Kisses, kisses were good, kisses were so, so good. Selene sighed happily as her husband's lips made a perfect landing, touching down gently on hers. A soft sweep of his tongue encouraged her lips to part, granting access as his arm slipped around her waist, pulling her closer.

She went willingly, shifting to slide onto his lap as the hand on the small of her back wormed its way under her shirt, fingers stroking softly at her skin. This was good, closer was good, that gave her an opportunity to let her own hands do some wandering.

Having started out on his shoulders they soon picked up the slack, the fingers of one hand gently caressing the column of his throat and along his jaw, cupping his chin to hold his head in place as the kiss deepened.

Her other hand, not to be outdone by his which had wound itself into her hair, copied his actions, tugging the hem of his T-shirt out of his jeans and sliding up underneath allowing her fingertips to map the delightful terrain of his chest.

"This was not supposed to be happening," John mumbled against her lips.

"It started out as a kiss, how did it turn into this?" she quipped, earning herself a soft smack on the behind but his hand slid back under her shirt all the same. That was all the encouragement she needed.

Winding her arms around his neck she slid off his lap, dragging him down on top of her, her legs lifting to lock around his waist.

"You're trouble," he whispered, but she didn't need to see the smile on his face to know he didn't mean it.

"Yep, but you love me for it."

"I do," he assured her, moaning softly when her tongue twinned around his own, coaxing it into a seductive dance. Her heart was thumping in her chest, flames of arousal bursting into life as he shifted his hips into a comfier position, bringing their lower bodies into closer contact, allowing her to feel the evidence of his desire which matched her own.

"Hey, we saw that the car was back, why are you sitting in the da-" the overhead lights flicked on, making them both jump.

"My God! My eyes!"

"Hey, what's going- ewww!"

"Stop that!" A pillow flew across the room to bounce off John's head. "You're not supposed to be doing that, you're married now! You're supposed to be sitting a meter apart and knitting or something. Have some respect!" Gordon yelled, ignoring Alan who continued to make a similar noise as Armstrong after he ate some of Virgil's pepperoni.

"Can't you guys give us a little warning in future?" Gordon continued, picking up the pillow to smack at his brother again, avoiding Selene's hands as she tried to defend her husband from the unwarranted attack.

"It comes to something when a man can't even walk into his own living room without finding you two necking on the couch like teenagers at a drive in," Scott bitched, though they could tell he didn't really mean it.

Letting out a frustrated groan, Selene unwound her legs from around John and let him go, discreetly checking to make sure nothing was hanging out of her shirt that shouldn't be as she sat up.

"I thought you two weren't planning on coming back for another day?" Virgil asked, bringing up the rear, making the welcoming committee complete.

"Yeah, how was the honeymoon?" Alan grinned, dropping down between them on the couch like a human shield, much to his brother's annoyance. "We want to know everything."

TWO WEEKS BEFORE.

"You're really quiet," John said softly, not really wanting to break the peace of the cockpit but feeling like he had to.

His wife, it still felt strange to say that outloud, was hardly ever quiet. He'd only know it to happen on a handful of occasions and only when she was either unwell, or unhappy. Considering they were currently flying in a private plane from London to Athens to embark on the honeymoon he had painstakingly, and secretly, planned with Scott's help, she shouldn't be unhappy at all.

Selene had been under the impression that they wouldn't be having anything like a honeymoon. Being part of an organisation such as International Rescue left very little time for leisure activities, let alone holidays, but John had been determined that they would start their official married life the right way, and that meant spending some relaxing time alone.

One of the things he appreciated most about her was the fact that she had taken his job in her stride, accepting the depth of his dedication, the limitations it often put on their relationship and time together and the fact that his family would be so closely involved in their lives together.

He'd never imagined that any woman would be strong (or stupid) enough to take him on, let alone his entire family, especially not so fully as to transfer almost all of her life to their home in order to live with them and support them as she had. She never complained, well not much anyway, she never blamed him for broken date nights or failing to make it home leaving her to wake up alone, she dealt with everything with seemingly endless patience and good humour.

So why wasn't she jumping for joy to be heading off to the country of her dreams? He knew how much Greece meant to her, it was the place where she had been conceived, where her pantheon had been worshipped and somewhere she had always wanted to go.

