A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favourites, follows here and likes and reblogs on tumblr for last chapter. Each one inspires me to continue. Rest assured, I will be sending a thank you note where possible soon. :)

This chapter is a proper welcome home that Kenna organized while Bash was away since 1x21 implied that Bash has gone out on multiple excursions to hunt the darkness.

Unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: Not mine. All Reign characters belong to Laurie McCarthy and Stephanie Sengupta and The CW. I'm just playing with them.

Welcome Home

After bidding his men goodnight, the Master of Horse and Hunt walked toward the room he shared with his wife and when he turned the final corner, he could hear voices emanating from beyond the door. The closer he got, the more he was able to make out what was being said. Kenna was obviously ordering people about. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of his beautiful wife lighting the last of the candles and two maids who were pouring the last of the warmed bathwater into the tub in the middle of the room. She was in her olive green dress, which complemented her hair, eyes and complexion and she was a sight for sore eyes.

"Bash!" Kenna smiled at the sight of her husband. "I wasn't expecting you just yet." He had sent a note ahead with one of his men at their last stop.

"The roads were better than expected." Bash looked around at the effort Kenna had put into his homecoming and a genuine smile appeared on his face. He had been out for the last week hunting the Darkness to no avail and Kenna had promised a surprise when he had kissed her goodbye the morning he left. Just as he was about to close the door, two kitchen maids came in carrying trays of food some of which were covered.

Kenna pointed them to the table she had set up in one corner that was lit with half the candles in the room. "That will be all," the mistress said, when the servants looked to her for direction.

While the servants were exiting, Bash walked toward his wife with a grin. "This looks wonderful."

Kenna met him halfway, reaching out to him and he pulled her into a kiss. It had been a long week for both of them. When Bash tried to deepen the kiss, Kenna pulled back. It wasn't that she didn't want him, but the food and bath would go cold. "You must be famished unless you wanted to take a bath first."

"Do I smell that bad?" asked Bash with a grin.

"You smell like horse and a week of road." Kenna wrinkled her nose once she took a deeper breath near him. "I can help you undress and bathe, if you wish."

Bash kissed the top of her head. "Will you join me?"

"I bathed earlier," Kenna smirked at him. "Besides, if I did, the food would be cold by the time we were done." They had bathed together several times before and each time they spent more time being distracted by other matters than bathing. "Why don't you sit?" Kenna indicated the chair next to the tub.

Dutifully, Bash sat and started to take off his boots. With the horrors of the road caked on them from the melting snow, he couldn't very well let his wife touch the outside. Once he had removed them, Kenna took the boots and placed them just outside their room by the door for cleaning overnight. She then took one of the laundry sacks and held it out for him to place each piece of dirty, discarded clothing as he removed them. Once he was in the bath, she placed the filled laundry sack beside the boots and locked their bedroom door. She wanted no interruptions tonight.

"Isn't there a dinner or a gathering this evening?" asked Bash while he soaked in the hot water. "I saw an army of servants carrying things toward the throne room when I came in. I would have thought you would have been there for Mary, especially since Lola now tires easily."

"The Bohemian Ambassador arrived yesterday," said Kenna, moving to sit on a chair near the tub. "After the Duchess Cecilia died the last time the Archduke was here, the King and Queen are having a dinner to honour her memory. I switched duties with Lola this afternoon and I will take her shift tomorrow." Grinning at him, she added, "She and Greer are attending to Mary while I attend to my husband." She reached out to caress his cheek.

"Thank you for doing all of this," said Bash, smiling. Looking up at her, he added, "It's a lovely surprise. No one's ever welcomed me home like this before." He then soaped up his face and hair.

"It kept me occupied while you were gone," said Kenna, wistfully. "That way I'm keeping busy and out of the King's way during the day and I don't spend the time before I fall asleep worrying too much for your safety, or wondering if you were able to sleep comfortably." Seeing Bash reach for the bucket of clean water, she asked, "Are you ready?"

With soap all over his face and head, Bash nodded.

She then picked up the bucket and poured it over his head.

After wiping the rinsing water away, he turned and took her hand in his. "You needn't worry about me. I know what I'm doing. I know the Bloodwood well and I've been out in the wilderness on extended trips since I was a boy."

"Still it's lonely by myself in our bed at night, with nothing but a book to occupy me," said Kenna, looking at him. "My thoughts then turn to wondering where you are and how you're doing."

