((Contains material of an adult nature toward the end.))

The luncheon with Robyn had gone pretty well, though Miranda hadn't really learned anything she didn't know already. She didn't stay very long, returning home promptly when she'd promised, before Rufus came searching for her. She stepped into Rose Cottage and closed the door behind her, calling to Rufus to announce her arrival - if he was there. "Rufio! I'm home!" She left her handbag on a table and slipped out of her shoes to make herself comfortable.

"Who?" By the sounds of things, he was in his study, no doubt bent double over his desk because he couldn't find the perfect chair to recline in while working. And, naturally, he couldn't let an opportunity to object to the silly pet name she'd pegged him with go by. "There's nobody by that name here, try next door!"

She shrugged out of her coat and tossed it onto a chair before following the sound of her husband's voice into the study. "There's no one next door by that name either," she replied as she paused in the doorway to admire the view, contemplating whacking his rear while he bent over his desk. "Now there's a sight for sore eyes," she remarked appreciatively.

He looked over his shoulder at her with an amused glint in his eye, not bothering to straighten up just yet. "If you smack it, angel, you're cooking tonight," he threatened her mildly, looking back to the book he'd been translating for a moment. Setting a clean sheet of paper between the pages, he closed it, and then stood up straight, turning to look at her. "I see you survived lunch. How is the wayward Robyn?"

"Is that a threat?" she asked, with an amused smirk on her face. She would have asked what he was doing, but she knew it was work and that she likely wouldn't understand half what he'd tell her in explanation. He had his work and she had hers, and they rarely bored each other with the details. "Wayward," she replied. "What's for dinner" I'm starving!" That was an odd thing to say for someone who'd just come home from having lunch out.

He gave her an odd look, chuckling a little at the strange declaration from someone who he thought had just shared a meal with a cousin. "Dare I ask why you're starving?" he smiled, reaching out to pull her into his arms. He kissed her hair affectionately, smoothing his hand over her back. "I would have thought you would have gone somewhere utterly divine and eaten everything on the menu."

"Because I am," she said as he pulled her into his arms. There was no argument there, and hopefully, there would be none forthcoming. She shrugged. "She chose the place, not me," she explained. If she'd been the one doing the choosing, she wouldn't have had to pretend to like the food. But then it wasn't really the food that was bad so much as who had been doing the cooking. "I just wasn't hungry. What have you been up to while I was gone?" she asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

Given that he'd been witness to her declaration before leaving that she hoped wherever they ate was good because she was starving, Rufus didn't believe a word of it, but chose not to push that one. Not yet, anyway. Stifling his smile at his wife's awful attempt at deception, he squeezed her gently. "I've just been reminding myself about the Fae," he told her. "I want to be able to help Des and Piper as much as possible when the time comes."

That put a worried frown on her face and she almost wished she hadn't asked. When the time comes... But when would that be exactly' She had a feeling they weren't going to get much of a warning. "But that's not going to happen for a while yet, is it?" she asked, not really sure of all the details and not sure she wanted to know. Of course, she wanted to do everything she could to help keep the little family safe, but what could she do really' She was just a fashion designer. What did she know about Fae"

"Oh, angel, I didn't mean to worry you." He frowned himself, stroking his hair through her hair as he looked down at her. "Piper is due at the end of this month. It could happen at any time now, love." He paused, moving to cradle her face in his hands, looking into her eyes with all the confidence he possessed. "I have no doubt that things will fall out in their favor. None at all. I simply want to be prepared in case they need a little help, that is all."

"It's all right," she assured him, smiling faintly mostly for his sake. "It's not your fault. They're family. I'm going to worry. And I need to grow up and come to grips with what you and Lei do for a living. It's just that it hits a little too close to home this time. That's all," she said, tipping her her upwards to look into those beautiful, soulful eyes of his. She laid one hand against his chest right near his heart. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked sincerely, though she doubted there was. She was trying to help with Lei, but she wasn't so sure she was helpful there either.

