"My mom read it to me when I was a boy. It's kind of a tradition," he explained, with a small shrug as he set the bags down on the table. "This is a lot more than taco shells, Tia!" he pointed out with a chuckle, as he helped her unpack and put groceries away.

"What?" she asked innocently, though there was a fair amount of mischief in her gaze as well. "You know what I'm like. I have the attention span of a Cocker Spaniel. If I see something I like, or looks interesting, I have to have it. Besides, we both graze more than eat regular meals, so always having healthy snacks on hand is a good thing." Healthy snacks aside, there was very little she could do to look innocent about the large chocolate fudge cake mix-box she was currently setting into the cupboard.

"Uh huh. That's why you bought ice cream, and I hate to shock you, but I'm pretty sure that's a cake mix you're holding in your hand," he teased further. "You didn't forget the tortillas, did you?" he asked, as he finished unpacking a bag.

"Of course I didn't forget the tortillas," she promised, pulling a packet from the bag she was unpacking. "See" I found them first, and then I got distracted by sweets." Another sweet smile was flashed in his direction; she knew he found it pretty difficult to be put out with her when she was enthusiastically tempting his sweet tooth with her own.

"My point is that cake and ice cream are not healthy snacks," he said, though he was hardly upset by it. He had a sweet tooth, too, and so long as he worked it off, it didn't seem to make much of a different as far as his weight was concerned. "What about doggie treats?" he asked, though they probably had plenty of those, too.

"I got those, too," she giggled happily. To be fair, the ice cream and cake mix were only a small fraction of what else she had bought, which was mostly fruit, crackers, and nut mixes - proper healthy snacks. "I'm really curious about these tacky things, you know. Marek was talking about them all day, and I got left with the impression that they're sort of pancakes with salad inside."

"Tacky things?" Aaron echoed, as he helped her unload the last bag. "You mean tacos?" he asked, laughing. "I can't believe you've been living here this long without ever trying one," he said, though to be fair, she had only arrived in San Francisco a short while ago.

"I've been here a month!" she protested laughingly. "And almost all of that with you. So if you think about it, it's your fault I don't know what a taco is. Yes, I'm blaming you." She grinned, rising onto her toes to kiss his cheek. "It's all your fault," she added fondly.

He laughed, taking no offense to that, knowing she was just teasing him anyway, and it was his pleasure to introduce her to the pleasures of Mexican cuisine. "We're going to remedy that today," he assured her, bopping her nose with a finger. "But first I need a shower."

"Want some company?" She always asked, and she never minded when he said no. It was just a normal interaction for them, especially when she added, "Because you let my dog eat sand again, and he really needs a wash, too."

"Let?" he echoed, chuckling again. "Honey, there is no 'let' when it comes to Moose here," he said, regarding the dog. "You want to hose him down while I shower?" he asked, though he wasn't as opposed to sharing a shower as she might think.

Solo looked up, as though he knew they were discussing him. "He could do with a wash, yeah," Tia agreed in amusement. "Sure you'd be okay with us both in the bathroom with you? We could use the other one, if you're not comfortable with the idea."

And there it was again - that one thing about himself that he had yet to let her see for herself. Though she had guessed enough already, up until now, he had been careful not to let her see that part of him that had been wounded, that part of him that he was most self-conscious of. But if they were going to be together, he couldn't keep it from her forever. He paused a moment, as if to consider it, unsure what he was waiting for. If she deemed him less a man for it or if she found him repulsive, it was probably better to know now than find out later. "I'm okay with it, if you're okay with it," he countered.

Her eyes lit up, deeply touched that he trusted her enough to let her see this part of him, to see what remained of his limb without prosthetic or pants obscuring it. She knew it was a big deal, and had been very careful not to push, but it was truly lovely to hear him say that. "All right," she agreed. "Let's wash the sand off my mucky puppies, shall we?"

"One mucky puppy, anyway," he said with a laugh, before touching a kiss to the tip of her nose. "After you," he told her, waving a hand for her to lead the way. He'd have to stop off in the bedroom anyway before heading for the shower.

