Topic: Alone At Last

Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:04 EST
It had been five years since Jake and Leia had gotten married. Five years without a honeymoon - until now. The team had been pretty hush hush about it, letting them think they were going on a "mission" somewhere, right up until it was time to pack. It was Sam who'd spilled the beans, dropping one too many hints about packing swimsuits and such, until Leia had finally figured it out. Now, here they were bidding the team farewell before stepping through the portal to a place called Tirisano to celebrate their honeymoon, at long last. It was better late than never, after all.

Leia had been relieved of almost all her weapons, leaving her with only a pair of daggers she could disguise about her person if she chose to. Sloti, her familiar ferret, had decided he was going to stay behind while she and Jake were on their honeymoon, apparently attaching himself firmly to Grimm out of sheer mischief.

And Jake had been relieved of all his electronic equipment except for a single cell phone, which he had insisted on taking with them, just in case of an emergency. It seemed only fair that if Leia was allowed to keep a pair of daggers, Jake should be allowed to have a cell phone.

"Two weeks," the Chief reiterated sternly to his tech and magic specialists. "Don't get into any trouble."

Leia's lips twitched in amusement as she slid her hand innocently into Jake's. "Yes, sir; as you say, sir!"

Grimm was grumbling under his breath as Sloti perched on his shoulder. It was going to be a long two weeks, as far as he was concerned.

"We'll be fine. Don't worry so much!" Jake interjected with a smirk. After all, what could possibly happen"

"You better be back in two weeks," Grimm murmured, just loud enough for the pair to overhear.

"You'd best get going before the men change their minds," Ailis told the pair, nudging her grim-faced husband's arm teasingly as Leia gave Jake a tug toward the portal. Over her shoulder, the half-elf saw Sloti very deliberately stick the end of his tail into John's ear as the portal enveloped them.

"Have fun!" Sam called, waving a hand at the pair just before they disappeared into the portal.

Thankfully, Jake had gotten a little more accustomed to traveling via portals the last few years so that he didn't need to take motion sickness medicine anymore. He merely clutched Leia's hand, closed his eyes, and followed her through.

Autumn followed them through the portal, where they stepped out onto a rolling coastline, warm under the sun and cooled by a salt sea breeze. Leia blinked, feeling herself smile as she looked around. "Pretty."

"Wow!" Jake uttered as he pried his eyes open. "It's like another world!" he said as he took a look around. Or at least, another country. Very different from Rhy'Din, it seemed.

They had been warned ahead of time of the lack of magic usage in Tirisano, as well as the fact that Leia would likely be the only person not human they came across. But the borders had been opened, and perhaps when they visited Itana, the capital, they might see more variety. For now, it was like visiting a small sea-side resort on an Earth, with modern conveniences and little to alarm anyone.

"So, I guess we're supposed to go that way?" Jake said, pointing to a gravel path that led toward a quaint cottage with a view of the sea. They'd been given very specific directions about where to go, so that they wouldn't get lost or confused.

Tearing her violet eyes away from the sea, Leia turned to see where he was pointing. "Is that really just for us?" she asked, surprised and delighted with the little cottage. "Not just one room, a whole house?"

"Yeah," he replied, grinning at her reaction. "Just the two of us," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. Not even Sloti was there to get between them. It wasn't often they were afforded such privacy. "I got a feeling I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Even without your toplap to keep you entertained?" she teased, tilting her head toward him. Modern technological words would always trip her up; something that deeply amused the entire team, especially when she could produce complex alchemical and magical words without blinking.

Jake smirked at her mispronunciation of the word. They were opposites in nearly every way, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Laptop," he corrected, though he knew it was pointless as she wasn't likely to remember that. "What do I need my laptop for when we have all this?" he asked, gesturing around them with one hand.

"You mean you will not be absolutely stuck to a magic screen whenever you get bored?" Leia asked impishly, tugging on his hand as they moved toward the little gravel path and the cottage that waited at the end of it.

"It's not magic, Leia," he told her for about the umpteen-thousandth time. "Besides, I brought this," he said, tugging his cell phone from his pants pocket to show her he wasn't entirely "unplugged".

She laughed, rolling her eyes in delight. "How did you manage to hide that from Grimm?" she asked, genuinely curious. The full body search from the team had been quite thorough.

"I didn't. He grunted and allowed it," Jake replied with a proud grin. He was sure he'd have found a way to bring it with him despite the body search, but he was relieved it hadn't been necessary and proud he'd convinced his grumpy teammate of its necessity.

"See, I told you he likes you," she insisted. "You both pretend you are like a cat and a dog, but you always end up doing the cute things together."