He'd tucked the envelope into her suitcase sized bag and waited for her to discover it, which happened to be just before they had fallen asleep and she'd gone searching for her phone, which she hadn't used all day.

The puzzled look on her face had morphed into one of surprised and then pure happiness, accompanied by a delighted shriek as she'd thrown herself into his arms, almost knocking him out as she planted kiss after kiss all over his face.

Now, seeing her looking out of the window so despondently, he knew something was wrong.

"Sorry, did you say something?" she asked, finally turning her head to look at him.

He took one hand off the controls to drop it on her leg, squeezing her knee gently.

"I said you were quiet. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, forcing out a small smile. "It's you I should be checking on, I'm sorry, I was a little lost in thought. How are you feeling?"

"Me?" he asked, not at all surprised that she was trying to deflect the attention from herself. He lifted his hand from her leg to gesture to the controls he was still holding in his other hand. "Obviously I'm fine, since I'm flying this plane and actually initiating a conversation. So, I'll ask again, what's wrong?"

"I'm OK, I just said that, don't worry."

He turned his head to look at her, giving her a raised eyebrow that clearly said he didn't believe her in the slightest.

"Do you want to try being honest with me?"

"Not really, no."

He let out a brief snort of amusement but wasn't prepared to take no for an answer.

"But you will anyway, because I, as your husband, am asking you to. " He slid his hand up her leg to catch her hand that was resting in her lap, lacing his fingers with hers and giving it an encouraging squeeze.

She was silent for a few moments before she tightened her fingers around his, squeezing back.

"It's my fault, isn't it?"

John frowned, completely lost. "What's supposed to be your fault?"

Although they were cruising on autopilot, John had been keeping his eyes on the instruments, but now he swiveled round in his seat to face her properly, giving her his full attention.

"Sweetheart, I have literally no idea what you are talking about."

Selene shrugged, her eyes fixed on a particularly boring looking cloud outside the window.

"Do not make me land this plane right now, because I will do it, that or set it to fly round in a circle until either you start talking or the fuel runs out and we crash, your choice," his arms crossed in that 'I'm waiting' manner of his that usually made her laugh but now just made her want to either cry or possibly smack him.

"Is this about what Virgil said when he asked you why you were so freaked out?"

And there it was, him hitting the nail square on the head as he always did with unnerving accuracy when it came to her. It might have taken him some time to fully understand her and her emotions, but now that he did he was as highly tuned to her as he was to his brothers, perhaps even more so.

She knew she was being unfair, if he had been the one acting as she was she would be doing exactly the same as him, probably with more shouting and demanding, and wouldn't give up until he had spilled his guts. She owed him the same.

Taking a deep breath she began to talk, although she still couldn't look at him, if she did she'd crack, she just knew it.

"What happened to you earlier, the whole changing into a cat thing, it's my fault."

He blinked, rather surprised by this.

"How could any of that be your fault?"

"How could it not be?" her tone was defensive and snappy, but he didn't take it personally.

"Why don't you tell me how you came to that conclusion so I can commence with telling you the many reasons that you are wrong," he suggested, receiving a tiny snort of amusement for his comment.

"Like always, then?"

"Pretty much." He nudged her knee with his, prompting her to start talking.

"Tanzi and Nikos said as much."

"At no point did I hear them say anything of the sort." He might have been a cat at the time, but if anything that meant he'd had better hearing than normal and he definitely did not recall anyone laying the blame at her door. Explanations maybe, but certainly not blaming in any way, shape or form.

"Well, not in so many words, no," she admitted reluctantly. "But I knew what they meant. The fact is that it was my fault. I chose the ceremony, I allowed the blood vow, after I remembered about my spell, I should have realised and refused to do it."

John didn't say anything, he just continued to watch her, knowing that she often opened up best when allowed to give free rein to her thoughts, no matter how chaotic or illogical they were.

