A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, please keep them coming.
Sig stood in the freezing wind waiting for Natalie to figure out which remote opened her garage door. She had been trying for almost five minutes and hadn't managed to open a single door. He'd suggested she just go through the house and open the garage, but Natalie had grumpily informed him that the garage was not attached to the house. Finally the garage door she was attempting to open started to raise, revealing a small car.
"Wow, that's tiny" said Sig.
"Don't worry it will get you there" said Natalie.
They moved into the garage and Natalie opened the trunk. Sig managed to squeeze his duffle bag into the trunk and stood outside contemplating how to fold himself into the passenger seat.
"This car looks familiar" said Sig.
"I'm sure it does, maybe if I was blasting rockets out of the front of the car or creating an oil slick for interfering tailgaters" said Natalie.
"James Bond, this car is his from his movie" said Sig.
"James Bond has had 20 movies, this is just a car from one" said Natalie smugly.
"You British know everything" said Sig.
"Yes, well, we're all given a James Bond class at university" said Natalie. "Just get in the car."
Sig slid in and Natalie started up the engine, revving it a few times before slamming the car into gear and tearing out of the driveway like it was a piece of the autobahn. Sig's hands went to the closest object and held on for dear life. He gave Natalie directions to his house and when she finally arrived he was incredibly relieved to pry his hands off the dashboard.
"I'm surprised you're not kissing the ground" said Natalie. "That's what Edgar did the first time he drove with me."
"You are a terrible driver" said Sig.
"Well to be fair I did learn to drive on the other side of the road, sometimes I get confused on which side I should pass on" said Natalie innocently.
"How long have you lived here?" asked Sig.
"Long enough to know better" said Natalie with a wink.
Sig took a few deep breaths hoping the nausea would settle before he walked into his house. He had no idea what the inside was going to look like. It had been months since he'd been home and he had no recollection of doing the dishes or taking out the trash before his last trip. He had kind of hoped Natalie would just drop him off but she was out of the car and seemed to be determined to see the inside of his house. She looked expectantly at him and Sig took a steadying breath and put the key in the lock. He gritted his teeth as he opened the door expecting the smell of rotting food to come wafting out. Instead the smell of lemon greeted him. He walked into the small entry way and paused. His house was spotless. He walked through to the kitchen, it was also spotless.
Natalie lingered behind him casually inspecting his decor. Sig dropped his keys on the dining room table and paused. There was a vase of fresh flowers and a note sitting in the middle of the bouquet. Sig was fairly sure there had never been fresh flowers or really flowers of any sort in his house before. Picking up the note he immediately recognized Antha's neat script.
Sig,
Honestly, this house was an absolute wreck, do you not know how to do dishes except on a boat? But since I'm almost positive Natalie is with you I thought you'd like to impress her a little so I cleaned up. You owe me, BIG TIME! I expect payment in babysitting or diamonds, your choice.
Love,
Your Favorite Sister in Law.
Sig chuckled at the note before replacing it in the envelope and casually throwing it in the trash. No need to break the illusion that he was a tidy housekeeper. Natalie breezed through to the backyard and paused on the small deck. Sig joined her wrapping his arms around her from behind.
"You have a beautiful view" she said quietly.
"It is pretty" said Sig.
The pair could see the harbor and the Ballard Locks in the distance. Natalie imagined Sig coming out every morning and checking up on the Northwestern.
"Where's your boat?" she asked.
"Dutch Harbor" replied Sig. "We don't bring it back in between Red Crab and Opies."
"Aren't you worried about something happening to it while it's up there?" asked Natalie. "Who watches it? Do you have a boat sitter?"
"A boat sitter?" asked Sig incredulously.
"Yeah, someone who watches your boat while you are down here" said Natalie.
"No" said Sig. "The company we work for keeps an eye on it. It's perfectly safe up there, no one takes a fishing boat out for a joy ride."
Natalie looked unconvinced but let the subject drop. After a few minutes she shivered violently and turned to go inside.
"Lets light a fire" suggested Sig.
"I love fires" said Natalie.
Sig gave her a sideways look and raised his eyebrow in question.
"Not in a psychotic arsonist way, I like the way they sound and smell and feel" said Natalie. "Ok, that probably sounded a little psycho."
"It's fine" said Sig. "I'll just need to remember to lock up the matches and lighters."
"Speaking of lighters, when's the last time you had a cigarette?" asked Natalie.
"I had one..." began Sig.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd had one, probably at the campsite in Costa Rica.
"Weird" muttered Sig. "It's been a long time, days."
