Dill came out of the bathroom, her robe tied loosely around her as she towelled her hair dry. McQueen lay in bed, watching her as she stepped carefully over the train track.
"Come and sit down," he said. "Let me do that for you and you can tell me all about your day. Did you buy anything nice? Anything you'd care to model for me?"
Sitting herself on the edge of the bed, Dill surrendered the towel to him as he knelt up behind her and began rubbing her hair. "By that I take it you mean did I visit that underwear shop again?" she chuckled.
"Oh yeah," Ty whispered, letting his breath blow gently into her ear.
"I'm afraid not, but tell me what you'd like me to buy and I might make a special visit, just for you," Dill giggled.
Ty let the towel drop and began massaging her shoulders. "You know what I like," he breathed huskily, leaning against her back, pushing his erection against her.
"Black silk," she sighed as his hands slipped around to gently rub her nipples. "Suspenders and stockings."
"Oh yeah," he groaned rubbing himself against her harder.
"But why?" Dill murmured as Ty began dropping soft kisses on her throat and neck, slipping her robe down her shoulders so he could kiss her collarbones.
"So I can take 'em off, see what you're hiding underneath," he said softly, as he pulled her backwards onto the bed.
"But you know what's underneath," she gasped, as his hand slowly began tracing circles on her thigh, his fingers gently brushing against her centre.
"But it's much more fun if I get to slide those stockings down your legs first... if I get to hook my tongue under your panties before I pull 'em off" Ty told her, his voice low and husky. His mouth slowly moved to her bared breasts, as he undid her robe and pulled it away from her body.
Dill wriggled under his attentions, her hand snaking out to stroke his hard cock. She sighed as he sucked a nipple into his mouth. "I don't think I'll ever get over the way you make me feel."
McQueen chuckled, his mouth around her nipple sending vibrations through her breast, making her moan softly. His chuckle turned to a soft moan as her hand gripped him, her thumb rubbing gently over his tip as she massaged him. A shudder ran through his body. "Oh yeah," he groaned. "Do it, Dill."
She turned her head, trying to take him in her mouth, but he shifted, his fingers sliding inside her hot depths as his hips thrust him forwards and into her hand.
"No, Dill, like this," he whispered, as his thrusts into her hand increased. "It's so good."
Dill whimpered as his fingers found her little nub and began to stroke it. Her body bucked upwards as Ty moved his head lower and climbed across her so that he straddled her on his hands and knees. He dipped his head to suckle on her nub, his fingers sliding deep inside her hot slick entrance. She released her hold on his cock and took him into her mouth, sucking him hard as he tried to pull out. He lifted his head to turn and look at her as she grabbed his behind and kneaded it pulling him down to her.
"No, Dill," he groaned. "Your hand!"
"Sir, yes, sir," she giggled, taking hold of him again as he thrust his hips forwards, revelling in the feel of her hands on him.
Dill began to shudder and buck as Ty's fingers worked her hard. Her hands dropped from him to grip the bed sheet as he worked her towards a climax. He chuckled as he felt her body shudder under his ministrations, and he and bent his head to lick her clean. He gasped as he felt her mouth engulf him again, and her hands grab his hips and pull him down to her.
Dill sucked him hard, slowly taking his entire length into her mouth. Ty squirmed on top of her, his body desperate to buck, to thrust himself deeper into her mouth. Instead he grabbed her and flipped them over, crying out as he pulled himself free of her mouth.
"Fuck me," she demanded. "For God's sake just fuck me."
"My pleasure," he whispered, turning around and sliding himself into her wet core.
Dill wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust her hips upwards, meeting his thrusts as his mouth descended on her nipple. Suckling hard and savagely as he pounded inside her, Ty's head swam from the sensations she was creating as her fingers gently stroked over his navel. He felt her hot breath, and then, sending his body into a spasm of wild thrusts, her tongue rimming the edge of his navel, dipping into the centre of it, sucking on it, sending fire coursing through his veins as his body screamed for release. His hips relentlessly pounded into her until, with a cry and his head nestled against her neck, he came.
Opening his eyes, Ty saw Dill smiling down at him. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You passed out on me there for a bit longer than usual."
"I'm fine," he whispered. "Come down here and cuddle me. I seem to have lost the ability to move."
Laughing, she snuggled up next to him and pulled the duvet over them.
"You know, Dill," Ty sighed sleepily, "it'd be nice to live somewhere that we didn't need a duvet in June."
"I know, my lover. Why don't you think about it while you sleep," she whispered to him, stroking his hair and kissing his cheek.