"Keep being the wonderful woman you are," he told her. "Piper was virtually alone when she gave birth to Lyneth - I think, this time, you have a perfect opportunity to play mother to another young lady who will deeply appreciate all the help she can get." He kissed her forehead tenderly. "We won't be working again," he said quietly. "Lei and I talked it out. She wants to retire, Miri. So long as she keeps up her skills enough to protect herself and her daughter, I don't see there being any difficulty there." He smiled, hugging his wife tightly. "You got through to her when no one else could. Thank you."

"But I'm not Piper's mother, Rufus. She has a mother," Miranda pointed out with a sigh, leaning into him so that she could feel the warm, protective hold of his arms around her. It was at moments like these when he held her close, the sound of his voice vibrating in his chest, coupled with his heartbeat, that she could almost make herself believe there were no dangers and nothing to fear. Something he said made her look back up at him, eyes wide with surprise. "What do you mean' Is that even possible?" And if Lei was going to retire, what did that mean for Rufus"

"A mother that comes from an Earth that has no understanding of magic or the dangers that come with it, nor of the wonderful things that can be done with it," Rufus reminded her gently. "And Des, I believe, would appreciate knowing that you're around. They're very fond of you, Miranda." Her reaction to his change of subject made him smile. "We'll make it possible," he promised her. "She won't ever be one hundred percent safe, but Rhy'Din is the best place for a Slayer to step back from active duties, anyway. We'll find a way to transfer her power to the next Slayer once the baby is born, and ....well, I've been asked to consider consulting for the occult investigations branch of the Watch. Consulting only, no active work."

All or most of what he said only made her eyes widen further, her lips parting to form a silent, "Oh." It took a few seconds for all of that to sink in, for her to grasp just what it was he was telling her. "Consulting?" she echoed. "You mean, a desk job?" It was the only way she knew of to put it. If she understood what he was saying, he wouldn't be going on any active hunts of any kind. Did she even dare believe it' She was in a state of shock.

"Not even that, love," he smiled at her, recognizing the shock for what it was. He'd had a feeling she had never really believed he would give it all up in a heartbeat. "If they require expert advice, they'll contact me. If not, they won't. I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with supporting me on your own income." Not that he made more than the cost of the groceries right now anyway.

Suddenly something struck her funny, and she started laughing. With Miranda, you never could tell what her reaction might be to something, and as the eternal optimist of the family, she was in a habit of seeing the bright side of nearly every situation. "Rufus Bennett, a kept man. Imagine that." She giggled again, as she poked him in the stomach, obviously amused. "You're not going to get fat and lazy on me, are you, Rufio?"

"I think perhaps dropping a line to her might be an idea," he suggested, pouring a healthy measure of vodka into her glass to create a Bloody Mary. "Did she have any meat, herself?" His hand gently passed over her hair reassuringly as he handed her the glass.

"No, she had the same thing I did. Pancakes and cocoa. That's all." She took the glass from him, grateful for his help and understanding and even more so for the touch which reassured and calmed her more than he could know. She took a sip of the drink, the vodka warming her insides on its way down, sighing as she started to relax. "What would I ever do without you?" A rhetorical question perhaps, since she'd done without him for over twenty years.

"Then it isn't urgent for her to know," he assured her. "Call her tonight, or tomorrow, just so she's aware for the future." He kissed her temple affectionately, gently stepping away to finish preparing the ingredients. "Would you prefer noodles or rice, angel?"

"I would prefer you," she quipped, but he wasn't on the dinner menu. Maybe for dessert, she thought with a secret smirk. He certainly was scrumptious. She took another sip of her drink, letting him make of that statement what he would.

He laughed, rolling his eyes at her. "For a woman who can't get through a sentence without her stomach growling, you're awfully eager to use up even more energy," he pointed out, turning to throw the ingredients into the wok as one hand reached into the fridge for the rice noodles, already re-hydrated and ready to go.

"It won't take much to get my energy back," she warned him with a teasing gleam in her eyes, swinging a stockinged foot back and forth from her perch on the stool as she watched him wok....or was that work" "Have you heard anything from Kaylee and Taylor?"

"Randy or not, young lady, you are going to eat to my satisfaction before you get ravished this time," Rufus informed her with a wry grin, shaking the wok to keep everything moving as it cooked. "I've not heard anything since Taylor confiscated Kaylee's phone. I imagine he was a little weary of fielding text messages all over the shop. Have you heard anything?"