"Yeah, I'm definitely changing before I get in there with Solo," she laughed warmly. "I happen to like this skirt." And suede did not survive exposure to water very well. It didn't take long for her to skip into the bedroom and pull on a tank and shorts, though, calling for Solo to come to the bathroom and prepare to be hosed.

In the meantime, he had some preparations of his own to do, mainly in the way of taking his sneakers off and then stripping out of his clothes, down to his boxers. The sight of him without pants or shoes wasn't really a new one for Tia, as they'd started sleeping together in the same room and bed as soon as they'd moved into the beach-house, but he had been very modest about letting her see him without the prosthetic that allowed him to move about with relative ease.

"It looks nice on you," he complimented her, as the two of them changed out of their clothes to prepare for Solo's bath and his shower. "You do realize that you're fighting a losing battle against the sand."

"I may be losing, but that's no reason to stop fighting," she told him in amusement. It had taken time to grow used to the unusual sight of his legs - one strong and natural, the other artificial but no less manly. She'd long since stopped noticing that he looked any different to anyone else, slowly proving to him that it really didn't matter to her. "Besides, if I give up the fight, Solo will start leaving sandcastles in the bed for us, and I don't know about you, but I don't much like sand in my bum."

Aaron chuckled, unable to keep his eyes from straying to the area of her body she had just remarked upon. "And it's such a nice bum, too," he told her with a grin. "We could get a hose so you can hose him down on the porch," he suggested. That might solve the problem of maneuvering the dog into the bathtub everyday.

"I'm so glad you like it!" She giggled, wiggling said piece of her anatomy in his general direction as she rummaged for her dog's shampoo. "Hosing him down on the porch is probably a better idea," she conceded. "He'd probably enjoy it more, too. He likes having a shower, but being in the stuffy bathroom, not so much."

"We'll have to do that, then," he said, unsure why they didn't have a hose out there to begin with, but maybe his parents just hadn't thought of that. They had, however, thought to have the bathroom equipped with a few extras in order to make things easier for their son to move about in there.

"Then we will." Tia nodded, straightening up with the shampoo in hand. "How do we do this - you in first, or us" He does take up a lot of space."

Aaron frowned, knowing there was no way he could share the shower with Solo without risking falling. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all. "I think maybe you should go first," he suggested. And while she was busy washing the sand off the dog, he could be detaching his prosthesis.

"It won't take long," she promised, moving over to kiss him gently. "Solo! C'mere!" There was a bark from the living room, and the sound of paws on wood, and Solo came lumbering into the bedroom, tongue hanging out, happy to be ushered into the bathroom for a little bit of very wet loving.

"So am I," she assured him. "Although I'm not sure I should have given your mother my phone number." Giggling, she straightened up, glancing down as Solo licked Aaron's knee and heaved himself away, happier now that his favorite man was a little more himself.

"You gave my mother your phone number?" he echoed, brows arching upwards in surprise again. If she had, no one had informed him of that fact, not even his mother. Had she done it so that she could keep tabs on him, or was she simply that fond of Tia" What if they broke up" Though just the mere possibility of that had Aaron inwardly wincing. He had no intentions of "getting rid of? Tia, as she'd so astutely put it herself, even if he hadn't yet declared his love for her, as she had for him.

"Are you planning on meeting her for lunch or something?" he asked, reaching for the crutches. Moving around was decidedly more difficult without the prosthesis.

"Well ....I thought she wanted it so she could get in contact for the move, but she keeps sending me pictures of animals she thinks are cute," she told him, careful to step back out of his way. She laughed as she turned, peeling the tank up and over her head. "Maybe I should take her out sometime, what do you think" Go shopping or something else that she doesn't get to do with her manly boys."