"But you haven't told me about your shopping trip," he murmured.
"You know full well you don't really want to know about it," Dill told him, kissing his jaw.
"I do too!" Ty exclaimed, his hand gently stroking her back.
"We went into Inverness, we looked around the shops, we had lunch, and we chatted a bit. Then we came home."
"What did you talk about?" he asked. He lifted his head to look at her as she didn't answer straight away. "Dill?"
"You. Bella asked me about your face, what happened to it. I told her, but I got the feeling she didn't believe me," Dill snuggled closer in his arms. "Do you think she thinks I did it on purpose?" she asked in a small voice.
"I'm sure she doesn't. Why would she think that?"
"I don't know, but it felt like she was accusing me of deliberately hurting you."
Ty rolled onto his side and gathered her in his arms more comfortably. "We know what happened. That's what matters. You are not some husband beating monster. You never have been, and you never will be. So stop feeling guilty about it." He kissed her gently. "Do you really think I would still be here with you, in this bed, if you beat me? Hell no, Dill. I put up with that in the mines because I didn't know any better. I do now. I'd never put up with that again. I know how much you love me. I know you would never hurt me, and so do you."
Dill smiled up at him. "I am so lucky that I met you, Tyrus McQueen. So very lucky that you wanted me like I wanted you. There's no one, not one single person on this planet, who is happier than you make me. I can only hope that I make you as happy."
"Yes, you do," he told her. "When I was first on earth, and I found out about families and marriage and loving someone so much you'd die for them, there were times when I used to cry myself to sleep." Ty grinned at her startled expression. "Well, I was only five, remember. I would lie in my bunk in those damn barracks and cry because I thought I would never have any of those things, and I wanted them so much. I wanted to have someone who would look out for me, who wouldn't care that I was a 'dirty tank'. I just wanted to be loved. When I met Amy I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I thought this is it; this is what I've been waiting for. I guess that's why it hurt so much when it turned out I was wrong. After that I withdrew. No one was going to make me hurt like that again... make me turn to the green meanies again. Then you showed up, with those big blue eyes, that impish grin and that incredibly misleading air of vulnerability. I fell for you hard, before I'd even realised it. I tried to fight it, but it was no good. You'd ensnared me with your elven magic!" he chuckled.
"My elven magic?" Dill's hand reached up to feel his forehead. "You don't feel feverish. Do you feel okay?" she laughed. "You know, you floored me when you called me your elf. I'd never have put you down as someone who read about elves."
"Yeah, well, I don't, not any more," he told her. "But in those early days, when I was learning to read, the other guys in my squad 'helped' me. They must have chosen the most god-awful children's books they could find, full of fairies and elves, pixies and talking animals. They told me that they were ordinary books that everyone read."
"Oh, you poor thing," Dill giggled. "No wonder you look so disgusted on the disc of you reading Wind in the Willows."
"Yep," he smiled. "Eventually my C.O. realised what they were doing, and bawled them out. But I must have read everything they could find by Beatrix Potter by then, and there were some with a guy in a big blue hat with a bell on the end. He had a friend called…."
"Big Ears? They made you read Noddy? Oh God, Ty, you really are more damaged than you look!"
He nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. You know it?"
Dill giggled helplessly in his arms. "My poor, poor darling. You know, I did buy some underwear today."
"You did?" he asked eagerly.
"Not for me though."
"Damn! For the kids, I suppose," he sighed.
"No, for you," she told him. "Just so that you can say you own a pair of boxers that aren't marine issue khaki. I've been adding slowly to your wardrobe, and I figured it was time to see that sexy butt clad in something else. "
"I've noticed," Ty smiled, kissing her. "Soon I'll be able to come home with only the clothes I stand up in."
"That's the idea, my lover. Here you're daddy, and Colonel McQueen gets left at the gates. I've not bought you anything you really hate, have I? Well, apart from the sandals. But you do look incredibly sexy in them. Very manly," Dill giggled.
"Oh, stop it, you bad woman," he chuckled. "Go to sleep."
"Yes, Ty," she chuckled. "Anything you say, my lover.
"Then stop fidgeting, kiss me, and go to sleep."
"Yes, sir!"
"Good girl."
Dill woke with a start. The whole room was illuminated for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw someone standing by the bed. The light faded and a peal of thunder rumbled loudly overhead.
"Mummy?" It was Cameron standing by the bed, tears rolling down his face.
"Oh, darling, into bed with me and daddy," she smiled, throwing back the duvet. "Did the thunder scare you?"
