TPASD 38

Philip's flight back to London was long, tedious and exhaustive. He hadn't wanted to leave and had wanted to stay and see it through. But he couldn't help Alex any further on that side of the pond. He needed to be back in London to help further.

Philip had made sure to stop in and say goodbye to everyone. Alex's family had all been so lovely and welcoming, honestly it was something he had not expected.

When he had stopped in to say goodbye, Philip had been surprised to have Gabriella handed to him while Alex prepared the tea. When he had stopped by, Henry had been in the shower, and Alex had been dealing with very sulky, grizzly Gabriella. She had cried and whimpered in Philip's arms, but he had eventually managed to settle her. He drew from his memory bank every trick that he could remember using or see being used on his boys. When she was settled, she was still eyeing Philip cautiously. She was no longer crying, so he took that as a win.

He had never been or even attempted to be the Royal who was out there kissing babies and visiting children's hospitals or working on children's charities. That was always Henry, and later on, his wife too. Philip was a father and while he was not a huge fan of children who weren't his own, overall, he didn't particularly mind Gabriella. Something about her had gnawed its way into his heart. Admittedly, the more time he spent with her and the Claremont-Diaz family as a whole, the more he felt guilty for letting Martha do all of the child rearing of the boys. Seeing how hands on they all are in helping Alex with Gabriella made him swear he would apologise to his wife. He had truly missed out on something special back then. Something he regretted now and would never be able to get back.

When Henry had come out of the shower, as soon as he had entered Gabriella's eyeline, she had wanted him immediately. That had made Philip smile. He secretly enjoyed seeing Henry with his boyfriend's daughter in his arms.

Henry had taken her while they had sat on the sofa and talked. Alex had moved into the kitchen to prepare a simple meal for dinner. With the offer to stay for dinner accepted by Philip, he was surprised to look over and see that Alex was really good in the kitchen.

When Alex had called out to them that dinner was almost ready, Henry had washed Gabriella's hands before his own and got her situated in the highchair. Alex had handed a bottle of wine to Philip to open and let breathe, as he finished up. The table set up wasn't anything elaborate by far. Cutlery, plates, wine and water glasses, a small plastic deli container of parmesan cheese in the centre of the table and a bowl of salad

"Braised pork ragu with pappardelle pasta with cheesy garlic bread on the side. Enjoy." Alex had declared, placing the serving dish in the centre of the table.

"Darling, this looks delicious." Henry beamed at Alex; widely, and proudly. "Thank you."

"I concur." Philip agreed wholeheartedly, looking at the small spread of food Alex had prepared. "The smells coming from the kitchen from the moment I walked into this apartment have been nothing short of mouthwateringly delicious."

He watched as Henry plated Gabriella's pasta first and handed it to Alex to cut into smaller pieces. After Henry had plated up his own food, he took Gabriella's from Alex allowing Alex to get some food for himself. Henry added a touch of cheese to Gabriella's pasta and mixed in, before testing the temperature with his pinky and placing the bowl of food on her tray.

Philip chuckled as Gabriella's eyes lit up with surprise at her first taste. It reminded Philip of when Henry was four and their father handed Henry his first Jaffa cake. Philip's laughter caught Alex off guard, he explained what had been so funny and Alex had laughed too.

"She reminds me of dad, a bit." Alex had told them. "The face she makes when she tries something and instantly loves it. It's the same face dad pulls when he gets that first bite of a sopapilla." At their puzzled look, Alex sighed. "I forgot how British ya'll are. I'll make some after dinner. They're just fried pastry pillows. I like them best served warm with a drizzle of honey and cinnamon."

"They sound yummy." Henry had grinned at Alex, proudly.

When Alex had been serving dessert, Philip had mused out loud in a random stray thought. "Martha and I have been married for twelve years and I don't even know if she knows how to cook. Even when we're on holiday, there's always someone to do it for us."

"Oh," Alex had said, slightly wondering what else to say. Henry was surprised by Philip's candidness too. "I only learnt how to cook because after everything that happened with my parent's divorce and on the campaign, there was a period of time when the only way dad knew how to communicate with me was when we were in the kitchen together. Mom's great on the grill and with marinades and seasonings, so is June and Nora. But in our family, it's dad, Leo, Raf and me in the kitchen. It didn't go over very well back in Texas, before mom and dad were divorced, you know. The woman on the grill and the man in the kitchen. But it worked for our family."

