TPASD 40

SIX WEEKS LATER

Alex and Henry woke up wrapped up around one another, Gabriella not in her own room, but softly grunting her sleep from the pack and play at the foot of the bed. She was back to not sleeping very well.

Shaan and Zahra have moved out to the guest house after three nights of Gabriella's crying. Only after Alex's gentle suggestion that they should sleep while they can, did they agree. Zahra was back to being allowed limited movement and not on bed rest anymore and they weren't allowed to leave the area of greater Austin. That meant for the time being, Henry, Alex and Gabriella were staying at the Lake House too. Austin was only an easy drive away, it made sense.

That pleased Alex's mom and Leo to no end. Especially Ellen.

First it was 'can ya'll come for dinner?' Then it became every other week and soon enough it was every week. Henry and Alex began feeling like they were never alone. It was stifling.

As a favour to his mom, Alex was working part time in a friend of Ellen's law office, while he studied for the bar exam. While he couldn't advise clients or practice law, he could read over motions and assist with the prep work for cases.

From dinner once a week, while congress was on break for the winter, Ellen loved having Alex close by again. When Ellen wasn't cooking up a storm on the nights they were expected to come to her and Leo's house for dinner, she was showing up at the Lake House unexpectedly with food in hand. Quite often, Alex would send it over to Zahra and Shaan, as Henry and Alex were meal prepping their own food. With Henry busy in searching for a new shelter location, in transatlantic consultation with Pez and Alex working and studying, there was little time for cooking.

They knew Ellen meant well, but her being constantly underfoot only did one thing. It reinforced the idea in both their collective heads that Austin would not be the place they permanently settled.

Winter break from congress also meant that Oscar was back at the lake house, and Raf was expected to stop by and stay too.

The realtor that Henry and Shaan had hired had been unable to find something to fit their needs in a nice area, and the one property she showed them Alex immediately vetoed, before explaining to Henry that he had lived in Austin for the first seventeen years of his life and he could never remember that house ever having people live in it.

When Alex begged Henry to call June if he didn't believe him, Henry did. Not that he didn't believe Alex because he did. But Alex's reaction had seemed exaggerated.

It was not. June's reaction was worse. She couldn't believe Henry had been game enough to even set foot in that house, before telling Henry in explicit details what had happened in that house.

Yeah, there was no way he was living in that house. He couldn't even believe Alex had let him set foot in there. Alex had been steadfast in his refusal, going as far as refusing to leave the safety of the lake house.

When Henry recited the story to Oscar, the man had confessed to Henry that he had been a small boy himself when the gruesome murders had taken place. That he too did not blame Alex and was glad Henry had not been swindled into taking the place.

When Oscar had asked who their realtor was, he did not recognise the name. But he did know the manager and the owner of the company and told Henry he was not impressed with the realtor's actions. Before telling Henry in no uncertain terms just to stay at the damn lake house because he was glad someone was here when he was not.

That's how they ended up living at the lake house.

At the end of November, Thanksgiving had been really low key, with just the five of them. Zahra having a strong pregnancy aversion to Turkey, Shaan and Alex had made some prime rib, with baby greens, garlic and cheese baked potatoes and Alex had gone all out and made a red wine jus to finish it off. The Brits didn't know any better and Alex wasn't about to upset a very pregnant woman over some turkey.

Thanksgiving itself was small. With Oscar in Denver with Raf, and Ellen and Leo in New York with June, Nora and her grandparents, Edna and Mike Holleran, Mike being Ellen's colleague, Alex was equal parts relieved and disappointed. Relieved that he would not have to cook for everyone or listen to his parents do nothing but fight, but disappointed that none of them had offered to come for Gabriella's first thanksgiving.

Alex, Henry and Gabriella did assemble alongside Oscar and Raf at Leo and Ellen's house, two days after, for a belated celebration and Gabriella got her first Thanksgiving turkey then.

Zahra was almost thirty-six weeks pregnant, and she had felt like she was ready to pop. They had cleared out Oscar's office and set it up as a temporary nursery for their baby. It was at the opposite end of the house to Alex and Henry and Alex assured them it was ok with Oscar.

She was bored, but together, she and Shaan had bought a crib, a car seat and a pram. Alex and Henry had upgraded the baby wrap to a carrier for Gabriella and given Shaan and Zahra the baby wrap. They didn't know the sex of their baby, so it was an all-gender neutral nursery.