"Hamish told me to listen," he sobbed, "but I couldn't hear it. He said I was silly."
McQueen stretched, woken by the little boy's fidgeting as he got into the bed. "Hey, little guy. What're you doing here?"
Another peal of thunder directly overhead answered him. That, and the way Cameron almost jumped on him. "Guess you're scared, huh?"
Cameron nodded wordlessly, his thumb firmly fixed in his mouth and his eyes wide with fear.
As another peal of thunder sounded and the heavens opened, they could hear Izzy crying.
"I'll go," Dill said, climbing from the bed. "I expect she's scared too. No doubt Hamish is sleeping peacefully."
Cameron took his thumb out of his mouth. "He's gone," he said quietly.
"Gone?" Dill asked.
"What do you mean, gone?" Ty asked, sitting bolt upright, his first thoughts of Aerotech.
"In the garden," Cameron sobbed, each peal of thunder frightening him more. "He left me all alone."
Dill looked at Ty. "What do I do? See to Izzy or fetch Hamish?"
"Fetch Hamish. We'll see to Izzy, won't we, little guy?" he told her. "Go, Dill. Get him inside now before he gets soaked."
Stopping only to pull on her robe, Dill dashed out to get Hamish back inside.
He was sitting on the top of the climbing frame, smiling.
"Hamish, get down and come indoors right now!" Dill ordered.
He turned to look at her. "But mummy, it smells good!" he cried. "Smell it, mummy"
"I'm sure it does darling, but you're getting wet, and the climbing frame isn't safe when there's lightning."
"Can you hear it, mummy? It's coming. Watch!" Hamish slowly climbed down and came over to her. "Listen, mummy. It's coming."
"What's coming, darling?" Dill asked, pulling him into the shelter of the back door.
"The light. It's fizzing and crackly," he told her, looking up her. "Can't you hear it?" At the shake of her head, he sighed. "Cameron couldn't either. He just cried."
"He was scared, sweetie. Not everyone thinks this is exciting. Izzy's scared too. Come on inside now. Let's get you some dry pyjamas and pop you back into bed. I'll open the curtains so you can see it, okay?"
"Okay, mummy," Hamish sighed, allowing Dill to pick him up and carry him back to his bedroom.
Izzy was asleep, tucked up snugly in her cot, Cameron's doll Cashus snuggled with her.
"Look, Izzy's asleep. We need to be quiet while we get you dry," Dill whispered to the little boy.
"She's got Cashus," Hamish said, wide-eyed.
"Cameron's got daddy. He doesn't need Cashus at the moment, does he?" Dill told him, quickly stripping him out of his wet pyjamas.
"But he doesn't give me Cashus," Hamish said softly.
"No, darling. He gives you cuddles instead, doesn't he?" Dill told him, pulling his dry pyjama top over his head. "Now step in, sweetie, and let's get you tucked up." She held out the pyjama pants for him.
"Mummy, will you stay with me?" he asked.
"For a little while, darling," she told him. "Now come on - hop into bed and I'll tell you a story."
"Will you tell me 'bout daddy?" he asked. "'bout daddy and the foot painting."
Dill smiled. Hamish never tired of hearing how his daddy had been cross at having to do foot painting, and had helped her put her feet on the ceiling. "Of course, my lover. Now lie down and try to sleep." She lay on the bed with him as he snuggled into her arms with a contented sigh.
Ty lay in bed, Cameron held firmly in his arms. "It's okay, little guy, it can't hurt you. It's just noise, that's all," he soothed, as Cameron trembled with each fresh peal of thunder.
He rested his head back on the pillow, stroking Cameron's back. Ty remembered how scared he'd been the first time he'd ever woken up to hear thunder and lightning. His squad mates had all laughed at him as he'd lain trembling in his bunk, the covers pulled over his head, terrified out of his wits. One man, his nearest bunk mate, Jenkins, had waited for everyone to settle down again, and once he was sure they'd gone back to sleep, had come to sit on his bunk, stroking his back and soothing him until he'd slept. The following night McQueen had waited until everyone else was asleep and had climbed into bed with him, meaning to pay him back in the only way he knew how. Jenkins had been disgusted and had pushed him out of the bed, only realising later what it had been about. Saddened and horrified, he'd explained to the astounded McQueen that payback didn't have to be sexual. That, in fact, simply helping a frightened friend didn't require payback. He'd lain in bed and wondered what a 'friend' was.