"Yeah," Henry mused, looking over at his brother. "But dad would occasionally cook breakfast."

"I don't remember him doing that." Philp had squinted, trying to recall. "Really?"

"It started after you went off to university." Henry replied, wincing when he realised Philip never experienced this part of their father before. "Wasn't very often, but he did."

"Please fasten your seatbelt and prepare for landing." The voice came over the intercom interrupted him from his reverie. His jet had departed San Diego at 11.05pm and he had no idea what the local time would be, but he had been in the air for just over ten and a half hours already.

As the jet touched down on the runway and came to a complete stop, the pilot put over an announcement that put an end to the local time dilemma for Philip. "Welcome to London, Your Royal Highness, local time is 5.45pm. Your equerry has a royal car waiting for you to the left of the plane. Have a pleasant evening."

Gathering his briefcase and laptop, Philip exited the plan rather quickly. Thomas, his equerry, was loading his bags into the car, as he disembarked the plane, his door open and waiting for him to slide into the back seat. "To Buckingham Palace, Thomas." Philip requested, opening his phone and sending Henry a message that he had arrived safely. "Clear the way for me to see my mother, immediately. Post-haste."

Something he had promised to his brother, that he had never promised Henry before.

When Philip had first arrived in San Diego and everything was still tense between Henry and Philip, it had been Alex's stepfather Leo who had taken him aside and shown him some kindness. He had given Philip a piece of advice, that at the time was unsolicited, but now was warmly welcomed. Start small, the big stuff will come. That was how he had managed to begin bridging the gap between Henry and himself, on Leo's advice.

Philip preferred landing at Northolt, it was private, and the media couldn't get on base. They could look through the chain link fence, but there was no one there. He had not been expected to return for another five days, but after Agent Hatley and Donavan's findings, he found he had to return home sooner. There was nothing else for him to do in San Diego.

The drive into the city was always pleasant, and although it was longer in distance, the traffic and travel time was lighter than if he had landed at Heathrow or at London city. Not to mention the whole security details through a busy airport.

He looked up from his laptop as the streets of Notting Hill and Paddington whizzed by, looking down to his laptop, again. The next time he looked up, he could see Hyde Park and closed the lid, stowing it away. Pulling his mobile out, he texted Martha and let her know he would be home after meeting with his mother and asked if she could clear her morning schedule for him. That the two of them needed to talk.

Within eleven minutes, the car was slipping into a rarely used side gate with a PPO there waiting to let them in. As usual, there were hordes of tourists and locals alike milling around the main gate and Thomas had informed him that coming in from the side gate was not only quicker but would not alert anyone to his arrival in London.

His mother was in her study, and he had barely greeted her when two trays of food had been delivered. "I've been briefed by Shaan. A working dinner is in order for us, Pip. Welcome home. " Catherine had smiled at him. "Buckle in, it's going to be a long night for us."

With the security that Ellen and Oscar had organised, and Henry's PPOs in tow, they set out with Gabriella for a walk to a nearby cafe for brunch with June and Nora. Shaan had pre-arranged with the cafe to have them seated towards the back of the cafe and to accommodate the extra security they required.

For the most part, other patrons left them alone. There was the occasional cell phone, but for the most part, the cafe staff were wonderful, telling other customers not to photograph the other diners within their establishment.

With Gabriella in the highchair, between Alex and his sister, Henry made a bold declaration. He draped his arm across the back of Alex's chair. He wanted people to see that he was not here on what some could assume was, a double straight date (even though he had already come out, telling the world he is gay.) He wanted the world to know that Alex was not just his friend, but his boyfriend too.

This was also a new experience for Henry, as he got to see the side of Alex, and June, and to a lesser extent Nora, be the doting, loving children of Senator Oscar Diaz and Senator Ellen Claremont. The perfect political offspring. Essential cogs in the Claremont-Diaz political dynasty.

