A/N May 4, 2019: If you are receiving alerts for this story, this is the only chapter that will show up as brand new, but ALL chapters have been heavily edited/expanded – for the better I hope, so you may wish to re-read. See author's note for Chapter 1. Glad if you let me know what you think of the additions!

/Miss P

Epilogue II: Don't mess with my wife

JACK

Jack McClyde wriggled where he sat, partly because of the hard wooden seat, partly because he still, four years after leaving the Army, got restless if he sat still for too long. He was known for leading meetings standing or pacing around the room, getting impatient if he was forced not to move for long. Today was different though, he very much wanted to be right where he was and prepared to wait. He was here in the Southwark Cathedral for a very special occasion; his wife's graduation ceremony. This sunny July day, the impressive ancient church was hosting the graduation ceremony for this year's version of King's College medical degree ceremony and Georgie McClyde were among those who were to graduate.

He let out a sigh of relief once the music started playing, indicating the procession was about to start and the audience was asked to stand. She entered among the others and as usual, the sight of her made his stomach flip.

When the dean announced that this year's Jelf medallist, the undergraduate who had distinguished herself most, was Georgie McClyde, his heart almost burst with pride. He certainly was more emotional as the dean awarded her the medal, than he ever had felt when he received medals for his achievements in the Army and he noticed some excessive fluid in his eyes and blinked to get rid of it. He saw her enter the podium, dressed in the traditional robe and thought that wearing this she looked as petite as ever. The voluminous robe efficiently hid the fact that she was pregnant with their first child. Not that her body needed hiding, he thought her as beautiful as ever with her new rounded forms and he loved to know that inside her a baby which was the combination of them both was growing.

He glanced at Grace and Max beside him. They seemed equally taken by the moment and especially Grace did nothing to hide it. He offered her the light blue silk handkerchief he had tucked in his jacket pocket. It was intended only as an accessory, but he saw that his mother in law had more use for it. She bestowed him a grateful smile, it was long since Grace had forgiven him for sweeping Georgie away to London because she knew that there was no one better for her daughter.

The ceremony continued with presentation of the students, speeches, the medical oath solemnly taken, the National Anthem and finally recession. Afterwards there was a reception for the graduates and their families at the Memorial Garden, where light refreshments were served. Finally, he got to hold her in his arms again. It had been too long since this morning.

"I'm so fucking proud of you, Doctor McClyde", he whispered to her ear, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed to his for a moment, her belly bulging out between them. Her eyes twinkled with happiness.

"I'm so glad this is over. In a month or so I never would have made it. The baby keeps pressing on my bladder and for half the ceremony I thought I would pee my pants. I wonder if they would have let me keep the medal if I did."

He shook his head, smiling.

"Probably not, I don't think there would be any acceptable excuses for peeing inside that cathedral."

Georgie was five months gone on the pregnancy and by now the bump was clearly visible, but she was feeling great and looked absolutely glowing in the way that pregnant women often are described but seldom feel. It had been a different story the first three months, when she had been extremely tired and nauseous. She had vomited not only in the mornings but through the day, to the extent that she once had to be admitted to hospital to get nutrition drip because she lost too much weight. She had not been any fun (her own words) and her sex drive had been absolutely nil. He knew she had worried about that, feared the change to her body and personality and feared that she might drive him away, but he had never felt like that. All he had felt was immense love and concern for her health and because of that he was incredibly happy when a turning-point almost magically came after three months and her spirits returned. He was relieved to see her eat and keep the food again, to see the dark circles under her eyes disappear and glad to see her smile return. He had not counted on her to regain her sex drive at all over the duration of the pregnancy and prepared himself to wait out patiently, so he had been positively surprised when it did return and almost stronger than ever before. Apparently that happened to a lucky few because of pregnancy hormones and he was nothing but appreciative.

They had planned for this graduation day during the period when she was most tired and therefore decided it was enough with the ceremony and reception arranged by the university. After that, her family would return to their hotel and enjoy an evening out in London, meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. McClyde would go home, kick their shoes off and enjoy each other's company. They had offered the Lanes to stay in their big house at least, but they had said that this time they wanted to enjoy a full tourist experience.

"Are you sure you don't regret we didn't invite your family for a reception at our place?" Jack asked her. "It was different when we planned this, you were so exhausted then, but now? I'm sure we could find a caterer who could deliver something quickly, or I could cook?"

"No, it is fine, I promise. They will come by tomorrow anyway and this evening I'm happy it is just the two of us."

"As long as you are sure, this is your special day."