Hugging Cameron closer to him, he began to talk very softly, hoping the boy would settle to sleep. "Did you have a good day today, little guy?" he whispered. "I kinda did. I enjoyed fishing. Shame we didn't get any fish for mommy to cook though. Do you think she was disappointed? If she was, she hid it well. She's good like that, your mommy." Ty sighed. He was talking gibberish and he knew it, but he hoped the sound of his voice would soothe the small boy. "You know, I love mommy very much. But I guess you can tell that. I love you, too. And Hamish. Izzy, too. Hell," he smiled to himself, "I even love grandma, in a funny kinda way. What else do you know about me, Cameron?" he wondered out loud.
"You have lots of ouches," Cameron whispered. "Inside ouches, that mummy can't see."
"Inside ouches?" Ty pondered on the fact that Cameron had just picked up on his feelings again.
"Don't be frightened, daddy. Mummy loves you. You can tell her. She won't be scared of your inside ouches."
"She won't, huh?" Ty smiled. "You can tell what mommy's feeling too?"
"Sometimes," Cameron told him. "Is it wrong, daddy?"
"No, my lover, it's not wrong," he reassured him, his mind racing over the knowledge that his son could pick up on Dill's feelings too.
"Silly!" Cameron chuckled. "I'm mummy's lover. You say little guy."
"Sorry," he smiled. "I do, don't I? But why can't you be my lover too?"
"Because I'm your little guy, silly!"
"Oh, okay." Ty paused, thinking for a moment. "Cameron, can you tell how I'm feeling when I'm gone? When I go back to the Saratoga?"
"Sometimes," Cameron nodded. "Sometimes you shout and you're angry. That frightens me, daddy. Don't be angry."
"I'll try. What else do you feel?"
"Sometimes you're happy. Once you were so happy you nearly cried. Sometimes you do cry. I don't tell mummy that anymore. It makes her sad and she cries too. Sometimes you feel…," he paused, trying to find words to explain what he didn't understand. "Sometimes you need mummy. That makes you sad, but then you feel… like you feel when you're with mummy… when mummy makes you happy… when she plays with your penis. But mummy's not there… do you play with your penis by yourself, daddy?"
McQueen was glad it was dark. No one could see his blush. "Sometimes," he admitted. There was obviously no point lying to the boy, and Dill believed in being honest with the children. "Can you feel Hamish or Izzy?"
"Sometimes. Izzy lots, but Hamish doesn't let me."
"Can you feel anyone else? Bella or Valentine maybe?" McQueen asked, wondering if Cameron would be able to tell if Val was being honest.
"Shall I see daddy?" Cameron asked eagerly. He could feel that this was important to his daddy and wanted to please him.
McQueen lay there for a moment or two, just cuddling his young son, wondering how he could justify asking him to do such a thing. True, his family was at risk. Maybe. But it was an invasion of Val's privacy. He knew he'd be angry if someone did it to him, but… his family was at risk, and he needed to know. Hell, he liked Val. He wanted to believe him.
In the end Cameron took the matter out of his hands. "Well," the little boy said, "Bella is happy. She's sleeping, but Valentine is sad." He lifted his head to look at Ty. "You made him sad?"
McQueen nodded. "I think I did."
Cameron was quiet for a moment, then, "He's sad because he thinks you're not his friend anymore. He doesn't know why you …." Again he stopped and looked up at Ty. "Daddy, do you think he's telling lies?"
"I don't know, Cameron. I hope not," McQueen sighed.
"He's not, daddy. That's why he's so sad. He wants to be friends, daddy." Cameron sat himself up and gave him the 'McQueen' glare. "You should say sorry. Mummy makes me and Hamish say sorry for being horrid. You've been horrid to Valentine."
"I will, I promise. In the morning I'll say sorry to him, okay?" McQueen grinned.
"Yes, daddy," Cameron smiled, and settled himself back down in Ty's arms, knowing that his daddy was much happier now than he had been all evening.
"Good. Come on now, little guy, let's both of us get some sleep, shall we? I wonder where mommy is?"
"She's with Hamish, sleeping," Cameron told him, climbing onto him so that he lay stretched out on top of McQueen.
Wrapping his arms around the small boy, McQueen smiled contentedly, and found himself drifting off to sleep.
McQueen was in the animal shed, sweeping it out and laying down fresh straw for Gussie and Humphrey, while the children sat outside in the paddock, stroking and feeding the animals. He looked up as he heard a cough. Valentine stood in the doorway.
"I came to ask if you'd like us to leave. I know that yesterday you said differently, but you've had a chance to sleep on it now." He looked Ty square in the eye. "If you want us to leave, I'll understand."