By afternoon they were back at the apartments and Claremont-Diaz duo were trending on twitter. Grainy photos of their brunch were plastered all over social media and his sister Bea kept sending him some of the more hilarious tweets. Most of them insinuated that Nora and Henry had been like a couple as they bantered, racing through a crossword. Or June and Henry had been flirting as they debated who was the better Mr. Darcy in adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. One even more funny one was a tweet claiming Alex and Henry were 'best bros'.

Alex had not taken that particular tweet well and had wanted to post his own picture of him and Henry making out, but Henry had vetoed that. So had Shaan. And Oscar. And Raf. And Leo. June had a better idea, retweeting the tweet about Henry and Nora with a "Ya'll do remember she is literally wife, right?" and some laughing faces alongside the photo had been put forward to the media of June and Nora on their wedding day.

Unfortunately, all that did was add fuel to the Henry and Alex, best bros narrative. Shaan reminded them that Hatley and Donavan had told them not to engage. June took the decision out of Alex's hand, leaning over and uninstalling Twitter and Instagram from his phone.

Raf stopped in to say goodbye too. He had to head to New York City, on business but didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. He didn't outright say anything, but Henry caught some undertones that perhaps someone might be waiting for Raf in New York City.

"Please keep me updated with this little one here, as well as both of you." Raf requested, as he let Gabriella hold his finger from the safety of her Papi's arms.

"Sure thing, Tio Raf." Alex replied, cheekily.

"Tio?" Raf had asked in disbelief, with a huge smile on his face. "Really? I've never had a Sobrina before. My sister has boys, but they're teenagers and don't care about Tio Raf."

"Pretty sure." Henry replied, fondly. He and Alex had talked it over after Henry had given him a play by play of his 'showdown' with Raf in the gym.

With Philip having left for London already and Raf now departing, Alex knew that his dad, mom and Leo would have to return to their lives too. June and Nora were set to depart the following day. That just left Shaan and Zahra, Henry, Alex, Gabriella and the PPOs. The original plan was that Shaan and Henry would discuss their (royal) requirements and Alex and Henry would discuss their (personal) requirements and then they would shortlist the places in the US that were in the most need of a queer youth shelter.

However, Zahra's pregnancy was encountering some difficulties and after they had to call a doctor the other night for her, Henry immediately declared he did not want Shaan to leave his wife's side. Alex had been perhaps the most worried, by far. She was only thirty-three weeks and Alex worried that the baby was going to be born premature.

Henry had tried to calm him down, but he had ranted, before crashing. It didn't register in Henry's brain until Alex spelled it out for him. He didn't want Zahra going through what Erica did. The same thing was happening again, and Alex feared history was repeating itself.

With Zahra needing to go on to bedrest, it was decided that the five of them, and the PPOs would pack up and go to Austin. Zahra's sister was there, and they would need family. Alex knew that from personal experience. He wished he'd had family around when Gabriella was born, but there was no time and by the time that they all organised flights to London and arrived, Gabriella was almost a week old.

With time being of the essence, it was decided that the Lake House would be best, as it could handle the PPOs, as well as the private security that his mom had insisted was staying until the press coverage died down. Alex gave them the downstairs guest room his mom and Leo usually used, knowing that Zahra would not want to be climbing all of those stairs. Gabriella would be in her room and the boys would be in Alex's room.

"Oh, Philip darling, you look truly exhausted." Martha declared, as she came into their morning sitting room at Clarence House and found her husband sitting in his favourite armchair, tied undone, in yesterday's rumpled suit and bags under his eyes. Martha was dressed in a sleek and stylish ivory cream pants suit and white scoop neck blouse. Her feet were stockinged and free from her trademark heels. A fact Philip was thankful for. His head would not deal well with the click clack of her shoes on the old floorboards, even if they were covered with large area mats. "Welcome home." She whispered, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

Philip's hands met her face and pulled her in for a chaste kiss. Just a press of their lips together. "Thank you, Maz." Listening an ear out, and hearing nothing of the boys' usual banter and taunting was surprising. "The boys?"

"Their Aunt Bea took them to school this morning." Martha murmured, before pulling back and taking the sitting chair opposite her husband. "Unfortunately, I was not able to cancel all of my obligations this morning. But I do have three hours free, what did you want to discuss?"

