Just a short, sweet chapter that I wrote...well, I guess I just wrote it because I wanted to. Consider it a bonus chapter. My birthday is this coming week, so I am not entirely certain I will be able to get another chapter out on Thursday or not. HEY! Know what would be a great birthday gift? Leave a review. I've got to be a honest, while I love writing this story, it kind of kills me when I get a grand total of two people who let me know that they are reading and liking it. So do a girl a favor and review! Thanks friends, hope you enjoy the chapter!

When he opened his eyes, Chibs was hit by that split second of sheer panic that came with waking up and having absolutely no idea where you are. The jolt of unfamiliarity had his muscles tensed and his heart rate skyrocketing for just a second. The room he was in was almost pitch black and he couldn't really see much, but sheets on the bed he was lying in were far too soft to be his own. The air was much too cold for him to believe that he was in California, and the scent of apples filled the room, or at least his general area. None of these things clicked for him, however. It was the warm body pressed against his side, the ridiculous curls tickling his nose that comforted him and reminded him that he was in Ireland, with his family, and as far as he could tell, things were right as rain.

The trip overseas had been long and exhausting. He had spent hours and hours crammed into a plane, and he was far from a good flyer, even under the best of circumstances. He had thought that the long day of travel, coupled with the time change would ensure that he would sleep well. Apparently, he had thought wrong. Maybe the time difference was too much to overcome right away, but one glance at the clock told him that it was nearly four in the morning and he was wide awake after a couple of short hours rest. Fiona was sleeping soundly against him, and he was glad for it. He knew for a fact that rest had been hard to come by for her lately, and if he had to be awake than at least he could take comfort in the fact she was sleeping soundly.

As carefully as he possibly could, he extracted himself from Fiona's embrace, and then immediately regretted it once he climbed out of bed. The cold night air had him freezing, but he was desperately in need of something to drink. He gently covered his still sleeping wife with the blankets and grabbed his hoodie from the floor where it had been tossed last night in their haste to get as naked as possible, as fast as possible. He pulled it on and zipped it as he quietly left the room in search of a bottle of water and one of his smokes that he knew Fiona kept hidden somewhere in the kitchen.

He had no trouble making his way to the kitchen. The flat that his wife and daughter shared was small enough that he couldn't get lost even if he tried. There was a bedroom and a bathroom for each of them, along with a kitchen and a living room. There was a big bay window in the living room, and one in the kitchen that generally let light in, though that wasn't quite evident in the dead of night. The floor was covered in marble tile that he supposed was nice, but right now it was just making him wish he had worn socks. Chibs grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and downed half of it in one gulp. He looked around the little flat that his wife and daughter called home. He had to admit that it was a really nice place. They had managed to get everything unpacked and set up and painted and nicely decorated. In these few weeks that he had been gone, Fiona and Kerrianne had really turned this place into a home.

As he looked around, he could clearly see their mark all over the place. Kerrianne's shoes were by the door and her books were stacked on the coffee table. Her backpack was hanging on one of the dining room chairs, and he would put good money on her being behind the framed Doctor Who picture hanging above the door. Fiona's tastes were displayed as well. The artwork that hung in the living room was definitely her taste. He could smell the lavender candles that she had always preferred, and he knew for a fact that the framed photographs were her influence as well.

The fact that there were traces of them all over the flat was not at all surprising; after all, they both made their home here. What did surprise him was the fact that there were traces of him here as well. The walls in the kitchen were painted the exact shade of blue that he had picked out for the home they had once shared. An ancient blanket that had come with him to the first flat that they ever lived in was draped over the easy chair. An old, chipped coffee cup that he had always drank his tea out of was hanging on a hook in the kitchen. He couldn't even begin to imagine where Fiona had found these things. A postcard from California, which he had sent at Kerrianne's insistence, was stuck to the fridge with a magnet. As he looked around at the pictures, he found that he was in several of them; old ones from when they had been newly married and then more from when Kerrianne had been young, as well as a couple of new ones that Maureen had taken several weeks ago when he and the guys were here to get Abel. His preferred tea bags, black with bergamot, were in the pantry. It made him grin in a completely stupid way to see traces of himself around here.

He finished his water and rummaged around the kitchen for a few minutes, looking for the hidden cigarettes. He knew that they had to be here somewhere; he had noticed a pack missing almost as soon as he had arrived back in Charming and knew that it had been Fi who took them. She had always insisted that she wasn't a smoker, not since she had gotten pregnant with Kerrianne, but he knew better than that. For years and years, she would knick a smoke from him every once in a while. He was quite good at counting and could very easily tell when a few of his personal stash were missing, but she had always displayed the perfect picture of innocence when he asked about them. They had to be around here somewhere. He had looked in every cabinet and drawer, but he couldn't find the pack.