McQueen stared back at him, about to tell him that yes, he did want them to go, when he saw Cameron running past chasing after Humphrey, laughing with delight as the piglet ran back towards him. He looked from Cameron to Valentine and back to Cameron. He might not trust Valentine, but he trusted Cameron, and he remembered being told he had to apologise.
"I'm sorry, Val," he finally said, rushing on as he saw the other man's face fall. "Don't leave, please. I'd like you to stay. I meant I'm sorry about yesterday. I said some things that were uncalled for maybe…." He looked at Valentine. "Well, yes, they were uncalled for. I have issues with Aerotech, Val. You have to understand that. Major issues. And I shouldn't take it out on my…friends." Again he glanced over at Valentine. "At least I hope we can still be friends?"
Valentine's face lit up. "Of course we can. I'm sorry, T.C. Sorry that I poked around behind your back, but I wanted to know more about you. Sorry. It's a dreadful habit I have. I have to know. But at least now you know why Cameron is the way he is."
McQueen stared at him, unsure exactly what to say. Apologising wasn't easy, and he really didn't know if he did want to still be friends with someone who was a self confessed nosy parker. He sighed. "Grab that bucket and go fill it with clean water for me. If you're going to lurk around the pig house you better make yourself useful."
"Yes, sir!" Valentine snapped off a smart salute and a cheesy grin. "Oh, and Dylan says to wash your hands and take off your boots before you come in for breakfast or you can eat in the garden." That said, he grabbed the bucket and disappeared in the direction of the house.
Ty grinned. Maybe he did want to be friends with him after all.
After breakfast, the adults sat drinking coffee in the garden, watching as the boys climbed on the frame and generally showed off their jumping skills. Izzy had climbed into Ty's lap and was busy investigating his hair, what there was of it. He'd had it cut shortly before heading home, so it wasn't quite a buzz cut, but near enough. She kept running her hand gently over his head, watching his face intently and smiling at him.
"Why do I feel, my beautiful little dumpling, like you're looking for lice?" he asked her with a smile, his own hand running through her curls.
"Soft," she told him.
"So's yours," he told her, kissing her cheek.
"So," Dill asked, putting her empty cup onto the garden table, "what's planned for today? Would you like to go somewhere, Bella? There's Cawdor Castle. That's nice. Or we could just take a drive up into the mountains and take lunch with us. There are some lovely places to picnic, miles from anywhere. We could hike. Ty can put Izzy in the backpack thingy and carry her." She grinned. "She'll be happy picking at his lice!"
"We could go to Culloden and Fort George," McQueen offered. "Stop it now, Izzy. You're digging your fingers in my head and hurting me." He pulled the little girl's hands from his head and kissed them. "Be gentle, Izz. Gentle like with your rabbit."
"Trust you to want to do the military thing," Dill laughed. "Mind you, Culloden is somewhere the boys like to go. But this isn't about what the children want, or what we want. What would you two like to do?" She turned to Valentine and Bella, who was busy signing furiously.
"Well, I'd like to visit that ruined castle thingy we can see over on the other side of the loch, and Bella likes the idea of a picnic lunch somewhere," Valentine told her.
"Oh, Urquart Castle. We can do both. I'll get a picnic together, and Ty, you pack a bag with things we'll need for the beasties. Please don't forget Cashus, just in case."
Dill stood up, and with a quick kiss to Ty and Izzy, went inside to organise lunch. Bella followed her, offering her help.
"Cashus?" Valentine asked, puzzled. He knew the names of the children's pets, but he'd not heard Cashus before.
"His doll," Ty said dryly. "I better pack it in case he gets upset. It's a comfort thing."
"Well, I guess you'd better crack on then, marine," Valentine laughed. "Your commanding officer gave you your orders. You're slacking!"
McQueen arched an eyebrow. "And who is it wears the pants in your household?" he chuckled. "I hear the pot calling the kettle…."
"Okay, okay, I admit it," Valentine chuckled. "I do whatever Bella wants. How can I not? She's the woman I love."
"I know the feeling," Ty grinned. "Now Izzy, are you going to stay here and pick the lice out of Val's hair, or are you coming with daddy?"
Isobel looked at Valentine, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Val'tine," she declared, climbing off McQueen's lap and toddling over to Valentine, her arms held out for him to pick her up.
"I won't be long. If she starts to smell, yell," McQueen laughed, and left before Valentine could ask him what he meant.
