A/N: thanks to T2238 for the review on the previous chapter! Here's the final one.

Chapter 4

Stop Blushing, For Heaven's Sake!

Laurence did not know how long they had kissed, he only knew that after the first second of being kissed by Emily the quality of the kiss changed somehow. A tiny part of his mind wondered if that was due to the fact that he was human again, but he decided not to dwell on it, only to let himself enjoy the kiss. And enjoy it he did. Emily had always been a wonderful kisser, but compared to Charlotte La Bouff, her kissing skills now seemed even more excellent.

Somewhere on the edge of his conscious Laurence heard cheering voices, some sounded like Granby's, some like Allen's, some like Sipho's, but all were overshadowed by the almighty 'awwww' coming from two directions – Laurence suspected these must have been Temeraire and Iskierka's murmurs of approval.

Finally, when he felt he was completely out of breath, he gently pulled back and squinted at his wife whose cheeks were delicately rosy from the fervour of the kiss. She looked the epitome of innocence, although Laurence knew from experience that she could be as far from innocent as possible. And unfortunately, he reminded himself, now dozens of people around knew that. He was well aware that for most the 'missionary' was the only acceptable form for intimacy between a man and a woman, but the Rolands had both been unconventional in their way of dealing with things, and their sexual taste was no exception to this rule.

Laurence decided to chase these disconcerting thoughts from his mind. He would have to deal with them later, but for the time being the prospect of fighting in a battle that would finally put an end to Napoleon's terror was his primary concern. Or at least he knew it should have been the first thing on his mind, but he could not help it – holding his wife in his arms was currently much more exciting than the idea of seeing Bonaparte completely routed.

"I am back," he muttered to Emily, his voice barely a whisper.

"Thank God," Emily whispered back as she opened her eyes and gave him the most radiant smile ever. "Honestly, I don't know what I would have done with a frog for a husband…"

"Well, one thing you surely could not have done with him," Laurence said, feeling his cheeks burn.

Emily burst out laughing and bore her face into his shoulder. Holding her firmly in his arms, Laurence looked around, but he could not see Tiana anywhere. I hope she has safely returned home with her prince and his valet, he thought fondly.

After a minute of shaking with laughter, Emily drew back and cleared her throat. "Well, we already know you were turned into a frog, but do tell, where on earth have you been all this time?"

"I was at a wonderful place where alligators play music and ball dresses have no sleeves," he replied plainly.

"What? No sleeves?" she raised an eyebrow at him as though hearing of the existence of such dresses was much more incredible than hearing about musician reptiles.

"I shall tell you later," he grinned at her, and secretly hoped she would not get angry with him once she found out that he had been kissed by both Tiana and Charlotte. But at least Charlotte's kisses had been terrible enough to make sure Emily would not be jealous of them.

"Can't you start it now?" she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Yes, Laurence, could you not start it now? I am curious too," Temeraire commented. However, at that moment trumpets blared, signalling the start of the battle.

"At last!" Iskierka roared. "We get to kill some frogs!"

Laurence and Emily looked at each other and neither could hold back their laughter.

"Calm down, will you?" Granby shouted at his Kazilik. "Calm down, and follow the orders transmitted from the flag dragon! No fooling around, no solitary missions, only obedience, you hear me?!"

"Yes, yes, I have heard you perfectly well," Iskierka grunted, "but you will not take away my enthusiasm no matter how hard you try! We shall smash Napoleon this time! I know!"

"Well," Laurence muttered, half to Temeraire, half to Emily, "actually, we shall. I know."

oOo

The garden of the La Bouff residence, New Orleans, 1912

"I must admit, you look much better in real life than in the newspapers," were Tiana's first words to Naveen once they materialised in their own time, in their own city.

"And I must admit you look much better as a girl than as a frog," he replied with a wide grin. "Actually, you look even better now, changed back to a girl than before you had been changed into a frog."

"Oh, really?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "And why is that?"

"Because my love for you makes you even more beautiful in my eyes," he replied, pulling her to himself. Before their lips could touch, however, a third person materialised next to them and flung himself at Naveen.

"Oh, my master, my dear, beloved master, we are back to normal! Oh, thank heaven, my prayers have been listened to! Oh, master, I shall never, never abandon you again, I shall never wish for more than what I have, I shall serve you as your most faithful, most devoted servant…"

"Okay, Lawrence," Naveen said awkwardly and peeled the short man's arms off his waist. "I am glad to have you back."

"Glad to have me back! Oh, my wonderful, precious master, how generous and kind-hearted you are…!"

"Lawrence, you are dismissed for today," Naveen said, slightly miffed by the mirth glinting in Tiana's eyes.

"Are you sure you do not need anything, my master? A cup of tea? A foot massage?"

"No, Lawrence, nothing," the prince rolled his eyes, "just go back to the hotel, please. We'll meet in the morning."

Lawrence bowed so deep that he nearly toppled over, and as he left, his legs were still very visibly shaking.

"I wonder what got into the poor guy," Naveen shook his head.

"If he had ended up at Waterloo like we did, I expect he must've been just as frightened by the dragons as I was," Tiana shrugged. "But I don't mind. Looking back, it was a cool adventure. And we even met Napoleon!"

"A cool adventure, yes, but you have no idea what seeing you in danger all the time did to me," he sighed. "I've always craved for adventure, Tiana, I've always considered my life boring, but… I wouldn't mind abandoning adventures for a while… and settling down. With you."