"You didn't ask for any of this, you didn't ask for a mad witch as a soul mate, hell, you didn't even ask for a soul mate, and now, because of me and what I included in the ceremony, you're stuck with me, and not just for now, but forever. And with an added furry bonus!" she clapped sarcastically, dropping his hand in the process. He stayed silent, but made sure to reclaim her hand, holding it firmly when she looked like she might try to pull away again.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, sounding so sad. "I'm so sorry, I know you didn't want or ask for any of this and if I could take it back, I would."

"I wouldn't," he answered, his tone low but firm, allowing no arguments.

"Seriously?" she finally turned to look at him, her eyes searching his face for any clue that he was simply humouring her or trying to make her feel better. "Are you being honest right now?"

"I'm always honest," he reminded her. "You know I wouldn't lie to you, not about something as important as this, birthday gifts, maybe, but not things that really matter. Just as I know you wouldn't lie to me."

"I'd never lie to you," she vowed.

"I know, so no more blaming yourself, OK?" he waited until she reluctantly nodded her acceptance before continuing. "Besides, I think you're forgetting the part I played. If you're going to try to start assigning blame to yourself then it's only fair that I claim mine, too."

"Yours? But you didn't do anything. You had nothing to do with the ceremony or anything that contributed to this situation," she argued, firmly upon her martyr stand and only prepared to come down if she was shot from it in a hail of righteous bullets.

His fingers brushed lighty down the side of her neck, stroking over the spot he'd bitten the night before. "In case you've forgotten, Nikos actually said that it was my actions that sealed it, not yours. So really, if you think about it, this is once again just a case of things playing out exactly as they were supposed to. It's meant to be, that's never going to be a bad thing."

"You really wouldn't change anything?" she asked, finally starting to calm down a little and accept that maybe it wasn't a time to be laying blame.

"No, why would I want to?" he was genuinely puzzled. Did she somehow think that he'd want anything other than to be with her? She really was a crazy witch if that was how her mind was going to work.

"Because I'm pretty sure turning into a cat the day after your wedding wasn't on your list of things to do, it wasn't even in your top one hundred."

"Well, I have to admit the cat part was a surprise, I can't argue with that."

"Yes, because of me."

"No," he cupped her chin gently but firmly in his free hand, preventing her from turning her head away from him again. "Look at me, listen to my words. This is not on you. We both agreed to the vows and the ceremony, we both wanted one as close to a traditional handfast as possible, we both wanted it, we both chose it. And even though I didn't know enough about it to know that it would affect me this way, if I had done I'd still have chosen to do it."

"You would?"

"Of course. Tell me, what would the ceremony have done if I didn't already have the shifter gene, something you have no part of and I have no choice in, I'd like to add?"

Selene opened her mouth to argue but closed it again, knowing what he was getting at. "It wouldn't have done anything, it is just a symbol, a token gesture, blood of my blood, bone of my bone, it's a connection and a vow, a promise."

"Exactly. You didn't do that, and as I said, I'd have done it anyway."

"Even though it contributed to our accidental bonding thing?"

"If I'd have known that a bonding was possible or even likely I'd have chosen that too," he shrugged, letting go of her chin to brush his fingers across her cheek, smiling when she leant into the caress.

"You would?"

"Being bonded to my soul mate? Having a deeper connection with you? There's no question that I would, in a heartbeat." His smile turned into a full grin. "Plus, if it means we get to have sex like that again, it's a sweet bonus."

That did it. She burst into shocked giggles. "A bonus, huh?"

"Definitely a bonus," he assured her, his words accompanied by a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

"And you don't mind the fact that it triggered your ability to shift? You don't mind about being a cat?"

"Well, I'd probably have chosen something a little more manly or useful, like a tiger or an owl but it is what it is. Statistically, if Virgil had the gene it was logical that at least one more of us would too, so I can't say it was a complete shock."

That was one thing she loved about him, for someone that people thought of as uptight and stuck in his ways, John was surprisingly laid back about things when it came to her. His brain worked on logic and facts, allowing him to see things clearer than she could. While she often got bogged down by emotions and guilt over things she hadn't done or couldn't change, he never allowed that.

"I think you make a perfect cat," she mused, barely even teasing. It was true, he was a gorgeous cat and if she had had to pick an animal to describe him, cat would have been it.

"Really?" he grinned, leaning back in his seat, tugging on her hand until she unclipped her safety belt and went to him, settling on his lap. "And why's that?"