Now Alex and Henry were wide awake, Gabriella was still asleep. Taking advantage of the sleeping tot, they snuck into the shower together, eager for one moment where neither of them were a parent. To be just two twenty something year old men in love. She was eleven months old now and at a very clingy, sulky stage. Alex kept telling anyone who would listen that she was going through a leap, like people knew what he was actually talking about. Henry suspected that deep down inside, Alex felt like he wasn't being good enough for her.

Henry knew better, of course. He had read the same baby books that Alex had. She was going through her leap seven. Which would normally happen at nine to ten months old. However, being born prematurely, Gabriella was behind and going through the leap at eleven months old.

And it was the three C's. CRYING. CLINGY. CRANKY. Much like the last leap, only this one was worse. But with this leap, the boys noticed that although she was still being shy. Now, she did not want to break body contact with Alex or Henry and wanted to be more entertained and stimulated. She slept even less than usual and also suffered more often from nightmares.

The book had told them this could last up to five weeks. That thought alone made them tired. However, the book did mention that the fun phase of the leap starts next - the skills phase! Once she had garnered the ability to perceive and perform 'sequences' breaks through, she seemed to suddenly be able to do much more. She had even realised that she always has to perform every action in a certain order.

Or at least that was what Alex and Henry hoped would happen.

Whilst she still wasn't talking yet, she was now sitting unassisted and was trying to crawl. She still couldn't say anything yet, but she would move her mouth and try to form the same shapes of her own mouth by mirroring the adult. Alex still insisted she wasn't far off now.

Soon, they both hoped.

Now they were two weeks out from Christmas and Christmas shopping was well underway. Henry had been excited and wanted to go all out spoiling Gabriella. Alex had put his foot down and said no. They didn't want to buy big ticket things and then discover they could not move them or would not fit into their new place - wherever they decided to settle. Plus, she wasn't yet one, and wouldn't be until shortly after Christmas.

Shaan was smiling to himself a lot more these days. Alex was good at reasoning with Henry and was relieved that there was someone else who was able to talk sense into the prince besides himself.

Then there would be a birthday party. Gabriella would be turning one. Apparently, she just had to have a party. According to nearly everyone he spoke to about it.

"Hen? Baby?" Alex asked, startling Henry in the kitchen. Alex had gone into the bedroom to get Gabriella out of bed and Henry had gotten lost, deep in thought. "Are you ok?"

"I was just thinking about the media." Henry muttered, placing a kiss on Gabriella's head, as he tossed some dry cheerios down for breakfast and began to prepare some boiled eggs for her. "Thank goodness they have been leaving us alone of late."

The media coverage had backed right off. It had been discovered that the traitor in their own camp was Madden and Shaan had sent him packing with a letter of dismissal, before reporting him to the Queen. Catherine had been none too pleased and sent Walters out to replace him. Walters had been recommended by Bea, herself. He had been her PPO, but he had just married an American and wanted to live on the same continent as his wife and her family.

Since that final article from Miguel, they had not seen or heard from him and Hatley had gone dark. No one, not even Shaan had been able to contact him, but they weren't concerned. The man worked for the CIA and for all they knew, could be on assignment.

Mostly now, the media ignored them. Unless something outlandish or crazy happened, like when Alex randomly signed up for and competed in a 5k run for the local youth club. Generally, it was Alex, more than Henry that made the newspaper, and it was usually in connection to the law firm or his political parents, than him. People had stopped staring when they went into town. Now, people just left him alone and let him do his own things. Mostly errands like shopping, post office, paying bills, that sort of thing.

One time an international media contingency made up of six British reporters came into town, asking around and looking for anything and everything, including their address. The townspeople got really tight lipped. The sheriff ran them off. Reminding them of the harassment, stalking and trespassing laws in the Lonestar state. Something which was gratefully appreciated.

The amount of people trusted to watch Gabriella had grown by two when Shaan and Zahra had watched her for an hour when Alex and Henry's schedules had overlapped, and they were desperate. They adored the young girl, and Shaan had nicknamed her chōṭī rājakumārī, which they learnt meant little princess in Marathi. A language of Shaan's hometown in India.