"Well, I'm home now for the time being," said Bash, feeling sheepish. "Why don't you tell me about your week while I finish bathing? Anything else other than the arrival of the Bohemian ambassador happen while I was away?" asked Bash, while he applied soap to the remainder of his body.

"The King rode another boar in the throne room for one," said Kenna, chuckling while she stole glances at her husband well-toned body. "This time in his armour and lance jousting an imaginary foe."

Bash sighed. "So long as he didn't bother you."

"No," said Kenna with emphasis. "He didn't."

Bash looked at her to search for the truth in her face and he saw it when Kenna stared back at him.

Taking a deep breath through her nostril, Kenna said, "Also, Lola felt the baby quicken."

"She must be excited," said Bash with a small smile.

"Very much so," said Kenna rather animately. "Both she and Julien were thrilled. They are looking for a home of their own now." Try as she might, she was unable to hide the slight trace of jealousy in her voice when she said it and she looked away not wanting him to see what she thought. "Hoping to find something nearby for the time being until the baby is born."

Immediately noticing the change in tone, Bash asked gently, "What's the matter?"

Kenna sighed, "I've also heard from the estate manager at our new home regarding the renovations. It will be done by the end of the month." After a short pause, she looked up at him. "When will we move?"

Bash knew that his wife desperately wanted to get away from court and the twin desires of granting her wish and finding and destroying the Darkness warred within him while he composed his reply. In the end, his love for his wife won out. "Once we know it's complete, we'll go. I know you want to get away from Court and the King."

Kenna nodded. "Lord Castleroy left for another trip East but Greer still hasn't signed her marriage contract yet."

Puzzled, Bash asked, "Is she waiting for something in particular?"

"More likely someone," Kenna replied, not wanting to give her friend away.

"You mean the kitchen boy, Leith?" asked Bash.

"How?" asked Kenna, surprised that Bash was aware of the gossip. Her husband normally didn't seek it out.

"It had reached the stables," said Bash, moving to get out of the bath. "I learned of it from one of the stable boys."

Kenna, ever ready, stood up and brought a towel to him. "The stables! I'm certain that Greer will be thrilled to hear."

"Well, it's not often that a lowly kitchen boy catches the eye of a queen's lady-in-waiting," Bash grinned, leaving the bath and taking the towel from his wife.

"Or a bastard for that matter," joked Kenna, crossing her arms in mock defiance.

"Oh, has a bastard caught your eye?" asked Bash, raising his eyebrow in mock surprise. Leaning in, he added, "As your husband, I'd like to meet him."

"I'm certain you're well acquainted with him," said Kenna looking up at him trying to hide her grin.

"Am I now?" asked Bash leaning even closer.

"Absolutely," said Kenna before moving just close enough to kiss him.

That was all the encouragement that Bash needed. Dropping his towel, he pulled his wife closer and deepened the kiss. He had missed her so much. He didn't realize how much until her soft lips caressed his own. He had missed the smell of her, a mixture of her natural scent and the perfume she used. He had missed holding her at night in their bed. Plainly, he had missed her.

Kenna instantly responded and wound her arms about his neck, running her fingers through his freshly washed hair. When they finally separated, and Bash moved to kiss her neck while he started to undress her. "I've missed you so much," said Kenna breathlessly.

In his haste, Bash nearly tore the dress off of his wife. Soon the rest of the clothing on her came off piece by piece leaving a trail as he led her to their bed nearby. Finally, when she was free of her clothing, he picked her up and placed her gently on the bed while he drank his fill of her soft, sun-bronzed skin. While he suckled one of her pert breasts, one hand wandered further south to her centre where he found her wet for him, which harden him even further. It had been a long week of sleeping out on the cold, hard ground.

Kenna for her part was savouring her husband's ministrations. He always took such good care of her in the most delightful ways. His experience meant that he understood the needs of his partner and ensured her satisfaction before he took his fill. Now while he rubbed her nub ever so insistently, Kenna writhed under his erotic touch, arching her back to ensure his finger maintained contact with her while leaving her breathless for more. "Oh, please don't stop!"

Bash looked up while he continued to rub. "My wife wants more?"

"Yes, please!" Kenna moaned breathlessly.

"Tell me what you want me to do," said Bash before kissing her navel.

"I want you to kiss me thoroughly down there," said Kenna, fingers reaching to her core while her eyes rolled to the back of her head in pleasure.