"Well, as a kitty you are pretty gorgeous."

"Just as a cat?" he nuzzled the tip of his nose into the little dip behind her ear.

"Obviously not just as a cat," she assured him.

"What are your other reasons?" Now that she had seemed to relax a bit and was starting to joke with him again he was reluctant to stop their playful teasing.

"Well, cats are loners by nature, only affectionate on their own terms and only with those they are comfortable with."

"I resent that," he softly kissed her neck, causing her to lose her focus just a little. "Anything else?"

"Cats are amazingly athletic, all sleek lines and graceful movements," she continued.

"Are you describing a furry cat or ballet Cat? Because I don't think I fit either of those. I dispute your claims."

"Cats are perfect," she pressed on. "Cats are my favourite animal in the world. Cats are loveable dickheads that you can't help but forgive when they do something wrong, which is often."

"That's how you describe Scott," he reminded her.

"And Armstrong," she pointed out. "Either way, if I'd been asked to describe you as an animal, I'd have said cat."

"Well," he mock sighed, trying for a tone of resigned acceptance, "I guess if I had to be anything I'm glad it's something you like."

"So you don't mind? Being able to shift I mean. Virgil said that it was surprisingly easy for you."

"Do you mind having a husband that can turn into a cat?" he countered.

She shook her head hard.

"I'd love you even if you turned into a pink fairy armadillo," she promised him. "You'd still be you and you'd still be perfect to me."

"Then no, I don't mind at all. And yes, to answer your other question, shifting was a relatively simple and painless process, which you'd have known if you'd stayed." There was no accusation in his tone, but he felt Selene stiffen on his lap at his words. He didn't want to make her feel bad, or push her back into her sadness or even into anger, but he wanted to make sure everything that needed to be said was dealt with before they arrived in Athens. He didn't want any lingering doubts or negativity to mar her enjoyment of their time alone together.

"Why did you agree to leave?" he asked softly, dropping another kiss on her neck, then another, gentler and lower down on the spot where her neck met her shoulder.

Selene closed her eyes, not wanting to think about it again, but knowing she owed him an explanation. After all, she had left him at a time when he was vulnerable, left him when he needed her and she felt so very guilty about it.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, all traces of teasing and laughter gone now. "You have no idea how sorry I am. I shouldn't have left you like that when I know you'd never leave me."

"It's alright," he promised her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "I'm not blaming you and I'm certainly not pissed off or upset with you about it, I just wanted to know why."

"Because I was scared," she admitted, her voice so low he could barely hear her. "So much has happened in the past few days, especially with remembering that spell, and the thought of you having to deal with more shit that was caused by me just...it was just so hard."

"You didn't do anything wrong," he reminded her. "As I told you yesterday and will continue to tell you."

"But, the thought of seeing you in pain, seeing you trying to shift when it was my fault that you were going through it, I didn't think I could do it. I didn't think I'd be strong enough."

"Don't even think that, you're one of the strongest, bravest people I know."

She snorted in disbelief at that but he continued, determined to push his point.

"I saw how you were with Virgil, you didn't hesitate to dive in and help him, you threw yourself in front of a charging wolf-"

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you? I said I was sorry, but it was Virgil and I trusted that he wouldn't hurt me."

"You couldn't have known that for sure," he argued, as he always did. "But that's not the point I'm making right now. The point is that I knew that no matter what happened, you would be there for me."

"But I wasn't," she whispered, biting her lip in an attempt to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. "I left you."

"No, you didn't leave me, you let Nikos throw you out when you needed to calm down. Leaving me would have been rejecting me and never wanting to see me again. If no one else had been there to help you would have stayed and we'd have gotten through it together, as we do everything else. Just like you got Virg through it. You saved him that day and I know you'd have done the same for me if it had been needed."

"I wanted to stay with you, but I couldn't, I was just so scared, seeing you like that, I just panicked. I hate the fact that I was grateful to Nikos for making me leave, for not giving me a choice. I don't know what I'd have done if I'd had to talk you through that, seeing you in such pain, it would have broken me. I love Virgil, I do, but not like I love you, not anywhere near as much, you I couldn't handle. If anything ever happened to you…" she trailed off, unable to finish, unable to put her fearful thoughts into words.

