Killian watched the video of his little boy three times over before he made his way back to where one of the Queen's assistants was waiting for him. After helping the man to email the video across to himself, and checking that he'd actually received it, he finally headed back to the party with a small spring in his step.

"Where did you disappear to?" Liam asked, when he saw his brother approach their table once more.

"I was just dealing with something that came up unexpectedly," Killian lied. For some reason, he wasn't quite ready to share his video of Oliver with anyone else. It had been four months since he'd last seen his son in person, and he wanted to keep that one small connection he had with Oliver to himself, just for the rest of the day.

"Well, Her Majesty appears to be staying for a while. She's making conversation with everyone as she works her way around the room. So I don't think we'll be doing much else for the rest of the day."

Killian shrugged his shoulders as he reached for another warm can of cola. He knew that given their positions within their companies it was highly unlikely that both he and Liam wouldn't be expected to do anything else for the rest of the day. But he was glad that the men and women that worked under their command were getting some time off to relax and enjoy themselves. That didn't often happen on operational tours and active deployments.

It was well over an hour later when Killian felt a presence just behind himself. He'd been mid-conversation with Regina and Liam about something that had happened last week while he and his team were out on duty when their laughter had suddenly ceased. He didn't need to turn around to see who had caused that reaction. There was only one person on base that afternoon who could provoke such a response.

"Did you get that video sent over safely, Lieutenant Jones?"

"I did, thank you, Ma'am," he replied awkwardly, before standing to offer his Queen a stiff bow and then his seat. She declined the offer with a simple shake of her head, but Killian wasn't sure if that meant he should sit back down again or if he should remain standing. So he chose to remain standing.

"Again, I can't apologise enough for having missed off Oliver's video. I'd imagine that was an incredibly disheartening moment for you, Lieutenant. And we truly never intended for anyone to feel that way during our visit."

"It's fine, Ma'am," Killian assured her. As far as he was concerned, all had been forgiven the moment she'd pulled him aside to let him view Ollie's message privately. "Just knowing that he's okay more than makes up for it."

"He seemed to be doing well when I spoke with him. He's a little shy but by the end of the day I'd gotten a few hugs from him, and he seemed pretty content to share his new toys with another little boy he'd met at the party."

"You got a hug from Oliver?" Liam threw in, and Killian shot his brother a look that clearly screamed what the hell are you doing?

"I believe I ended the day with three," the Queen replied, somewhat smugly.

"Wow! It took Elsa years to get her first hug from Ollie. He must really like you, Your Majesty."

The Queen offered Liam a soft smile of appreciation at his words but didn't go on to explain anything more about her time with his nephew. She figured that either Oliver or Elsa would be able to do that when they next got the chance to speak with the Jones brothers. And she didn't want to deprive either of them of that special moment.

"So, what do your roles here involve?" she asked instead, as she shifted a little beside Lieutenant Jones to bring herself closer to the group.

Liam suddenly felt incredibly awkward being sat down while his Queen was still standing. He could understand now why his brother hadn't bothered to take his seat again when the Queen had politely declined Killian's offer.

"Jones! With me," Johnson snapped, as he saw Killian round one of the corridors on the way back from his office. He'd escaped the party for a few moments just to check his messages and store Ollie's gifts away safely. But as usual, he couldn't seem to make it down a hallway without someone calling out for him.

"Sir?" he asked, approaching his superior and folding his hands together behind his back.

"Her Majesty has requested a tour of our facilities here before she leaves today, given that it's her first time on base. She's also requested that you be the one to give it to her, Jones."

"Me, Sir? Why me?" Killian knew that he wasn't exactly a rookie on the job, but there were still plenty of people on the base who outranked him, including Johnson and his brother.

"You'd have to ask her that," Johnson snapped back. "I'm just following orders from our Commander-in-Chief. You'd be wise to do the same."

"Yes, Sir," he agreed, because deep down Killian knew that it didn't really matter why the Queen had asked for him. She was his superior and as such, he was expected to follow her orders – just like he would if Liam or Johnson had issued them. The only difference was that the Queen happened to be a damned sight prettier than his brother and their boss.

"Where is Her Majesty now?" he asked.

"Still in the hanger, awaiting your arrival."

"I'm on my way there now," Killian assured him, before lowering his head as he slipped past Johnson and headed back to the party. He had a feeling that Johnson was a little put out that Her Majesty hadn't asked him to give her a tour of the facilities. Which meant that Killian was probably going to be paying for that for the rest of his operational tour. And even if Johnson didn't end up holding her request against him, Killian knew that Liam would never let it go when he found out that their Queen had specifically requested his little brother for the tour.

He only hoped that he could make it through the rest of the day without doing anything embarrassing while they were together. Because Killian wasn't sure he could survive another two months on base, constantly being teased by the people he thought of as extended family, if something humiliating happened that afternoon.

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