A/N: At this point I'd like to thank for all the reviews so far! :-)

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Fight, blood and trophies

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In the warmth of the tropically heated Gorilla Kingdom Paula dozed off. Pushing the pram back and forth Tommy stood at an information sign with a long text about Dian Fossey and her life in Africa and the fight against poachers. Barbara stood right next to him and looked as if she was reading that information too. He could not really focus on the texts. Neither could she. When another person came to stand right next to her Barbara made a polite step away towards Tommy and found herself touching him. Before she even recognised what she did she tucked her arm into Tommy's without a thought.

Tommy quickly sucked in some air but after the first moment of positive shock he pulled Barbara even a bit more into his side, softly jamming her arm so she could not retreat too easy. While his eyes went across the letters at the wall in what seemed to be an appropriate speed for appearing to read it he only thought about the woman next to him. He could tell by the brief twitch of her head that she had linked their arms unconsciously. A cautious look sidewards offered the sight of a slightly flushed cheek. His breath stumbled over his happiness. Then he remembered to keep on rocking Paula's pram.

"What a disgusting ending!" Barbara mumbled. She just had read the words 'bludgeoned to death'. Of course she knew about the primatologist - she had seen the film about her - and did not need to read to know what had happened but it was a good excuse to crawl deeper into Tommy's side.

Although this day of glimpsing into how it could be as a family with him she knew this rosy time probably won't go on forever but she could at least enjoy it all as long as possible. It was more than she ever had hoped to get and there was nothing wrong with it. Absolutely nothing. And he obviously enjoyed it too. Fortunately there was still some more text, apparently about the national park, to go on pretending she was reading it. This way Barbara could go on snuggling into Tommy's side.

"You're a stupid chimp!" That was Josh's voice a few yards away.

"And you're a dumb gorilla!" And that was Ian, clearly on the verge of crying.

"And those are two nuisances." Barbara sighed. Her shoulders slumped.

"Take the pram, I'll go and see what our two brawlers are up to now." Softly Tommy kissed the top of Barbara's head before he turned towards the twins. He had to suppress a smug grin about his bold move because you don't end children's fights with a broad smile, no matter what the tickling butterflies do to your belly.

Barbara was positively stunned and had to compose herself a few more moments at the information board before she followed him.

A few minutes later every quarrel almost was forgotten and when the family stepped out into the cool air the boys were best friends again.

Walking along some wooden fence that held llamas Tommy had placed one arm around Barbara's shoulder. She pushed the pram and was not at all unpleased by his proximity. In fact she definitely could get used to his arm around her.

Josh and Ian were jumping around and playing some silly game only boys of that age would understand. During one of all the pushes and nudges and scrambles Josh badly scratched the back of his hand at an abrasive plank of the fence. Barbara sighed because not only had Tommy let go of her shoulders but she knew what inevitably would follow now. Immediately tears flowed and the boy sobbed. Ian only mocked him to be a wimpy girl which made it all worse but then Tommy knelt down and inspecting the scratch he earnestly talked to Ian that it was not a girlish thing to cry and if it would hurt even grown boys like them should feel free to shed tears since where there was blood it always would be hurting.

"You could scratch your hand at the fence and try it on your own, Ian." Tommy said to him while he bandaged Josh's arm with a white handkerchief.

Rueful the boy shook his head. "No. Sorry, Josh." he sheepishly said but Josh already ran to the next corral with the new shining trophy around his hand.

"From where do you always get those hankies?" Barbara was amused.

"I always have two. Bad habit." Tommy grinned and got up from his knees. "Learned it as a boy. That way I could collect things or wipe my face or fingers with one and still have the other, neatly folded, white and clean, ready to be presented to my draconic father."

In the late afternoon the sun started to go down. They had spent the entire day at the zoo with everything you wanted there. They saw all sorts of animals, they learned interesting facts, they had chips and ice cream and lemonade. One half also had enjoyed the playgrounds and the other half the peaceful moments then without those two whirlwinds. Not to mention all those wonderful sizzling moments between them when the world seemed to be a deserted place with only the two of them in it.

Exchanging a look and a nod Tommy and Barbara silently agreed that they had spent enough time there and should go home now. Paula already was taking another nap and even Battenberg only trotted slowly at their side. The twins of course still wanted to watch the tigers again or maybe just a few more seconds with the gorillas or perhaps a few more glides down the huge helter-skelter?

"Or maybe pizza at home?" Barbara asked in return and earned two cheering boys running ahead to the exit.

"You know how to handle them." Tommy smiled holding Battenberg back who had wanted to run after his young masters.

"Not at all. I only know how I could bribe them." Barbara mirrored his smile. Then she took a deep breath and tried to sound as casual as she could. This nice day with Tommy should not end so soon. "Will you stay for dinner?"

Maybe eventually there will be a chance to manoeuvre him into a situation where either he had to do something or she would learn that they better finally just leave it be.

With his heart jumping in joy Tommy almost had shouted that he of course even would love to stay for breakfast and lunch and dinner tomorrow.

"Who could say no to such a nice invitation?" he answered equally casually and laying his arm around Barbara's shoulder again. He could get used to that and she did not seem to be hostile to it. "I mean, hey... pizza...!"

Slightly chuckling Barbara briefly nudged herself closer into his chest. "Charmer!"

Of course they could not leave the zoo without a tour through the souvenir shop where the twins were able to convince Tommy that the green plastic watch with a tiger's face on its clock-face definitely was cooler than the old boring Rolex his father once had given him. In the end everybody got a souvenir and even Battenberg went home with a new squeaky toy.

She did not look in the moment Tommy picked it from the shelf because she and the twins stood at the wall with posters which were more in the budget her wallet provided. When Tommy came back to her with the pram he also had a surprise for the boys and Paula squeezed a cute stuffed hippo. Barbara groaned and glared at Tommy who was grinning victoriously while he placed a light green scarf with dark green lizards around her neck.

"It matches your eyes." he softly said with a loving smile. "And it complements your hair."

"I told you!" she said to him ignoring the urge to pull him down into a kiss. "You shouldn't have bought-"

Still grinning her boss looped the scarf further around her neck and over her mouth. "Tommy!" Her voice sounded muffled under the cloth. Even though her hands had gone straight upwards to free her mouth she was too slow because he already had made another step forward. So when her fingers got entangled in his coat his hand was quicker and he pulled down the scarf again with one finger. Tommy smiled down to Barbara. His face slowly approached hers.

He clearly was about to kiss her. She knew it. Barbara's heart refused to beat. She heard him stop breathing.

And then they were inconveniently and awkwardly pressed together and into a shelf and not a bit in something like a romantic kiss. A fat woman was pushing her way through the narrow aisles and did not care about the fact that she was disturbing what was to become the highlight of the day. It could have become the icing of the cake he had refused to eat earlier. Although it still was nice in his arms the wonderful romantic moment suddenly was gone and could not be reproduced. And if any of them would have wanted to pick up the thread right there at the shelf the boys cut in in this very second. You always could count on them.

After congratulating each other for their new stylish woollen caps from Tommy they had dashed off to the stuffed toys because they also wanted one. They were not yet the grown ups they always claimed to be. Now with long-lashed blue puppy eyes they both held up a soft furry gorilla.

Of course they each got one. For their benefit Barbara was just in the right mood to be wrapped around their little fingers.

A bit later the boys plonked down onto their car seats, exhausted but satisfied. Exhausted the adults were too but it still felt as if something was missing.

Apart from that it had been an almost perfect day out.

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