"It wouldn't have broken you. You'd have dealt with it as you do everything else, by yelling at me, telling me I'm being stupid and then supporting me through it. Virgil and Nikos were there, experienced shifters with more knowledge than you, you did the right thing in taking me there. What happened with Virgil was an emergency situation and you dealt with it amazingly well, just as you would have dealt with this. But you didn't have an option with him, you didn't have time to do anything but act, and you acted instinctively to protect and save my brother, just as I know you would for me. I couldn't ask and wouldn't expect more."

She stayed quiet, leaning her head against his shoulder, her face nestled in his neck, knowing that he'd feel the dampness from the few tears that had escaped her control.

"I know that if we'd been alone you'd have gotten me through it. As it turned out I was fine and didn't need much help. But I know that you would never have left my side for one second if the situation had been different."

She kissed his jaw softly, letting him know she appreciated the sentiment.

"I mean it," he said, bouncing his knee, jolting her on his lap a little to emphasize his point. "If it had been the other way around and you'd something madly metaphysical going on I'd have found the nearest person that knew more than me that could help, if there was no one then of course I'd do all I could, the same as you would have for me."

"You're getting better with the weird witchy shit," she mumbled against his skin. "I'm training you well."

"Yes, you are, and if you hadn't taught me so well, if you hadn't told me so much about your research and explained everything that had happened with Virgil to me, I wouldn't have been anywhere near as prepared as I was. That was the only reason I was so calm about it, because I knew what was going on and I knew that you'd never rest until I was back to myself."

"I wouldn't have given up on you," she promised him. "I never would."

"I know," he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, hugging her close to his chest for a moment before he relaxed his hold. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the calm that talking things out always brought to them.

John let his mind wander back over the last few days, glancing down at the mark on her skin which had caused so much trouble, completing the circuit of a chain of events that separately would have been nothing but together had culminated in a something they'd had no control over. How could one little thing trigger such an event?

Dipping his head he nipped her shoulder lovingly, right over the bite mark that still stood out on her skin where he'd inadvertently sealed their bonding the night before. The skin had healed while she'd slept as if the mark had been there for years, but it was clear to see exactly what it was, the scarring a perfect set of teeth marks that wouldn't be coming off any time soon. Selene shivered, leaning closer without being aware she was doing it, the skin there feeling more sensitive than it had before.

Was it bad that he liked it? He'd never been one to want to mark his territory before but now he found that his eyes kept straying to it, seeing it there was a reminder of both their bond and the fact that she was his and his alone.

"I like this," he whispered, kissing the mark softly. "I like seeing it on you. Is that bad?"

Selene shook her head as she snuggled closer to his chest, sliding her arms around his middle. "It's normal to like it, from what I've heard most shifters are quite proud of them and often try to get them in the most visible place they can. You went for the neck, which is a favourite place for many shifters, it's harder to cover up. Not that I'd want to," she hastened to add. "I like it being there too, I like that I have something permanent from you on me always. It's just a shame that shifter mates don't do the same, we get claimed and you don't."

She was only half joking, it wasn't that she didn't trust him by any stretch of the imagination, it would have just been nice to have it as something they could share, something that couldn't be erased.

"I didn't know that, but then there's a lot about this that I still don't know or understand. Would it help if I told you that I feel claimed?"

"You do?" she said, smiling just a little.

"Very much so. If shifter mates gave marks too I'd have liked one, as you said, it would have been nice to know it was there," he paused for a moment before continuing. "You're still going to have to help me, you know that, right?"

Selene lifted her head to look at him. "I am? What with?"

"With brushing up on my knowledge, that and helping me get a handle on this shifting thing, I don't want to be caught unawares again. Virgil said that he needs to shift on a fairly regular basis or his body starts pushing towards it without his say so. You know I hate to be out of control with anything, so I'd much rather embark on this new phase of my life with as much knowledge and experience as possible."

"That seems sensible," she agreed.

