Chapter 25
Kahlan awoke to find a smile still on her husband's face and she giggled to herself as she climbed out of bed and made her way to the restroom. When she got back to the bed, Hotch was just waking up. She sat beside him and leaned down to give him a kiss. "Morning, Hun."
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Morning, Babe," he told her as he looked at his watch. It was already after ten.
She turned to the nightstand and then back to him. She held a little box in her hand. "Happy Anniversary," she told him and gave it to him.
He scooted up into a sitting position and took the box with a grin. He leaned over to give her another kiss. "Happy Anniversary," he told her and then opened the box. "Oh wow," he started as he looked at what was in it. It was a metal keychain, and the bottom of it was a beautiful, blue sapphire imbedded in a medieval looking holder.
"It's almost as nice as the stones in the necklace that you gave me," she told him.
He balked. "It's as big as all of them combined."
She laughed. "Not it's not, but now you can carry that around and think of my eyes whenever you look at it."
He rubbed a thumb over it as he looked at it. "This is really nice. Thanks, Babe," he told her and then leaned over to give her another kiss.
She smiled as she pulled away. "Get up and get dressed. I'll order breakfast."
He sat the keychain down on the night stand as she stood up and then he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Damn, Babe," he started as he looked at himself. There were clear ligature marks on his wrists and ankles.
"What?" she asked innocently. "That's not my fault. I didn't tie them that tight. That's from you pulling on them so much."
"But that's your fault," he told her with a grin and stood up. She laughed lightly and he moaned as he took a step.
"What?" she asked at the obvious pain on his face.
He took a deep breath. "Damn," he told her as he shook his head.
"What's wrong?" she asked him with concern.
He took another step. "I kind of hurt if you know what I mean."
"Aww. You're sore?"
"You think?"
"Here," she started and moved towards him. "Let me massage you."
"No!" he exclaimed as he protected himself with his hands and turned away from her. "Don't you touch them."
She giggled. "It will make you feel better," she tried.
"No! You'll be lucky if you're allowed to touch them before we have to go back home!"
She smiled. "I promise to be nice."
He took a step away from her. "No. You're definition of nice is far different from mine."
She giggled as she watched him make his way to the bathroom.
He emerged with his pajamas on and made his way to the bed. "It hurts to walk."
She gave him a sympathetic look. "They'll feel better as the day goes by."
"I think I'll stay in the room all day. I don't even want to consider the looks everyone will give me."
She laughed. "Why do you think I agreed to go horseback riding?" He looked at her questioningly. "If anyone asks, you can say you're saddle sore."
"Thanks, Babe. I love you, too."
She giggled and patted him on the thigh.
"You knew I was going to hurt today?" he asked as it finally dawned on him.
She looked at him innocently. "I wasn't sure."
He huffed. "Just wait until I get you tied up," he told her slyly.
"What?!" she asked as she stood up. "That wasn't part of the fantasy."
"It's only fair that I get a chance to reciprocate."
"No. You said if I went to the tower then I got to play out my fantasy, and we did that. We are even."
Hotch shook his head. "I don't think so."
She gave him a cocky look. "You're not fast enough to tie me up if I don't want you to."
He raised his brows. Really? You're going to make this a challenge? "We'll see."
"No, we won't," she told him flatly and then went to answer the knock at the door.
You just wait, Babe. You'll be begging me just as hard as I was begging you!
XXX
Hotch decided to let Kahlan think he had dropped the idea of tying her up, and they enjoyed breakfast together and then joined the kids. They all decided to go sightseeing around the countryside.
Hotch readily agreed, deciding that sitting down in the car was much more preferable to anything else the kids had come up with.
They were driving through the windy mountain roads when Hotch saw something out of his window. "Stop the car!"
"What?" Kahlan asked as she took her foot off the gas.
"Stop the car!"
She applied the brakes and pulled over. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," is all he offered, smiled, and got out.
"What's Daddy doing?" Joey asked as they all watched him through the windows.
"I have no idea," Kahlan admitted.
"Do you want us to come?" Jack yelled to him out the window.
Hotch shook his head and disappeared around a gully.
Wyatt looked at Jack. "Maybe he had to. . . you know."
Jack laughed. "I can't imagine Dad ever doing that!" Jack insisted.
"What?" Joey asked.
"Nothing," Kahlan quickly told her and then shot the boys a look.
Wyatt giggled.
After about five minutes, Hotch finally came back into view. One of his hands was on inside of his coat as he made his way back to the SUV. He opened the door and got in. When he noticed all of them staring at him he smiled. "What?"
"What were you doing?" Kahlan asked him.
