3/4! Kind of a filler, but with some little things in that will hopefully make some people smile! xxx

I'd like to be able to tell you that the rest of my time in Braemar was as quiet and relaxing as one would hope that a Christmas break would be.

But I'd be lying.

Humungous, Fraser sized lies.

I had come to the conclusion that my life was destined to be an ongoing series of odd events that would be unrelenting until the day that I died.

It all started on Christmas Day when Edan opened the second bottle of single malt scotch and the entire MacTavish family descended into madness.

Edan, who was around ten thousand sheets to the wind and possibly the drunkest man in the Scotland, if not the World, had decided that he needed to use the small pot of their savings to take his wife on a romantic trip to Paris for New Year's Eve and had somehow managed to drunkenly book both flights AND a hotel on the internet.

I can't even remember my own name when I'm that drunk so, y'know, kudos to the guy.

Soap, who was also completely hammered, decided that his Christmas gift to his parent's would be to pay half of all costs including spending money.

So, Edan and Blair, who had never been on a plane in her entire life yet, miraculously, had a valid passport, were set to spend five nights in a five star hotel on the Champs Elysees, leaving on the 28th December and returning on the 2nd.

There had been tears when Blair had realised that this would mean leaving Soap earlier than planned. Edan had also cried but I don't think he really knew why. We've all been there. It was that stage of drunkenness where absolutely nothing made sense.

One thing that I had learnt on this trip was that the MacTavish family were very emotional.

Soap and his shouting. Edan and Blair and their crying... I felt like I was letting the side down by being completely normal and rational.

I know! Me, normal! Would you have thought?

There had been a lovely half an hour when Steve had skyped me and had been introduced to the entire clan. Blair had developed a crush on him within about three seconds which I completely understood because the man was gorgeous and even Edan seemed to be charmed by him. It was only after we had ended the chat that I had realised this was Steve's first look at Soap. He didn't disappoint apparently. He text me half an hour later.

Sorry this has taken so long, I have only just recovered from witnessing the pure spectacle that is your gorgeous Scot. Is he real? Does he have a gay brother? Can you send me some of his eyelashes in the post? I need to start building my shrine ASAP before THE GODS REALISE THAT HE IS MISSING AND CLAIM HIM BACK.

Christmas Day had ended with Edan singing/mumbling his way through Joe Le Taxi and Blair panicking as she had no "French" clothes before making arrangements for the four of us to travel to Aberdeen the next day so that I could help her pick out a brand new wardrobe courtesy of Soap and his generous wallet.

I had gone to bed after she had begged to try on my leather trousers and had woken up at 4am when Soap had crawled into my makeshift bed on the sofa where he had proceeded to spoon me because I "looked cold."

Which, I'll admit, was pretty nice.

I hadn't slept with somebody other than Steve or Charlotte next to me for a long time. Except for the time when Wallcroft and I had been forced to share a tent during an unexpected expedition to Russia and he had asked me to spoon him because he was cold which, strangely, isn't the oddest thing that he's ever done.

Speaking of Wallcroft, he had sent me at least twenty pictures of himself wearing his Batman pyjamas so it was safe to say that he enjoyed them.

On a normal day, I spent most of my spare time staring at Soap's arms, but the sheer size and solidity of them caught me off guard when I had found them wrapped around my torso. I had never felt so… safe? I think that was the best word to describe it. And warm. There's a lot to be said for a really great spoon. Steve was pretty great at them, Charlotte wasn't. But Soap? He was the Master and Commander. Our bodies fit together perfectly and after a few moments of lying there and listening to his steady breathing, I had fallen into the most comfortable sleep of my life.

When I had woken up three hours later, I had been alone. Soap had woken up at 6 and gone back to bed, only to be woken up an hour later by Edan and Blair who not only remembered their impending trip to Paris, but were really excited to be going away for the first time in their married life.

The shopping trip went ahead despite the fact that Edan was probably still drunk and both Soap and I had dire hangovers.

Aberdeen was kind of adorable and it wasn't so bad having Blair drag me around the shops. It felt... normal? Like this was the kind of thing that you were supposed to do over Christmas. She was as excitable as one would expect and I couldn't help but find her mood completely infectious and despite the hangover, Soap kept to his word and was happy to pay for his mum's new clothes and a suitcase to take to Paris.