"Cute things?" he echoed, brows arching doubtfully. "I don't think the words 'cute' and 'grimm' go too well together," he pointed out. "As for me, I'm adorable," he added with a grin.

"You have not heard Ailis describing him when he wakes up in the morning," she pointed out with a cheeky grin, pausing to open the little gate that would lead them into a lovely little garden set out around the cottage. "And yes, you are adorable. Also sexy, goofy, and never unfuckable."

He preened a little proudly at her praise, until he stumbled on one word. "Goofy?" he echoed again. "What do you mean by goofy?" he asked, imagining the Disney version in his head. Was she comparing him to a cartoon character"

Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:04 EST
She giggled, rolling her eyes again at the one word he decided to take umbrage at. "Would you prefer silly?" she asked innocently.

"Silly," he repeated thoughtfully. No, that wasn't one of the Seven Dwarfs, was it' "I can live with silly," he decided with a smirk. It was a lot better than "Grimm".

"Silly it is, then," she laughed, pausing to breathe in the fragrant scents of the garden. There were herbs here, she could tell, chosen for the way they smelled and looked rather than their use. "This is lovely."

"Yeah, it is," he murmured back. Jake was frowning for a moment, despite his happiness. Why couldn't they have this back home on Rhy'Din" Why were they stuck sharing a rundown house with a handful of other people who weren't their family, instead of having a house and even a family of their own" He'd never thought much about it before, until now.

Of course, there was no reason why they couldn't. It just hadn't occurred to them that it was something they might both want. Leia turned to him, a faintly pleading look on her face. "Are you sure I'm not allowed to use magic here?"

He blinked out of his thoughts as he turned his head toward hers, a little confused by her question, or rather by why she was asking it. "I'm not even sure if magic works here," he admitted. "Why do you ask?"

She hesitated for just a moment before admitting, "Because I like things that sparkle, and those flowers would look so much better with a little sparkle."

"I don't think you should try and improve upon nature, Lei," he told her. "Come on," he said, giving her hand a light tug. "Let's check it out." There was a lot more to see than just the garden.

Giggling, she let him tug her away from the flowers, falling into step with a gentle skip. "We should get a proper job," she said suddenly, her heart quietly longing to have something like this all the time.

"Like what?" he asked, as they started up the walk to the front door of the cottage. It was a quaint kind of place, small and cozy and perfect for two. The kind of place one might want to call home.

"I don't know," she mused. "Something that means we can have a home that's just ours. It's not like we haven't made a lot of money with the team; I just don't understand why we are still living in a house that leaks in winter."

"It's because they're afraid of being found," Jake reasoned, as he fished the key to the front door from his pants pocket. "I don't know why they worry about it. You can hide in plain sight in Rhy'Din," he said, letting go of her hand momentarily so he could get the door unlocked.

"It's been years," she agreed softly. "No one has even hinted at looking for them specifically, and they do take jobs that put them in proximity to the people who might be looking. But how do we convince them it's safe to start living, and not simply existing?"

"I don't know," he said, as he fitted the key in the lock. "Ailis' brothers were killed a few years ago or something. She doesn't like to talk about it, but I think that's probably why. If it was me, I'd go after the bastards and be done with it," he said. Though he lacked the killer instinct, he wasn't afraid to do what needed to be done when the situation called for it. "Here we are," he said, pushing open the door for her. "Home Sweet Home." At least, for the next two weeks.

"I think it's more complicated than that," Leia said quietly, but the topic dropped from her mind as she was ushered into a charming little cottage that was all theirs for just a little while. "Oh ....Sloti would love this."

Jake rolled his eyes a little at the mention of Sloti. Even on their so-called honeymoon, he couldn't escape mention of her ferret - but then he knew how much her furry friend meant to her. "Sloti would wreck this," he murmured.

"He wouldn't," she laughed, nudging her husband in amusement. "You're just put out because he likes cuddling with you in bed."

"You know what he needs?" Jake said, not for the first time, as he followed her inside and dropped his duffel on the floor near the door. "He needs a girlfriend." And by girlfriend, he didn't mean Leia; he meant a female ferret.

"He wouldn't know what to do with one," Leia said with a grin, setting her own bag down a little more carefully beside his. "He only eats food because we expect him to, you know."

Enough talk of Sloti, thought Jake. He turned to draw her into his embrace, his arms going around her waist. "Do you miss him?" he asked, as his lips kissed their way toward the gently-pointed tips of her elven ears.

She shuddered tenderly at the slow progression of his lips, the anticipation of his reaching the sensitive tip of her ear almost unbearable within seconds. "Mmm?" she managed, somehow not quite able to focus on whatever they had been talking about.