"That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard," she sighed and pulled his head down for a kiss. "Mmm… much better than doing it with a frog…"

"I can imagine that," Naveen chuckled and repeated the kiss. "But I'm sure old Laurence couldn't be that bad a kisser in his human form as he was in frog form… Why, he seemed quite knowledgeable about the intimate side of life…"

"Yeah," Tiana giggled too, bending her head on his shoulder. "Funny that, to be so familiar with stuff like that, even do it regularly but blush like mad when having to talk about it…"

"Yeah, he was a funny guy, that Laurence."

"He was," she nodded, and her lips quivered for a second. "Do you realise that he's been long dead by now?"

"Yes... But I hope he had a chance to live a long and happy life with that pretty little wife of his. Although, of course, he had to survive Waterloo for that."

Tiana drew back with a grimace. "I seriously hope he did, that they both did. And Temeraire too, he was a bit scary, but funny too… By the way, did you see Laurence in his human form?"

"Just for a second before I got sucked into this tunnel thingie and transported back here," Naveen shrugged.

"Yeah, me too… but that one second confirmed that he'd told the truth. He was indeed extremely good-looking."

Naveen crossed his arms and gave her a hurt look. "Are you implying that I'm not?"

"Oh, rest assured, you are," she stood on her tiptoes to give him a short peck on the lips. "You are and will always be my only prince."

oOo

Waterloo, 18th June, 1815

All of them were dirty, sweaty and bloody – in some cases it was their own blood, in some cases someone else's. Their hearts were filled with joy over having finally defeated Napoleon, and sadness over the lives lost in the battle.

Young Allen had died trying to prevent a boarding attempt by the crew of a Grand Chevalier, and several others of Temeraire's crew were nursing more or less serious wounds.

"He died a hero, you know," Emily told her husband, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"I know," Laurence heaved a deep sigh, dabbing at his injured temple with a blood-soaked handkerchief. "I only hope the others survive."

"They will," said Dorset, stepping to them, his hands painted scarlet with the patients' blood. "Temeraire only got a few scratches, I will patch him up once I'm finished with all your crewmembers. Sipho will very likely limp for a while and Jones will need weeks before he is allowed to leave the sickbed, but I am hopeful that we won't lose anyone else from your crew, Captain."

"Thank you, Mr. Dorset," Laurence nodded to the dragon surgeon just as a Longwing descended right next to Temeraire.

"You look a fright, Laurence," Admiral Roland said as she hopped down from her dragon's back. "Dorset, you had better attend to his temple as soon as you can."

"I shall, Admiral, but I've got patients with more serious wounds," the doctor replied.

"It is nothing, Jane, really," Laurence shook his head, then hastily added, "I mean, it is nothing, Admiral."

"Oh, come on, Laurence," Jane waved her hand, "everyone knows of the nature of our earlier relationship, so no need for pretence. Especially after I have seen you kissing my daughter…"

Laurence flushed ruby red and ran a hand across his hair, smearing the blood on his temple even more without noticing. "I… I can explain it, Jane. We had a perfectly good reason… for kissing."

"Yes, to turn the frog prince back into Laurence," Iskierka chimed in from the left.

"The what?" Jane's eyes widened.

Laurence groaned, knowing that the practical Jane Roland would never believe a story involving frog princes and magical kisses. "Jane… we just… well… we love each other, and…"

"We are married," Emily finished the sentence.

Jane sent them both a lopsided grin. "Hah, did you really think I didn't know? I just wanted to see you sweat."

"You knew?" Laurence gasped. "But… but… it was a perfectly secret wedding!"

Jane's grin widened even more. "I'm an admiral, Laurence. It is my task to know about my subordinates' deeds… or misdeeds."

Laurence felt himself blush again and Jane laughed heartily. "Do not worry, dear fellow, I do not consider this as a misdeed. Actually… I believe my daughter couldn't have found a better man."

"Or a better frog," Sipho said.

Emily sent the midwingman a chiding glance.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, stop blushing," Jane slapped Laurence on the back, "and make sure my first grandchild is a girl!"

"I think it is a little too early to talk about grandchildren…" Laurence said, more to his own Hessian boots than to Admiral Roland.

"Yeah… about six and a half months early," Emily added casually.

"What?" gasped her mother.

"WHAT?" gasped Laurence.

Emily gently elbowed her husband in the ribs. "Do you remember our last night on the Allegiance, dearest?"

Laurence's blush deepened even more, if such a thing was possible. "Er… yes, I believe I do."

"It was... three times? Or four?" Emily grinned.

"Er… four, I believe," her husband muttered.

Someone whistled, probably in admiration, while someone else whinnied – or was that a horse? Laurence did not know, all he knew was that he had never felt this embarrassed before.

And that was when he realised that embarrassment was not the only thing he felt – it was surprise and desperation as well, mingling with some unfamiliar warmth and anticipation. "But… but… Emily… we have always been so careful!"

"Apparently not careful enough," she shrugged. "Aren't you happy at all?"

"Of course I am, but… how could you come and fight when you knew you were expecting?" Laurence burst out, and was sure that his complexion was no longer red with shame but with anger.

"Will, dearest," Emily sighed, "you couldn't expect me to sit at Dover and wait for everyone else to fight! I couldn't let our child grow up in a world ruled by Napoleon! Everyone's contribution to the victory was invaluable, mine too. I had to do it. For Britain, and for our child." She sent him a hopeful little smile. "Are you still angry?"

Laurence took a deep, calming breath. "Honestly, I do not think I could ever stay angry with you longer than five minutes…"

"Glad to hear it," Emily smirked and tugged at his neckcloth to press her lips to his.

The renewed sighs and 'awww's were interrupted by Sipho's voice, "Emily, do you really like the doggy position most?"

THE END

A/N: grace me with a final review, please! :)