"Ooooh, ravished." Giggling, she visibly shivered. "I like the sound of that. Are you going to go all Fifty Shades of Rufus on me?" she teased further, leaning on an elbow and resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched him with the wok. "Not a word, but no news is good news, right' I was thinking about throwing them a surprise party when they get back."

To his credit, he didn't say the first thing that came into his mind at her words, pausing to toss the noodles into the wok and shake soy sauce over the whole thing before actually speaking. "Would that be such a good idea?" he asked her as diplomatically as he could. "A party, yes ....but a surprise party' They are remarkably jumpy still, love, and both trained to fight when startled. I doubt you want your family decimated just because the newly-weds reacted before they caught on."

Miranda frowned, realizing her husband was right and feeling a little foolish for having suggested it. "Okay, not a surprise party then, but we should do something, don't you think" The family is going to want to do something for her, Rufus, and we cheated them out of a wedding reception." It saddened her a little that Taylor had no family but Rufus to celebrate with, but maybe in time, the Grangers would accept him as one of them, just as they had so many others.

"I think, so long as they're warned in advance, they'll be happy to celebrate with the family, love," he assured her gently. "We'll have to make sure Beth and Jason are here for it. She's remarkably put out with me for not telling her Taylor was getting married." Put out with him, not her mother, which he found ridiculously amusing.

"I'll talk to her," Miranda promised, frowning at the way he put that. "You shouldn't take the blame. It's my fault. I suppose I should have told her, but they have their hands full with the twins." She sighed again, hoping Beth wouldn't be too angry with her for leaving them out.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Stop frowning," he told her, keeping the wok moving as his free hand headed toward the cupboard for bowls. "Taylor and Kaylee made the decision; it was their wedding, and therefore their choice. And I told Beth as much. She calmed down fairly quickly after that." He grinned at his wife.

"Yes, but I want them to be friends, Rufus. I'll talk to her and explain. Taylor and Kaylee have been through so much. They just need some time. Beth is a good girl. She'll understand." At least, if Miranda knew her daughter the way she thought she did, she hoped she would. "I want Taylor to know he has a family. I want him to know he's not alone anymore."

Serving up took less than a minute, and after leaving the wok to soak, Rufus turned to join her at the counter, bowls in hand. "Sweetheart, do you remember how furious you were when Gordon eloped with Felicity?" he asked her in a fond tone. "As I recall, you forgave him virtually instantly. I believe that is Beth's reaction here - like mother, like daughter." He winked at her, handing over a bowl and a fork. "Eat up."

"Yes, but..." There was always a but where Miranda was concerned and there were few people other than Rufus who she allowed to see this other side of her personality. "I know Taylor and Beth hardly know each other, but they're as close to siblings as either is ever going to get. I really want them to like each other." She also knew there was no way to make it happen, to force them to like each other. They either would or they wouldn't.

Rufus sighed gently, taking a seat on a stool himself to start eating. "Miri, that's what I'm trying to tell you," he explained as gently as he could. "Beth wouldn't react like that unless she thought of Taylor as a brother, would she" And I very much doubt she would presume to feel that way without talking it over with him first. Your mission, Agent 007, is accomplished."

"It is?" she asked, arching both perfectly-plucked brows in surprise. Did she dare hope" "Oh, do you really think so, Rufio' Because that would be..." She broke off, her voice breaking as she was suddenly overcome with emotion. She turned to rest her cheek against his shoulder and hug his arm, not quite trusting her voice.

"Oh, sweetheart." Too much information and too many shocks in too short a time frame, he realized belatedly, shifting to wrap his arm about her as she leaned into him. "When are you going to realize that all these wonderful things that happen around you often happen because of you? You're a wonderful woman, who has raised a wonderful daughter, and who is adored by your entire family." He kissed her hair tenderly. "People come together through you, love. That is a truly amazing gift."

He couldn't see her face or the tears that were filling her eyes, but he could hear the telltale sniffle that told him she was crying just a little. Thankfully, they were happy tears. She thought his words far too kind, but she didn't dare argue with him. "Why are you so good to me, Rufus?" she asked, brushing the tears from her face before he could see them.