Jake smiled as his kisses had the desired effect. The last thing he wanted to talk about on their honeymoon was her pet. Familiar. Ferret. Whatever Sloti was. "Wanna check out the bedroom, Mrs. Jensen?" he asked, his breath tickling the inside of her ear.

She moaned softly, utter putty in his hands thanks to that sneaky bit of unexpected seduction, turning her face to catch his lips in a fiery kiss. "Think we can get there?"

"Does it matter if we don't?" he asked, grinning back at her. He didn't wait for an answer, but scooped her up in his arms and started toward the stairs, which he hoped led to the bedroom.

She giggled, wrapping herself around him as he picked her up. "I suppose it all depends on whether you can outrun your libido," she teased, her turn to trace loving lips along the line of his neck as he walked.

For once, they could make love without Sloti either getting in the way or commenting on Jake's technique. "I think I can handle it," he said with a chuckle, as he stomped up the stairs with her in his arms, careful not to whack her head on the wall as he turned the corner at the landing.

Her lips curved against his skin as she lavished his neck with open mouthed kisses, teasing her fingers beneath the hang of his shirt just to see how riled up she could get him before he found a bed.

Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:04 EST
Jake groaned with pleasure at her teasing, but was determined to make it to the bedroom before letting his so-called libido loose. Unfortunately, when he finally reached the top of the stairs, there was no bedroom to be had, but a small nursery on one side and a storage room on the other. He paused at the top of the stairs, looking a little confused as he glanced left to right and back, and more than a little frustrated. "Are you kidding me?"

He felt her giggle against his throat, but she didn't let up on her teasing, dragging her fingers through his hair as she moaned softly in encouragement. "You did find a bed," she murmured in a husky tone, but there was no mistaking the laugh in her voice at the idea of making use of the crib in immediate walking distance.

"Erm, I don't think so," he replied, a frown in his voice. Not only was the crib too small for them, if they dared use it, they'd probably break it. There was nothing to be done for it, but to turn around and look downstairs, but he wasn't sure they'd make it that far.

He'd started this; Leia couldn't help but let out one of her husky laughs at the realization that he had shot himself in the foot somewhat with a hasty assumption. That didn't stop her from wriggling in his arms, one hand now fully beneath his shirt to trace the lines of his muscles tenderly.

He groaned again, frustration getting the best of him. Or maybe it was his libido. He had never been too sure that that word meant. "You're gonna steam up my glasses," he murmured as he clomped back down the stairs, looking for anything that could serve as a flat surface. Even the floor would do at this point.

Lifting her head, she nipped at his lips, gently lifting his glasses off his nose, folding them, and setting them down on the first flat surface they passed - a small table by the bottom of the stairs. "There," she murmured teasingly. "No worry about that now."

"Yeah, but now I can't see!" he complained. He could actually still kind of see, though his surroundings were a little blurry. He squinted as they passed into what looked like a living room and depositing her on the couch, pausing a moment to tear his t-shirt off over his head.

She laughed as her world tipped until she was on her back - not on a couch, but a wide padded window seat overlooking the back garden - arching up to pull off her waistcoat and unbutton her cuffs as he stripped his own shirt off himself. It was a far cry from their first night together, when she had seduced him so thoroughly he could barely string three words together, and she loved him all the more for it, feeling the tender throb of their bond in the back of her mind and heart.

He wasn't quite as clumsy or awkward as he'd been that first night, but he wasted no time in getting his clothes off, too rushed to realize he'd deposited her on a window seat with a clear view of the garden until it was too late.

And to be fair, she didn't care if they could be seen or not. She only had eyes, and hands, and lips, for her husband who - though many people just saw his glasses and grin and thought him just a nerd - was the absolute center of her world. Leia loved to make sure he knew it, too, and this time, they could definitely say that they had made the most of their honeymoon within minutes of arriving.

It wasn't the best place to make love, but he'd worry about that later. For now, all that mattered was that he showed her exactly how much he wanted her and how much he had learned about making her feel good. There was very little they didn't know about each other by now, and he had quickly learned about all the little places that made her sigh with pleasure.

And through it all, their shared bond flared and strengthened, offering guidance and love when words couldn't express how deeply the feeling flowed. Breathless and sated, Leia nestled into Jake's arms, giggling to herself at a silly thought. "Do you think this is what the Chief had in mind when he told us to go away for two weeks?"

"I dunno," Jake admitted, equally out of breath and equally cramped. "But I overheard John complaining about us making too much noise and keeping him awake." He snorted at the irony of that. "You ever heard the racket he and Ailis make when they're going at it?"

"Only when they forget to shut the door," she pointed out in amusement, teasing her lips against his as she smiled. "He only complains because he's happy for us."