He winced, but there was a hint of humor in his eyes. "So long as she's not sending you pictures of me," he said, quieting a moment as he heaved himself up off the chair and steadied himself on the crutches. Normally, he would have taken the prosthetic off in the bathroom, but with Tia giving Solo a bath, it hadn't been possible. "I think she'd like that, to be honest," he admitted, taking a moment to admire her as she peeled away her tank top, realizing she really was planning on joining him in the shower. "Maybe you could go get a pedicure together or something," he suggested. That sure as hell wasn't something he was going to be doing anytime soon.

"Then that's what I'll do." She tossed him a warm smile over her shoulder, thumbs tucking into the waist of her shorts as she divested herself of those, too. She hadn't been kidding when she'd offered to join him, after all. Perhaps getting closer with his family was a way to off-set her unbalanced relationship with her brother; she still hadn't spoken to Bertrand, though he had finally tracked her down. He was pissed off, understandably, but then, so was she. "Oh, don't you want to get your nails done with us?"

"Would I be able to get half off on a pedicure?" he asked, making a joke at his own expense, not that he had any intention of doing so. As awkward as the crutches were, he seemed to manage well enough as he followed her into the bathroom.

She snorted with laughter, keeping out of his way as they maneuvered around each other in the bathroom. "Maybe they'd let you pay once for two visits," she suggested impishly, catching the stool to set it securely in place in the shower. "Or give you a makeover included in the price."

He arched a brow at her suggestion. "Do I look like I need a makeover?" he asked, assuming she was teasing him. She had never complained about his looks before, not even complaining about the stubble of beard on his chin and cheeks.

"Oh, every girl needs to check she's using the right foundation every now and then," she informed him playfully, reaching up to gently tweak at his chin. "Maybe get some blending tips."

There wasn't much he could do with both arms occupied in maneuvering the crutches, so he only smirked at her. "Need I remind you that I'm not a girl?" he teased in return.

"No' Then this isn't a fashion statement?" she asked sweetly, her hand wandering south to curl about something that definitely wasn't removable. He had revived somewhat after his wavering moment of concerned upset, and she was just stubborn enough to keep being cheeky until he gave in and set it aside entirely.

Her touch revived something else, too - that much was obvious, his eyes flashing a warning. "Don't start something you don't intend to finish," he warned her. If she kept this up, it was going to be awhile before he could introduce her to tacos, but he wasn't complaining.

"When do I ever not finish?" she pointed out with justified confidence, flicking a wink in his direction as she turned the shower on. "I should think you wouldn't be making suggestions like that now you know just how far I'm willing to go to finish, even in public."

"Just saying," he told her, not willing to argue that point further. He glanced at the shower as she turned the water on. "Uh, how do you want to do this?" he asked. It was awkward enough for him to get in alone without having to maneuver around someone else besides.

"It's probably easier if you get in first, and I work around you," she suggested thoughtfully. "I'm small, I can squeeze into spaces you wouldn't believe. I once managed to get into a coal scuttle during a game of hide and seek. No one found me, but I had to yell for help when I couldn't get out again."

"You say that like I'm supposed to know what that is," he pointed out, as he maneuvered himself onto the edge of the bath and handed her the crutches. The tricky part wasn't so much getting into the shower as it was getting his shorts off without falling on his ass. He usually did that before he took his prosthetic off, but it seemed he was doing things backwards today. Of course, he could have asked for her help, but he had his pride, after all.

"Oh, it's the shuttlecock-shaped thing you fill with coal from your cellar and bring upstairs to fill fireplaces with," she explained, though that probably wasn't much help either. "About ....so-big?" She held her hands apart around four feet, quite happy to chat randomly for as long as he needed to get comfortable in the shower.

"If you say so!" Aaron replied, taking her word for it. There were times when some things were lost in translation due to the small differences in their backgrounds and cultures. Getting his shorts off was a skill he hadn't quite mastered without two legs to stand on, but somehow he managed, albeit awkwardly and without asking for help. Then it was just a matter of scooting from the side of the tub onto the stool, and offering her a hand to join him.

