in time to see the smirk on Nottingham's face before he nimbly ducked a fusillade from Joey.
"Oooo, a direct hit on Aunt Sara!" Joey crowed. "Good one, Ian!"
Sara's face grew stormy. "You're mine, Nottingham," she growled.
"Promises, promises!" he taunted, firing another enormous snowball at her, which missed by millimeters.
Gina Marie giggled delightedly. "Get Joey," she whispered to him.
"I will try," he murmured, peering over the edge of their fort in an effort to locate their target. He waited until the boy reared up to throw at his hapless parents and then let go a blazing barrage of snowballs.
"Agghhh! I'm hit!" Joey cried. "Whose idea was it to let Ian join in again?"
"Aunt Sara's!" Gina Marie laughed. She high-fived Ian gleefully, but then her eyes widened. "Look out!"
Ian turned just in time to get a direct hit in the face.
Gina Marie gasped in horror. "Oh, no! Not in the face!"
"Oops!" Sara said with patently false sincerity. "My bad." Unnoticed, she had stealthily crept closer to their fort, abandoning her own. She was less than five feet away from them.
Ian stared at her, clumps of snow dripping down his face. "I thought we were not supposed to aim at faces," he said, very softly.
She shrugged. "It was an accident," she said, but then smirked.
"My Lady, it was unwise of you to break cover," Nottingham commented darkly.
Sara's eyes widened as he reached into his sling and removed a large snowball. Turning, she desperately tried to retreat to her fort, but to no avail. The snowball hit her squarely in the back of the head before she could get halfway there, and she shrieked as icy wetness found its way beneath her collar and down her back.
"Get her!" Robert shouted, and suddenly she was being bombarded with snowballs from all directions. By the time she reached the protection of her fort, she was covered with snow from head to toe.
"Time out, time out!" she yelled.
"Oh, yeah, now that she's getting creamed, she wants to call time out!" Joey snorted, continuing to lob snowballs at her.
"No! Really! It's been ten minutes! Ian has to go back inside!" Sara panted.
"Awww, no way!" Gina Marie protested. "You're only saying that because his aim is better than yours and he's hit you, like, a dozen times!"
"More like two dozen," Ian murmured, earning a glare from Sara. "But who is counting?"
"So, time is called, right?" Sara huffed, sitting up.
"No!" her niece yelled, throwing a snowball at her and actually hitting her in the head. Another missile from Joey narrowly missed her.
"Hey!" their aunt cried. "Give me a break here!"
"It is all right, Gina Marie," Ian said, rising. "Time is called everybody."
Grudgingly, Joey, Paula, and Robert stopped firing at the cowering Wielder. Sara waited a few moments before cautiously raising her head above the lip of her fort, whereupon she immediately got a face full of snow.
Joey shouted with laughter. "Psych!" he cackled. "You got her back good, Ian!"
Sara blinked away snow to see Ian standing only a few feet away, grinning down at her.
"You are dead meat, Nottingham!" she snarled, and launched herself at him, tackling him around the knees. He fell back into the deep, soft snow, laughing helplessly. Grabbing two enormous handfuls of snow, Sara straddled his hips, but then she froze, staring at him, green eyes wide with wonderment.
Ian flung his right arm up protectively in anticipation of getting a face full of snow, but when nothing happened he peered up at Sara over his sleeve. "What is it?" he asked, noticing her stunned expression.
"You," she whispered. "You were laughing."
He blinked. "Yes, I was," he agreed. He sat up so that their faces were inches apart, his gloved right hand coming up to cup the back of her cold, wet neck. "Thank you, my Lady, for the precious gift of laughter," Ian said, and kissed her. The snow fell, forgotten, from Sara's gloved hands.
