The weekend of the wedding arrived. Kate and Steve were given an early finish from work allowing them to pick Josh up from school before making their way south for the event. Steve was introduced to the pleasure of travelling with a small child - more stops than usual, the constant need for entertainment and the never ending "Are we nearly there yet?" questions.
About an hour from their destination, Josh finally fell asleep. "Peace at last," Kate commented after noticing it had gone rather quiet in the back. "Sorry," she apologised, hoping that Steve hadn't felt the journey too bad.
"It's fine," Steve confirmed.
They finally pulled into the rather grand looking grounds of the hotel which would be their residence for the next couple of days as well as holding the event. "Looks lovely," Kate commented. Much grander than the registry hall she had got married in. There were lots of spaces in the car park and Steve quickly pulled in to one.
"Just before mum comes out," Steve said to Kate before they alighted from the car, "because I guarantee she will be out imminently as she will have spied the car arrive; I apologise now for anything she might say or do over the next couple of days. She is very likely to act like there's something going on between us to the rest of the family,".
"Steve, she's really not as bad as you're making out," Kate replied as she opened her door. Steve followed suit and went to the boot to get their suitcases out whilst Kate tried to rouse Josh from his nap.
"Hello darling," Sue called out to her son as she emerged from the hotel with Steve's dad in tow. "Good journey?".
"Told you," Steve muttered to Kate.
Mr and Mrs Arnott embraced their son in greeting before Steve led them over to Kate who was holding a rather tired Josh on her hip.
"Mum, Dad, this is Kate and Josh," Steve introduced his parents to his partner.
"Lovely to meet you at last," Sue said as she engulfed Kate and Josh in a rather enthusiastic hug.
"You too," Kate replied, a little surprised at such a warm welcome. She wished her own mother would greet her as warmly whenever they met. "Josh is just waking up so you'll have to excuse him but he'll be more chatty in a bit,".
"He's fine, aren't you Josh?" Sue said to the little boy who was currently rubbing his eyes as he tried to wake up.
Steve's dad was a little more reserved in his greeting to Kate but was still friendly. "Can I help with some bags?" He asked his son as Sue led the way to the reception desk with Kate so they could check in.
"You're in the family room on the second floor," the receptionist told Steve.
"Family room?" Steve questioned as little alarm bells began to ring. Sue had volunteered to sort out the accommodation for the weekend once it was confirmed that Kate and Josh would be coming. "I'm going to kill her!" he promised Kate once they had arrived in the room and found one double bed although it was massive, and a little single bed.
"Steve it's fine," Kate answered, trying to calm him down.
"I'll take the single. You and Josh can take the double," Steve suggested, very embarrassed at his mothers antics.
"Don't be silly," Kate argued. "That bed is massive," she argued, pointing at the huge piece of furniture. "I trust you to keep to your side!" She added.
They dumped their bags in the room before heading back down to where Steve's parents were. A few of the family were having dinner together and Steve and Kate decided to join them. Josh stayed close to Kate and sat on her lap but became aware of two boys close in age who were playing close by. "You want to play with them?" Kate asked Josh. He didn't venture an answer immediately but Kate knew he would.
"They're my boys," a lady close by to Kate said. "I'll introduce you," she continued as she got up. Kate got up with Josh and soon he was making friends with Jake and Oscar. The lady turned out to be Jackie, one of Steve's cousins. The boys were soon playing well together and Kate and Jackie were also getting on well. It was nice to have a female who was also a mother to speak to.
Steve was happy to see Kate and Josh integrating so easily into his family and sensed it the perfect opportunity to speak to his parents. "What were you playing at booking us a family room?" Steve muttered angrily to his mother.
"It was all they had," Sue defended herself. "If you had confirmed earlier then there might have been more of a choice,".
"But you could have told them to get rid of the double bed," Steve argued.
Phil Arnott looked at his wife. He knew as well as Steve, that she was trying to play matchmaker. Sue could sense the disapproving looks from both her husband and son, but was saved by Kate who interrupted their conversation with a request for drink orders as she was heading to the bar.
It was quite late when everyone decided to call it a night and head to bed. With a plan to meet for breakfast everyone headed to their rooms. "C'mon Josh, you'll see Jake and Oscar in the morning," Kate said to her son to try and tear him away from his new friends. She was conscious that it was way beyond his usual bedtime and didn't want him grumpy and a total nightmare for the wedding.
Eventually they made it to their room and Kate got Josh to bed before she headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed herself. She was glad she had packed a fairly conservative pair of silk pyjamas to sleep in now she was unexpectedly sharing a bed with Steve. She re- emerged from the bathroom a little shyly. "Err do you have a side of the bed you prefer?" she asked Steve who was relaxing on the sofa scrolling through his phone when she appeared.