"I say so," she informed him sweetly. "I was very impressed with myself. I was fourteen, though, so I doubt I'd fit now. I haven't tried recently, though. Maybe that should be my next test of myself - see if I fit in the coal scuttle again." Tia laughed to herself at that thought, drumming her fingers against her own middle as she turned to find him offering her a hand. "Oh, how kind of you, good sir," she teased, taking his hand to step into the shower with him. "Wow, looming over you. Never done this before. Enjoying the view?"

"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?" he asked. "Distracting me from worrying over my ..." he trailed off, just short of calling it what it was, unable to say the word "stump" even now. But he couldn't complain about the view, enjoying the sight of her from this viewpoint, just as he did from any other.

"Would I do a thing like that?" Tia asked innocently. She shifted, just as innocently sliding down onto his lap to straddle his thighs, her arms resting comfortably on his shoulders as she kissed the tip of his nose. "Isn't this nice?"

"It's a little, um, uncomfortable," he admitted, though he was smiling. What was uncomfortable was the way his body was reacting to her, more so than anything else. Hopefully, his smile told her as much without him having to explain.

"Just a little?" Her smile brightened as she slid closer, rather wickedly making that discomfort a lot more heightened with a gentle rock of her hips as her lips teased his. She hoped he understood that she really didn't care that he had lost a leg; she loved the man he was, not the bits of him that made a full skeleton with muscle and skin.

She was utterly shameless, totally at ease, boogie-ing away with her enormous arthritic dog barking along with her as she pulled a dress out of her closet at random and dragged it on over her head. They were home for the evening; being fully dressed wasn't exactly necessary. Solo licked her knee fondly, loping around in a circle as she twirled, both of them enjoying the sound of Aaron's laughter as he watched them.

He didn't even bother to ask what she was doing, as it was obvious enough; something he hadn't thought to consider in a long time - she was simply having fun. When was the last time he'd done something just for fun, he wondered. Had he forgotten what it was like to have fun" Maybe Tia could show him. He smiled at the thought of that, and realized that, whether he'd said it or not, he'd fallen hard for this little woman who'd unexpectedly texted him at random.

"So, Mr. Sexy-Watchy-Smooch-Sandwich," she announced finally, turning about to look at Aaron with those deep eyes that were always fond, even when her expression pretended otherwise. "You still haven't told me what tacky things are, and I'm a leetle beet hoongray now."

He laughed again, unable to come up with an equally silly name for her. Now that he was able to walk on two legs again, he abandoned the crutches to move to his feet and pull her into his embrace. "What kind of accent is that, Tiny Dancer, and don't you think that dress is a little too sexy for tacky things?"

"Well, it started out French, wandered into Belgian, and then possible veered off and ended up in Atlantis," she suggested in reference to her accent, grinning as he tugged her into his arms. "You think this dress is sexy' But this is my comfiest dress ever!"

"Atlantis?" he echoed, laughing again. "Do you know I can only follow about about half of what you're saying most of the time?" he asked, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, letting his hands settle snugly against the curve of her rear. "Mmhmm," he murmured in reply, brushing his lips against the side of her neck, but careful not to light that fire again or they'd never eat dinner. Comfortable maybe, but he appreciated the way it hugged her curves.

She giggled as he nibbled on her neck, sliding her arms about his waist to deliberately pinch his backside. "I'm hungry here, dude," she reminded him. "Feed me, or prepare to be horrified by my attempt to make salad pancakes all by myself."

"Is my name Seymour?" he asked, unsure if she'd understand the reference, chuckling a little before letting her go. "You're gonna be amazed at how easy these are," he told her, stepping away so he could finish getting dressed. He was almost a different man now that he had two legs again, more confident and sure than he was without the aid of his prosthesis.

Tia snorted with laughter. She did get the reference. "If you're Seymour, that makes me a mean green mother form outer space," she pointed out with a giggle, stepping back as he turned away, and abruptly tripping over Solo. She landed in a giggling heap, her huge Mastiff clambering on top of her to cover her face with doggie kisses.