"I want to preface this discussion with the memo, I am acting under my own free will." Philip laughed, nervously. He didn't want Martha thinking that Henry was twisting his arm, or worse, Alex was. "I owe you an apology. You and the boys. I have been a shitty husband and father."

"Okay," she replied, dragging the word out, unsure where Philip was leading with this.

"Did you know he's a good father? Henry, I mean." Philip asked, eyeing his wife carefully. "He does nappy changes, bottles, and 3am feeds. He does her therapies; he takes her swimming and plays with her. Her little eyes light up and she giggles with excitement when he enters the room. I don't think either Arthur or James have ever had that reaction to seeing me."

"I didn't know, Philip, but I am not surprised. He was wonderful with her at dinner that night." Martha mused out loud. Martha studied her husband's weary face. "What is it that bothers you so much about it?"

"I am sorry." Philip sighed and let himself feel sorry for himself. "Sorry isn't a strong enough word. I am making you a promise; here and now, I will do better. Henry and I haven't fully mended the bridge, but we're talking again, and I realise what an imbecile I have been to him, to Bea, to mum, to you and the boys. As I said, I have started taking steps with Henry, and I spoke in depth with mum last night. We're here right now, and I have a meeting with Beatrice tomorrow for morning tea. She has had to be Henry's protector from me, as well as you and the boys, I suspect I will have a tougher go of it with her. Then, I am going to make it up to the boys."

"I think that's a brilliant starting point, Pip." Martha grinned at him, using the nickname family coined him with as a small boy. The name that the former queen, Philip, Beatrice and Henry's grandmother had made her promise she would never call him. "And the other women? What about them?"

"Gone, no one but you from now on. I promise. You can ask Henry and Alex too; I was a good boy while I was over there. If you don't believe them, ask Shaan, Henry's equerry." He contemplated if he should talk to her about his experience in the States, ultimately deciding that he wanted to share his experience with her. "It wasn't great, and Henry was not happy to see me, at first. Alex's stepfather, Leo took it upon himself to intervene between us. He purposely kept a distance between me and Henry. Alex's father Oscar had already drawn his battlelines and it was clear he was in Henry's camp. Slowly, Leo began offering small pieces of wisdom, unsolicited advice. I ignored them at first. Until I realised it wasn't even so much advice, as he was telling me how he managed to win over a reluctant June and a petulant Alex, after suddenly marrying their mum. As I started listening to the man and applying it to the interactions I was having with Henry, it became easier to communicate with him.

Once I worked out how to communicate with Henry, Oscar and Ellen, that's Alex's parents, and Rafael who is a close personal friend of his parents began to thaw out too. Right from the start his sister June and sister-in-law Nora were nice, but they were fiercely protective of Alex and Henry."

"And Gabriella?"

"Oh Maz," Philip softly looked at his wife knowing how much she would feel worried about what had happened too. "She was fine, a slight cough forming one moment and the next moment her breathing was awful. It was making the most horrendous noise. If it had been one of our boys, I would not have known what to do. But Henry and Alex, they just knew. They worked flawlessly together as a team, and each one of them knew what to do. I was terrified she was going to die in Alex's arm right there on the bathroom floor. I was so scared, so was everyone else. But Henry and Alex handled it wonderfully."

"Oh Pip, darling." Martha came to join him in his armchair, taking a seat in her lap. "Croup is a terrible illness and definitely not for the lighthearted. We are blessed that our boys never suffered with it. But I know of other mums' whose children do suffer from it. Remember Clarise and Evan Wilmott? They're little girl Evelyn, that's what she died from."

"But they just knew what to do, Maz." Philip sighed dejectedly. "I was terrified, so was Alex's mum. Alex was growling at his dad and Rafael, while Henry was keeping Ellen and I distracted counting. Alex knew how to hold her and comfort her, Henry knew how to check her breathing and keep her calm. Henry and Alex relied on each other."

"Darling, you need to understand that Gabriella is not like other little babies." Martha whispered to her husband. "While croup is not predominantly for babies and children born premature, it is more prevalent with them. But she will catch up, and eventually, god willing, she will live a full and happy, healthy life."