It was kind of cute to watch them together. It was clear that his parents were his entire world and the fact that they were so happy was rubbing off on him. It was the happiest that I had ever seen him, and when we sat down at the end of the day for a meal together in one of Aberdeen's bustling restaurants, he spent the entire evening laughing and joking and looked as though he didn't have a single care in the world.

During the meal his parents had given me a charm bracelet that they had picked up during the day. It was wonderfully, beautifully simple. A single silver band with a clasp closing and one tiny charm set in the middle.

A house.

A teeny, tiny little house that was an uncanny replica of their own

They had both smiled at me knowingly but neither said anymore and I had hugged them both as if they had given me the rarest diamond in the world.

I, along with Edan and Blair had fallen asleep on the way home – me curled up in the passenger seat facing Soap in the driver's seat and both of them in the back, her leaning against him, arms wrapped around each other. I had woken up when we were around 30 minutes away from Braemar, when Soap had placed his hand on one of my legs. It was the smallest movement, but I understood its meaning. I had shifted myself and we had spent the rest of the drive back with me leaning against his shoulder, my hands wrapped around his arm and his hand fixed on the top of my thigh.

It was kind of perfect.

The 27th had passed without much drama. I had finally managed to catch up with Charlotte who had been called into an emergency assignment on Christmas Day. She had spoken with Steve already and he had been singing Soap's praises. Apparently the idea of being McDickpig wasn't so bad anymore and Steve was 80% sure that he could turn Soap gay.

My friends, ladies and gentlemen.

The rest of the day was spent watching Edan and Blair run around in a blind panic as they packed for their Paris trip followed by the four of us taking the same hike that Edan and I had done on my first morning in Braemar. We had remained at the summit until the sun had set, the four of us sitting in a peaceful silence and enjoying the beautiful spectacle before us. There had been a brief moment when I had turned to Soap to find him watching me and my insides had gone to jelly.

Did he have to be so brooding all of the time?

We had silently eyed each other and I had been hit with the thought that this was the most calm I had felt since my parents had died.

And it was all down to him.

It was a crushing realisation when I remembered that there were only 4 days left before we had to return to Credenhill and this peaceful existence would be ripped apart by the SAS life.

We had enjoyed one final meal together, and Edan and Blair had both cried (again) as they came to terms with the idea that they were both leaving their son and didn't know when they would see him again. It was a sobering sight, and I found myself imagining the same conversation with my parents. I had excused myself early to give the three of them time together and had fallen asleep within a matter of seconds, my body suddenly overwhelmingly tired.

I had stirred slightly when Soap had joined me for the third consecutive night of spooning on the sofa, and with his arms around me, I had fallen into a wonderful, deep sleep where I had dreamt of my parents and Paris.

"Lo."

I swatted at the hand on my shoulder. "I will fight you." I grumbled.

"I don't doubt that." Soap chuckled softly. "My mam and dad are off. They just wanted to say goodbye."

I jolted awake as if somebody had electrocuted me. Edan and Blair were stood watching me. I jumped up from beneath the duvet and sent a silent prayer to God that I didn't look as groggy as I felt.

Edan reached for me first. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

I relaxed into his embrace. "I'll try. It's hard when I spend most of my time looking after your son."

"Ah, he looks daft but he can handle himself,"

"Thanks, I think…" Soap called.

"And you'll be back soon, won't you?" Edan asked.

I wanted to say yes more than anything else in the world but the answer wasn't that simple. Would I be back? I could hope but the reality was that I really didn't know.

"I hope so." I said, honestly.

He unravelled himself from me and followed Soap out of the door, his suitcase in his hand.

Blair stared at me with watery eyes and I reached out for her. "Have an amazing time!" I said.

She dissolved into tears. Soap appeared at the door. He laughed and shook his head.

"Come on mam. She can't come back if you drown her with your tears."

"I know, I know." She sniffed up and I released her from my grasp. "Please stay safe." She pled. "Don't go looking for trouble."

"Ah, but it's so much fun!" I laughed. "And besides, if I don't go looking for it first, it always finds me anyway."

"True." Soap commented.

She didn't say anything else and with one final look, she was out of the door.

Soap stared at me with a smirk. "I think they like you."

I shrugged and climbed back underneath the duvet on the couch. "I can't help it that I have a sparkling personality and an ass that don't quit."

"I regret ever saying that to you." He laughed.

"You should." I grinned, closing my eyes and flipping around so that I was no longer facing him.