They'd visited the castle. The boys showed Valentine and Bella all over it, Hamish leading Bella by the hand the whole time.
Now they were sitting high up on a mountainside, Izzy asleep on the picnic rug, Cameron snuggled up next to her. Hamish was busy showing Bella the fish in the small stream that ran past their chosen spot, glaring angrily at Valentine as he dangled his feet in the water.
Ty lay with his head in Dill's lap, looking up at her as she stroked his hair. "Thanks, Dill," he said softly.
"For what?" She bent to kiss him, her lips soft on his.
"For being so… you. So understanding. For making today fun when it could have been uncomfortable."
"No, my lover. Last night was uncomfortable. Dinner was excruciating, and I've never been more glad to go to bed in my life," she told him, her hand stroking his jaw line.
"What, never?" he grinned lecherously.
"Well, maybe once or twice," Dill giggled. "But you know what I meant."
"Yeah, I know what you meant," Ty sighed. "I'm sorry, Dill. You and Bella were getting on so well, and I ruined it."
"It doesn't seem ruined from where I'm sitting," she smiled. "I can see our eldest son flirting outrageously with her under her husband's very nose!"
"He does seem to like her, doesn't he?" McQueen chuckled. "Can't say I blame him."
"I beg your pardon?" Dill pretended to be offended. "I see. Cast aside when a pretty woman comes along, am I? I'm devastated, truly devastated."
Ty looked up into her eyes, seeing the laughter and the mischief in them. "Come here and let me kiss you," he said quietly. "Let me show you how much I love you." He reached up, and shifting his head from her lap, pulled her down next to him.
"Ty!" she gasped, as his hand squeezed her bottom, pulling her close to him. "We may be miles from anywhere but we still have company."
"They're busy. Come here and kiss me properly," he whispered. "Feel how much I love you, Dill... what you do to me."
She giggled as her thigh brushed against his erection. "Blimey, Ty. I think you better go take a dip in the stream and cool off."
"There's absolutely no way I can get up at the moment, so you're just gonna have to stay there and hide me until I can calm down a bit," he snickered.
"Honestly, Ty," Dill laughed. "You have the hormones of a teenaged boy! How on earth do you cope on the 'Toga?"
"I told you, I'm building up extra muscles in my right arm," he chuckled.
"Oh you!" she giggled, slapping his arm.
Hamish looked up at the sound of Dill's laughter. He watched as his parents lay in each others arms kissing. With a huge sigh, he looked up at Bella. "Kissing," he said.
Bella looked up at them. With a big smile to Hamish, she nodded and bent to kiss him on the cheek. He looked at her in wonder, his hand reaching to his face as he flushed crimson and scrubbed where she'd kissed him, making her laugh out loud.
Valentine looked up. "Hey, you little man, are you stealing my wife away?" he laughed.
"She kissed me!" Hamish sounded most affronted.
"She has a tendency to do that," Valentine nodded at him. "Was it a sloppy kiss?"
Hamish stared at him. "What's a sloppy kiss?"
"Like Izzy gives you." Valentine's eyes twinkled with delight at the expression on Hamish's face.
"Ugh! That's disgustin'," Hamish cried.
"Oh, I quite agree, young man. If I were you, I'd come on over here away from her before she does it again. I think I saw a shark in here," Valentine pointed to the water at his feet.
Hamish was over in a flash. "A shark?" He looked at Valentine warily. "There's no sharks in the water. They lives in the sea."
"Well, this water goes to the sea, doesn't it?"
Hamish nodded.
"So maybe the shark swam up the river and into the stream." Valentine watched as Hamish bent to look more closely in the water, which was all of two feet deep.
Dipping his hand in, Hamish swished it about before turning to look slyly at Valentine. "Nope, no sharks," he said, "but octopuses. Great big ones wiv loads of legs!" he laughed. "Going to catch your legses and pull you in!"
Valentine laughed long and loud. "Pah!" he cried. "Why, I've fought four octopuses before breakfast and still had room for toast!"
Hamish laughed. "Daddy's fighted chigs and still got time for kisses with mummy!"
Valentine looked over to where Dill and Ty lay oblivious to everyone else. Ty's hand disappeared under Dill's short summer dress, obviously squeezing her behind. Val raised an eyebrow; perhaps he ought to throw some cold water over them, he thought. "Hey, you two, get a room!" he called.
"Spoil sport!" called back Ty, wriggling to make sure Valentine couldn't see where Dill's hand was.
"They's always kissing," Hamish told him, rolling his eyes.