"I think he only complains because he likes to complain," Jake said, groaning as he was much too tall to fold himself into a window seat without feeling cramped. "Come on, let's go find the bed," he said, pulling her up with him as he got up.

Utterly unashamed of her nudity, Leia rose with him, her honey-brown hair falling about her shoulders as she stretched, shamelessly within sight of anyone who might glance in through the window. "Where do you suppose it might be?" she asked. "I think we have established that the upper floor was meant for a baby."

"Has to be down here somewhere," he said, as he led the way through the small cottage in search of a bedroom. He had to squint again, as he didn't see that well without his glasses. She'd been after him for ages to get contacts or have eye surgery, but he hated the idea of fooling around with his eyes.

Seeing him squint, Leia slipped away to retrieve his glasses once more, tucking them back onto his face with a soft kiss. "I love you very much, you know," she murmured tenderly.

"I love you, too," he said, smiling back as the world around him came back in to focus. It wasn't unusual for her to have to take his glasses off for him before he fell asleep with them on. "Ah! I think we found it!" he said, turning a corner to find a hallway off which were a small bathroom and bedroom.

"Mmm?" Momentarily distracted by his spectacular backside, it took a moment for Leia to peer around her husband and take in the lovely little en-suite master he had found. Decorated with clean, modern lines, yet still retaining a sense of the tradition that had created the cottage to begin with, she felt herself smiling. "Can we stay here forever?"

He chuckled at her question. "Only if you never want to use magic again," he reminded her. "Maybe we can find something like it in Rhy'Din," he suggested, leading the way into the room.

"I suppose it would be easier to find a place with two bedrooms, rather than trying to add one onto this place," she mused in agreement, padding quietly over the soft carpet in his wake to look out through the window once more.

"Well, it does have a nursery," Jake reasoned, but why did they need two bedrooms? He came up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist, no more concerned about his nudity than she was.


Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:05 EST
"True." She smiled to herself as his arms came around her, leaning back into his embrace. "It would be nice to have a home, though. Grimm complains enough about us; I don't think he could handle having to complain about a baby, too."

"Probably not," Jake chuckled, hardly realized what she'd just said for a moment. "Wait ....What?" he asked, eyes widening as what she'd just said sunk into his brain.

Leia giggled, tipping her head back to look up at him. "Was I too subtle?" she asked innocently, taking his hand. She spread his fingers, laying his palm gently over the flatness of her midriff.

"You mean ....you're having ....we're having ....a baby?" he stammered, too excitedly for words. He gently laid the flat of his palm against her midriff, though it didn't feel any different than always.

She nodded, her smile warming at the sheer excitement she could feel rippling from him along the bond they shared. "In May, I think," she said hopefully. "I am not so very far along that the human doctors can test it yet."

"Are you serious?" he asked, as he turned her to face him, needing to look her in the eyes to be sure she wasn't pulling his leg. "You're pregnant?" he asked, excitement obvious in his voice.

"Yes." She nodded again, her hands now resting against his chest as she looked up at him, violet eyes bright with warm hope and happiness. "We are going to have a baby."

Never one to hold back his emotions, Jake let out a happy whoop and swept Leia up in his arms to twirl her in a circle. "We are having a baby!" he shouted, though there was no one there to hear them.

The little half-elven thief who had stolen his heart years before let out a shriek of laughter as he swept her off her feet, cackling with delight at his reaction to the news she had been sitting on for a couple of days. "You will be such a wonderful father," she predicted happily.

He set her back on her feet at last, his smile changing to a worried frown. "You think so' I don't know anything about being a father," he admitted, though he did know about being an uncle, and he was a pretty good uncle at that.

"That does not mean you will not be a wonderful father," she insisted, curling her fingers to his cheek. "You have so much love to give a child, and that is a very good start."

His frown softened, turning more thoughtful than worried, as leaned into her, touching his forehead to hers. "We're gonna need our own place," he murmured aloud.

"We have time," she assured him affectionately. "And they don't have to know exactly why straight away. We could keep the secret to ourselves for a while, if we want to."

"I guess," he replied, though he had a feeling it was going to be hard keeping this news a secret, especially from Sloti.

"We don't have to keep it a secret, either," she told him, eyes bright as she leaned close. "We're finally making a family of our own. Why shouldn't we celebrate it?"

He felt torn, as half of him wanted everyone to know that they were having a baby, while the other half of him wanted to keep it a secret as long as they could.

"Can we tell my sister?" he asked. That was the only person who he really wanted to know. Sloti didn't count. "Not today," he said, clarifying his question. "But soon."