"Why don't you go up and sleep in my bed?"

"I'm not even going back to sleep." I yawned. "I'm just resting my eyes for like, five minutes and then I'm going out for a run so that I can work off all of this excess Christmas weight."

"Oh, yeah, all that weight you've put on. I was beginning to confuse you for Fraser." He said. "Honestly Lo… it's really warm up there."

"Now you're just showing off." I paused. "And don't think I'll forget that jibe about Fraser."

He sighed deeply and I heard the click of the front door.

I really wasn't that tired. I just needed to shut my eyes for a few minutes.

Yeah, a few minutes and I'd be golden.

The door opened and I barely had any time to react before I found that Soap had scooped me up into his arms and was carrying me bridal style up the stairs and to his bedroom.

"You've been on a sofa for five nights." He said, dumping me in his bed.

Oh GOD, it was like lying on a cloud.

A big, soft, squidgy cloud.

"Get in." He ordered, holding one edge of the duvet aloft so that I had space to crawl in.

"So bossy." I grumbled, following his request.

"It's a side effect of being around you too much." He laughed, leaning over and tucking all the edges of the duvet underneath me so that I was cocooned.

My eyelids drooped heavily.

Being this warm and comfortable was a dangerous combination.

"The fire has about an hour left in it before it will start to go out but the room should keep the warmth for a couple of hours."

"Soap." I sighed. "I've already told you, I'm going to close my eyes for 5 minutes and then I'll be getting up."

"I think the words you're looking for are thank you."

I remained silent.

Not because I was being rude.

Because I was just too comfortable to talk.

"I'll be about five hours." He said. "I'm going to go into the airport with them and see them off and then I have some errands to run while I'm there."

"Mmmhmmm." I attempted to nod but I genuinely couldn't move my head.

"Great chat." He said, sarcastically.

"The best." I agreed, drowsily. "Definitely top in the top 5 of all chats that I've ever had."

"See you later." He said.

The bed shifted as he pushed himself up.

"Drive safe." I mumbled.

He laughed and muttered something sarcastic in response, but I was already diving down the dark tunnel towards sleep.

"Lo."

"What are you still doing here?" I asked.

There was a laugh.

"Your parents will be so upset if you're late." I opened my eyes. He was staring down at me. "I'll be fine. You need to go!"

"Lo, it's 2.30 in the afternoon. You've been asleep for nearly 7 hours."

I closed my eyes and buried my face in the duvet. "Stop being so mean." I wailed. "I'm tired, not stupid."

The bed moved as he leant across me.

"Look at your phone."

I opened one eye and stared at the display.

Well fuck me backwards and called me Dave.

It really was 2.30.

I groaned. "I can't remember the last time I slept in for this long!"

"What happened to that run?"

I glared at him.

God, he looked so smug.

Right on cue, my belly rumbled. "I don't think I've ever missed breakfast in my life." I looked at him in panic. "How can I start my day right if I haven't eaten breakfast?!"

He pulled me up. "Get up, go the bathroom, jump in the shower and I'll sort your breakfast out."

I side eyed him. "Again with the bathroom fetish."

"What can I say? It's the tiles. They just speak to me." He shrugged. "I've brought your case upstairs so that you don't have to roam around naked in order to find some clothes."

I headed towards the bathroom. "What are you making for breakfast? It's got to be good."

"You're very demanding."

I looked at him blankly. "Has it really taken you this long to work that out?"

"Shower!" He ordered, pushing me into the bathroom and closing the door.

"TOASTER!" I yelled.

God, I was funny.

Clearly, I was wasted in the SAS.

I was showered and downstairs in record time, wearing possibly the only clean clothes that I had left with me – a pair of black silk pyjama shorts and a fitted long sleeve white top.

I… I don't even know.

I'm 90% sure that the shorts were Charlotte's and were part of some risqué set that she would wear for her "adult sleepovers". I'm not even sure that they deserved the title of shorts if I'm being completely honest and I really don't know what I had been thinking when I had packed them.

It was probably for the same reason that I had been to have my legs waxed the day before we had arrived in Braemar.

What?

It was for hygiene reasons.

Obviously.

Ditto for the bikini line. Or, y'know, general bikini area. I had been having Brazilian waxes since I was 17. That didn't stop just because I was in the SAS.

I was going to hell.

At least I'd have a nice vagina when I was there.

Oh GOD.