"Looks like they're doing more than just kissing," Valentine muttered under his breath. He shot a look at Bella, who grinned and shrugged, signing to him as Hamish watched her, fascinated.
"What's she saying?" he asked.
"She says let's the three of us go for a walk along the stream here, and see if we can see any of those octopuses!" Valentine told him, smiling as Bella took Hamish's hand and led him away. He looked over to Dill and Ty. "Okay, you guys. We'll give you a little privacy, but don't get too carried away. We won't be long!" He hurried off, chasing after Hamish and Bella.
"Thank God for that," Ty groaned. "I don't know how I managed to keep quiet with you doing that to me."
Easing her hand out of his shorts, Dill grinned. "Oh, give over. I've hardly touched you, yet!"
"No, Dill, no more. Not here," he told her.
"But they've gone off for a walk. Are you sure?" She kissed him gently, her tongue tracing his lips.
"I'm sure," he groaned.
"But you're a little excited there. Let me help you." Her hand wandered back to his shorts.
"No, Dill. I mean it, really." Ty grabbed her hand and drew it to his mouth, kissing her palm.
"But you were all ready to go for it at the farm, Ty, and here we are. No one around, just like you wanted," Dill told him.
"Well, I was wrong. It's too public. I don't like it." He paused, watching her face to see if she was angry with him.
"It's okay," she smiled. "After all, if you get me going now, you'll have to go the whole way. You know that. And I'd rather be able to get you totally naked and in our own bed."
"Of course you know we'll never be able to look Val and Bella in the eye again, don't you?" he grinned.
"Of course we will. For all they know, we were just kissing,"
"Which is why they went off and gave us some privacy," he chuckled, before sitting bolt upright knocking Dill off him. "They took Hamish!"
"Ty, it's alright. They'll be back, just you wait and see." Dill pulled him back down onto the blanket. "Let's just lie here and cuddle some more. I just don't seem able to get enough cuddles with you. Gotta store them up for when you leave next week."
"Don't remind me," he groaned. "Oh God, Dill, I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you and the children. I want to get up in the morning, sweep out the pig house, feed Gussie and Humphrey, and let Daddy out into her run." He chuckled. "You have to get her to pick a new name for that damn rabbit. For starters, it's a girl."
Dill lay there looking at him thoughtfully, a war raging inside her as she thought about what he'd said. Eventually she spoke. "You know you'd miss the war, Ty. If I thought you meant it, I'd tell you to resign. It's not like we need the money. My trust fund is mine in a month or so. But you need the corps, Ty. You know you do. You'd get bored as hell here with us every day, and you'd come to resent us. It would be the worst thing you could do."
He reached to stroke her face. "Even if I resigned now, I'd still be in for the duration. Duration and six, that's what it'd be. I would never resent you Dill."
"Yes, you would. If I pushed you to resign, you'd hate me for it. Maybe not straightaway, but it'd happen. Cleaning out the pig shed when you've fought your way to it through 3 feet or more of snow is going to be no small matter. Clearing the paddock so they can get out and exercise will be no easy job either. Nor will getting a tap installed down there, or electricity so I can see what I'm doing when it's still pitch dark at eight a.m. in the middle of winter. Believe you me, Tyrus McQueen, the novelty will soon wear off."
"I'm sorry, Dill," Ty said softly. "I didn't think of any of those things when I went ahead and bought them their pets. All I thought about was how happy they would be. I'm sorry."
"Why do you think I said no in the first place, Ty? You've never experienced winter here with us yet. Just wait till you do and you'll know why mother bought me that huge Range Rover, why we have a generator and an extra freezer in the utility shed, why we have that huge woodpile out the back, and why I have the oil fired Aga that you keep complaining makes the place too hot. You come home for Christmas, Ty, and you'll find out why."
"I'm sorry. I guess I never really thought about it before. You have a lot to cope with, and I just make it worse. I turn up on the doorstep and every routine you have gets thrown out the window. I let the kids in bed with us, I let them eat what they want, I buy them toys and presents and say yes when you've already said no." Ty wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. "And you never complain. This is the first time, over the animals. I'm sorry, Dill. You must hate me ruining everything."