"No," Steve answered, just as uncomfortable as Kate. His mother really had a lot to answer for.
"I'll take the side closest to Josh then," Kate suggested, "in case he wakes in the middle of the night,".
"Fine," Steve agreed, as he headed to the bathroom. He found Kate in bed when he returned and hesitantly got in his side, hugging the edge of the bed as much as possible.
"Night," said Kate as she tucked herself in, staying on her side of the bed.
"Night," Steve replied as he followed suit and turned the light off.
Despite starting off sleeping far apart, during the night Kate and Steve drifted closer together so that when Kate awoke she found themselves spooned together. Steve's warm, solid body behind her, his arm thrown possessively around her waist, keeping her close to him. Her skin felt on fire where his hand rested on her. Relations with Mark had been fairly rocky before she had gone undercover for Tony Gates, and she realised she missed being in close contact with a man in bed. She was a woman in her thirties who had needs and desires after all. Judging by something she could feel pressing in to her lower back, Steve appeared to be enjoying her company as well, although she could tell he was fast asleep as she could feel his breath against her neck.
"Mummy, are you awake?" Josh's little voice asked from his bed, breaking her from her thoughts.
"Yes," she answered quietly, not wanting to disturb Steve.
A little brown haired head appeared in her line of sight. "Is it time to get up yet?" He asked, keen to see his new friends again.
Kate reached for her phone. "Not just yet," she replied. It was another hour before the family group had agreed to meet for breakfast. She knew Josh wouldn't be happy at her answer. "Come and join me and Steve," Kate offered as she lifted the duvet up. Josh quickly moved in to his mothers arms and for a little while mother and son chatted quietly.
"Is Steve still asleep?" Josh asked eventually.
"Yes," Kate answered, still feeling Steve's arm around her and his steady breathing on her neck.
"Why?" Josh asked.
"He's obviously quite tired. He did a lot of driving yesterday," Kate explained, making up some reason, but Josh seemed to accept it.
"He's going to have to wake up soon," Josh commented impatiently.
"Let's let him wake up by himself instead of with your help," Kate suggested. As if on cue, Steve let out some sort of snuffle and Kate felt him roll on to his back, letting his hold on her waist relax.
Josh heard Steve and peeked over his mother's hip to look at the man in the bed to see if he was awake. "Mummy, what's that?" Josh asked, pointing at something. Kate moved to see what had caught Josh's attention. It appeared that Steve's morning erection still hadn't subsided and there was a small tent in his groin area. Josh had been a lot younger when he was last in bed with his parents together and therefore hadn't been so observant or inquisitive. As far as Kate was aware, this was the first time he had seen the male anatomy in this way. She wasn't prepared to have that conversation right now and definitely wasn't prepared to be discussing Steve when she did, so instead tried to brush it off casually.
"It's just the way the covers have landed," she declared before swiftly changing topic . "How about we get ready for breakfast?" She suggested and was immensely relieved to find Josh's attention was now focused on that.
"Yay!" He exclaimed as he got out of bed and dashed to the bathroom with Kate in tow. She hoped Steve would have 'calmed down' so to speak by the time they had finished getting ready.
Thankfully Steve was awake and Josh didn't mention what he had seen that morning when they returned. Despite Kate's worry over Josh's late night, he seemed in good form, or at least until it came to getting dressed in smart clothes for the wedding ceremony.
"I don't want to wear these!" He stated emphatically as Kate tried to get him in some smart trousers and a shirt. He would much rather a T-shirt and some old shorts or sweat pants.
"Please Josh," Kate begged, starting to get angry. This was taking far too long and she still had to get ready herself.
"No!" Josh argued, crossing his arms in defiance at his mother. Kate knew he had picked that habit up from her.
Thankfully Steve appeared from the bathroom at this point. He had heard the raised voices and hoped he could help his friend out. "Hey Josh, I've got to wear smart clothes too," he said, indicating the blue suit, waistcoat and tie he was now wearing. Kate cast an appreciative glance at Steve. Blue suited him she couldn't help but notice. Josh also looked at Steve. Seeing him in a suit made the little boy more compliant and Kate was able to get him in the clothes she had picked out for him a little easier.
Once done, she headed over to Steve. She had noticed his tie was a little wonky and she wanted to correct it for him. "You look very smart," she commented as she adjusted Steve's neck ware.
"Yeah?" Steve asked, finding himself very pleased that his outfit had gone down so well with Kate. "Was thinking I might start wearing waistcoats to work," he stated.