Unfortunately, neither of them had noticed the big dog in time to save her from tripping over him, but Aaron was quick to help her to her feet, his gaze moving over her to make sure she wasn't hurt. "You all right?" he asked, looking concerned.

Still cackling with laughter at her own clumsiness, Tia nodded breathlessly. "I'm fine, I promise," she assured him. "My big dope loves doing that to me - he just hasn't done it in front of you before now!"

Solo barked happily, nudging his cold nose into Aaron's hand.

"You should be more careful," he scolded mildly, worried she might hurt herself if she wasn't careful. He couldn't bring himself to scold Solo though, especially as the big dog nudged his nose in hopes of getting scritched again. If Solo were to trip him that way when he was on his crutches, there was no telling what might happen to either of them.

She couldn't really tell Aaron that he was in no danger of being tripped by her big softie of a dog. Solo believed heartily that he was still a puppy, and that she was a puppy too, so she got rough-housed as much as he could. He did, however, absolutely believe that Aaron was the leader of the pack. "If I get bruised, would you kiss it better?" Tia asked impishly.

Aaron didn't really know that Solo considered Tia a puppy and Aaron the leader of the pack, nor did he think to ask about it, but his fingers scritched Solo's fur without consciously thinking about it, and he smiled at Tia's question. "If it would help, sure," he replied, amusement lighting his eyes.

"Your kisses always help," she promised affectionately, her bright smile easily rising in answer to his response. "But I demand food, you know. In fact. I may even start getting insistent about it. I'm very good at the feminine foot stamp of fury."

"Then maybe you should stop distracting me, so I can start cooking," he teased in return, though there wasn't much cooking to do as far as tacos were concerned.

"Maybe you should finish getting dressed so I don't get so much fun out of distracting you," she suggested with a grin, patting his rear end as she stepped back. "I know! Solo - dinner!" The big dog dragged himself onto his feet as she clapped her hands, the two of them running off toward the kitchen to feed the canine in the house. "Less distracting for you?" she yelled over her shoulder as she went.

He chuckled as she darted off. "Only slightly!" he called after her before moving to focus his attention on finishing getting dressed, choosing a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers - comfortable and casual. He was about to join her in the kitchen when his phone rang, and though she might not be able to hear the conversation clearly, she would probably be able to tell that he was talking to someone. The call didn't last long though before he joined her in the kitchen, the phone shoved in his jeans pocket.

She didn't ask who it was, glued to her own phone with a frown on her face as she tapped out a reply to some message or other, leaning against the fridge while Solo happily gobbled down his bowl of medicated mince. She glanced up as Aaron came into sight, seeming relieved to lift a smile onto her face as she set her phone aside. "Tackys?"

He didn't ask who she'd been texting, since it wasn't really any of his business, but he seemed a little distracted since she'd left him in the bedroom. "Ta-cos," he corrected, enunciating each syllable. He touched a kiss to the top of her head before walking past to get the taco fixings out of the fridge.

"Tac-kees," she deliberately echoed incorrectly, sliding out of his way with a warm smile. "Can I help at all" Possibly not just by standing around looking gorgeous, which we know I find utterly impossible at the best of times?"

He furrowed his brows at her remark, wondering if she really held that opinion of herself. "You don't really think that, do you?" he asked, with a glance back at her from the refrigerator.

Tia tilted her head with a faint smile. "I don't have the best opinion of myself, but no, I don't think I'm consistently hideous," she assured him fondly. "I'm allowed to have esteem problems, love. No one gets to be this perky unless they're hiding some sense of inadequacy."

"You still haven't told me what a burrito is," she pointed out. Her phone buzzed, and a message notification rose on the screen. You can't ignore me forever, pup. Tia winced, pulling the phone out of sight again, ignoring the message despite its content. "I'm assuming it's a tortilla thing?"

