A/N: Mia gets a bit of a surprise. Only one more chapter after this one.
Mia paced the floor in her office. She'd just left a meeting with Parliament which hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped. "Damn those stubborn men," she growled as she stomped a foot before continuing her pacing. She'd been in meetings with Parliament the last two weeks, and the only thing she'd accomplished was unnerving them enough to get them to lift the exile against her grandmother and Joe, with one condition; their child was not to be brought into the country. That had infuriated Mia, and was why she was now pacing the floor.
"Your Majesty."
"Yes, what is it Brigitte?" Mia asked the young maid, not stopping to even look at her.
"I think you should come to the front hall, Your Majesty. I believe there is someone you will want to see."
Mia stopped to look at her maid with a slight frown, one eyebrow raised inquisitively. Cocking her head to the side, she studied the young maid, trying to make up her mind if she wanted to question her further or just follow her out to the main hall. Sighing, she gave up and followed Brigitte, her mind still on her grandparents.
CnJ
Joe smiled when he saw Mia. He knew she had to be upset thinking that they wouldn't be coming back, but she didn't know about the trump card he held. "Your Majesty, I believe I have someone here that you have been missing," he spoke softly when Mia still seemed to be distracted.
Mia stopped in her tracks, she knew that voice. Looking up, she blinked back tears as all queenly demeanor left her and she ran into the open arms waiting for her. "Grandma," she whispered as her tears rolled down her cheeks. "Oh, Grandma."
Clarisse caressed the silken hair that fell down the young women's back. "Shh, Amelia. I'm home." She looked up at Joe and her daughter and smiled. "We're home, all of us."
Mia finally pulled back and looked at Joe and her aunt. Her aunt? How? "Uh, Grandpa? I don't understand. Didn't Shades explain to you what my boneheaded Parliament had decided?"
Joe chuckled at the very obvious slip of the young queen into her Americanisms as Clarisse liked to call them, he also concluded that the young queen's description of Parliament was quite apt. Most of Parliament's members were often times boneheads. "Your Majesty, I assure you, Shades made Parliament's condition very clear."
Mia saw the twinkle in Joe's eyes and knew that he had something up his sleeve. Looking at Clarisse, she raised an eyebrow. "Anyone care to explain?"
Clarisse kissed Mia's cheek. "Not right now, Darling." Her fingers covered the young woman's lips when she started to protest. "Shh." She smiled. "I promise we'll explain everything, but we have only just arrived home and are completely worn out, my darling."
Mia nodded. "I'm sorry, Grandma. I guess my excitement got the best of me," she apologized, but saw the look in her grandmother's eyes. The reason was something her grandparents wanted to discuss in private.
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten something?" Joe asked with a smile as he squeezed his daughter then let go just in time to wrap his arms around Mia. "Much better."
Mia pulled back and smiled up at Joe. "I'm so glad you're home, Grandpa."
"I know you are." Joe smiled, still trying to get used to hearing Mia call him Grandpa, and patted her cheek.
Mia looked at the young woman standing timidly by Clarisse, taking in the opulent surroundings of the palace. "Would you like a tour, Auntie?"
Clarisse cringed, Joe laughed, Mia giggled, and all three waited for the young woman's reaction. She smiled, a slight tremble to her lips, and a bit of moisture twinkling in her beautiful aqua eyes. "I would love a tour, Your Majesty.
Mia frowned. That would never do. One couldn't have their aunt calling them Your Majesty. "It's Mia, just Mia."
"Alright."
Joe shook his head. "Go on you two, and Mia, don't forget that she's not supposed to be here, so be careful where you take her."
"I'll be careful, Grandpa." Mia smiled as she grabbed her aunt's hand and quickly rushed her out of the room.
"Our granddaughter will wear her aunt out." Joe chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Clarisse. "You're home, Darling."
Clarisse turned her head to smile up at Joe. "I know that you enjoyed living in Spain." She placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for bringing us back here."
"I'll do anything for you, my Love. Wherever you are, I want to be. I'm home as long as I am by your side." Joe caressed her hair behind her ear. "Now, why don't we go get settled back in our former suite."
Clarisse shook her head. "No. I think maybe we should settle into yours until we get this mess fixed."
Joe nodded. "Alright, but where will Pequeña stay?"
"I'm sure Mia will take care of that. She seems to be taken with our daughter."
"Do you blame her?" He smiled down at Clarisse. "Our daughter takes after her mother. A beauty that everyone falls in love with the first time they see her."
"Oh Joe." Clarisse smiled and shook her head before resting it against his shoulder as they made their way along the familiar corridors to Joe's old suite.
Joe pulled Clarisse a bit closer as he heard her trying to stifle a yawn. She was exhausted, he knew, and he intended to make sure that she was well rested before they played their trump card with Parliament. He was sure they were both going to need all the strength they had to get through the next few hours, and most likely days.