After breakfast, Henry popped Gabriella in her play pen in the living room while he and Alex cleaned up and did some chores. After Gabriella had her mid-morning snack and went down for a nap, Henry brought Alex a cup of coffee and joined him on the front porch, baby monitor in hand.

"Darling, we need to work out where we're going to go and where the next shelter is going to be." He said softly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful ambiance and the serenity of calm that surrounded them. "Sorry, but Pez has really been getting on my case about it."

"I get it, I really do. What have we narrowed it down to?" Alex asked, snaking his arm around Henry's waist and pulling him onto Alex's lap, careful not to spill his coffee, or Henry's hot tea.

"As much as I love the lake house, not here in the vicinity of Austin and its surrounding areas. Not yet." Henry murmured, resting his cup beside Alex's on the small table. Leaning down, he cradled Alex's face in his hands and pressed his lips to Alex's sweetly, pulling back before Alex could deepen it and distract him. "I love your mom, but I can't …"

"I get it. Definitely." Alex chuckled, peppering kisses along Henry's jawline and up behind the shell of his ear. "My mom can be intrusive and direct. She can be forceful. But she means well. So, definitely not here."

"Not in the city centre of Austin, either." Henry tilted his head, giving Alex further access to his neck. "That's even closer to Ellen. Not in San Diego, either. Your father's great Alex and he has been very generous in letting us stay here, but I feel it's too close to the Miguel mess. Even if he has been suspiciously quiet of late. I'm not mentally ready for that and quite frankly, I don't think you are, either."

Alex was leaving hot open kisses on Henry's skin, and across the base of his throat. "Agreed. Where then?" Alex muttered against Henry's skin, thoroughly enjoying the chance to be alone with Henry. Uninterrupted.

The PPOs were milling around somewhere, doing security checks. Amy and Cash, the security his mother had hired, had now finished up. Shaan and Zahra were at a medical appointment at the maternity hospital in Austin. They were almost as truly alone as they had ever been before.

"I was thinking of Brooklyn, actually." Henry whispered, moaning softly into the feeling of Alex's lips on his skin.

A memory of the fact that they haven't had a true chance to be alone in over a month, spurring him on. They hadn't made love in even longer with Gabriella going through back-to-back leaps and the mess with Miguel.

It had been hand jobs and quick make out sessions interrupted by crying. It had been oral sex in the shower, which always ended prematurely with the baby monitor crackling to life with cries. Sometimes, it was unexpected visitors, named Ellen coming over to spend time with them or bring them food.

At least Oscar would notify Alex in advance of his impending arrival.

"In New York?" Alex asked, pulling his lips back from Henry to look at his boyfriend. "Brooklyn? As in near Manhattan? Near June and Nora? That Brooklyn."

"Well, it was my understanding that your sister and her wife lived in Manhattan, but yes. Brooklyn in New York City." Henry smirked, taking advantage of Alex's temporarily halted state to press his own lips to Alex in return. "You would still have your sister nearby, but not close enough we're living in each other's pockets. Also big enough to have a need for the shelter and anonymous enough that they wouldn't care seeing a prince on the streets."

Henry was now the one pressing kisses into Alex's throat and over the Adam's apple in his throat. Hot, wet, pleasurable kisses. Henry was intently sucking a mark of his own onto Alex's collarbone through the open vee of his shirt. Alex's wandering hands were eagerly gliding up Henry's body and maneuvering Henry, so he was now enthusiastically straddling Alex's thighs. His hands never idle, as they explored his lover's body, finally settling on Henry's ass, caressing the shape of it, pulling him closer.

"Mmm." Alex moaned out loud, feeling the nip of Henry's teeth on his sensitive collarbone. Alex's voice is a whine, broken and husky. "Gentle, baby."

Recapturing his boyfriend's lips, proud of the small purple mark forming on Alex's caramel skin, Henry let his tongue meet Alex's in one of the dirtiest, most suggestive kisses he had ever given anyone in his life.

"You two just like asking for trouble, don't you?" Zahra's voice startled them, Shaan shyly in tow carrying three grocery bags. "You're out in the open for Christ sakes! Don't you two have a bedroom to do that in?" Her tone was exasperated but fond.

"Hello to you too," Henry blushed, pulling back from Alex's lips, but not moving from his seat in Alex's lap. "I take it your appointment went well."