"That would be because I love you," he told her simply, hugging her close for a long moment. "I never want to be without your love again, angel. And it would also be because you get beautifully randy when you feel loved - I'd be lying if that wasn't also an incentive." He grinned down at her, a roguish glint in his eyes.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Since when do you need an excuse to do that?" Despite their age, it seemed their sex life was just as active and healthy as couples half their age. In fact, though they were in their fifties, they were probably in better physical shape now than ever before.

Rising from his seat to put his bowl in the dishwasher, Rufus chuckled. "Since I have the distinct impression you want to wrestle?" he offered innocently to her, though there was no disguising the appreciation in his gaze as it swept over her. She was more beautiful now than he remembered her being as a student, and there was no way he didn't want her.

Miranda pushed her bowl away and turned to face her hunky husband, but he was moving away from her to take care of the dishes. Damn him for always having to be so responsible. "Can't the dishes wait just this once, Rufus" The world won't come to an end if they wait til morning, you know," she told him, obviously losing her patience, despite what she'd told him about waiting the hour. She slid off the stool, moving around behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Don't let me distract you, dear," she said, as her fingers found their way to his belt and tugged it loose.

He laughed as her arms wrapped about his waist, laying his larger hand over both of hers. "Something tells me, wife, that you are seducing me," he teased her, amused by the way she seemed more than happy to strip him down in the kitchen when both they and Lei had a perfect view into each other's homes from this vantage point.

Maybe so, but that view was above the waist, so as long as she only stripped him from the waist down, Lei wouldn't be any more the wiser, even if she was looking their way. "What makes you say that?" she asked, innocently enough even as she unclasped his belt and starting working on his zipper. She rested her chin against his shoulder, just barely able to see over his shoulder to the house next door.

"It could be any number of things." Although one thing in particular was making getting that zipper down difficult. He pretended to consider it, staring out through the window as innocently as he could manage while being undressed from the waist down. "It could be your tone of voice, or your determined touch. Mostly, I think it's the way you seem to be absolutely set on being bent over the kitchen table with your skirt around your ears."

"Rufus, darling, you say the sweetest things," she countered, not having as much trouble with the zipper as he might have expected. She did have a little experience with these things, at least as far as he was concerned anyway. "Hmm, maybe I should be doing the dishes," she mused quietly, though she made no move to switch places with him. Her fingers were having a little too much fun playing with the contents of his pants.

Well, the strangled noise that came out of his mouth was certainly proof enough that her fingers knew what they were doing. His hand gripped the edge of the sink for a moment as he realized he was making direct eye contact with his pregnant Slayer. It looked as though she was laughing, too. "Oh, sod this." Turning, he bent and hoisted his wife up over his shoulder, spanking her rear soundly just once for being such a tease.

She squealed as he plucked her up off the floor and over his shoulder, giggling hysterically and waving to Lei from behind Rufus' back, shrieking in surprise at the spank. It was lucky for him that she'd left the top button of his pants fastened or there was a good chance he'd be mooning Lei on their way to the bedroom, or at least flashing her a look at his boxers.

Lei was definitely laughing as she waved back to Miranda, thankfully behind Rufus' back. He marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs, deliberately goosing her all the way. "You, young lady, are going the right way for a spanking," he warned his wife in amusement, tossing her onto the bed. "Flashing that little woman is not on my to-do list!"

She tugged at his shirt to pull it loose of his pants as he lugged her up the stairs. She was perfectly happy to just tease him until he'd given her rear a smack. At that point, all bets were off, and she tugged at his boxers to give him a bit of a wedgie, giggling madly all the while, until she found herself tossed onto the bed. "Oh, don't be silly. It will do her good to see that you're just like any other man." Well, almost anyway. In her opinion, he was hotter than anyone she'd ever met before, and that included Johnny Storm.

"Oh, really?" He leaned over her, hands reaching beneath her skirt to unclasp her stockings and pull them down, baring her skin to the trail of his fingertips. "What about flashing her unborn child, is that allowed as well?" he asked his wife with a grin, crawling over her to straddle her waist, pinning her down. Yes, he was about to tie her to the bed with her own stockings.