"Don't you ever think that, Tyrus McQueen!" Dill told him crossly. "Yes, you come home and spoil them rotten, but that's fine. You get to see them what, twice a year if you're lucky? I think that entitles you to spoil them. It doesn't take us long to get back to our usual routine. Yes, I'm still cross about the animals, but it's done. There's no point crying about it now. I do wish that you'd asked before you bought them, but I understand why you did." She leant forward to kiss him. "I like that you spoil them, Ty. I'd much rather that than you be some aloof father who doesn't really know his children, or want to know them. You have no idea how much pleasure I get simply from watching you with them... watching you tickling Izzy, blowing raspberries on her belly, pretending you're inflating her through her belly button. You had Hamish going there for a while, you know." She laughed. "I love seeing you sit with Cameron on your lap while you read the paper to him, or watching you while you listen to him as he prattles away. Do you know how hard that is for me to do? He never gets the same level of attention from me. I always have Hamish or Izzy demanding something. But you - you listen to him. You actively listen, and you have no idea how much that means to him. Or to me. And then there's Hamish. He's so active, and yet I can barely cope with him. He has the equipment in the garden, and I take them swimming. We walk… but none of it, not one thing, compares to being asked by his daddy if he'd like to come along on his bike while you jog, or to you play fighting with him, wrestling him in the garden. All of those things, Ty, all of them, count for far more than you can possibly imagine. That day at the farm... they'll remember that for a long time. Days like today... like you trying to put up the pig house. They might seem like nothing to you, but to the children, to the boys, that's what they'll remember when you're not here. Those are precious memories for all of us. So don't you dare tell me that you're ruining anything. You're not. You're making your children fall in love with their daddy all over again." She lifted his head from her neck, seeing the unhappiness in his eyes. "Oh, Ty, how am I going to cope without you when you leave me this time?"
"How am I going to cope?" he asked in a small voice. "I got depressed last time. This time will be even worse."
"Oh, baby, I wish there was something I could do to help, but it's getting worse for me too." Dill kissed him, as a familiar voice spoke.
"Daddy, don't be sad." It was Cameron, awake now and sitting up, a forlorn expression on his face.
"I'm okay, little guy," Ty smiled. "Honest. Especially now you're awake and I can get a hug from you. Come here and give me a snug."
Dill smiled, watching as Cameron almost leapt at his daddy, wrapping his arms around his neck. She checked on the sleepily smiling Isobel, a familiar smell rising to her nostrils. "Oh, pooh!" she cried. "Izzy's spooged again."
Both Ty and Cameron laughed at the expression on her face. "What is it with your children, McQueen? Is it an invitro thing? They have to spooge every two hours or so, and hell, is it unpleasant!"
Ty grinned. "There are foods I don't eat, Dill. You know that. Why'd you think I won't eat cabbage? I like it, but it doesn't like me."
McQueen could hear crying. He looked up. Hamish was on his way back, blood running down his knee. "I falled over!" he wailed.
Valentine and Isabella were behind him. "He tripped on a rock and cut his knee. Even a cuddle from Bella didn't help," Valentine told them.
"Oh, my poor man!" Dill cried, holding her arms out for him.
Hamish hobbled into them. "I needs a plaster, mummy," he sobbed, fresh tears running down his already tear-stained face.
Ty rummaged in the backpack he'd packed for the children. "Here you go, little guy. Daddy's med kit. I know I've got plasters in here." He winked at the small boy. "In fact, I've got…," he reached into the kit and pulled out a box of children's plasters, "G.I. Joe plasters!"
Valentine laughed. "Are those marine issue now, then?"
"Of course!" McQueen chuckled. "I keep them especially for Hawkes."
"You don't?" Dill laughed.
"What do you think?" he grinned, offering them to Hamish to pick one. "I picked them up in a store in Inverness on impulse. But I'll keep them in my kit. You never know when I might need one."
McQueen wiped Hamish's knee and stuck on the plaster he'd chosen. "I think it'd be a good idea to head home now. We have one wounded hero, and a very smelly Izzy, who Dill had better change before I'm getting in the car with her!"
"I'm doing it," Dill chuckled. "Why don't you guys start walking back to the car, and we'll meet you there after I've done her bottom. You don't really want to watch, surely?"
"Hell no!" Ty smiled. "Come on then, folks. Let's get packed up here, and we can leave the spooge queen to get her clean diaper on."
Between them they tidied up. Packing away the picnic rugs and making sure they'd cleared up behind them, they headed back to the car. The two boys raced ahead of McQueen laughing, Hamish having forgotten about his knee already. Dill, carrying the now clean and fresh Izzy, hurried along behind them, smiling at the sight of Ty and the two boys racing each other.
However bad it would be for her when he left, she knew it'd be worse for him. At least she had the children. He had no one. Well, maybe Glen, but he wouldn't relax even with him the way he did at home. She sighed. There was nothing she could do except let him know how much she loved him.