"Right on schedule now." Shaan beamed proudly, ignoring the fact that the prince had not moved from Alex's lap, nor had Alex made an effort to move him.

"What's with the groceries? The food delivery came yesterday." Alex asked, curious. "Did I forget to order things?"

"I am craving some jambalaya." Zahra announced and threw Alex a look. "Want to learn how to make it?"

"Yes please." Alex agreed, eagerly as he eased Henry off his lap leaving the prince and his equerry alone on the back porch overlooking the water.

"Who would have thought your boyfriend, and my wife would bond and become friends over cooking food?" Shaan smirked at his charge.

"Yes, I'll admit it is strange. But it works for them." Henry replied, with a grin of his own. "You know Alex is going to be completely impossible once your baby comes, right?"

"I figured." Shaan straightened up, looking at Henry closely. "Honestly, I am kind of counting on it."

"Scared?" Henry asked, looking his equerry and dear friend over. "It'll be ok, Shaan. Alex once said he was terrified too. The way he explained it to me was that Erica was a mum once they conceived the baby, but he didn't become a father until Gabriella was born. I have a parenting book or two I can loan you. They say the same thing."

"I've already read the books, but I still don't feel like I am ready." Shaan confessed.

"I think that no one is ever truly ready." Henry whispered. "Do you think I was ready? Hell no, I can barely keep myself alive. But I keep trying because what else is there to do? You want to do your best by that little baby and they're relying on you. If you're still scared, maybe talk to Alex about it. He would definitely have some better insight than me."

The sound of crying through the video monitor interrupted their chat.

Catherine was at her desk in Buckingham palace, going through some last-minute correspondence from the government.

Beatrice was on the television news cast, giving a live speech with Martha and Philip by her side about the importance of education and acceptance in the community. Her voice was clear and concise, and Catherine felt vindicated in her choice to have Beatrice speak over Philip. Philip had been her advisor's request. The last of her mother's advisors' employed by her.

Noticing an invitation to Catherine, from the Vice President of the United States to a state dinner to be held the following week. Apparently, her mother had been the initial invitee, however in the wake of her mother's death, the state dinner had been pushed back and rescheduled. A new invitation was issued.

Vice President Mike Holleran. Holleran. That name sounded familiar to her and she could not for the life of her remember why. She wrote his name on a sticky note pad beside her, before RSVPing yes. It was the least she could do. The US is an ally of the UK, and her son is currently in the US. She misses him.

She noticed at the bottom of the invite, that there will be various senators in attendance. That made her smile. It's then that she placed the name, Holleran. Henry had mentioned to her that Alex's sister in law is the Vice President's granddaughter. That thought tumbles into another one. She remembered reading in the background check she had done on Alex, that both of Alex's parents are Senators. That left her pondering if this will be how they will finally meet one another.

The thought prompted her to sit back in her chair, pushing the papers further away from her and smile, as she mentally replayed the conversation she had with her oldest son the night he returned from the States.

They had just finished wrapping up discussing and strategising a plan on how to deal with Miguel Ramos and the trouble he was making for Alex and Henry, as well as the trouble he was stirring up within the media trashing either one of them, or both of them on a daily basis.

"You know when Henry turns his head a certain way, he looks so much like Dad?" Philip asked his mother, as they were packing up their yellow notepads and laptops.

"Henry looks the most like your father out of the three of you." Catherine had confessed to Philip with a warm, but sad smile. The look of a wife who clearly missed her adored husband, deeply. "In the beginning, after we lost him, it pained me to look at Henry."

"I know how that feels." Philip sighed softly. He too, had felt like that towards Henry, too many times to count. "In San Diego, I was watching him and Alex play in the pool with Gabriella. He was holding her in his arms and Alex was splashing them. The sun caught Henry's face just so, and for a minute I was transported back to our Hawaiian vacation when Henry was little. I could see you and Bea, as if you were there too. When I looked back at where Dad was there with a baby Henry in his arms. I blinked and it was Henry and Gabriella in his place, once again." Philip shook his head softly. "It was a surreal experience."

"That's part of getting older, Pip." Catherine told him gently. "And those Fox family genes are mighty strong."