I stepped into the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of Soap by the stove and the most gorgeous bunch of flowers I'd ever seen, sat on the kitchen table.

"What the-"

Soap turned around to face me. "Oh man! I didn't hear you coming downstairs!" He straightened up and gave me a suspicious glance. "Are you a ninja?"

"Only on the weekends…" I mumbled, stepping forward and touching the huge bouquet.

Peonies.

Soft and the most gorgeous shade of pale pink that I had ever seen.

"These are-"

"-your favourite flowers." Soap finished the sentence for me and I looked up at him.

Had I told him?

I racked my brain for the memory and it came to me.

"When we were flying home from Azerbaijan." I murmured. "How did you remember?" I paused. "More to the point, how did you manage to find these? Peonies aren't in season until the spring…"

He gave a nervous laugh. "It took me a while."

"Thank you." I struggled. "This is really…"

I didn't know how to describe it.

It was amazing.

It was hands down the single sweetest gesture that anybody had ever done for me.

"That's not it!" Soap looked excited and I couldn't help but laugh at the enthusiasm in his voice. "I've got you a couple of surprises."

I pulled a face. "Soap-"

"-You deserve it." He said. "It's the least I can after what you did for my parents. So I don't want to hear any complaints! Okay?"

"No complaints."

"First up – breakfast."

He span around and picked up a plate.

Pancakes.

With bacon and maple syrup.

Oh God.

I was in heaven.

"I wasn't really sure how to make them." He confessed. "So I found this place in Aberdeen and they sold me the batter and gave me cooking instructions."

My heart began to melt.

"Sit! Eat!"

He didn't have to tell me twice.

I dove into the plate with the gusto of a woman who had never eaten in her life.

They were good – delicious in fact but the idea that he had made them for me, made them that much better.

"Okay, so, next surprise." He sat down in front of me. "I asked you what you would do with your last day on Earth."

I remembered. It had been the most randomly timed question I had ever been asked but it was starting to make sense now.

"So I can't really do much on the whole Charlotte and Steve front." He laughed. "I did try!"

I pulled a face. "You did?"

"Of course! I had a really, erm, intense conversation with Steve this morning."

He had spoken to Steve?

I'm not sure what was worse, the idea that he had spoken to Steve or the idea that Steve had spoken to him.

God these pancakes were good. Was it appropriate to rub my face in them?

Probably not.

"Yeah, he didn't seem too interested in me organising something for you." I raised an eyebrow. "He was really adamant that I told him my star sign."

I laughed.

"He was very disappointed when I told him that I was Scorpio."

"I'm not surprised. He's all about the Capricorns."

"What are you?" He asked me.

"Taurus." I gave him a smirk. "Stubborn, loyal, independent."

"You've definitely got the stubborn thing down."

I resisted the urge to kick him underneath the table.

Have I mentioned these pancakes? They're pretty great.

"So, best friend's aside, I've got you something which kind of sets up the rest of the day."

He produced a box from the chair beside him. It was roughly the same size as a shoebox, and was covered in Christmas wrapping paper.

My eyes went wide.

"A present?" I laughed. "But you've already bought me the flowers! AND you've made me pancakes! You've already won this day!"

"Just open it Lo."

I pushed the empty plate aside and he moved the box in front of me.

"Is it a puppy?"

"Yes. I put a puppy inside a box with no air holes and now I'm giving it to you." He laughed. "Because nothing says, 'Merry Christmas' quite like a dead animal."

I smiled at him.

"Oh, God! Just open it already!"

I followed his order and dove into the paper quickly.

It was a plain brown box.

"Open the lid…" He coaxed.

I did as I was told and flung the box open.

And I immediately started laughing.

Real genuine, belly laughs.

"Steve seemed to think that you would enjoy this."

I picked the DVD up and stared at it.

"You think you're so funny."

"I don't think. I know." He grinned at me. "So, get yourself back upstairs and into that bed. You and I have a date with my TV."

It was the second two things that I had mentioned in my perfect day scenario.

Bed and films.

"Do I have to pick you up and carry you up there myself?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.

I was perfectly capable of walking upstairs by myself but, I really, really enjoyed it when he carried me places.

"If you're going to subject me to Kathering Heigl films all day long then I think it's the least that you can do."

He grinned and hoisted me up on his shoulder.

"Fucking Katherine Heigl." He laughed.

"Fucking Katherine Heigl indeed."