Natalie was going to say something but decided not to, it wasn't any of her business. Sig stared out the window for a long time lost in thought. Natalie took the moment to explore his kitchen cabinets for something to cook. The cabinets were pretty bare but the fridge was stocked with a few easy cook meals. She could tell they weren't Sig's recipes since the cooking instructions were written on sticky notes.
After a delicious meal of Chicken Kiev with mashed potatoes and salad, Sig and Natalie laid in front of a roaring fire in nothing but their birthday suits. A bottle of wine and two glasses sat on the floor next to them. Sig watched Natalie lay on her stomach staring into the crackling fire. Her body was backlit by the fire which seemed to make her curves ever more defined. He ran a hand over her back to the smooth curve of her ass. Natalie turned to look at him over her shoulder and smiled.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
"Like what?" asked Sig.
"I don't know how to explain it" said Natalie trying to pull the words she needed. "Kind of like you're hungry or something."
"Oh I'm hungry alright" said Sig inching towards her. "For you."
"My what big eyes you have" she said with a wink.
"That's not the only thing that's big" said Sig.
Natalie moved away slightly but Sig reached out and caught her ankle, pulling her back towards him.
"No escape this time" he said with a husky growl.
"Why would I want to escape?" asked Natalie.
Sig smiled before he dipped his head to capture Natalie's lips in a searing kiss. His hands roamed over her naked form as his mouth moved from her lips to her neck. Leaving series of small nips he moved down to her breasts. Laving her nipples he watched them harden.
"You are so hot" said Sig.
"Less talking more sucking" said Natalie.
Sig dutifully obliged and before long their moans rang out in the emptiness of the house.
The next morning Sig awoke to the sound of a cell phone ringing. He moved his arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the sun. He sighed in relief as the ringing stopped. Natalie's voice was muffled and distant. Sig pried his eyes open and scanned the room for her. He found her sitting next to his sliding door looking outside, she was quietly talking on the phone. He smirked when he saw she was wearing one of his jean button down shirts. He had no idea where she'd gotten it from, obviously she'd done some exploring while he'd been asleep. She hung up the phone and set it down next to her, never taking her eyes from the harbor below. Sig rubbed the sleep from his eyes and tried to see what she was looking at. Down below on the docks a boat was being loaded, a large crane was moving pallets from the dock to the deck. Sig quietly moved next to her.
"It reminds me of Richard Scary's Busy Town" said Natalie quietly.
"Hmm" replied Sig, unsure what she was referencing.
"It's a kids book" explained Natalie. "It doesn't really tell a story just labels everything going on in Busy Town. I imagine if they had a dock it would look like that."
"It's fun to watch" said Sig knowingly.
Natalie nodded but never took her eyes off the window. Sig sensed that she was deep in thought and decided to check on what supplies were available for breakfast.
"I'm going to make you something to eat" said Sig. "A Norwegian specialty. You'll love it."
"I hope it includes coffee" said Natalie.
"Of course" said Sig reaching for the grounds.
He got down to the business of breakfast while Natalie poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down on one of the kitchen stools to observe the proceedings. In less than ten minutes a delicious salmon scramble was set in front of her. Sig topped off her coffee and then slid into the stool next to her. There was silence for a few moments while the pair ate their meal. Once the immediate hunger was slacked the chewing slowed and they began to speak to each other.
"Who called this morning?" asked Sig.
"Sorry that woke you" said Natalie. "I thought the phone was on vibrate."
"Who called" repeated Sig.
"Your brother" said Natalie.
"Which one?" asked Sig.
"Edgar" replied Natalie. "Does Norman even talk on the phone? I imagine he would just expect you to see his name on the caller ID and talk to him without him have to say a word."
"Funny" said Sig. "I'll tell him you said that when I see him."
"You do that" said Natalie.
"What did Edgar want?" asked Sig.
"His back is hurting, he wanted to know if I was home yet" said Natalie.
"I guess I should call him to tell him I'm back" mused Sig.
"He probably already knows" said Natalie.
"Did you tell him?" asked Sig.
"No, he just wondered if I could see him today for a treatment" said Natalie. "I said yes and that was pretty much the end of the conversation."
"No meaningful heart to heart talk about life?" teased Sig.
Natalie just looked at him in confusion and went back to her breakfast.
A few hours later Natalie pulled into Edgar and Antha's driveway. She'd picked up some medicine from home and her massage table. Edgar had seemed rather desperate when they'd spoken on the phone and she didn't want to make him wait. If the injury was getting worse she worried she wouldn't be able to offer the relief he needed. The next step would be surgery. Grabbing her stuff out of the car she made it half way to the door before it opened and Erik came bounding out. She set down her table and bag and caught him in a sweeping hug.
"Hi" she said as Erik peppered her with kisses.
"I missed you" he said into her hair.
"I missed you too" replied Natalie hugging him tighter.