"I had to do something," he told her.
"Told you!" Wyatt exclaimed and then laughed.
Hotch looked at him questioningly for a second and then looked back to Kahlan. "I had to get you these," he told her with a smile and brought his hand out of his jacket. Clutched in his hand was a bundle of blue wildflowers.
"Aww. They're beautiful," Kahlan said softly as she took them. "Thank you," she told him and leaned over to give him a kiss.
"It's not a real anniversary without me giving you flowers," Hotch told her.
"I told you," Jack whispered to Wyatt.
Kahlan blushed. "I love you."
"I love you, more."
"No you don't," Kahlan argued.
"Yes, I do!"
"No!"
"Yes," he insisted.
"No," she demanded as she pulled back onto the road.
The kids looked at each other and shook their heads as their parents continued to argue.
XXX
After a few hours in the car, they went back to the castle for dinner. After dinner they played board games with the kids in the kids' common room until Joey was falling asleep in her chair.
Hotch smiled as he carried her to her bed. He laid her down gently, put the covers over her, and leaned down to kiss her on the head. "Love you, Angel," he told her softly.
She snuggled up with her stuffed raven. "Love you too, Daddy," she told him without opening her eyes.
He smiled and pulled on her bed a little to set it swinging.
They bid the boys goodnight and made their way to their room.
By the time Kahlan had emerged from the bathroom, Hotch was already in bed. He lifted the covers and she climbed in and snuggled up to him. "Ready for round two?"
His whole body tensed. "No," he told her quickly.
She giggled. "I was just kidding, Hun."
He reached over and shut off the light. "Sure you were, Babe, sure you were."
XXX
After breakfast, Joey talked her mom into teaching her how to shoot a bow and arrow, so they took the kids down to the archery range. Kahlan showed all of the kids how to do it, and Jack surprised them all by being really good at it.
Kahlan smiled as she watched him. He's just like his father!
Hotch was watching from the sidelines and laughed when Wyatt pulled back on his string and the bow broke in two. "Jeeze, Wyatt, stop trying to show off how strong you are," Hotch teased as Wyatt turned red in embarrassment.
Coll laughed. "It's alright, lad. I'll get you a bigger one."
Kahlan pulled Hotch up from the bench he was sitting on. "Come on. I want to see you do it," she told him with a grin.
"I've never done it," Hotch told her as he tried to pull away from her.
"So, you learn," she told him simply as she handed him a bow and an arrow. She quirked her mouth as she looked at him, though.
"What?" he asked.
"What hand would you shoot with?"
He chuckled. "I don't know. I guess I'll try it the same way I shoot a gun."
She huffed. "You mean ass backwards?" she asked him quietly and then giggled.
He gave her a look. "If you're done making fun of me, show me how to aim."
She giggled some more and then moved up beside him. "You sight down the arrow the same way you sight down a barrel. With as close as we are you don't have to worry about elevation or wind or anything," she told him as she moved him through the motions and then stepped away.
He pulled the string back and lined up the shot.
"Wait," she told him and he eased up on the string. "You need a brace on."
He shook his head. "No I don't," he told her and pulled back on the string. He lined up the shot and let the string go. "Son of a. . ." he started to yell and then stopped himself as the kids looked at him quickly. He held the inside of his left arm as his face contorted in pain.
Kahlan shook her head at him. "I told you."
"That's what those are for?"
She laughed. "Yes."
He looked at the kids. "They aren't wearing any."
"Their bows aren't quite as powerful as the one you just used."
He bit his lip and then looked at the target. There wasn't an arrow anywhere on it. "I missed it completely?"
She laughed again. "Yeah, there's probably a dead unsub the next hill over."
He balked and his head snapped to look past the target.
She laughed harder. "There's a hill to stop any errant shots, Hun," she told him as she went to the shed and got him a brace. She put it on his arm for him and patted him on the chest. "Try it now."
He huffed and went to the target. He lined up the shot, pulled back the string, lined up the shot again, and let loose. The arrow struck the target about three inches from the bullseye.
"That's awesome, Dad!" Jack yelled as he smiled.
Hotch shrugged. "Maybe that was beginner's luck."
"Then try it again to see?" Kahlan told him as she handed him another arrow.
He took it and shot again. That time the arrow was just a little bit closer to the center.
"Nice, Hun. You're a natural at this just like with a gun."
He smiled. "I guess aiming is aiming." He held out the bow to her. "You do it."
She laughed. "Nah, I'm good."
"Awww, come on, Mommy!" Joey pleaded.
"Yeah, Mom, show Dad how good you are," Wyatt told her with a smile.