"Of course we can," she promised him. "I imagine both of them will be delighted for you. You are, after all, the multiverse's best uncle."

He laughed. "I don't know about that, but I'm pretty sure Jess is gonna be just as excited as we are." He lifted a hand to brush her hair back from her face, smiling softly. "I love you, Leia."

"Amin mela lle," she murmured back to him tenderly. It was rare that she spoke in elven at all, but those words were sacred to her, only ever shared with him when they were absolutely in private, when she felt as though her heart was overflowing for him.

Her words were so much prettier than his, but they meant the same thing, his heart burning with love for this lovely, gentle creature with the pointed ears. He felt like the luckiest man in the multiverse, not only because she was having his child, but because had somehow managed to win her heart. He brushed a soft kiss against her lips, his fingers tangling with hers to draw her slowly toward the bed that was only a few steps away.

She went with him willingly, unable to keep the smile from her face knowing that he was as happy as she was with their news, glad she had kept it to herself until they were alone. A family was not something she had expected to have with him, but here they were, creating a new generation to combine his intelligence with her wisdom and see what they made of it.

"What do you think Sloti will say?" he asked, as he drew her down onto the bed, though he didn't really want to be thinking about her ferret just now.

She laughed, crawling over him with tender warmth. "I would be surprised if he does not already know," she admitted, brushing the tip of her nose to his. "He stays with us by choice, there is nothing keeping him bound to us. I hope he does not think he is being replaced."

Jake frowned at the thought of the ferret knowing his wife was with child before he did. He wasn't normally the jealous type, and it wasn't that he didn't like her pet, but he was glad they hadn't brought him along. Three was a crowd, after all, especially on a honeymoon. "I don't think he can be replaced," he murmured as he reached to slide his arms around her waist.

She smiled at the frown on his face, kissing him once again as he drew her close into his arms. "No one can be replaced," she murmured back to him. "But it has been just the three of us for a long time."

"And now, there will be four of us," he said, as he almost absently slid his fingers up and down her spine in a slow caress. He furrowed his brows as another possibility entered his head. "There's just one in there, right' Not two?" Did elves ever have multiple births, he wondered.

"I believe there is just one," she assured him, her back arching gently beneath the soft play of his touch. Her own fingers smoothed over his sides as they lay together, simply enjoying this intimate closeness without the worry that someone from the team might open the door at any moment. "I cannot feel more than one."

Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:05 EST
There was that look on his face again - curious and puzzled. "You can feel it' Him' Her?" he asked, correcting his pronoun, though he wasn't too sure which to use just yet.

"Them," she said softly. "I do not know if they will be male or female yet. But I can feel the soul forming inside me." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "I wonder if you can, too. We are bonded, after all."

"I-I don't know how," he stammered, uncertainly. She had made that claim the first day she had met him, in the first moments of their meeting, certain they were soul bonded, even when they'd only just met. It was still something that confounded him, but he no longer denied or doubted it.

"Can you still not feel me in your heart and mind?" she asked, confusion painted over her face. "I thought you were in tune with those feelings that are mine and live in you."

"Yes, but ....How do I feel the baby?" he asked. He was only human, after all, and didn't really understand how it all worked, even if he did sometimes feel an inexplicable connection to her.

"For me, they are ....like a spark of flame against the night sky," she said, trying to put into words something that was indescribable. "Perhaps you will be able to find them in what you feel from me?"

"I'd like to try," Jake admitted, though he wasn't too sure how. She had taught him how to connect with her, to feel what she was feeling, but it wasn't something that came natural or easy to him.

"I will never stop you from trying," she promised, smiling as she touched her brow to his. "Listen to my heart, melamin. You are there, and so is our child."

He turned quiet as her brow touched his, and he closed his eyes so that he could quiet his thoughts and focus his mind to open to hers. It took a few minutes to concentrate, to open his mind and his heart, but before long, he became aware of a second heartbeat, which he recognized as Leia's and then a quieter one beneath that, soft and subtle. "I feel it," he whispered, as if speaking in a normal tone of voice might break the spell.

She closed her eyes, matching her breathing to his, letting the sensation of him surround and envelop her, trying to push the sensation of their child in her womb to him along the twisting tangle of the bond their souls had created between them. A faint smile twitched at her lips as she felt the life they had made together reach out tentatively toward Jake, as though wanting to make a connection of their own with their father.

"I feel it, Leia," Jake said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "I mean them," he corrected himself, his expression changing as he focused his concentration. He didn't know how to explain it, or even how to understand it, but he definitely felt something reaching out to touch his heart and mind, even as he touched theirs.

"And they feel you," she whispered, opening her eyes to watch his face now she was in tune with the bond that connected them. "They're reaching for you, can you feel it?"