"Ideally I'd like to have at least some degree of control over it before we head home. Nikos said that staying calm and being relaxed is the best way to shift and, since we're supposed to be on honeymoon to relax and enjoy ourselves, I think this would be an ideal time to put in some practice."

"I agree, and I promise I'll be there with you every step of the way."

"I know," he smiled, lifting her hand up to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to the inside of her wrist where her pulse fluttered. "Now get back to your seat, I need to land this plane and get you to a room with a bed as soon as humanly possible."

"That's a plan I can get behind," she agreed, settling back in her seat and fastening her safety belt. "Do your thing."

"Oh, I intend to," he promised, flicking off the autopilot and taking firm hold of the controls once more.

"So what did you do while you were there?" Gordon asked after Scott had demanded and received full details of their flight. It should have taken them less than twenty minutes and when they hadn't landed for well over an hour he'd been concerned.

"We had an awesome time," Selene gushed. "Your brother is perfect and amazing and I definitely married the best of you, sorry to burst your bubbles."

"Obviously," John answered. "We took a hotel for a few days-"

"It was gorgeous," Selene interrupted. "This little place near the city center but down a quiet little street, only three rooms there and the suit that we had. It wasn't like those posh places people usually go to, this one was so cute and really relaxed too."

"Once we were settled in we had a wander around, just to orientate ourselves with the area , followed by a quiet dinner but decided on an early night after that. All the excitement, timezone shifts-"

"And stress," Selene added.

"And stress," John continued as if she'd never spoken, "had caught up with us a bit and we just wanted to sleep."

"Sure, sleep," Gordon drawled but was ignored by almost everyone.

"The next day we did a little shopping, John had found this little boho area that was tucked away off the main drag, with a boutique that sold the most amazing custom blended, hand rolled incense cones and beautiful ethically sourced crystals-"

"Sel, you don't need more crystals, or incense for that matter," Scott sighed, already having visions of piles of crystals magically meteralising on even more surfaces of the house where he would inevitably knock them flying without meaning to.

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't bring them home," she assured him, "well, not many anyway. No, these were offerings."

"Offerings?" Alan frowned.

"We were in Greece," John pointed out, continuing to speak slowly as if they were idiots. "Sel works with the Greek pantheon more than anything else."

"I've always wanted to go there, ever since my parents told me they went when they were first married. John arranged the hire of a car and had planned on a road trip tour all around the islands, with guest house bookings, so we could see the sights and stop off at all the ancient temples so I could leave an offering. It was amazing, truly perfect, some of them were so beautiful and still felt so powerful, positively crackling with energy."

John nodded his agreement. He'd never been that sensitive to energies before but since he'd shifted the first time he'd found that he was far more intune with both the world around him and Selene herself. It wasn't that he hadn't believed her when she said that she could sense the emotions in him and other people, but he hadn't truly understood it, not being able to experience it for himself. Now he could. He could feel her excitement at his plans, the wonder as she wandered around the picturesque ruins of the ancient civilization that she still worshipped, the little thrill of pleasure she felt whenever he kissed her, and other types of pleasure too.

"We visited all the sites in Athens first, we went to see a show and had the most delicious chicken gyros from a stall at the market and John somehow managed to discover Koulouri Thessalonikis one morning."

"What's that?" Virgil asked.

"It's a round bread similar to a simit-" John started.

"It's a greek bagel," Selene jumped in.

"You went to Greece on your honeymoon and still ate bagels?" Gordon laughed, "why did I expect anything else?"

John shrugged, completely unrepentant.

"Is that all you did?" Gordon asked. "Wander around looking at old, broken buildings, eat the same things you do at home and avoid the crowds?"

"Typical John," Scott grinned.

"No, we visited lots of other places, we took a couple of ferry rides out to some of the smaller islands to explore and we spent some time on the beaches," John retorted.

"Yeah, because we're nowhere near a beach here, are we?" Scott laughed.

"Stop being mean, we had such an amazing time," Selene continued, reaching across Alan to catch John's hand in hers. "It was perfect, the whole thing, not too touristy, but not boring either. Enough old temples and things to do to keep me happy, enough history and culture to suit John and it gave us time alone to relax and get a handle on things."

"Oh yeah, the whole cat thing," Alan yelped, remembering. "Were you practicing? When do we get to see it? Can you do it whenever you want? Can you do it now?"