"Any day is special because you are here", she smiled, and he felt the familiar flutter in his belly and wondered if it ever would disappear. He did not think so.

They finally said goodbye to everyone and took a cab home. Even if she was more vigorous this period, Georgie had been standing up for long and was tired now so she went for a nap which suited Jack fine as he had something he needed to do. Something he did not want his wife to know about.

"I forgot some papers at the office, so I'll just pop by and get them. I'm probably back before you wake up again."

"Don't let Will pull you into any meetings, then you know you will never get away from there."

Since Jack left the Army, the two brothers had run the family business together, but as Jack was used to lead and Will gladly had stepped down, Jack soon had become the front man of the company and Will spent more time on the golf course. Even so, Jack was not a workaholic. He was extremely efficient during the hours he was at the office and then he went home to his Georgie.

At a quick glance from an outsider, Jack would appear to be a successful business man and husband like any other. If you looked closer you might notice that underneath the suits and shirts of Savile Row origin, he seemed unusually fit for someone with a desk job. He had not filled out around the waist like so many other men his age, his jaw line was still sharp and there was an unusual spring to his step, as if he actually preferred running to walking. If you engaged in a longer conversation with him, he would strike you as uncommonly sharp and attentive. He never got distracted, he would notice every detail but keep focus on the target and no one ever screwed him over in a business deal. He was an expert at keeping his cool and showing an impassive face in the most pressured situations and he only seemed to have one weakness, which few people knew of; his wife. Jack McClyde was as fierce a business man as he once had been a special forces soldier, but few knew of his past career either. He was vastly popular among his employees as he was tough but fair and gave everyone opportunity to develop, and people who got to work for him did not change job unless they were forced to.

More than four years after they became a couple, one year as married, he still adored his wife. She drove him insane at times, but he loved her unconditionally. There had, however, been a few times over these years when Jack had not been honest with Georgie. When he had sneaked away to a hotel room or an empty office for a secret encounter – and this afternoon he would do it again. As much as he hated lying to her, he loved the excitement of the secrecy and that he was in fact wanted. He knew it had to come to an end though, and he intended for his meeting today to be the very last.

This afternoon, he did not go to his office but to a hotel in the city centre. He went through the main entrance of the exclusive establishment in broad daylight, knowing well that the best way to stay unnoticed sometimes was to stay out in the open. When he waited for the elevator, two beautiful women cast admiring glances at the handsome, well-dressed man. He noticed, but only gave them a short, polite smile. He simply was not interested.

When the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor, he turned left and walked the plush carpet to room 414 and knocked on the door five times, as agreed. The door opened, and the woman quickly let him inside and closed the door behind him.

Their eyes met, measuring each other and she seemed pleased with what she saw. He saluted her and thought how unusual that felt by now.

"Welcome Captain McClyde."

"Major."

She jerked her head towards a man sitting in a chair.

"For our purposes today, this is Mr. Smith. He is with MI5."

Jack nodded to greet the man, well aware his name likely was anything but Smith.

"With all due respect, ma'am, why am I here? I thought I had made myself clear, that last time was the last opportunity when I could provide my services. You know I have retired from the SF and frankly I can't have this going on. I don't like to lie to my wife."

It was true, during the last covert op he had participated in when Georgie thought he was on a business trip, he had made it clear to them that it had to be the last. He had been requested on several occasions and felt unable to decline when his country needed him. He could not deny that he loved the thrill, but he did not want to lie, and he did not want to risk his life and leave Georgie alone, especially not with the baby on the way.

"I'm well aware that you left the Army, McClyde and it was a pity that someone as unusually skilled as yourself chose to leave so early. I also have an excellent memory, so I know full well what you said last time. This however, is different, as I'm sure you will agree when you hear what we have to say."

Smith handed him an envelope and he opened it, almost reluctantly as he felt like they would try to tempt into something he did not want. To his surprise it contained a bunch of photos, all of them of Georgie. Some taken from a distance, some close, of her alone or with friends, outside school, walking on a street, outside their house. Sometimes she was smiling, sometimes serious but never looking into the camera. They were all taken without her knowledge.

He looked up with heart thumping in his chest.

"What is this? Why all these photos of my wife?"

"You said you don't like to lie to your wife, McClyde, so I take it she is important to you. Maybe even the reason you resigned?" The major cocked an eyebrow, but he chose not to answer. "That is why I think this operation is very much in you interest. Those photos were found by MI5 when they blew up a terrorist cell here in London the other day."

"A terrorist cell had photos of Georgie? Why?"

