A Holiday Interlude

Genre: Family, Romance

Pairings: Greg and Molly

Main characters: Greg and Molly

Molly shivered suddenly, momentarily. Greg smiled to himself, sensing the physical vibration from his wife, and released her hand, moving his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him as they walked along the beach.

"Bit of a chill in the air tonight, hey," he said softly, as they moved, barefoot, around the shore of the small west-central Saskatchewan freshwater lake.

"Well, it's Canada, darling, and the breeze is coming off the water. Then again, this air… oh Greg," she said, as she wrapped her own arm around his waist, pulling him even closer to her as they continued their leisurely romantic stroll, savouring the contrast of his body heat and the fresh cool air that enveloped them. "This air. It's absolutely divine. I never knew how good it felt to breathe air like this. Not even the air right in town is this marvelous."

"Yeah, it's quite nice, isn't it?" Greg said simply, in agreement, as he turned his head to place a kiss on her hair.

"Shhhhh," Molly suddenly whispered. "Do you hear that?"

Greg paused, stopping their stroll. He turned in front of her to face her, moving his free arm around her waist to envelop her. "That's a lonely cry, isn't it?" he whispered back. "I wonder if the loons know they're not so lonely tonight on this beautiful evening?"

"Mmmmm, I hope they don't care," Molly murmured, standing as much on her tiptoes as the reddish sand of the lake's shore would allow her, reaching up to kiss her husband.

"Planning to scar those poor birds for life, are we now?" Greg chuckled softly, as he leaned down to meet her.

"Mmmm hmmmm," Molly finally whispered, finding her breath. "We really must find a way to thank the McTavishes for taking the children tonight. I know Greer doesn't mind spending extra time with Sam, I just hope Johnnie and Scott aren't bored to death."

"Oh, I think Chris and Amy have them interested enough in the water sports," Greg said with a satisfied grin. "I haven't seen them that tired in a long time. This fresh air sure seems to do the trick doesn't it? They've not slept this well in quite some time."

"Well, I'M not that tired, darling," Molly hinted slyly, "and I've had plenty of this fresh air. In fact I find it to be rather… invigorating. Oh, but what about you? I'm sorry, I didn't even think…" she teased.

Greg allowed his hands to wander freely in their solitude, their only company the light of the moon, the gentle sounds of the waves lapping against the shore, and of course, the loons on the water, oblivious to anything beyond their own private existence on the water.

"Oh," Molly gasped softly. "So you're a bit…"

"NOT tired," Greg said, as his mouth found its way to her collarbone, working his way up.

"Do you suppose we might… OH!"

"Mmmmm yes?" he murmured.

"We might hold off until we… uh… mmmm… make it back to our… ohhh… cab… mmm… cabin?"

"Possibly," Greg breathed against her skin. "But no guarantees." He finished his ministrations on her neck and mouth and pulled back to look at her. "Though I shall certainly strive to please milady," he said, his tone enough to melt Molly's knees.

"Oh, I've no doubt you'll please me," Molly said softly. "But you've heard of delayed gratification… perhaps we should take a few more minutes to enjoy this spectacular view, in fact I suspect we might be able to see it just as well from semi-privacy behind those bushes over there…"

"Molly Kathleen Lestrade, I am shocked," Greg gasped, dramaticaly feigning horror. "Are you seriously suggesting that we flout the laws of common public decency and… right HERE… on the shores of this…"

"Race ya."

Greg stared at his wife, his brown eyes huge, for just a split second.

He was about to accept her challenge with vigour, when Molly gasped loudly, tugging at his waist, completely enamoured.

"Oh darling, LOOK," she said, pointing above them at the clear night sky, alight and dancing with phantom, ghostly wonder.

Greg caught his breath, and he smiled widely. Breaking his gaze at the heavens for just a moment, he glanced down at Molly. "Oh, Molly. Love, let's stretch out right here and watch. It isn't everyday they see the Aurora Borealis even here. I think this is a bit of a rare treat."

Molly didn't need to be asked twice. Stretching out on the sand, side by side, but for a different purpose than their original intentions, they wrapped themselves up in the blanket Molly carried in her tote bag, and gazed upwards.

When the northern lights above them had begun to fade away, they looked at each other with a grin, and were about to do something to elaborate on the moment, when they heard another, different lonely cry.

"Oh bollocks," Greg whispered, sitting up "Did you hear that, Love?"

Sitting up next to Greg, Molly's brows furrowed in worry as her breath caught. "Coyotes?"

Greg nodded in the moonlight, frowning towards the trees. Glancing at Molly, he reached over to pick up his shoes, He took only a moment to slip back into them, Molly following suit and doing the same.

"A great bloody pack of them, I'd say by the sounds of it." He shared a look with her, their amorous mood temporarily cooled. Rising to his feet from the cool sand, he reached down to help Molly up.

"Um, perhaps we might keep ourselves in check until we make it back to the cabin, after all?" Molly said, quietly, her eyes nervously scanning the treeline, as she brushed sand from herself.

"My beautiful wife, you are wise, as well as gorgeous. Besides, I think I saw bear scat a few hundred feet back."

"Bear scat?"

"Yeah. Lots of black bears in the area, especially given the nearby campgrounds. Sweetheart, it's Saskatchewan lake country. There are likely even cougars about, and wolves, though I'm not entirely sure if they'd be so close to the park."

"Oh… well in that case… how quickly do you suppose we can make our way back to the car?"

"Quickly enough, I reckon. Of course, once we're there, we may have to celebrate being safely under cover again…"

Molly shot him a look, somewhere between scolding and sheer anticipation.

"What can I say?" he said, almost apologetically. "This place has me feeling rather… energized."

"Well the sound of hungry predators only a few hundred metres away from us has me feeling rather energized as well, darling. Though not in the same way YOU may be…"

"Fair enough," Greg replied with a small smile, leaning down to kiss her quickly. "Right then, love. Shall we?" he said calmly, offering her his arm and leading the way.