"Don't be silly. Her unborn child can't see what we're doing." She sighed when she felt his fingertips trail against her bare skin, realizing too late what he intended. "Rufus Bennett," she glared at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't you dare."

"Don't I dare what, my darling?" he asked her innocently, pausing to slide her further up the bed toward the headboard. "Are you asking me if I dare to follow through on my threat to tie you up after you very nearly stripped me in front of a young woman I've known since she was thirteen years old?"

"Oh, don't be silly. She couldn't see what I was doing in there. Do you really think I'd go that far?" she asked, her hands finding their way under his shirt, since he hadn't followed through on his threat just yet. She raked his back with her nails, but only hard enough to tantalize, not cause any real pain. "Are you going to screw me silly until I can no longer remember my name or not, Rufio?"

"Yes." He groaned as she drew her nails down his back, one arm twisting back to catch her wrist and draw it above her head with a grin. Leaning down to kiss her more than thoroughly, he took advantage of the distraction to wind her stocking about her wrist and attach it to the headboard - definitely not so tight she couldn't slide her hand free. She had the option of not playing along, always.

Distracted as she was by his kiss, he didn't have much trouble securing her wrist. As much as she might protest, she knew she was safe with him and that she could free herself at any time. Even when they were playing rough, it was always about pleasure not pain. And she'd get the chance to pay him back for his pertinence at some point, possibly when he least expected it. With one hand still free, she tugged his trousers open and let her fingers explore the contents of his pants.

He groaned once again, the sound a guarantee that those clever fingers of hers knew exactly what they were doing, and reached for her other hand, raising it up above her head as he grinned down at her. "My turn to play first," he told her, wrapping the silk stocking about her wrist to secure her.

"Whatever happened to ladies first?" she asked, but she was smiling up at him, trusting him implicitly and just a little amused that she'd gotten to him enough that he'd taken things into his own hands, so to speak. After that, she was entirely his to do with as he pleased, putting herself completely at his whims.

"This is ladies first," he promised her, and proceeded to prove that, stripping her as far as he was able in order to thoroughly worship the wonder that was his beautiful Miranda. Lips and hands went everywhere, touching, caressing, kissing, working in tandem to drive her into a frenzy again and again, and always with the certainty that if she truly wanted him to stop, she had the power to make it happen.

Why would she ever want him to stop" No one had ever known her the way he did, and no one had ever been able to make her feel the way he did. Whether it was tender lovemaking or tantalizing and teasing, no one did it better than he did. No one knew how to send her into a frenzy the way he did, and no matter how much she might beg for mercy, she was secretly loving it. He was her Rufus, and she belonged to him completely.

He didn't even bother to undress himself before taking her that first time, hands loosening her bonds to give her the freedom to touch even as he drew her up into his arms, kneeling on the bed. Never let it be said that plain old missionary was the only thing you could manage once you got past forty - these two disproved that on an almost daily basis.

Once, twice, three times....long into the night, the two of them wrestled together in a tangle of limbs. Though he took charge first, she soon followed, giving as much as she took, showing him time and again that she could keep up with him, until they were both collapsed together in a breathless, exhausted heap. Even then, there were tender embraces and whispered entreaties that only two lovers who knew each other as well as they did could share. Who said love mellowed with age? It certainly hadn't for them.

Wrapping her close in his arms, Rufus drew the covers over Miranda, brushing a tender kiss on the satisfying tangle of her hair. "I love you very much, Miranda Bennett," he told her in a low tone, every syllable aching with the weight of feeling in his heart. "I will do everything I can, in every way possible, to keep you safe and happy for the rest of your life."

She sighed contentedly and smiled as he wrapped her in his embrace, which was far better, softer, warmer than any blanket. She turned her head to touch his cheek, her fingers trailing a caress against his jaw. "You already do, my darling. You already do," she whispered back, touching her lips to his in a tender kiss that spoke more of her love than words could possibly say.

He sighed into that kiss, as content as she was with their second chance to be more than just a memory to one another. It had been a long, long road to get to where they were now, and though it wasn't always ideal - with their various obligations and unexpected surprises cropping up around them - she was the greatest gift he had ever been privileged to be given. And he was determined to make sure she never doubted that.

((These two are fun! Many thanks to Miranda's player for being generally awesome!))