"So, what made you decide to join the RAF?" Queen Emma asked, as they made their way past a few of the locked hangers on base.
"My brother," Killian replied honestly. "Our mother died when we were young and as soon as Liam was old enough to take care of us both, our dad bailed. I guess being a single parent didn't appeal to him. So I grew up kind of idolising my brother. When Liam announced that he was joining the RAF, I was a little conflicted at first. I thought he was only doing it to get away from me, but he explained how this was always something he'd wanted to do. He'd had one of those taster sessions in high school and it had stuck with him. He'd never wanted to do anything else. And then, when I left school, it just felt right to follow him, you know? He'd never really lead me astray before, so I trusted he wouldn't then either."
"Did you consider leaving when Oliver was born?"
Killian turned towards the Queen at her question but he couldn't find an ounce of judgement on her face. Just plain old curiosity.
"I did," he admitted honestly. "I don't enjoy being away from my son. I don't think any parent does. But the RAF provides us with a stable income. It pays for the clothes he wears and the food he eats. It helps cover the cost of our home and our bills. So while I might not enjoy being away from him, it's better than the uncertainty of quitting and not knowing where his next meal will come from."
Queen Emma nodded her head in understanding even though Killian doubted she'd ever had to worry about money, or where her next meal would come from, throughout her lifetime.
"I think that was a very wise and mature decision to have made," she told him.
"Yeah, well… I just hope Ollie doesn't grow up hating me for it."
"He won't. And he certainly doesn't right now. When he was told how proud you'd be of him he was beaming with happiness. I'd never seen anything quite like it before. You have a wonderful child, Lieutenant Jones. And I'm certain that's a reflection of your relationship with him."
"Thank you, Ma'am." Killian toed at the ground beneath them to try and hide the blush her words were sure to have brought to his face. Coming from his Queen, they seemed to have far more effect than whenever his brother said the same thing. "I'm uh… I hope I'm not overstepping when I say that I'm sure your parents would be very proud of you too, Ma'am. Oliver seemed incredibly taken with you in that video, and I've learned that my son is an excellent judge of character."
There was a brief flash of something behind the Queen's eyes as she offered Killian a small smile, but it was gone and her mask of neutrality was back in place before he could work out what that something was. "Thank you," was all she said, before she turned the conversation back around to him. "Your son was very adamant that you and I would get along well when I met him. It seems he was correct about that. And judging by your reaction back at the jet, he was also correct about something else," she added, a teasing smirk lighting up her face.
Killian flushed again as he realised what she was hinting at. He could practically hear his son's words ringing through his mind at that moment.
"She's really pretty."
"Aye, Ma'am," he reluctantly admitted, because there really was no use in denying that.
"So, what haven't we seen yet?" she asked, as the large hanger the party was being held in came back into view. It looked like Killian's colleagues were making the most of their afternoon off duty as he could see plenty of dancing taking place, even from a distance.
"I uh… I think there's really only the offices left to go, Ma'am. But they're not terribly exciting."
"Would you be prepared to show me yours?" she wondered.
"Aye, Ma'am."
"Then please lead the way, Lieutenant. While they may not be as exciting as a fighter jet, I'm sure they'll be informative. And I should probably take some kind of useful knowledge back home with me this evening. We don't want the Prime Minister to start accusing me of using working time to holiday, do we?"
"If I may be as bold as to say so, Ma'am… the Prime Minister is an arse," Killian offered - because how could anyone ever think it was acceptable to disrespect the Queen in such a way? She might not have been performing a task vital to the British economy that afternoon, but she'd certainly raised the spirits of every man and woman on base. And with the holidays rapidly approaching, Killian knew that was the best gift any of them could possibly have received.
Her Majesty chuckled a little at Killian's words. "If I say something now, it will stay between us, right, Lieutenant Jones?"
"Of course, Ma'am."
"Then yes! Yes, he is," she agreed, and Killian let loose a sharp bark of laughter.
He'd only just managed to calm himself down as he came to the main entrance of their base of operations. Killian swiped his pass over the reader on the door and then pulled it open for his Queen to enter the building ahead of him.
"We uh… we usually ask our guests to sign in at reception," he told her, before admitting, "But I'm not entirely sure if that protocol should apply to you, Ma'am."
"If that's your usual procedure then I'm happy to follow it," she assured him. "I understand the need for tight security on base. And the last thing I'd want to do is get you in trouble, Lieutenant Jones."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
It didn't take Killian long to fill out the visitors' paperwork. He skipped over all of the usual details in favour of just listing the woman stood next to him as 'The Queen'. He figured the rest would be pretty self-explanatory.
"I'm afraid you'd need to wear this," he told her, offering out a standard ID badge that would designate her as a visitor on the base. Queen Emma didn't hesitate to take it from him and clip it to the breast pocket of her jacket. "And um.. could I just get you to sign this?" Killian wasn't entirely sure if Queens did such things, but once again, Her Majesty didn't hesitate to take the pen he was offering and elegantly write Emma R in the space beside where he'd already printed her title.
"Thank you, Ma'am."
With all of the paperwork filled out, Killian swiped his access badge over another reader by the next set of doors and then held one open to allow the Queen to slip through ahead of him again.
"This way, Ma'am," he instructed, as he began the familiar walk towards his own little office. "If I may ask, Ma'am, why did you print the letter R after your name?"
"It's an old tradition," she explained. "In my case, the R stands for Regina, which is Latin for Queen. If I were a man, it would stand for Rex, which is the Latin translation of King."
"Thank you, Ma'am. I've learned something new today," he chuckled, holding open another set of doors for her to slip through.
"That seems only fair, Lieutenant. You've taught me quite a bit today yourself."
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