Chibs briefly considered digging through his bags to find the pack he had brought with him from California, but quickly vetoed that idea. He would be fine without. It was fucking cold, and he had a warm bed and a gorgeous wife waiting for him a room away. He tossed the empty water bottle in the trash and headed off back down the hall. After he quickly adjusted the thermostat, desperate for a little more warmth, he started down the hall once again. He walked passed Kerrianne's room before pausing and turning back. He quietly opened the door to his daughter's room, careful not to wake her.

Her bedroom had recently been painted a dazzling purpleshade, and the color was so very her that it made him laugh a little. There were more pictures in here, of her and her friends, and even one of him. He felt honored to have made her wall. In between the pictures there were posters advertising movies and bands he had never heard of. It was the bedroom of a typical, well-adjusted teenage girl, and for that he was thankful. Her bed stood in the middle on the room, the white wooden frame contrasting with the neon green striped bed quilt covering her sleeping form. She was sprawled across the bed, headphones still in her ears and iPod resting on the pillow next to her. Her mouth was hanging open and there were soft snores filling the room. She had kicked her blanket halfway off and her left foot was off the bed, her sock barely hanging on for dear life. He smiled softly and covered her again with the quilt before leaving the room again, shutting the door behind him.

Chibs walked back in the hall and made his way towards the other bedroom, where his sleeping wife lay waiting for him. He opened the door and was surprised to find out that he was wrong. His wife was not where he left her, curled on her side, head resting on the pillow. Instead, she was sitting up in bed, leaning against the head board. Her eyes were tired, but she smiled at him.

"There you are," she said softly, reaching out to take his hand. "I woke up and you weren't here. Not a nice thing to do to your wife who just got you back a few hours ago."

"I'm sorry, Love," he told her, truly regretting that he had worried her. "Just needed a drink. And a smoke. Couldn't find the ones you have hidden, though."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied with an airy, innocent tone. "Come back to bed. It's got to be cold out there."

He grinned and nodded, "It is."

Chibs moved around towards his side of the bed, but before he could climb back in, she stopped him, "Leave the sweatshirt."

"This from a woman who just pointed out how cold it was?" he asked with a smirk, but unzipped the hoodie anyway.

"No worries, Filip," she assured him. "I'll keep you warm. Besides, I like you better without it."

He tossed the offending garment over the chair in the corner and got into bed quickly, because despite the fact that he had turned the heat up, it really was fucking cold. She kept her promise and wrapped her arms around him pulling him close to her and running a hand through his hair.

"Better now?" she asked from inches away. He nodded and she made a pleased sound. "Good. Did you go check on our girl?"

He laughed lightly, amazed at just how well she knew him. "Aye, she's sound asleep. Snoring even."

"She gets that from you," Fiona insisted smartly.

"Liar," he shot back, lightly tickling her side. "That comes from you, and you know it."

She laughed, but shot him a warning glare. She was horribly ticklish and he knew that if he continued, she would retaliate and since he was just as ticklish as her, that would not be a good thing, so he stopped straight away. On the upside, her laughing fit had brought her even closer to him, which was never a bad thing. His hand rested lightly on her lower back, while hers continued moving through his hair.

"Your hair's getting long," she commented, gently tugging on a lock of it.

"Aye, just a bit," he agreed. "I have been so busy that I haven't had time to get it cut."

"I can trim it for you a bit later, if you like," she told him, bringing back memories from ages ago, of Sunday afternoons spent in kitchen chairs, when she was the only person he trusted to cut his hair.

"I would like, very much," he agreed, pressing a soft kiss against her lips, because he just couldn't stand to not be kissing her anymore.

"You tired, Love?" Fiona asked after breaking the kiss, her lips only millimeters away from his.

"Not at all," he replied, quite honestly. "It's midafternoon in my part of the world."

"That's right, it is," she said, he lips stretching into a smile of her own. "You know, we have another hour or so until we have to get Kerrianne up for school."

"Is that right?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"It is," she told him, matter of factly. "Can you think of anything that could occupy our time for just over an hour?"

"I could think of quite a few ideas, actually," he told her, his mind racing and his body already reacting to the thoughts. "Want to hear about any of them?"

She leaned her head back and laughed. The sound of her laughter always had an effect on him, and he just couldn't get over how fucking lucky he was to be here with her again. She looked back at him, her eyes alight with happiness and more than a hint of playful. She shook her head.

"No," she told him with a coy smile. "I don't want to hear anything about your ideas." She pressed her lips against his for a long, indulgent kiss that excited the hell out of him, before she broke it off and leaned close to him and whispered the last bit in her ear. "Show me."

And so for the next hour, he did exactly that.