"I think so," he said, that look of concentration on his face. Was he trying too hard, he wondered" "It feels like ..." He trailed off, unsure how to describe it. "Like something warm and tingly," he said, for lack of words.

"They know you're their father," she said softly, kissing the tip of his nose as she stroked her fingers against his cheek. "And we'll know soon enough if we are to expect a boy or a girl."

His expression softened into a smile, now that he'd felt the presence of their child somehow reaching out to him. He still didn't understand it, but he no longer disbelieved it. It was magic. That was all there was to it. "It's better than a pregnancy test," he told her, smiling back at her.

"I still do not understand why Sam told me to pee on a stick," Leia offered, her confusion there very obvious. "How does the stick know" Do you have to cast a spell on it' Or is it a special stick that humans have to carry around with them from childhood?"

Jake smirked, the connection with their child slowly fading as he broke his concentration, though there was some residual feeling of warmth inside him he knew was their child. "It's not magic, Lei. It's science. It's a chemical reaction of some kind." What did he know about it' His expertise was IT, not babies.

"What is a chemickle and how does it tell the stick what it’s looking for?" she asked. Ailis had once described Leia's questions as being trapped in a room with a two-year old; why was a big part of the half-elf's vocabulary.

"Never mind, baby," he told her, his turn to kiss her nose. "It doesn't matter." He exhaled a soft sigh as he held her close, not feeling sleepy so much as content. "This is nice, isn't it?" he asked. No interruptions, no one shouting or making noise, no demands. It was just the two of them with nothing else to do but enjoy this time together.

At least she had learned not to push her luck with questions, dropping the subject as soon as the hint was made. Instead, she nestled closer into his arms, smiling with him. "Mmm," she agreed. "We never get to do this at home."

"Well, we do, but we always seem to get interrupted," he said, his fingers caressing her spine again, their bodies fitted together almost perfectly. His body was reacting to her closeness in a way that was going to become obvious before long.

She giggled, tipping her head up to brush her lips against his tenderly. "There's no one to interrupt us here," she murmured sweetly.

"There better not be," he murmured, capturing her lips to deepen her kiss, clearly not finished with her yet. Meanwhile, his fingers wandered, seeking out the soft hills and valleys of her body.

It had been a while since they had been able to take their time with each other, too, a luxury Leia hadn't realized she had been missing until suddenly the opportunity was right here. It had been too long since she had been allowed to properly worship at the altar of her husband and his adorable sex noises, and she intended to make the most of it.

And take his time he did, exploring her body like the sacred temple it was. He plied her flesh with lips and tongue and teeth, hands moving over her body, giving as good as he got. He rolled her over onto her back, taking his cues from the little clues she gave him with her sighs and moans of pleasure.

Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:05 EST
He was not alone in his attentive affection, his diminutive lover giving back to him as much as he allowed her to before ceding to his wish to take the lead. She had never been shy with her body, nor with her voice, but living in a house with five other people meant that she had not truly let herself express this kind of pleasure for a long time. It was a wonder she didn't burst his eardrums.

He was no shy lover, either, but being alone here with her gave him the confidence to make proper love to her without worry of anyone interrupting or overhearing. Wasn't that what a honeymoon was supposed to be for, after all" Though they were no strangers, this time alone gave him the freedom to bring her to explore to his heart's desire and bring her to the brink of pleasure again and again, without care or worry for anyone but her.

They had arrived just as noon was reaching its zenith, and the sky was beginning to turn dark when they finally simply lay together, breathless and sated, sharing their goofy smiles with one another with exquisitely aching limbs tangled on the sheets. "Mmm ....that was fun."

"You want to go again?" he asked, with a goofy grin on his face, even as his stomach grumbled and reminded him that he hadn't eaten since they left Rhy'Din.

Leia laughed, sliding her hand down to rub his grumbling stomach. "Maybe we should have something to eat before we try doing anything else," she suggested. "I can't have you fainting on me."

"Probably," he admitted, chuckling as she rubbed his stomach. "You should eat, too. You're eating for two now," he reminded her, tapping a finger against her nose.

"I suppose we should cover up and see if there's a kitchen in this place, then," she countered, batting her lashes innocently as he tapped her nose. "It is a little hard to keep my hands to myself when you are flaunting yourself."

"I guess we won't be joining a nudist colony anytime soon then," he teased, though in truth, he didn't want to share the view with anyone. "I think we left our clothes downstairs," he admitted. Along with their bags.

"I thought we were downstairs," she said, blinking in confusion. Of course, she hadn't been the one doing the walking at that point, but she was pretty sure upstairs had been a bust when it came to finding a bed.