Moving lower, Bash kissed and licked her nub until he had her moaning and whining, her back arched and her breath coming in short gasps. Stopping momentarily, he asked, "What else? I want to hear you say it." He then resumed his licking.

"I want you to put your fingers into me." Kenna bit her lip to keep herself from falling over the edge when he inserted a digit. "Faster, Bash, Faster!" She was getting so close that as soon as Bash sped up, stars exploded behind her eyes, she screamed his name, and she sat up from the overpowering feeling that spread deliciously all over her while her centre pulsed on his fingers. Looking down at him, she watched while he took out his fingers, licked them and then lapped up her juices.

Overcome by her love for him, Kenna pulled him up so that she could kiss him. She wanted to express the feelings that were coursing through her. When she captured his lips with hers and ran her fingers through his hair, she could taste herself there, which sent another thrill through her. When she broke the kiss and placed her forehead on his, she stated in urgent, husky tones, "I want you in me. I want you to fill me, husband. I need you now!"

Looking into her eyes, he saw her desire for him which harden him further instantly. Gently placing her against the pillows, he kissed her again and again while her hand snaked down, grasped his erotically charged member and began to stroke. This ignited his need to be one with her. So as soon as she positioned him at her moist entrance, he pushed and entered her. Her warm centre enveloped and embraced him so thoroughly that he had to start reciting the alphabet in his head to keep from going over the edge right there and then. God, he could never tire of making love to her.

When Bash entered and filled her, she immediately wrapped her legs behind his back to bring him deeper into her, holding him in place. He then started to move slowly and deliberately at first. Each move bringing him closer to her and her desire for him started to build again. Unable to keep silent, Kenna's little whines and moans filled the room, eliciting a primal need in Bash to drive into her. Meanwhile, each time he thrusted into her, Bash felt the sensation that started from his groin growing throughout his body to the tips of his fingers that were caressing both sides of her face while he hovered over her.

Overcome by the waves and waves of desire that surged through him until he was so near the edge he could barely think of anything else, he force himself to refocus because he wanted Kenna to reach it with him. Focusing more on her while he continued to thrust into her, he could hear her moans louder and breaths coming in rapid succession signalling that she was once again near, so he sped up his movements to be a counterpoint to her hips pushing up to meet him maximizing friction and thus pleasure.

"Faster, yes, faster!" All the muscles in Kenna's body tensed while she neared the edge as Bash continued pound furiously into her. Looking into her eyes darkened by desire, he just couldn't hold it any longer, so he thrusted one final time into her and let go. "Oh God, Kenna!" At that moment, hearing him call her name, Kenna followed him over the precipice screaming his name, and her centre pulsed rhythmically on his shaft milking it out.

Once he caught his breath, Bash rolled them over slightly and scrambled to get them under the blankets to keep warm. In their haste, they hadn't bothered to even pull down the covers. While they rode out their highs, Bash caressed her arm with his fingers and it was so good that his fingers left trails of goosebumps there. "How I've missed you." He then leaned in to give his wife a long and lingering kiss that conveyed the love in his heart in the aftermath.

While he held her, Kenna felt again that certainty whenever she looked at her wedding ring, now her most treasured possession. It no longer felt nearly as odd as it had in the beginning but it was comforting all the same.

At that moment, Bash's stomach growled and they both chuckled. Glancing at her husband with a smile, Kenna asked, "I suppose now that you're sated in one manner that you're hungry in another?"

"I will never get enough of you," said Bash with genuine feeling. "But I am hungry. Do you think the food is still warm?"

"It ought to be," said Kenna, lifting her head to look at the table at the other end of the room before turning to look at her husband again, tracing her finger down his jawline. "I had asked it be brought up with covers."

Bash smiled and kissed her finger. "Shall we?"

Kenna nodded. "Let's."

Bash then sat up and pulled on his robe that Kenna had laid out on the bed. He then stood up from the bed to fetched hers from the hook behind the dressing screen. Once they were covered enough to ward off the chill, Bash held out his hand and led his wife to the dining table she had set up earlier.

A/N2: Thank you for reading. Do I continue? Please leave a review since I'll be using reviews to gauge interest in continuing this series of one shots. Prompts are most welcome and will be credited. :)

P.S. I strung together all the Bash and Kenna scenes from their marriage up to 1x21 recently into one file which you can download from my tumblr. Link in profile.