"Yeah, it's ..." Aaron trailed off with a momentary glance in the direction of where she'd just stowed her phone. "Like I said, these are more like burritos than tacos. Tacos are smaller with less stuff inside them. Do you need to answer that?" he asked, gesturing with a hand toward the phone's hiding place.

She hesitated, glancing guiltily down at her lap for a moment, then shook her head. "It's my brother, it's fine," she said, knowing that didn't really answer anything. "So a burrito is like a cat wrapped in a blanket, only instead of a cat, it's meat and salad, and instead of a blanket, it's tortilla?"

"Yeah," he replied a little distractedly, regarding the taco versus burrito debate. "Which is exactly why you should answer it," he told her without bothering to remind her how lucky she was to still have her brother. "Tell you what. I'll clean up while you talk to your brother," he told her, as he moved to his feet to gather the dirty dishes.

Tia sighed, reluctance radiating off her as she leaned back in her seat. She looked down at her phone, knowing Aaron probably wouldn't let this go. So she got to her feet, raising the phone to her ear to listen to the ringing of her brother's phone on the other side of the Atlantic. "Hey, Bert. Yes, it's me ..."

Aaron did his best not to eavesdrop on her conversation as he went about clearing off the table and doing the dishes. He hoped there was nothing wrong. She hadn't seemed very eager to return her brother's call, but it wasn't any of his business.

Whatever was being said, it seemed as though most of it was being said in England. "Yes, but ....no ....no, I ....would you just ....no ....no ....I'm ....Bertie, for god's sake, just SHUT UP!" Tia never lost her temper. It appeared that her brother had the unique ability to make it happen from thousands of miles away. "I'm happy here, I'm looked after, I happen to love Aaron, thank you very much, and if you ever try to guilt trip me into coming home again, I will lose your number and every means you have to contact me, understand?" There was a pause, and she answered a little more calmly. "I know. I miss having a big brother, rather than a creepy nursemaid. Say hi to Max and Georgie for me, okay' Bye."

To his credit, Aaron made no comment, appearing as though he hadn't heard a thing all the while she was on the phone, though it was hard not to hear what was being said, at least on her side of the connection. Once he was finished with the dishes, he wandered over to see if Solo had enough food and water, debating taking the big dog for another walk in order to give Tia some privacy, when she finally went quiet.

Solo was watching his mistress. If a dog could look worried, he would have done. Tia was standing out on the porch, her phone resting against her chin, a conflicted expression on her face. The situation with her brother was difficult to navigate, made worse by the fact that Bertrand had somehow lost his ability to empathize in the last year. She could only hope it came back soon.

Somehow, it seemed Tia had snuck past him and out onto the porch when he had his back turned. It was Solo who noticed first, and Aaron was quick to follow. "What do you think, buddy' Should we go find out if she's okay?" Solo made a sound that was sort of a whimper as he watched his mistress. "That's good enough for me," Aaron said, pulling open the door and waving the dog outside.

Tia glanced up as the door opened, a half-hearted smile touching her face as Solo loped over to lean heavily against her leg. "I'm all right," she assured the dog, reaching down to pat his back reassuringly, even as she looked up at Aaron. "I'm all right," she repeated, for his benefit.

"Sure you are," he said, only half believing her. "That's why you're out here on the porch alone." He stepped over and slid an arm around her shoulder, leaning close to touch a kiss to her cheek. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I've been told I'm a pretty good listener." He nudged her arm, hoping to get a smile from her. "Or you could just text me."

He succeeded, though the smile wasn't exactly the bright sight it usually was. She twisted, wrapping her arms about his waist. "It just feels petty and complicated now," she admitted quietly. "I ran away from Bertie, really - from his I'm the head of the family and you will do what I tell you routine. And I know that's just how he's coping with our loss, but he's trying to insist that I come home and forget everything here, and tonight he tried to use Georgie - my nephew - against me, saying he's been crying because he hasn't seen me in ages and he thinks I'm dead too, and ....Oh, I don't know." She pressed her face into his chest. "Why does family have to be so complicated?"