Kate wrinkled her nose at his comment. "Might look a bit of a twat if you go really overdressed," she said, giving her opinion.
"We'll see," Steve argued and Kate knew he had already made his mind up. Waist coats would be making an appearance at AC-12 in the not too distant future.
"Can you keep an eye on Josh for me whilst I get ready?" Kate asked Steve. "Just make sure those clothes stay clean!" She ordered as she headed to the bathroom. She hadn't planned on co-ordinating with Steve, but somehow she had. She'd chosen a navy blue skater dress that came to just above her knees with similar coloured heeled shoes. After applying some make up Kate headed back to the boys. "Will I pass?" She asked as she offered herself up to Steve for scrutiny. It was a simple dress but showed off her figure nicely. Steve couldn't help but notice her toned arms and legs on full display.
"Absolutely," he replied, without hesitation.
"Will your mum have something to say about the fact we are in the same colour?" She teased.
"Most definitely," Steve responded, but he found himself not really caring.
The ceremony and photos had been done and now the wedding party was eating. Steve and Kate were on a table with Steve's parents and Jackie and her husband, as well as the three boys.
"Mum!" Said Josh as he made an appearance at the table. The boys would come and go from the table as the food arrived but were much more concerned with playing together. "I want a brother to play with. Like Jake and Oscar," he demanded.
Kate looked at her son. He'd never requested anything like this before and wasn't quite sure how to answer him. "Well that might be a little difficult," she informed him. "You know mummy and daddy don't really get on anymore,".
"But you could have a baby with Steve," Josh pointed out, causing Kate to almost choke on the drink she was taking. She flushed with embarrassment at her son's words. She cast a quick glance around the table to see people's reactions. Steve looked as flustered as she felt. Jackie and her husband had grins on their faces at Kate's awkwardness, pleased it wasn't them getting the difficult question whilst Sue looked delighted that Josh seemed to think similarly to her in that Steve and Kate would be good together. "That's quite a big favour to ask Steve," Kate told her son whilst trying to get Steve off the hook. "And baby's take a long time to arrive. Nearly a year," she explained to her son, hoping to persuade him it might not be such a good idea.
"I can wait," Josh argued still pretty keen on getting a sibling.
"What happens if after all that time you get a sister?" Steve piped up thinking he was helping Kate out.
Josh looked horrified. "I don't want a sister. I want a brother," he confirmed.
"But it doesn't work like that," Steve pointed out. "You don't get a choice,".
"Why not?" Josh asked, looking intently at Steve.
"Becauseā¦.," Steve started but tailed off realising he should have stayed out of this conversation. He was not sure how to explain sex and genetics to a five year old.
"Mummy, I don't think Steve knows much about babies," Josh informed his mother at Steve's silence although at the volume he said it, everyone at the table heard.
"Well it is quite tricky to explain," Kate defended Steve.
"So how do you get a baby?" Josh questioned Kate.
"Why don't we talk about this another time?" Kate suggested. "When it's a bit quieter and just you and me,".
"Ok," Josh agreed before disappearing off as quickly as he had arrived.
"I'm so sorry," Kate whispered to Steve. What with this morning and now these questions, Kate realised she was going to have to prepare herself for lots of difficult queries from her son. "He's never mentioned anything like this before,".
"It's ok," Steve replied grateful that Josh had departed.
"There's some good books out there to help explain things," Jackie helpfully added.
"Really?" Kate asked, knowing she would be asking Jackie about it at some point over the weekend. "I guess it's best to be prepared. I'll pencil you down for the genetics talk," Kate teased Steve and he smiled.
The party came to an end at midnight. By that time, Kate had a sleeping Josh on her lap and his friends were in a similar state on their parents.
"Do you want me to take him?" Steve asked, looking at Kate struggling a bit to carry her son whilst walking in heeled shoes.
"Are you sure?" Kate asked. "He's quite heavy,".
"I think I can manage," Steve teased.
"Thanks," Kate said, slightly relieved. She managed to deposit Josh in Steve's arms without waking him.
"Can you get my jacket?" Steve asked, indicating where it hung in the back of the chair he had been sitting on. Kate retrieved it and placed it over her shoulders for the walk back to their room.
"See you in the morning," Kate and Steve said to Steve's parents as they departed. They were going on a family walk and pub lunch before departing for home.
Sleep well," Sue replied as she watched her son and friend walk away together. She turned to her husband once they had exited the room. "I don't care what you say," she said to him, "that is our future daughter-in-law,".
"You are probably right," Phil said to his wife. He himself had seen how close Steve and Kate were and knew they would make an excellent couple. "But promise me something?" He said to Sue. "Let them figure it out for themselves. No more meddling!".