"You're right," he said, frowning in confusion. "But we still have to find out clothes," he pointed out. And in order to do that, he needed to be able to see. "Where'd you put my glasses?" he asked, reaching past her to grope around on the nightstand.

"On this side," she told him, rolling away to grab his glasses from their safe perch on her nightstand. She rolled back to him, opening the arms to slide them gently into place. "Better?"

"I can see again," he said, with a grin once the glasses were safely perched on his nose again. "Hungry?" he asked, that grin still in place. Now that they had satisfied a different kind of hunger (at least, for now), it was time to think about their stomachs.

"Yes," she said with absolute honesty, grinning as she moved to sit up. It was rare for her to wear her hair down, the long fall pooling on the bed behind her as she scooted to the edge. "You should come and help me cook something."

"No, no! I'm doing the cooking tonight!" he told her, as he rolled out of bed to his feet. Of course, he had to find his clothes first and see if the kitchen was stocked.

She laughed, looking over her shoulder at him as she moved to the door they had forgotten to close in their eagerness for the bedroom. "You cannot stop me if I choose to be sneaky."

He grinned back at her, an equally mischievous look on his face. "Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg!" he called, as he scooted from the room, all of his jiggly bits jiggling.

She certainly did like the angle of his dangle, not objecting in the slightest to being a rotten egg if it meant she got such a lovely view. She did pause in the main room to snag his t-shirt and boxers, pulling the t-shirt on over her head. "Protect the jewels, melamin," she suggested with a grin as she reached the kitchen, tossing him the boxers.

"Oh, right!" he said, almost absently as he caught his boxers and swung them around a finger. He wouldn't want anything to happen to those! He hopped on a foot to scoot them up one leg and then the other, while asking, "What's in the fridge?"

"I do not know, shall we look?" she answered teasingly, padding across the cool floor to open up the refrigerator and look inside. It had been stocked with all the basic ingredients for several different meals, including fresh meats and vegetables, for their use over the next few days.

"Hmm," he said, as he came up behind her to peer over her shoulder at the contents of the fridge. "Do you trust me?" he asked, with a smirk.

"That is a silly question," she reminded him, looking up over her shoulder at him in amusement. "I trust you with everything. Especially to make me food that will not make me throw up."

"Well, I hope not!" he said, taking her a little too seriously. His aim was to feed her, not make her sick. "Do you see any chicken in there?" he asked as he moved to check the cupboards

"I see thighs and breast," she said, glancing over at him. "Which do you need?" At home, Ailis ruled the kitchen, but not because the others were incapable. Sunshine just enjoyed cooking, that was all.

"My favorites," he said, smirking again. From the look on his face, he was obviously not talking about chicken. "Are either of them boneless and skinless?" he asked, as he pulled a few things out of the cupboard.

"Um ..." There was a rustle as she lifted onto her toes to inspect the packets. "These ones are." She turned from the fridge with the packet of breast fillets in hand, sweeping her chilly fingertips up along his spine just because.

He shrieked, startled at the unexpected coldness of her touch, turning to catch her hand in his and laughing. "No fair!" he scolded, before touching a kiss to her fingertips and then looking to the package of chicken. "That'll work. You like Chinese?" he asked, as he took the chicken from her and set it on the counter.

She giggled at the distinctly unmanly sound he made, tapping her thumb against his nose as he kissed her fingertips. "I do like Chinese people, yes," she agreed, ever so slightly missing the point of the question.

Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:06 EST
He chuckled at her reply. "I mean Chinese food," he clarified, though what he had in mind wasn't truly Chinese, so much as Chinese American. She had said she trusted him, though.

"Are they the ones with the duck pancakes and soft noodles?" she asked, tilting her head curiously. Rhy'Din was such a mixed bag of cultures, it was a wonder she could pinpoint that in the first place.

"Yep, but that's not what I'm making," he said. "It's a surprise," he added, with a gleam in his eyes. It wasn't often he got to play in the kitchen, as Ailis always shooed him away, but he enjoyed cooking now and then.

"Does that mean I have to go away and not watch you cooking?" Leia asked innocently, pretty sure he wasn't going to let her help him cook. Not today, anyway.

"No, you can help, if you want," he told her, though he still wasn't going to tell her what he was concocting. "You can start by cutting up veggies. Can you see if there's any red or green peppers in the fridge?"

"Of course. Would you prefer one color over the other?" Smiling, Leia returned to the fridge, happily pulling open the vegetable drawer to collect what she had been asked for.

"Nope, we need both!" he informed her. He followed that up with further instructions, giving her what amounted to her first cooking lesson. It wasn't the easiest dish to whip up, but it was one of his favorites. Chicken, rice, pineapple, red and green pepper, all covered in a sauce that was known as "sweet and sour". Too bad there was no bottle of sake to go with it, but they made do instead with a couple of beers.