"Mommy and daddy have been yelling" he confided.
Natalie wondered what the cause of the argument was but chose not to ask the child in her arms.
"Well even if they are yelling, they still love each other and you" said Natalie, her voice soft.
She felt Erik nod a few times and then she released him. Once he was back on the ground he darted back to the house. Natalie picked up her stuff and followed. It was strangely quiet inside and she wondered if everyone was asleep. She found Edgar's prone form on the floor his feet propped on a few pillows his eyes squeezed shut.
"Hi" said Natalie quietly.
Edgar's eyes snapped open and looked around wildly for a moment before they focused.
"Are you ok?" asked Natalie kneeling down next to him.
"No, my back is killing me" said Edgar.
Natalie raised and eyebrow and reached into her bag to get a small penlight. She shined it into his eyes noticing that his pupils were huge.
"What are you on right now?" she asked.
"Vicodin" said Edgar. "Antha had it left over from the hospital, I had to take something for the pain."
"How many have you taken?" asked Natalie.
"I don't know" replied Edgar sullenly. "Not enough because I'm still hurting."
"Where is Antha?" asked Natalie.
"Probably trying to get Diana to take a nap, she's teething or something" said Edgar.
"Lets get you settled and then I'll go check on your wife" said Natalie.
She hoisted Edgar off the floor and onto the massage table. She quickly saw that his back was completely out of alignment and that the bulging disc was worse than ever. After adjusting his back she massaged him with a warming liniment before laying a few hot towels over him.
"I don't think the vicodin is helping because you've re-injured your back" said Natalie. "What happened?"
Edgar mumbled into the towel around his face.
"I didn't catch that" said Natalie.
"I was trying to help Antha around the house, she's really tired" said Edgar.
"I thought maybe it's some sort of sexual position mishap" said Natalie.
"I wish" said Edgar. "No, actually I don't. This pain is ridiculous enough."
"Stay here for a few minutes and let the oils do their work" said Natalie. "I'm going to cover you with a blanket to keep you warm and then I'm going to check on Antha."
Natalie walked down the hallway surprised by the sheer quiet of the back of the house. She'd been to the Hansen house many times and had always heard the tinkle of laughter or the strains of music that seemed to be constantly playing. Today there was nothing. She walked past Erik's door and glanced in. He was playing silently on the floor of his room, the blinds were closed and the room was dark. She wondered how he was even able to see the blocks he was using. He smiled at her and gave her a silent wave. Arriving at the baby's nursery she found it empty. Moving on she quietly opened the door to the master bedroom. Antha was asleep on the bed with baby Diana in her arms. Natalie walked into the bedroom, it was a mess. Clothes were everywhere, dirty diapers littered the floor and full plates of food were stacked on every flat surface. Flies buzzed over the uneaten food and Natalie decided that was where she would start. She pulled the first few plates of food off the dresser and realized this clean up would require multiple trips. She was about to walk out the door when a sleepy voice called her back.
"Stop cleaning up" said Antha, her eyes still closed.
"Antha, are you ok?" asked Natalie. "Do you want me to take the baby?"
"Take her" said Antha rolling away from Diana.
Natalie almost dropped the plates in an effort to catch the baby before Antha's motion forced her off the bed. Luckily a pillow poised on the edge prevented little Diana from tumbling over the side. Natalie set the plates on the floor and picked up Diana's sleeping form. The baby's eyes fluttered open and Natalie quickly dashed out of the room just incase she started crying. The baby however was still tired and easily fell back to sleep. Natalie gently laid her in the crib before turning around to head out the door. She stopped short as Erik walked into the room. He held his fingers to his lips and walked slowly over to the crib. He watched baby Diana sleep for a minute before turning and walking back to his room. Natalie followed him into his room and closed the door.
"What's going on?" asked Natalie.
"Shh, baby Diana is sleeping" said Erik in a whisper.
"It's ok, her door is closed" said Natalie reassuringly.
"No" said Erik emphatically. "We have to stay quiet, always quiet."
"Sure" said Natalie. "We can play when she wakes up."
"Mommy doesn't like it when she's awake" said Erik. "She cries all the time."
Natalie didn't know what to say. She desperately wanted to ask Erik more questions but the little boy seemed desperate to keep quiet.
"I'm going to clean up some of the dishes in mommy's room" said Natalie.
"She doesn't care" said Erik honestly.
"I know, but it will make my feel like I'm helping" said Natalie. "I like to help."
"Make sure you be quiet" said Erik.
Natalie nodded and closed the door.
Natalie reentered the master bedroom and quickly picked up the plates she'd set down in order to take Diana. She quietly slid the trash can over and started to scrape the uneaten food into it before stacking the plates on the floor. She'd cleared off most of the plate before she heard Antha stirring. Antha's hand reached out to feel for the baby, when she didn't find her she immediately sat up.