Hotch looked at him. "You've seen her do it?"
Wyatt nodded. "And she's really good."
"I don't doubt it," Hotch told him and held the bow out to her again.
"I haven't done it since Wyatt was about five," she confessed.
"Come on, Mom," Jack tried.
She sighed and then took the bow and grabbed an arrow. She walked up to the shooting point and lined up a shot. The arrow struck in the outside circle.
"Awww," Wyatt whined.
Hotch grabbed another arrow and walked up to her. He handed her the arrow and leaned in close. "Now do it for real and stop trying to pacify the ego you know I don't have when it comes to you."
She ducked her head sheepishly and took the arrow. Her next shot hit dead center, and they all cheered.
Hotch looked at her. "I knew it. You should have gotten into a couple of those contests at the festival."
She shrugged.
"Can you do a shaft shot?" Coll asked her.
"Not with this type of arrow," she told him.
He smiled and went to the shed.
"You can do a shaft shot?" Jack asked with surprise.
"I used to be able to," she told him with a grin.
Coll brought back a handful of hunting arrows and handed them to Hotch. "These will do it."
Hotch nodded and handed one to Kahlan. "Are you sure you want me destroying your arrows?" she asked Coll.
"I've only seen one shaft shot in my whole life. I would love to see you do it," he told her honestly.
"It's been a long time," she offered.
"After that dead center shot, I don't think you'll have a problem," Coll told her with a grin.
She huffed and took the arrow Hotch had held out to her. She went to the spot, lined up the shot, and the broadhead tipped arrow shattered the target arrow as it took its place in the center of the bullseye. Everyone clapped and cheered.
Hotch quickly handed her another one. "Do it again."
She laughed and lined up another shot. The new arrow split the old arrow down the center, and everyone cheered again.
Coll shook his head as he grinned. "Da is good, but he has never been able to do that."
"Please don't tell him," Kahlan told him quickly.
He chuckled. "I won't give away your secret, but now it is obvious why the lads and lass are so good at everything they do with parents like you two."
Hotch grinned as he put his arm around Kahlan's shoulder. "Yep." He reached out for the bow. "Let me try again," Hotch told Kahlan as he grabbed a field arrow. Kahlan smiled and handed it to him. After about ten shots, he was hitting the bullseye consistently. "This is fun," he told Kahlan as he handed her the bow.
"What?" she asked as she took it.
"Can you hit the bullseye under distractions?"
"You mean like explosions, bullets flying, low light, from a moving position, or a moving target?" she asked slyly.
He snorted. "I'd take that as a yes."
She shrugged. "It comes in handy when one wants to be silent," she told him quietly.
He shook his head as he imagined her using a bow for all kinds of things. "Show me," he told her and handed her an arrow.
She took it as she looked at him questioningly. "They aren't many distractions out here, Hun."
He motioned for her to step up to the target.
She did and pulled back on the string.
He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She half choked and the arrow went flying up into the trees. He shook his head. "I thought you said you could do it with distractions."
She swallowed hard. "That wasn't a distraction. That was mean!"
He laughed. "Try again."
She accepted the challenge and another arrow. As she pulled back on the string, Hotch leaned in again. As he whispered into her ear, he noticed her arms quivering under the strain of holding the string, but he didn't stop. She finally let the string go, and the arrow hit the target but way outside the farthest circle.
He laughed again.
"Fine! You do it," she told him and handed him the bow.
He took it and grabbed another arrow. He lined himself up and pulled the string back as she leaned in to whisper into his ear. After a few seconds, he released the string and the arrow hit dead center. He gave her a cocky grin.
"That's not fair. You've had sniper training."
"But you've been a sniper," he told her quietly.
"I never went through training," she defended herself. He was shocked at that and she shrugged. "Do it again," she told him as picked up two arrows and handed him one.
He took the arrow and lined the shot up. Kahlan made sure no one was watching and leaned in to his ear as she let the end of the arrow in her hand rub his manhood.
Hotch released the arrow and it went flying into the trees. He turned to her quickly. "That wasn't fair!"
"It was a distraction," she told him simply.
He shook his head at her and she giggled.
By the time they packed it in, Hotch had even accomplished one shaft shot, and the kids had improved, too.
XXX
After lunch, they all went and played in the moat; Dave and Cindi even joined them and there was a lot of roughhousing, games, and a general good time had by all.
After dinner, it wasn't long before they all decided to call it a night because of being wore out from the day's activities.
*Kahlan's anniversary gift is up on the site. Oh yeah, on the 'Character Photos' page – Emily and her family have been added, too.