"I am not a performing monkey," John sniffed. "Maybe I'll show you in the morning."

"Well that's boring," Alan huffed.

"Kinda like John and his version of an exciting honeymoon," Gordon needled, in the mood to stir the pot. His brother teasing, which had been on pause for two weeks, obviously needed an outlet.

"Your brother is not boring and neither was our honeymoon," Selene said, leaping in to defend both her husband and their romantic getaway. "We did lots of very exciting, not boring things."

"Of course you did," Virgil soothed, although it was too little too late.

"I can tell you don't believe me," Selene huffed, pointing an accusatory finger at Gordon, who was smirking back at her. Unfortunately the hand she waved at him was still holding in to John's and all she succeeded in doing was almost yanking John off the couch.

"Oh gods, sorry, gorgeous," she yelped, letting go of his hand as he struggled to right himself. After helping John back onto his seat she rounded on Gordon and now Scott who was sniggering to himself behind a well placed hand.

"Tell me something exciting you did then?" Scott challenged. "Tell us something that John did that wasn't boring."

"We looked around a cemetery."

"That's a you thing, next."

"We went to Delphi, the home of the famous Oracle."

"Again, you thing," Scott said, waving hand for her to continue.

"Sel, it doesn't matter, don't play into their hands," John said, trying to sooth her ruffled feathers and defuse the situation before things went too far.

"John did some snowboarding," she continued.

"I board in space, doing it on earth is nothing," Alan yawned.

"We smashed plates at a restaurant and tried some greek dancing."

"Nope, not good enough."

"Everyone knows they smash plates, dancing is nothing," Gordon said dismissively.

"Sel, stop, there's no need," John insisted but she was on a roll and determined to win the argument.

"John went kitty and made a ton of tourists almost pee their pants because he was walking across this really high wall at the temple of Artemis," Selene offered. "She was linked to cats and the goddess Bastet, so when they saw him many thought it was some kind of sign."

"The cat thing is passably amusing but still pretty tame," Scott said, shaking his head. "Nope, we judge it boring."

"Try again," Gordon challenged, crossing his arms. Selene narrowed her eyes at him.

"John got a tattoo," Selene countered, playing her last remaining card. That had the desired effect.

"What?" Gordon spluttered.

"Seriously?" Scott said, one eyebrow lifting in disbelief.

"No way!" Alan goggled, looking at his brother like he'd just grown a second head.

Selene shot an apologetic look at John who sent her a squinty side eye glare in return. She blew him a kiss in compensation.

"Did you really get a tattoo or is she lying to try to salvage your reputation?" Scott demanded to know.

"I will neither confirm nor deny," John replied, schooling his face to one of peaceful indifference.

"That means no," Alan said, losing interest.

"Come on, Sel, tell us the truth, are you lying?" Gordon asked.

Selene shrugged, she'd said enough already.

"Nah, she's lying," Scott said, dismissing it. "There's no way John would get a tattoo."

"I don't know," Virgil mused, watching his brother carefully. "I think it's a possibility."

"Where is it then?" Scott asked.

"How big is it?" Gordon wanted to know.

"What is it?" Alan demanded, "I bet it's something space themed."

"Well, duh," Gordon groaned, rolling his eyes. "He's hardly likely to get something cool and greek like a hydra or pegasus, is he?"

"You will never know for sure," John said, standing up and offering his hand to Selene. "We're going to bed."

"But you only just got back," Virgil pointed out.

"Yes, but we've spent two weeks on the other side of the world, it's morning for us and we have been up for a full day," John answered.

"Plus you guys are dickheads," Selene sniffed. "Honestly, we come home a day early because we missed you and all we get is abuse, criticism of our honeymoon and accusations of lying. It's not on, not on at all."

"It's really not,"John agreed, allowing her to lead him to the door. "Maybe we should head to the flat for a few days and let them cope without us for even longer. I'm sure they don't want you to cook that welcome home dinner you had planned."

"Dinner?" Scott's ears pricked up at the magic words.

"You're right," Selene sighed. "They think we're too boring to have picked up some delicious new recipes, bed it is."