"It's ok" said Natalie. "She's sleeping in her crib."
"She never sleeps in there" said Antha.
"Sorry, do you want her back in here?" asked Natalie.
"No!" said Antha. "It's just she never really sleeps in there, she's always crying. She only seems to sleep well with me."
"She's ok for now" said Natalie. "Why don't you go back to sleep, if she wakes up I'll take care of her."
"Ok" said Antha closing her eyes.
Natalie went back to work. She finished stacking the plates and then worked on cleaning up the dirty diapers. Stacking a huge load of clothes into a laundry basket she balanced the dirty plates on top and headed down the hall. She left the dishes on the kitchen table and headed to start a load of laundry. It took Natalie almost an hour to get the bedroom clean. It needed a good vacuuming but that would disturb both Antha and probably Diana so she refrained. She backed out of the room and carefully closed the door. She peaked in on baby Diana and saw that she was still fast asleep. Edgar was snoring on the massage table which probably wasn't ideal for his back but Natalie decided it was fine to leave him. Loading the dishwasher and changing the laundry occupied most of the next hour and before she knew it baby Diana was starting to stir. The moment the baby let out her first real cry everyone was out of their rooms. Antha stood in the doorway looking slightly disheveled and very disoriented. Edgar was struggling to get off the massage table and Erik just stood in the hallway looking slightly shellshocked. Natalie breezed by all of them and plucked Diana from her crib, changed her diaper and took her back into the kitchen with her.
"She's in good hands" called Natalie from the kitchen. "Why don't you all go back to what you were doing."
Antha retreated back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Edgar retrieved a shirt from the pile of clean clothes and went in to play with Erik. The boys emerged a few minutes later dressed for the drizzly afternoon and disappeared into the backyard. Natalie turned to Diana and smiled.
"Well my dear, it's just the two of us. How about you get your first lesson in cooking."
Natalie found an baby wrap and quickly tied Diana to her body. The baby cooed happily as Natalie narrated her movements, explaining every step she was taking in great detail. Eventually Diana got hungry and Natalie found herself hesitant to wake up Antha.
"What are you eating these days little darling?" asked Natalie.
Diana let out a small cry as her answer. Deciding she'd have to ask, Natalie headed to the bedroom.
The sound of a blow dryer met Natalie's ear as she knocked on the closed bedroom door. She received no answer so she cracked it open and peeked in. Antha was wearing a bathrobe blowing out her hair in the bathroom. She was freshly shower and seemed alert. Natalie pushed the door open further and stepped into the room. Antha noticed the movement and shut off the dryer before turning to face Natalie.
"Is everything ok?" asked Antha.
"Yes, I was just wondering how you were feeding Diana these days" said Natalie.
"Oh, nursing" said Antha. "She must be starving."
"She just started to fuss a little and I thought maybe she was a bit peckish" said Natalie with a smile.
Antha reached out and took the baby from Natalie's arms. Diana immediately began rooting. Antha sat down on the bed and hunched over slightly as she worked to get the baby to latch.
"Stop" said Natalie. "You are going to destroy your back."
Before Antha could respond Natalie moved her back against the headboard and propped a few pillows behind her, then added a pillow under her elbow. Antha let out a sigh of relief and leaned back to feed the baby. Diana immediately latched and began happily eating.
"Please tell me you haven't been sitting like that at every feeding" said Natalie.
"No" replied Antha. "Usually I'm laying down, since she's basically sleeping with me and all I'm doing is feeding her and sleeping."
"But you cleaned Sig's house" said Natalie.
"It was the first time I've really gotten out of the house on my own" said Antha. "I was just going to send Edgar by and make sure the place hadn't burned down. But he made me go."
"Made you go?" said Natalie in confusion. "Like forced you."
"Yes, I haven't been doing very well" confessed Antha.
"What's been going on?" asked Natalie her voice laced with concern.
"It's just" began Antha. "It's a lot harder than I expected it to be. Taking care of two small children all on my own, it's overwhelming."
"Have you talked to Edgar about it?" asked Natalie.
"Yes" said Antha. "He's been trying to help me but sometimes I think he just makes it harder. Then he hurt his back and now it's like I have three kids."
"Well, maybe you should get some help" said Natalie.
"Like who?" said Antha. "I don't want some stranger coming in to my house."
"I could come over and help" said Natalie.
"Thanks" said Antha quietly. "But I want Edgar."
"I understand" said Natalie.
She pulled Antha into an awkward sideways hug, in response the flood gates opened and Antha sobbed into Natalie's shoulder while baby Diana finished her meal.