It started out as a chaste, gentle gesture of gratitude, his warm lips pressing lightly against hers, but after a moment of rigid surprise, Sara's lips softened, parting slightly in plain invitation for him to deepen the kiss, which he did eagerly. Ian made a small sound in the back of his throat as the tip of her tongue darted into his mouth and touched his. Abruptly, all of his pent-up desire was clearly communicated to her through his lips, and she responded to it instinctively and wholeheartedly, tilting her head and opening her mouth wider, her arms coming up to steal around his neck. His tongue explored the contours of her mouth, and Sara gave a little moan as it found an extremely sensitive area and lingered there, probing delicately. She reciprocated by thrusting her tongue into his mouth and discovering a corresponding spot, and now it was he who moaned softly.
The sound of somebody clearing their throat abruptly brought them both back to reality, and they broke apart, flushing self-consciously.
"Uh, I think you are right, Sara," Ian muttered. "I am feeling a little chilled as well as fatigued. I should probably go inside."
"And I'm soaking wet," Sara said, hastily getting off of him. 'In more ways than one!' she thought. 'Hot damn, that was some kiss!' "I'd better go with. Um, see you guys in a couple of hours at dinner," she told her family. She held out a hand and helped Ian to his feet. Together, they started toward the garage, trying to make it seem as though they weren't hurrying.
"Uh, okay, see you guys later," Paula and Robbie said almost in unison, exchanging knowing glances.
"Yeah, after they make out like crazy," Gina Marie observed, smirking.
Joey chuckled. "You got that right, Sis!"
"Gina Marie!" Paula gasped, staring at her husband in appalled disbelief.
"Don't look at me! I don't know where she got those ideas from," Robbie said, unable to suppress a grin.
"Oh, come on," their daughter said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I don't know about that stuff. I'm 11, not seven." Gina Marie turned and started trudging toward the deck. When she reached it, she grabbed a pile of snow off the railing, turned, and flung it at her brother, who was a few feet behind her, hitting him smack in the face. "Ha! I win!" she cried, opening the sliding door and dashing into the house before he could retaliate.
"Yeah, uh-hunh. I want a rematch tomorrow!" Joey called after her, wiping the snow off and grinning. "We'll see who wins then!" He disappeared inside.
"I'm pretty sure Ian won today," Paula murmured, glancing toward the garage.
"Yeah," her husband agreed. "But you could definitely say he got lucky!"
"Oh, you're bad, Robert Siri," his wife chuckled, shaking her head at his pun.
"Not as bad as I can be," he purred in her ear, sliding his arm around her waist.
"What time is it? About 3:30, right? Hmmm. That means we don't have to start getting dinner ready for at least another hour," Paula said speculatively. An impish gleam appeared in her brown eyes. "Race you to the bedroom!" She darted into the house. "Last one there has to give the winner a foot massage!"
"You're on!" Robert grinned, right behind her.
More to come! There. Happy, now? The first kiss is out of the way. Thanks, as always, for all of your feedback. It is so fun to read and your enthusiasm is really heartwarming. Keep it coming!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Witchblade characters. I'm just playing. Enjoy!
Chapter 44.
Ian glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchenette as the movie's credits started to roll. It was 14:00 hours. He felt restless and keyed up, perhaps as a result of the jolt of adrenaline he'd received from the space opera's breathtakingly climatic battle. Or maybe it was the sugar rush from the half dozen or so chocolate chip cookies he'd consumed.
Gina Marie had gotten up during the last half hour of 'Star Wars' and brought the cookie tin over. Ian had eaten his smiley-face cookie with relish, washing it down with the glass of milk the young girl had also poured for him. Then he'd devoured several more of the delicious treats in rapid succession, while riveted by the Rebel Alliance's desperate race against time to destroy the Death Star. After sleeping for nearly an entire day, followed by four hours of sitting on the futon watching movies, he was nearly bursting with pent-up energy. Plus, it had been some time since he'd had a real workout -- notwithstanding the fight for his life on that warehouse rooftop two nights ago. Wistfully, he listened as Sara and her niece planned their strategy for the coming fight, wishing he could join in the fun. However, Sara believed he was still too weak and hurting too badly for that kind of exertion. Ian did not want to run the risk of her discovering just how quickly he healed by insisting he was well enough to participate in the snowball fight. So, with a sigh, he resigned himself to staying cooped up in the apartment and watching from afar as she and her niece waged battle with her nephew.