"We don't know for sure, but it seems likely that it is connected to this man."

Smith placed a photo of a bearded man with cold eyes on the table. Jack had never seen him before.

"This is Jason Raynott, aka Abu. Does that ring a bell?"

It did. Abu was the Muslim terrorist of British origin, who many years ago had been part of taking Georgie hostage in Kenya, later tried to blow up a university auditorium in Manchester but been stopped by Elvis and Georgie. He knew the story but had never seen the man's face.

"But he died? Got a bullet through his head, if I'm not wrong?"

"He died, but others from his cell survived. They were scattered then, left the country or hid but it seems they didn't forget. It seems like this man, Raj, was close to Abu."

Smith put another photo on the table. Raj was darker than Abu, both skin colour and hair, but his eyes were equally cold.

"He was also part of the cell we now blew up, but he got away. By the looks of what we found, he wants revenge on Georgie. If we had not disrupted him, it looks like he planned to strike at the cathedral, the ceremony today, but now he couldn't. It doesn't mean he won't try at another occasion. On the contrary his wish to get revenge may have grown."

"So this man who has had eyes on my wife is running lose in London?! For fucks sake!"

"Calm down, McClyde. No need for outbursts."

He wanted to tell them they could fuck off, but he needed to know what they had to say, needed to know they had a plan. Then it hit him.

"Christ, Georgie is home alone, in the house! What if…"

"We have the house under surveillance, we not complete twits", Smith said dryly. "We also we also have located Raj and have eyes on him. We want to strike, but he is hiding in a flat in a building where many families live. We fear that if he understands we are on to him, he may start shooting or blow himself up and take other with him."

He drilled his eyes into Jack.

"We need someone of unmatched skill to enter and eliminate him without further casualties. We were thinking you are the man for the job."

Jack could taste bile in his mouth. Not because he feared for his own sake, he never did, but the thought that they had been so close to Georgie, chosen to just watch but they could just as well had killed her. He had to get to this Raj. Now.

"Where is he?"

Smith gave the major a triumphant smile, they had achieved what they wanted, the best man for the job. As if they had anticipated Jack would accept, the major brought out a kit bag with the necessary equipment. Clothes better suited for the operation than Jack's neat suit, and a rifle enclosed in another bag, so he would be able to transport it without raising alarm. Jack swiftly changed into the black, slim clothes, without caring that they got a glimpse of his toned body.

"A car is awaiting us outside", Smith informed him and then they left after bidding the major farewell.

Jack paused in the doorway with a stern look on his face.

"Last time, remember that."

The car took them to a suburb where ugly high-rises were climbing towards the sky, the home of many innocent people who they had to protect from harm. They stopped at some distance from the building where Raj was supposed to be holding up and Jack followed the instructions Smith had given him during the ride. He was on his own now and had no intention to fail.

First he entered a building across the street, took the elevator to the very top and entered the roof. Lying on the ground, he watched the opposite building through his riflescope. Located the right flat and watched the windows. The blinders were half-shut but he thought he saw some movement. Not enough to know for sure it was Raj though, so he could not take a shot. He would have to do this face to face. Up close and personal, and it was fucking personal.

He entered the other building, this time took the stairs as he wanted to look out for other people, if possible keep the stairway clean and definitely avoid collateral. Outside the door he stopped, there were no sounds. He brought out the rifle, took a deep breath to prepare himself, then it all went fast. He threw a gas grenade through the mailbox and waited until he heard some commotion. With a few well-aimed shots he blew the door open and entered, wearing a mask so he was protected against the gas himself. Raj was not in the hallway, but he found him in his bedroom, trying to put a cloth before his face to protect himself against the gas. When he saw Jack, he reached for a gun, lying on the bedside table but Jack pulled his trigger and a shot went through Raj's hand. Instead of surrendering, the man dived for a bag on the floor and even at a quick glance Jack saw that it contained explosives. There was nothing more to hesitate about, this man would always be a threat to UK, its citizens and to Georgie. Jack pulled the trigger again and this time the bullet hit the man in the head. He was dead before he reached the floor.

Jack walked over to him, met the man's now unseeing eyes under the surprisingly neat entry hole. He allowed himself to feel grief for a moment, like he always did when he had been forced to take a life. In this case, however, it was overshadowed by fury.

"You had it coming mate, Don't ever fucking mess with my wife", he said through gritted teeth.

Then he called for Smith on the radio he previously had been given.

"My job here is done, Raj is out. You can send your guys in to clean up, I'm out of here."

"Thanks for your co-operation McClyde. Sure you won't consider joining my team?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm 100% sure. I have better things to do."

