Roman was sitting on the sofa with Ella lying across his lap. They were wearing matching fluffy white towelling bathrobes. He'd been suspicious when she'd suggested he put on a bathrobe wondering who else she had suggested that too but watched as she pulled a new one out of her wardrobe, still in plastic covering. She'd laughed at the expression on his face and told him she'd picked it up free at one of the hotels she'd stayed at.
She'd then wandered into the kitchen and poured him out a glass of very good red wine while she had a tall glass of fruit juice and lemonade over ice. She looked at him and grinned explaining that she'd texted her assistant and asked him to fill up the fridge with basics. The wine she'd told him was a present from somebody at some point but as he knew she never drank it. He'd sipped at the wine and nodded, whoever had bought it had good taste.
Then they'd settled down on the sofa waiting for the pizzas to arrive. They'd argued over choice of movie but eventually settled on one that they both liked.
A knock sounded at the door and she went over to open it.
"Hey Ms Addison" The pizza guy called. "How you doing?"
Roman found himself standing up and walking up behind her.
"That's Mrs Harris Now!" she told the pizza guy, handing over the cash.
"Cool congratulations!" The guy said. "So… do I get to kiss the bride?" he grinned.
Roman peered round the door and glared at the delivery guy.
"No!" he said softly.
Ella laughed.
"See ya Pete!" she called to him. "Make sure you close the outside door won't you?" she asked.
"Sure thing Ms.. I mean Mrs Harris!" Pete said and clicking his headphones back in he walked back downstairs.
Ella waited for a moment and on hearing the downstairs door closing she closed the door and handed Roman the pizzas.
"The pizza guy knows how to get in?" Roman asked.
"Yes!" she said.
"The pizza guy who has a crush on you knows how to get in your place?" Roman asked.
"No the pizza guy knows how to get in through the bottom door." Ella said.
"How about the guy who delivers Chinese food?" Roman had placed the pizzas on the top and now stood folding his arms across his chest.
"No, he has to be buzzed in!" she told him grinning. "But if you are worried I'll introduce you to Pete's dad tomorrow."
"Ella!" he groaned.
"Sorry do you have me confused with …I dunno…an idiot?" She was still smiling. Followed by her saying. "But it was sweet how you were jealous and then overprotective."
He smiled slowly as he pulled her toward him and kissed her.
She walked over to a cupboard and pulled out napkins and picked up the wine bottle. Roman collected the pizzas and followed her over to the sofa. She topped up his glass before she sat down.
"Are you trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me?" he asked.
She laughed.
"Maybe I'm trying to get you drunk so I can get some sleep." She suggested an alternative.
He laughed loudly.
"Since when?" he asked her placing a kiss on her temple as he sat next to her.
She snuggled closer to him and tucked her feet up beside her. He checked which pizza was which and handed hers to her, before sliding his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him and sighed.
"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.
"Nothing, I'm just really happy!" she told him.
He put his pizza to one side and then placed her pizza box on top of it pulling her onto his lap he kissed her lips hard and long.
"I'm sorry!" she told him pulling away "but if it comes to a choice between you and pizza you won't win!"
"Pizza over a fantastic orgasm?" he asked.
"Fantastic?" she questioned.
"Amazing?" He tried again.
"Uh huh!" she said, shaking her head. "I need food!"
He lent forward and whispered in her ear.
"Well if you insist!" she told him with a grin.
He laughed.
"I will definitely do my best!" he told her.
She stood up and held out her hand.
"This had better be exactly what you promised." She told him.
He laughed.
"Well it won't be from lack of trying on my part!" he said to her following her to the bedroom.

"Well?" he asked.
"I'm not sure you might have to try again." She told him.
"Ha ha, you are so funny." He groaned. "I wish I'd thought to bring the pizza in with me!" He said
"You'd put pizza crumbs in my bed?" she grouched.
"Are you sulking because you didn't think of it first?" he asked.