"Why the big sigh?" Sara asked him, green eyes searching his downcast features.
"I wish I could join you," Ian said truthfully.
"It's a little soon for you to playing in the snow, don't you think? Besides, it'd be kinda hard to make snowballs with one hand," Sara pointed out.
"I could make them for him," Gina Marie offered. "Me and him could share a fort while you and Joey make your own forts. It's not even that cold out. Ten minutes in the snow couldn't hurt him, could it?"
Sara shook her head. "I don't know, Sweetie. He's just getting over a bad case of the flu. I don't want him to overdo it. He could have a relapse or reinjure his shoulder and ribs."
Ian heaved another sigh, and Sara winced when she saw that the pitiful kicked-puppy had shown up. 'Oh, no, not the puppy!' she thought desperately.
"All right, all right!" she gave in, against her better judgment. "You've got ten minutes outdoors. But you have to promise me that as soon as you start to feel tired or if your shoulder and ribs start bothering you, you'll go back inside."
"I promise," Nottingham said swiftly, grinning. Despite his sling, he actually rubbed his hands together in anticipation, causing Sara to raise her eyebrows at him.
"Can we get a head start building our snow fort?" Gina Marie asked.
"Hmmm," Sara tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I guess that'll be okay. Joey's not gonna like it though."
"Too bad. I've got little hands and Ian only has one, so it's only fair that we get to dig our fort first. Aunt Sara, you have to go in the bedroom so you can't overhear us discussing our strategy," Gina Marie told her.
"Hey!" Sara protested. "I won't eavesdrop. I'm not a cheater!"
"I think that is an excellent idea, Gina Marie," Ian told the 11-year- old. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sara. "Your aunt is taking the coming battle very seriously, and we must decide upon a plan of action very carefully if we want to avoid defeat."
"Et tu, Nottingham?" Sara asked, contriving to look hurt. "Fine, I'll go." She got to her feet, snagging a couple of cookies from the tin before going into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.
Gina Marie jumped up and went over to the CD rack. "We better put on some music in case she has her ear to the door," she told him.
"I heard that!" Sara said.
"Good thinking, my Lady," Ian said, grinning. He got up and joined the girl by the stereo, glancing through the extensive collection of CDs, which were stacked alphabetically. "Oh, Led Zeppelin!" he exclaimed, spotting a familiar name. "I like them."
"Okay, let's put that one on. It's a five-disc changer, so I'll chose one, too," the girl said. "I like this CD, 'Supernatural,' by Santana." Using the stereo's remote, she turned on the power, then put the CDs in the changer and pushed play. Ian adjusted the volume to a level that he felt would cover their conversation and that was comfortable for his sensitive ears. He was a little surprised by how much he was looking forward to the coming contest.
"Okay," Gina Marie Siri said, all business. "Here's what we're up against: Joey likes to fight dirty, Aunt Sara's aim is deadly and she really hates to lose, and I'm too little to throw very far and my aim is terrible."
"Although there is nothing I can do about the first two things, I am pleased to say that I have excellent range and aim. You make the snowballs, and I will hit the targets," Ian told her.
"Deal. Now we just have to decide where to build our snow fort. Knowing Joey, we will only have a few minutes head start, so we have to figure out the best location and then declare dibs on it," she said.
"I believe I can also be of help in that matter, but I would like to examine the lay of the land first and figure out the direction of the wind. It would not do to be blinded by the sun or the blowing snow that young Joseph 'accidentally' kicks up."
Gina Marie grinned up at him. "Too bad you're only gonna be allowed to fight for ten minutes, Ian. With your help, I might actually have a chance to beat Joey for once!"
"Can I come out now?" Sara called from the bedroom.