"Healthy, definitely." Philip smiled, recalling that delicious, braised pork ragu with pappardelle pasta. "Alex cooks for them a lot, and he tries to teach Henry a little bit sometimes. The food he cooks, some of it is delicious. A little bit too much spice for my liking, but Henry seems to enjoy it. Then again he eats all that ethnic food with his Nigerian friend Percy."

"Philip" Her one-word response and tone is heavy and carries a warning that Philip heeds.

"I know, I am sorry. I must be more tired than I thought." Philip defended himself. "I think I am going to go to bed and sleep. Would you care to join me for a bit of …?"

He wiggled his eyes at Martha suggestively. The same way he used to when they were a couple of twenty-year-old coeds at St Andrew University.

"Not all is forgiven yet, buster." Martha warned him. "Besides I am due to cue a ribbon and talk about the importance of health lessons in our school systems."

"Droll and very boring." Philip mocked his wife, exaggerating the stiff, British upper-class man of noble lineage they both knew. "I think I shall sleep for at least eight hours. I am not to be disturbed."

"So, you're not interested in a little game of 'tickle the pickle' when I return?" Martha smirked at her husband. "Oh, not to worry then."

She slipped on her heels, turned in them and began to leave the room before it registered in Philip's brain what his wife had meant. He raced after her, trying to catch her and change her mind.

They arrived in Texas late in the afternoon and everyone immediately unpacked. By dinnertime, Shaan and Alex headed into town for some bare necessities to tie them over until their grocery order was delivered in the morning and to pick up some Chinese food for dinner.

Henry and Gabriella stayed at the house and Zahra was resting while they waited for dinner to arrive. Changing her, letting her play and stretch her legs on the carpet.

A banquet feast of chicken and vegetables, lo mien, rice, eggrolls, duck, beef and broccoli, satay chicken and a carton of soup had made up the contents of the box of food Alex had ordered. Shaan had picked up some strawberries and chocolate while in the store, claiming Zahra was craving it.

Looking carefully at Shaan's cart subtly, an idea began to form in Alex's head. He muttered a half-hearted excuse to Shaan that he would wait at the front of the store for him, before slipping away and heading in the direction of the health supplies. He knew they only had one condom in their mutual stash left - Two if you counted the one in his wallet that was fourteen years past its expiry. It was the one his father had given him at fourteen and he kept it there as a reminder to always engage in safe sex.

Snagging a box of condoms off the shelf, he tried to picture the bottle of lube that had been on the nightstand in San Diego that morning. But couldn't and there was no way he was ordering lube or condoms in with their grocery order for Sal Pietro to personally pack and deliver. He had known Sal his whole life. Hell, Sal had known his father since he was twelve when they arrived in Texas. His wife used to babysit Oscar.

Sal Pietro did not need to know he was having sex. He did not need to know that Alex was having sex with Henry. Alex worried if the man knew, he would drop dead from a heart attack. Even if the man was a democrat!

He saw this busy box in the toy bin that he thought Gabriella would be able to play with. It had shapes that went in the sphere, and it clicked together. It was made of bright colours and he knew it would be stimulating enough for her, as well as new and exciting. So, he added that to his cart.

Soon, he had found himself leaving a larger than usual tip for the bag boy to double bag everything. The last thing Alex wanted was to be papped with a see-through plastic bag and the box of their preferred condom brand on display for the world to see. Shaan was waiting for him, as usual, in his stoic professionalism, did not comment on Alex's random purchases.

Until they were in the privacy of the car, that is. "Next time you or Henry require anything of a personal nature such as condoms, please just ask me to purchase them. No one ever expects the equerry to buy them, and I can pass them off as my own."

Alex blushed. He was used to being independent. He hadn't grown up in a world of equerry's and valets, butlers and maids. If something needed doing, he would do it himself. It was how he was raised. "I wasn't raised to ask …"

"Buying those kinds of things is part of my job description, Alex." Shaan reminded him, as they hit the freeway, back towards the Lake House. "I have literally purchased underwear for you before, I am sure I can handle condoms and lubricant. I do, however, draw the line at sex toys."

That got an awkward laugh out of Alex. "I am sure, Henry and I are capable of making those purchases ourselves."

"Just remember the PPOs have and will check your parcels first and both of you need to be able to look them in the eye."