"No. I may be a slob compared to you but I do have some standards." She said standing and pulling on her robe before walking into the lounge. She opened up her pizza box and picked up a slice to eat.
Roman walked over to the sofa and sat next to her. He picked up his wineglass and took a long drink before opening his pizza box and picking up a slice. He tried to take a bite but found his appetite had left him. He looked over at her.
"Do I nag you about cleaning too much?" he asked eventually.
She looked at him
"Yes." She answered immediately.
"I'm not a messy person. I'm used to being orderly." He said eventually.
"And I understand that. I don't have a problem with you being neat. It's what I drilled into Mike myself but it feels a bit much when you are forever criticising my food and my habits. If I mess something up I will clean it up." She said. She put the pizza to one side.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." She said. "I think I'll go to bed." She walked through to the bedroom and climbed into bed.
Roman sat and drank the wine, he refilled the glass and flicked through the tv channels before finding something mind-bendingly boring to watch. After he finished the wine he debated about staying where he was or going to bed. Comfort won and he decided to go to bed. He clicked the tv off and walked through to the bedroom.
She'd left the bedside lamp on for him he noted and smiled. He walked through and climbed naked into bed with her clicking the light off. She immediately snuggled up to him and he sighed feeling her naked body press into him.
"I'm sorry." He said into her hair.
"Me too." She replied.
He put his arms around her.
"You don't nag me I'm just feeling sensitive. It's been a challenge fitting in with you and Nic and making sure Mike is ok. It still feels like it is your place sometimes and I'm a visitor." She told him.
"I had no idea you felt that way." He admitted.
"Yes. Not all the time though, just the odd moment." She said.
"Maybe we should look for a new place for ourselves" he suggested.
"I'm not sure that would be the best thing at the moment with the baby coming we should make sure that Mike is settled first and we have Nicole making a big change. It will be a struggle buying a place for them." she told him.
"Uh huh, maybe I'll retire and let my rich wife keep me in the manner in which I can become accustomed. " he suggested.
"And maybe pigs will fly Mr macho I will pay all the bills and I won't touch a penny of your money!" she grinned.
"Ok so I'm a bit …" he began to say.
"Chauvinistic?" she asked interrupting him.
"Yes fine. I'm a macho Alpha male who likes to wear the trousers." He said.
"Great now we've established that could you go fetch my pizza?" she asked.
"You complete …" he groaned. "I so don't believe I fell for that."
She switched on her light and turned toward him laughing at the expression on his face.
"How serious are you though?" he asked.
"The first couple of weeks were a challenge I admit and yes sometimes I still think of it as your place but not enough to cause me any unhappiness." She explained.
"Uh huh. How about you don't keep any secrets from me?" he suggested and then groaned.
She laughed.
"I so can't believe you tricked me into saying that too!" he groaned.
"That one was just an accident." She grinned at him. "But aren't you supposed to be trained to resist all types of persuasion?" she asked.
He laughed out loud.
"Having naked women press themselves against us wasn't part of our training exercises!" he said. "We just did that for fun!"
She hit him in the ribs.
"Ow!" he cried.
"Excuse me. I do believe that you were jealous of the pizza delivery guy and then you talk about other women in our bed!" she muttered.
He laughed.
"I am jealous of any man you look at." He confessed his tone serious.
She snuggled up close to him and pressed her lips to his neck.
"I will always be yours." She told him huskily.
He kissed her and pressed her back into the pillows.
"Mine!" he groaned and moulded her body to his.
She pushed him away.
"No more. I need pizza." She told him.
"Uh huh." He said.
"What are you doing going for some kind of record?" she asked.
"God no!" he groaned. "I'm not 26 anymore!"
She looked at him and laughed.
"I thought you didn't like to remember those days?" she asked smiling.
"Hey that was pretty memorable!" he looked down at her. "Especially the last minute mission they put us on the following day. I was so worn out I suspect I was marching asleep half the day!"
She laughed.
"You were pretty incredible!" she admitted with a blush!