"Yeah," her niece said. "I know you like my Aunt Sara and all, but you have to promise not to go easy on her," the girl whispered to Ian as her aunt came out.
"I promise," he said, expression serious.
"Good. I'm going back home to get my sand pail and shovel to build our fort with. Let's meet in the backyard in, say, 30 minutes?" Gina Marie said, taking her coat from the back of the barstool.
"I will be there, my Lady."
"A pail and shovel!?! That's not fair!" Sara protested, helping her into her coat.
The girl held up her hands. "Tiny hands, remember?" but she could not refrain from grinning impishly. "See you outside, Ian." She left.
Sara regarded an entirely too smug-looking Ian Nottingham. "You are in for a rude awakening, my friend. Nobody builds a snow fort faster or better than me, and my aim is legendary for its accuracy."
"We shall see, my Lady," he said, his lips turning up at the corners in that provocative almost-smile of his.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You gotta promise not to use any of your superpowers, Nottingham," she stunned him by saying. "It's only fair since I don't get to use the Witchblade."
"I am not sure what you mean, Sara," he murmured faintly, hazel eyes wide.
"You forget that I witnessed how fast you can move. I also know you don't really need that sling anymore, but you probably should leave it on or Joey won't show you any mercy," she rendered him speechless with. "However, I am serious about you only staying out there for ten minutes. It's kind of soon to be exerting yourself, even for you. I don't want you to overdo it."
"How did you find out about my healing ability?" Ian asked her quietly when he found his voice. "Did Gabriel tell you?"
She shook her head, grabbing another cookie from the tin on the coffee table. "Although he hinted about it by warning me not to be surprised by how quickly you got back on your feet, I realized the real deal when I noticed that the cuts and welts on your back had disappeared overnight. Or scarred over, to be exact," she told him.
Nottingham's gaze dropped to the floor. "I am sorry you had to see that," he muttered, wondering how he had failed to notice her reaction to the discovery of his master's cruelty. Then again, he had been pretty out of it.
"Irons did that to you, didn't he?" It wasn't really a question.
"Yes."
Sara gazed at him in silence for several long, uncomfortable moments, and then she did something completely unexpected. She went to him, slid her arms around him, and simply held him, her cheek pressed against his chest.
At first, Ian stiffened, his breath catching, but then, just as he had whenever he felt her touch during the height of his fever, he relaxed, his right arm going around her and gathering her even closer to him. Mentally, he cursed the sling on his left arm, which prevented him from getting as close to her as he so badly wanted to.
They stood there in the middle of the living room like that for quite some time.
"You better go put your boots on," Sara said finally, pulling away from him, leaving him feeling bereft. She turned and bent to pick up the glasses and plates from the coffee table, but not before he saw the moisture on her cheeks. "And don't forget to put on your gloves, hat, and scarf before you go outside."
"Yes, my Lady," he said, brushing his own tears away before going into the bedroom.
****
As Gina Marie had surmised, her brother gave them only a five-minute head start building their fort before he and Sara began constructing their own.
"No, don't stop!" Gina Marie reprimanded Ian when he paused to gawk at the amazing rapidity with which Sara was building her fort. "As soon as she's done she'll start making ammunition!"
"Oh my God, Sara's way ahead of everybody!" Ian heard Paula Siri say, and he and Gina Marie turned to see her parents standing on the back deck of the house. They, too, were bundled up against the cold.
"Well, then there's no time to waste," Robert said grimly, jumping off the deck into the snow, which came up to above his knees.
"Wait a sec! You're joining the fight, too?" Joey said, digging furiously.
"Yeah, but we're sharing a fort. Got a problem with that?" Robert responded, choosing a spot and beginning to excavate it with his wife's help.
"I guess not. Darn! Aunt Sara's already making ammo!"
"You all are toast!" Sara cackled maniacally.
"You can't start throwing snowballs until we're done, Sara!" Paula cried. "That's no fair!"