"Because they can be, I guess. Because they know us best and know how what buttons to push," he told her, wrapping his arms around her to hold her close. "You can't avoid him forever, even if he is trying to guilt trip you into coming home, and I know it sounds selfish, but I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave," she promised, hugging him tightly as her cheek found a resting place against his chest. "If I did go back, it would only be to visit. This is home now. You're home."

He hadn't yet said why he didn't want her to leave, but it seemed pretty obvious that he had grown as attached to her as she had to him. He frowned a little thoughtfully as she snugged into him, using his chest for a pillow. "You could always Skype with your nephew and assure him that you and Solo are fine," he suggested.

"That would be a good start, wouldn't it?" she murmured softly. That hadn't occurred to her. But then, she hadn't been thinking very hard about reconnecting with her brother and his family since coming here. She'd been trying to hide from her blood ties, and tonight had proved that she just couldn't do that. "Thank you," she said, tilting her head back to look up at him. "I'm sorry things went skewy tonight. Family drama is never fun."

"Didn't go skewy," he assured her, tilting his head down to touch his nose to hers with a smile on his face. "And if you ever want to visit, I'll just go with you. I've never been to England. You can show me around."

"Really?" Her face lit up with soft surprise, genuinely touched that he would offer to cross the Atlantic and come face to face with a brother she hadn't portrayed in the best light. "I'd love to show you where I grew up," she confessed, almost shy. "You can protect me from the peacocks."

"Peacocks?" he echoed with a chuckle. "Is that the worst you can do?" If it was, he didn't have much to worry about, so long as her brother didn't make life difficult for him. She had already met his family, after all; the least he could do was return the favor.

"Pretty much, yes." She nodded, smiling back at him. And that was the smile he was used to. Tia didn't really choose to engage with her lower moods, so when she did, it was strange to see her solemn and half-hearted. He'd obviously succeeded in raising her spirits. "We could ....we could visit in January," she suggested hesitantly. "Spend Christmas with your family."

"I think they'd like that," he said of his family, especially his mom. Christmas was a big deal in his family, and he and his brother had been away for too many Christmases the last few years. He knew his family considered themselves blessed just to have him home, alive and well, and that was the best Christmas present he could have ever given them. "What do you say we take Solo for a walk?" he asked - the dog's last walk for the night.

"I think that sounds like a great idea," she agreed fondly, glancing down to find Solo already at the top of the steps, looking hopefully down at the beach. "You know ....I think you and he are somehow joined at the brain."

"Well, we are both pretty fond of you," he agreed, though that was probably a bit of an understatement. "Do you want me to start licking you?" he teased, letting the double entendre hang between them. He obviously wouldn't be licking her the way Solo might.

"On the beach' Really?" Her eyes sparkled teasingly as she slid her hand into his. "Are we straying into the realms of kink, Sandwich Man, or is this a fantasy for a later date?"

"No!" He laughed. "Not on the beach! Unless you're into that sort of thing," he replied, waggling his brows at her as he took her hand and started toward the stairs. "After you, Solo!" he told the dog, waving him onward. Stairs were a bit tricky when you only had one good leg, but Aaron managed them well enough so long as he took his time.

Giggling, Tia thumped down the steps onto the sand, not caring that she was barefoot, as Solo loped off toward the water. There was a splash, and a delighted bark, and the arthritic canine came lolloping back to spray them both with water as he shook himself dry. "Solo! Ooh, you cheeky little- !"

Aaron couldn't help but laugh, both at the dog and his mistress. It was almost as if Solo had sensed the dip in Tia's mood and decided to do something about it. And so, they'd come full circle, ending the day the way it had begun - together on the beach, watching the sunset, just as they'd watched the sunrise earlier. And though Aaron had yet to tell Tia he loved her, there was a sparkle in his eyes and a spring to his step that hadn't been there before he'd met her. If she looked hard enough, she could see that love in his smile and his eyes and feel it in his kiss. There were more ways to say "I love you? than with words.