They vanished down the hall to the sound of apologetic brothers and desperate pleas to save them from Grandma's cooking and microwave meals, all of which they ignored, ducking into their room and shutting the door.

"It's good to be back," Selene grinned, yanking her T-shirt off and tossing it in the general direction of the laundry basket.

"If you say so." John picked up her shirt and dropped it in the hamper along with his own, catching the jeans she tossed his way as she continued to strip out of her travel clothes. It might have only been a short trip back to England from Athens,but they had had a full day of driving the day to return the car, picking up the plane, flying to england, returning the plane, back to their apartment and then the four hours in her car to get back to base. They were both dead on their feet and in need of some sleep.

John used the bathroom first and was waiting in bed by the time she'd removed her makeup, cleaned her teeth, brushed out her hair and a million other little things that made up her nighttime routine.

She turned out the overhead light and slipped in beside him, smiling when he rolled closer, resting his head on her lap.

"You're right, it is good to be home," he admitted as they settled into their comfortable bed. Being away was all well and good, but nothing compared to your own bed, surrounded by your own things

"It is," she agreed, her fingers sliding through his hair in a gentle caress.

"I wish you hadn't told them about my tattoo though."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry about that, it just slipped out," she winced.

"It's not like they believed you anyway," John sighed, forgiving her as he relaxed.

"And I doubt they'll notice it," she shrugged, stroking the tip of one finger over the spot behind his ear where the tiny crescent moon and even tinier star, had been inked.

She could still recall the moment he'd announced that he wanted one. They had been wandering around one of the few truly touristy spots that they had visited, having just finished lunch and stumbled across the tattoo parlor quite by accident.

He's paused outside the door, looking in at the window, a thoughtful look on his face. Then he'd pushed open the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Going in, obviously," he'd remarked, cool as a cucumber.

"Yeah, right," she'd laughed, tugging on his hand. "Come on, we don't want to miss the next bus up Acropolis."

"This won't take long," he'd assured her with more confidence than he felt, striding into the shop with her following along behind.

"Seriously, what are you doing?" she'd asked as he stood waiting at the desk for someone to greet them.

"Getting my own mark," he'd explained patiently, in the same tone someone would use to tell the two times table.

"Oh really?" she'd grinned, clearly not believing him.

"Yes," he'd insisted, his mind made up. "You have mine, now I want something of yours."

"And what are you planning on getting?" she'd asked, deciding to humour him.

"This," he'd replied, tapping his thumb against her engagement ring.

"And where are you thinking of putting it?" she'd asked, finally starting to believe that he was indeed serious.

"Here," he'd replied, pointing to the side of his head.

He'd been practicing shifting daily and often spent an hour or so curled up on her in cat form, just enjoying the attention. She'd soon discovered that if she tickled the base of his ear in just the right way he'd go from alert to boneless in a matter of seconds, turning into a limp, purring noodle of a cat. So of course she did it every time the opportunity presented itself.

Five minutes later John was sitting stoically in the chair with his head tipped to one side, not a hint of pain showing on his face, as a small female with bright pink hair and so many facial piercings you could barely see her features, drew on his skin with a buzzing needle.

Selene, owner of a few tattoos herself, one wrapped around each ankle, one on her left shoulder and one on each wrist, had absolutely no idea how he was sitting so calmly, not reacting at all. She always huffed and puffed her way through the whole process like she was in labour, gritting her teeth and wishing for it to be over. The end result was always great but getting there sucked.

Half an hour after they had entered they were out, John with his little tattoo and Selene with a new appreciation for her husband's impulsive side.

"They're never going to let it go," John sighed, bringing her back to the present.

"No," she agreed, "but that doesn't mean we have to make it easy for them."

"How so?"

"Think of it this way," Selene whispered in his ear. "This is an opportunity to annoy them as much as they annoy you."

"Huh, you're right," he acknowledged, catching her train of thought and jumping firmly on board.

"Never knowing for sure unless they spot it will drive them nuts for years."

"You're an evil, evil woman," he grinned, tipping his head back in offering.

"It's why you love me," she answered, kissing him softly.

"One of many reasons," he assured her.

"It's definitely good to be home."