"Hey, I didn't make the rules!" Sara defended, her pile of snowballs growing with frightening speed. "Rule is as soon as your fort is done, you get to start making ammo. And when you think you have enough ammo, you get to start throwing snowballs."
"We're almost done, Ian, just a few more -- Oh!" Gina Marie flinched as a snowball whizzed past, just missing her.
"Heh, heh, heh! Suckers!" Joey chortled, quickly firing another toward his sister and Ian.
"Incoming!" Gina Marie screamed ducking down. She handed the pail to Ian. "Just put a few more bucketfuls on top and we're done!"
"I think you should begin making ammunition, my Lady," Ian murmured, hunkering down just in time to avoid getting hit. "Our fort will just have to do as it is."
"You're right," she conceded, and began making snowballs as fast as she could.
"Oh, you rotten scoundrel!" Paula yelled as Sara began zinging snowballs at her and Robert mercilessly, most of which found their mark. "Stop laughing and keep building, Robbie!"
"Not my fault you guys were late to the party!" Sara panted. "Your butts are mi-- Oof!" she grunted as a snowball hit her squarely in the chest. Stunned, she glanced to her left just in time to see the smirk on Nottingham's face before he nimbly ducked a fusillade from Joey.
"Oooo, a direct hit on Aunt Sara!" Joey crowed. "Good one, Ian!"
Sara's face grew stormy. "You're mine, Nottingham," she growled.
"Promises, promises!" he taunted, firing another enormous snowball at her, which missed by millimeters.
Gina Marie giggled delightedly. "Get Joey," she whispered to him.
"I will try," he murmured, peering over the edge of their fort in an effort to locate their target. He waited until the boy reared up to throw at his hapless parents and then let go a blazing barrage of snowballs.
"Agghhh! I'm hit!" Joey cried. "Whose idea was it to let Ian join in again?"
"Aunt Sara's!" Gina Marie laughed. She high-fived Ian gleefully, but then her eyes widened. "Look out!"
Ian turned just in time to get a direct hit in the face.
Gina Marie gasped in horror. "Oh, no! Not in the face!"
"Oops!" Sara said with patently false sincerity. "My bad." Unnoticed, she had stealthily crept closer to their fort, abandoning her own. She was less than five feet away from them.
Ian stared at her, clumps of snow dripping down his face. "I thought we were not supposed to aim at faces," he said, very softly.
She shrugged. "It was an accident," she said, but then smirked.
"My Lady, it was unwise of you to break cover," Nottingham commented darkly.
Sara's eyes widened as he reached into his sling and removed a large snowball. Turning, she desperately tried to retreat to her fort, but to no avail. The snowball hit her squarely in the back of the head before she could get halfway there, and she shrieked as icy wetness found its way beneath her collar and down her back.
"Get her!" Robert shouted, and suddenly she was being bombarded with snowballs from all directions. By the time she reached the protection of her fort, she was covered with snow from head to toe.
"Time out, time out!" she yelled.
"Oh, yeah, now that she's getting creamed, she wants to call time out!" Joey snorted, continuing to lob snowballs at her.
"No! Really! It's been ten minutes! Ian has to go back inside!" Sara panted.
"Awww, no way!" Gina Marie protested. "You're only saying that because his aim is better than yours and he's hit you, like, a dozen times!"
"More like two dozen," Ian murmured, earning a glare from Sara. "But who is counting?"
"So, time is called, right?" Sara huffed, sitting up.
"No!" her niece yelled, throwing a snowball at her and actually hitting her in the head. Another missile from Joey narrowly missed her.
"Hey!" their aunt cried. "Give me a break here!"
"It is all right, Gina Marie," Ian said, rising. "Time is called everybody."
Grudgingly, Joey, Paula, and Robert stopped firing at the cowering Wielder. Sara waited a few moments before cautiously raising her head above the lip of her fort, whereupon she immediately got a face full of snow.
Joey shouted with laughter. "Psych!" he cackled. "You got her back good, Ian!"