"He's good for Henry, Mum." Philip didn't have to specify who. They both knew he meant Alex. "They work like they're an extension of one another. Like two cogs in a well oiled machine."

"I saw it from the beginning too." Catherine confessed and dropped her voice to a whisper. "That day in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, when Henry first saw Alex and Gabriella in there. Henry changed, right there, before my very eyes. I couldn't believe it, at the time. But looking back, I think what changed was Henry's heart. I think that was the day he and Alex fell in love. Let me tell you, as a parent it is a strange experience to watch your child fall in love over time, let alone in the blink of an eye."

"I've been thinking," Philip replied, holding his hand out to take his mother's hand in his. "I'd like to tackle the issue of gay marriage with the Archbishop. The Anglician church is one of the only christian churches in the world that does not acknowledge gay marriage. Hell Mum, even the pope acknowledged it last year in his Christmas address. The church of England is drastically behind the times."

"I suppose this sudden interest has nothing at all to do with your brother." Catherine winked at her son, proud of how far he had come. Between Bea's brilliant idea to make him spend time and listen to the stories in a LGBT shelter, and Martha's suggestion of the Intensive Psychotherapy week in Canada, Philip was practically a changed man. "And everything to do with effecting change in this world."

"But of course."

The sound of knocking on the screen door startled Henry out of his reverie. It was early. The sun was barely breaching the early morning horizon and Henry looked up at the noise to see Shaan standing on the porch.

As Henry made his way over to unlock the doors and let the man in. Even if he did have a key, he promised not to use it unless it was a real emergency. "Good morning Henry, is Alex awake yet? Or just you?"

"You rang, Sir?" Alex joked, standing in the doorway, in Henry's old ratty oxford tee he refused to part with and a pair of plain blue pyjama bottoms.

"Very funny, Alex." Shaan chastised him, trying to pull off staunch and professional. "No, I thought you might be both interested in a telephone call I just received from Agent Hatley."

"Hatley?" Henry was the first to say. "He is the last person I expected you to say."

"It seems that he was calling to inform me that he was contacted by his boss at the CIA." Shaan hesitated for a moment, wondering how Alex in particular was going to take the news he had to deliver. "Miguel Ramos AKA Pedro Perez, as you know from our last update, had fled to Mexico after a push from both the US and UK governments to start investigating him and his Uncle, Juan Perez for a slew of crimes."

"They were unable to track him any further." Alex murmured, resigned. Alex had taken that news particularly hard. He'd had a rather vicious panic attack over it and Henry and Shaan had been unable to calm him down. Henry had been panicking. It had been Oscar, who had been staying at the lake house for the weekend, who had tossed him into the cold lake to bring him out of it. It was cruel, but it was effective and Henry had asked Shaan to find them both a trusted therapist to start talking to. Individually and together.

"Pedro Perez, was found dead in a Cuban hotel room last night." Shaan announced with little to no emotion. His mask firmly in place, not letting it slip. He did not want to be responsible for triggering either of the young men.

"Oh." Henry let out. He wasn't sure what else to say.

Alex seemed to hear the words, but not really process them. Shaan wanted to help Alex get there and understand the magnitude of what he was saying, but even Shaan knew he needed to let Alex get there by himself.

"Are they sure?" Henry tried again, asking Shaan softly as an array of emotions flickered across Alex's face.

"Hatley flew in and confirmed it. He has escorted the body back to the States." Shaan whispered, seeing Alex twisting and contorting his face. He hoped that Alex might make a sound or face for more than a split second that might indicate how the man might be feeling. "The Perez family have claimed the body."

Alex sat down in a thump, as Henry studied his boyfriend and lover carefully. "Love?" Henry asked, and Alex looked up at him. The uncertainty in Alex's eyes broke Henry's heart. Henry wasn't sure what to say or do, and looking to Shaan for help, had not yielded any answers his way. "It's ok, Alex." Henry murmured, not really sure what else he could say at this point. "Just take your time, sweetheart."

"I … I … don't know." Alex confessed in a whisper. "I am … I don't know …." Alex rubbed furiously at his eyes and shot to his feet. He turned his back on Shaan and Henry where they stood and wiped harshly at his eyes.

"Alex, darling. It's ok to not know how to feel." Henry whispered, taking a step towards him.