She climbed out of bed and pulled on her bathrobe before going and fetching the pizza. She returned minutes later and handed him part of his on a plate and another glass of wine. He moved the pillows so they could sit up in bed and she kissed him quick and went and fetched hers. She handed him a photo album.
"What's this?" he asked.
She climbed in to bed beside him and put her pizza and drink to one side while she took the album and opened it.
He found himself looking at a picture of himself as a younger man. He was smiling into the camera.
"El I don't…" he began.
She pulled his arm around her and snuggled up to him.
"I'm right here and its only photos. " she said softly. She turned the page and showed him the one she wanted him to look at.
He saw himself and Michael posing for the camera. They'd been drinking beer and had cheekily flipped peace signs when she'd clicked the button. He remembered that she'd laughed at them and ran off to her tent, returning moments later with a handful of things. She'd put a peace symbol patch on his uniform stuck there with two-sided tape and something similar on Michael's. Then she handed them each surfer beads. He remembered suddenly that he'd never given his back and idly thought about where they could be now. She snapped the photo and they'd told her they wanted one with her in it. She climbed up in between them after setting the camera on timer. She turned the page and he saw the result. It was the three of them sitting together. He caught a glint of a silver chain at her neck and instantly remembered what it was. Michael had known and laughed at him. He smiled at the memory. They had made her do it again and again telling her they wanted a shot each. The final one he'd been unable to resist kissing her just as the camera snapped. He knew exactly where that picture was.
"See that wasn't so bad was it?" she told him and closed the album.
"No that was ok." He told her reaching for the album.
She put her hand on top of his.
"No, in time don't force it." she cautioned.
She placed the album on the floor and held his hand.
"It'll be here when you are ready!" she explained.
"How did you get so wise?" he asked with a half smile on his lips.
"I can't be that wise I married you!" she replied with a quick grin.
"Ha ha!" he said and kissed her.
She smiled up at him and snuggled closer before reaching for her pizza.
He placed the plate on his lap before picking up a slice so that he could keep his arm around her.

Nicole woke slowly. She looked down and saw she was wearing her school uniform. She sat up noticing that the room was spinning ever so slightly. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and screeched loudly. She had ponytails, plural. Like Brittany Spears in Oops video and groaned again. She had a vague memory of singing.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.
"Not so loud Princess!" came a voice beside her.
She looked over and saw Geoff in bed.
"Thank God!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm glad you are seeing things from my point of view at last but do you think you could keep the noise down a little!" he said with a grimace.
"But I snogged…" she trailed off and blushed.
"Yes I know… Aden." He smiled. "And then you told him he wasn't as good a kisser as me and dragged me up to bed."
"What else happened?" she asked.
Geoff threw back the covers and revealed that he was also wearing a school uniform.
Nicole laughed hysterically.
"You and the girls gave us a makeover at around 2am." He told her. "You shaved…"
Nicole gasped.
"I shaved off one of Aden's eyebrows!" she groaned. "I am so never drinking again!" she hung her head down.
"Only part of it. That was when you decided to kiss it better…" Geoff told her.
"And snogged him."
"Yes, Nic, I was there you don't have to keep telling me!" he grinned at her blush.
"How could you let me get in this state?" she prodded him in the ribs.
She moved out of the bed and into the hallway almost tripping over Ruby who was asleep on the floor.
"What?" Ruby said sleepily, still sounding drunk.
"Why are you on the floor?" she asked her peering down at the other girl. "Never mind I need coffee and aspirin and more coffee." She groaned and stumbled downstairs.
She saw Aden asleep on one of the sofas holding Annie in his arms and did a double take.
"Annie!" she screeched.
The other girl opened her eyes and looked at her.
"We have clothes on and I wasn't the one who snogged him" she said quickly.
Aden stretched as he woke up.
"Yes I know I snogged him. I was drunk. Ok?" Nic blushed again and strode into the kitchen. She found a jar of instant coffee and made a very strong cup before reaching for the aspirin. She turned and saw the empty bottle of vodka. So this was all El's fault she grimaced. She turned and poured herself a tall glass of water drinking it down quickly.