Sara blinked away snow to see Ian standing only a few feet away, grinning down at her.
"You are dead meat, Nottingham!" she snarled, and launched herself at him, tackling him around the knees. He fell back into the deep, soft snow, laughing helplessly. Grabbing two enormous handfuls of snow, Sara straddled his hips, but then she froze, staring at him, green eyes wide with wonderment.
Ian flung his right arm up protectively in anticipation of getting a face full of snow, but when nothing happened he peered up at Sara over his sleeve. "What is it?" he asked, noticing her stunned expression.
"You," she whispered. "You were laughing."
He blinked. "Yes, I was," he agreed. He sat up so that their faces were inches apart, his gloved right hand coming up to cup the back of her cold, wet neck. "Thank you, my Lady, for the precious gift of laughter," Ian said, and kissed her. The snow fell, forgotten, from Sara's gloved hands.
It started out as a chaste, gentle gesture of gratitude, his warm lips pressing lightly against hers, but after a moment of rigid surprise, Sara's lips softened, parting slightly in plain invitation for him to deepen the kiss, which he did eagerly. Ian made a small sound in the back of his throat as the tip of her tongue darted into his mouth and touched his. Abruptly, all of his pent-up desire was clearly communicated to her through his lips, and she responded to it instinctively and wholeheartedly, tilting her head and opening her mouth wider, her arms coming up to steal around his neck. His tongue explored the contours of her mouth, and Sara gave a little moan as it found an extremely sensitive area and lingered there, probing delicately. She reciprocated by thrusting her tongue into his mouth and discovering a corresponding spot, and now it was he who moaned softly.
The sound of somebody clearing their throat abruptly brought them both back to reality, and they broke apart, flushing self-consciously.
"Uh, I think you are right, Sara," Ian muttered. "I am feeling a little chilled as well as fatigued. I should probably go inside."
"And I'm soaking wet," Sara said, hastily getting off of him. 'In more ways than one!' she thought. 'Hot damn, that was some kiss!' "I'd better go with. Um, see you guys in a couple of hours at dinner," she told her family. She held out a hand and helped Ian to his feet. Together, they started toward the garage, trying to make it seem as though they weren't hurrying.
"Uh, okay, see you guys later," Paula and Robbie said almost in unison, exchanging knowing glances.
"Yeah, after they make out like crazy," Gina Marie observed, smirking.
Joey chuckled. "You got that right, Sis!"
"Gina Marie!" Paula gasped, staring at her husband in appalled disbelief.
"Don't look at me! I don't know where she got those ideas from," Robbie said, unable to suppress a grin.
"Oh, come on," their daughter said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I don't know about that stuff. I'm 11, not seven." Gina Marie turned and started trudging toward the deck. When she reached it, she grabbed a pile of snow off the railing, turned, and flung it at her brother, who was a few feet behind her, hitting him smack in the face. "Ha! I win!" she cried, opening the sliding door and dashing into the house before he could retaliate.
"Yeah, uh-hunh. I want a rematch tomorrow!" Joey called after her, wiping the snow off and grinning. "We'll see who wins then!" He disappeared inside.
"I'm pretty sure Ian won today," Paula murmured, glancing toward the garage.
"Yeah," her husband agreed. "But you could definitely say he got lucky!"
"Oh, you're bad, Robert Siri," his wife chuckled, shaking her head at his pun.
"Not as bad as I can be," he purred in her ear, sliding his arm around her waist.
"What time is it? About 3:30, right? Hmmm. That means we don't have to start getting dinner ready for at least another hour," Paula said speculatively. An impish gleam appeared in her brown eyes. "Race you to the bedroom!" She darted into the house. "Last one there has to give the winner a foot massage!"
"You're on!" Robert grinned, right behind her.
More to come! There. Happy, now? The first kiss is out of the way. Thanks, as always, for all of your feedback. It is so fun to read and your enthusiasm is really heartwarming. Keep it coming!