He left the rifle and rest of equipment behind for Smith's team to take care of, then hurried to take a cab home. He had left his suit at the hotel but could not care less. He had many and all he wanted now was to come home to Georgie. He hoped she had not started worry and called the office.

As the cab drove up outside their house at The Boltons, he noticed a black car which had been parked across the street leaving and he waved goodbye to the surveillance team that had kept her safe.

It was quiet when he entered the house and he ran up the stairs in a few giant leaps, wondering where she was. He stopped in the bedroom doorway.

Georgie was still sound asleep, lying in their king size bed with the dark hair fanning out on the pillow, her long eyelashes resting on her cheeks unaware of everything that had happened this afternoon. He sat down on the bedside and with a smile he stroked a few strands of hair from her face and then she woke up.

"You're back already? Did I sleep long?"

"A few hours I think."

"What are you wearing?" She looked with curiosity at the black outfit, clinging so flattering to his fit frame and obviously different from the suit he had worn when they said goodbye.

"My PA had bought me a new tracksuit, so I tried it on."

"I think she has a thing for you."

"You do?"

"Why would she otherwise get you such a hot tracksuit?"

"So you think it is hot?"

"Uhum, ridiculously hot. In fact so hot that I may need to take it off. Come here."

After this afternoon, when life had seemed brittle, there was nothing he wanted more than being as close to her as he could.

She sat up, grabbed the hem of his slim top and pulled it over his head.

"I'm still obsessed with your torso. Do you know that?" she smiled and placed both her palms on his chest.

"I didn't but I'm very glad to hear it."

He now pulled off the white t-shirt she had been sleeping in, leaving her in only bra and knickers, and made sure that the bra came off swiftly too. He softly pushed her down, so she was lying on the pillows.

"Today is your day, remember? After all we have something to celebrate", he said with a wicked smile.

"What, do you have something special planned?"

"How about this?" he bent down and caught one of her nipples between his lips, knowing that they were more sensitive than ever. They were a bit sore, so he knew not to nibble with his teeth, but he knew that she loved the soft administrations of his tongue and lips and soon he heard hear moan. Meanwhile, he caressed her rounded belly, relished its new form which he loved so much, then found the lining of her knickers and tugged them off. She raised her hips to help him and off they went. Still nuzzling her breasts, his hand found his way between her thighs and began stroking, slow and teasing. When he noticed how she pressed herself to him, he removed his hand and moved down, then started over, this time using his tongue to bring her to wuthering height before she came crashing down, holding on to his hair, moaning his name.

With her changing body, they had found new positions, so it would be comfortable for her and now he moved over to lie behind her, spoon her. He was always slightly anxious he might hurt they growing baby, even if she had told him there was nothing to worry about. Now he gently pushed himself into her from behind, holding her tight to him, caressing her; her hips, her full breasts, her belly. She turned her head, so they could kiss while they moved slowly until he reached the pinnacle too. This soft yet intense love making with his hands splayed over the new life they had created was so intimate, that despite that it was long since he had found it hard to say words of love to her, there was hardly any way they could show their love more clearly than this. Yet, he spoke once he had stilled inside her.

"I love you so much. I don't know how I would live without you." He needed to tell her this after the day.

"You don't have to, because I feel the same", she smiled to his lips.

He did not tell her how close it had been that he had lost her, would never want to worry her.

"Happy graduation day, Doctor McClyde," he said instead.

"Thank you, special forces Captain McClyde."

"It was quite long since I was that now."

She pulled in his bottom lip between her teeth and bit him softly, so it hurt just a bit.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Don't you think I know what you have been up to? Tracksuit, kiss my back where it changes name!"

"You know?" his blue eyes now bashful, asking for forgiveness.

"I'm not stupid, I love you and I know you. There is a special twinkle to your eyes when you have been away on some secret action stuff."

"It was for a good cause."

"Isn't it always?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was for an extra good cause this time?"

She heard the sudden vulnerability in his voice, as he was again overwhelmed by emotions at the thought of losing her.

"Is everything alright?"

"Now it is."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it, that it was for a good cause and that everything is alright now, but please take care of yourself, and don't lie to me. I know you can do amazing things Jack, but I want to keep you too."

"I won't do it again", he was sincere, totally convinced this had been the last time.

"I'll believe it when I see it", she smirked. "And you can tell whoever got you that outfit that it was shitting hot on you, so we're keeping it. They can consider it compensation or a graduation present."

Laughing, he kissed his adorable wife again.

- THE END -