He tried not to flinch back or recoil in the hurt of rejection, when Alex took one step further away from him. "I need a minute to myself, baby." Alex muttered, as he side stepped them both.

"That's understandable, Alex." Shaan answered for them both. Henry shot Shaan a touch of a harsh glare. He wanted to pull Alex into his arms and comfort him. His boyfriend was visibly upset and did not want him to touch him. As Alex stalked past him and out of the screen door, Shaan shot Henry a look of his own. "I know you want to be there for him, Henry. And you will. There is going to be some hard days and nights ahead for Alex, that's when you will get to be there for him. Comfort and love him, protect him and keep the nightmares at bay. But right now, you need to respect what Alex asked for and give him some space."

"But…" Henry had argued, but resigned his tone at the look on his equerry's face.

"He needs time, Henry." Shaan told him softly. "I know you want to be there for Alex and that is admirable, but right now, Alex needs some space and as his boyfriend, it's your job to give him that.

Miguel Ramos, or Pedro Perez, whatever he was going by, he was a nightmare that had been living rent free in Alex's head for almost a decade. Alex has been trapped in a nightmare he can't wake up from for so long. Reliving what that man had done to him every time he closed his eyes and when he didn't he was consciously burying it so deep in his psyche, that it warped Alex's sense of security. The nightmare is now over for him. It's going to take some time to let that information sink into his brain, Henry."

"I know."

"You're a good partner, Henry." Shaan told him, ushering him into a stool at the breakfast bar and moving into the kitchen. Shaan picked up making the tea and coffee from where Henry had left off before Shaan had arrived. "I know you just want to take Alex's pain away, but right now, all you can do is be there for him. Let him know how loved and supported he is by you. Let him process his feelings, then he will come back to you. You're doing well, Henry"

Alex was sitting on the edge of the dock, trying to sort out his own head. It was more chaotic now, than when he had been in Henry's presence. Henry really did calm the chaos in his head and keep his demons at bay. Guilt began gnawing at Alex, at how he had stormed out.

But he knew he needed to wrap his head around this new information. He needed to realise that Miguel Ramos no longer posed a threat to him. That was a hard feat for Alex. But he knew his mind would settle eventually.

Seeing Zahra on the porch of the cabin, she tipped her head at him and he forced a small smile onto his face. Now was not the time to anger or stress Zahra out. They might be friends now, but he was still a little afraid of her. Especially with how grumpy and irritable she was becoming as the end of her pregnancy was drawing closer. He might be only a man, but he had learnt the hard way with Erica, never to use the word hormonal, around a pregnant woman.

Hearing soft footsteps on the dock, Alex steeled his own nerves, ready to tell Henry he was not quite ready to come into the house just yet. Selfishly, even if Gabriella needed him right this second, he'd still need a minute or two more to sort out the storm in his head. At least so that he doesn't explode all over those people that are just trying to help.

"Mijo?" Oscar's soft voice came from a fair few feet behind him. He appreciated the fact his father was giving him a wide berth. "I came back to the house as soon as I heard from Shaan. Do you want me to call your Ma here too?"

Oscar had been in town, helping Sal Pietro deal with some civic bullshit, honestly when it came to politics these days, Alex tuned out. Politics no longer held the interest in his mind, that it once did. "No." Alex sobbed softly and furiously wiped at his eyes. Both he and his dad unconsciously did this thing where they didn't really open up to one another unless they were cooking in the kitchen together.

"Can I sit too?" Oscar asked his son, tentatively taking another step closer.

"You own the freaking dock, I can't exactly say no." Alex retorted, giving up on trying to appear as if he wasn't crying.

"I am not going to tell you how to feel." Oscar whispered softly between them, scared to set Alex off. Shaan and Henry had already told him about Alex's request to have some space and his storming out. "That's for you to decide. But Ale, it's ok if you're not sure how to feel."

He rested his head on his father's shoulder and Oscar immediately put his arm around his son, pulling him close. He hadn't held Alex like this since Erica died, but before that it had been years and years since they had the kind of relationship where they could comfort one another.

"Is it bad that I feel relieved?" Alex asked his father in a small voice. "That for the first time in so long, I feel safe?"

"No." Oscar whispered into the air around them. "I think that makes sense." He kissed his son's temple and held on tighter to him. Alex would tell him when he was ok.