"Yup that's what you did with the vodka last night!" Aden said from behind her.
She choked and nearly dropped the glass as she was struck by another flashback.
"It was you" she screeched. "You made me sing Britney Spears!"
He laughed and looked down.
"You made us wear school uniforms" he told her gesturing to the dress he was wearing over the top of his jeans. "And I had to ring Belle at midnight to let her know I wasn't going to be coming home."
She bent her head.
"That's when I told her I'd kidnapped you and was using you as my sex slave wasn't it?" she said quietly.
Aden chuckled.
"Yes Princess. " he confirmed.
Geoff walked up behind them and laughed at the expression on Nics face.
"We could so have fun with this!" Geoff told Aden.
"Don't you dare!" she warned.
Geoff pulled out his phone and showed Aden the video he took last night of Nic singing 'Oops I did it again'.
Nic stamped her foot and ignored the resulting throb in her head.
"Geoffrey Campbell you delete that or I swear I will not marry you." She warned.
He laughed and walked over and kissed her before reaching down and taking a long drink of the coffee. He caught Aden's expression and handed him the cup next.
"And how did you end up sleeping with my sister?" he asked the other man.
"Can't tell you." Aden said. "Doctor Patient confidentiality"
"Is that what they call your bedside manner?" Geoff asked.
"No that was just my sofa side manner." Aden punned.
Nic made more coffees handing Annie one and asking her to take it upstairs to Ruby.
"Seriously Aden" Nic began, hands on her hips.
"Seriously guys, Annie got upset last night and I was comforting her. Nothing sinister." Aden said. He grinned at Nic. "We didn't kiss or anything else." He confirmed. "And the rest really is confidential." He told them.
Geoff put his hand on the other mans shoulder.
"In that case thank you for looking out for her." He told him.
"No problem Bible Boy!" Aden said handing over the now empty cup for a refill.
Nicole made more coffees and searched out bread to make toast. She found the bread bin empty and groaned.
"How about we go down the diner?" Geoff suggested.
Annie joined them with Ruby tailing behind her looking very green.
"We're going down the diner to get some food in us." Nic told them.
Aden peeled off the dress and went over and picked up his T-shirt.
"See Ruby I told you I could get him to strip!" Annie said to her.
Ruby pulled out another banknote and handed it over.
"Annie since when did you start to gamble?" Geoff asked trying to sound shocked.
"Probably around the same time you started wearing girls clothes." She told him pointing out the dress he was wearing.
He laughed and looked down.
"I wondered why my knees were feeling a draft!" he said.
"Amongst other things bible boy?" Aden asked.
"That would be telling." Geoff grinned.
He began walking up the stairs to get changed and looked over at Nic.
"Are you planning to go like that?" he asked her.
"Hey I'm liking this image of you Nic, you look kinda innocent." Ruby said.
"Ha bloody ha!" Nic said and made for the stairs.
She walked into her bedroom after Geoff and watched as he peeled off the dress and revealed the underwear he was wearing underneath it.
"Oh my god!" she said. "I made you wear that?" she asked.
"Yes."
"I can see that married life is going to be fun." She walked over to him and kissed him slowly.
"Nic, it may be fun for you but seriously lace thongs just don't do it for me not to mention they are really uncomfortable!" Geoff complained.
"Not even if I'm wearing them?" she asked.
He grinned.
"I'm pretty convinced that I prefer you wearing nothing!" he said. "Of course I may need to experiment a little." He told her. "You know, see you wearing different things. Basques, suspenders and stockings," he began a list.
"Uh huh" she said.
"Nurses uniforms, see through nighties, leather cat suit." He continued.
"Geoffrey Campbell!" she exclaimed in shock.
He moulded her body to his and kissed her long and deep.
They got dressed and made their way downstairs slowly meeting the others. She grabbed a set of keys and handed Ruby the spare set and they set off to the diner.