It wasn't that Leia didn't know how to cook - she just didn't know much about cooking human meals. She enjoyed learning from Jake, though, even if his lessons about technology never seemed to stick. And, of course, this lesson had a yummy conclusion, which just made it all the more enjoyable.

He'd even come up with a candle or two for the table, making it as romantic a setting as possible. He lifted his bottle of beer to toast the moment. "To us," he said. "And to a long and happy life together." It was a bit overdue, but better late than never.

"To us," she agreed, tapping the neck of her bottle to his. "All three of us." Sloti wasn't here to object to not being included, just this once.

But Jake misunderstood, thinking she'd either forgotten the baby or the ferret, who were clearly both part of the family. "I think you mean the four of us," he said, smirking as she tapped her bottle to his.

She laughed softly. "Well, the three of us who are here," she corrected herself cheerfully. "I don't think you should be surprised if Sloti decides he is going to be our child's companion, by the way. He likes looking after people."

"Companion or guardian?" Jake asked, as he took up a forkful of chicken and rice mixture. As much as he adored Chinese food, he had never quite got the hang of chopsticks.

"Both," she predicted in amusement, breathing in the sweet and bitter scent of the meal before her. "What is this called, again? Have I had it before?"

"Um, I'm not sure," he said, asking her second question first. "I mean, it's called Sweet and Sour Chicken, and I'm not sure if you've had it before. I don't think Ailis ever made it."

"It does taste both sweet and sour," she agreed through a mouthful. "I like it. And not just because you made it, I like it because it's nice."

"I like it, too! It's one of my favorites," he said, smiling broadly at her, happy and relieved that she liked his cooking. "You know, if we get our own place, we'll have to cook for ourselves."

"I have never cooked for you," she said, a mysterious smile on her face. "I do not think I have had elven food in years, either. It would be fun to see what you think."

"I'm game! Bring it on!" he told her, holding up a fork for emphasis. Leia certainly didn't eat like a rabbit, so how bad could elven food be?

She giggled, pleased with his enthusiasm. "I am already so relaxed here," she said suddenly. "We really have two weeks of just us together like this?"

"Yeah, but ..." A thoughtful frown appeared on his face at her question. "Are you happy, Leia?" he asked, out of the blue.

"Here and now, yes, I am very happy, Jake," she assured him, careful to answer him in a way that wouldn't upset him somehow. She loved his sensitivity, but sometimes she also felt terribly guilty for provoking it.

"I don't mean now," Jake said, trying to clarify his question. "I mean, are you happy with your life in Rhy'Din?" he asked. "Do you ever get homesick" Is there anything you would change if you could?"

"I do not miss Allansia, if that is what you are asking," she said in a gentle tone. "It was a harsh place in which to live, filled with evil men and women who sought dominion over all. I am happy to be in Rhy'Din, with you. I only ..." She sighed, glancing down at her meal. "I sometimes wish we had a real home of our own, that is all."

"I miss my sister and my niece sometimes," he confessed with a small frown, but he couldn't go home, even if he wanted to. There were too many people looking for him; it was too dangerous. It was better they couldn't find him or presumed him dead. "I'm happy here with you, but I'd like a house of our own, too," he said, reaching over to touch her hand.

"We could bring them here, to visit," Leia suggested softly. She knew it had been suggested before, and indeed, they had managed it just once, on the day he had married her. But since then, there had been difficulties in getting his family to Rhy'Din, and she couldn't go to Earth without learning some means of holding a humanising glamour on herself for many hours at a time.

"I know, and we will, but what I mean is ....I think it's time we find a house of our own," he told her, giving her hand a soft squeeze. After all, they were going to have a baby.


Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:06 EST
Her eyes somehow softened and lit up in the same moment with delight and surprise. "Really' We can really make a home of our own and not have to share with the Chief's stinky socks any longer?"

Jake couldn't help but chuckle at her response. "I think it's time, don't you?" he asked, though it seemed he already had his answer. It might take a little time to find the right place, but it wasn't impossible.

"Past time, but yes," she agreed excitedly. "We have plenty of money, after all - we don't spend it on anything. We could find a place that fits just us."

"And our baby and Sloti," he added, smiling warmly at her and giving her hand another soft squeeze before going back to his dinner. She was right - it wasn't just time but past time for them to have a home of their own

"Do you think they will be angry with us?" she asked, a little concerned but not overly so. She was not going to continue to put her family's happiness in second place to the Chief's paranoia now she knew Jake was on her side.

"No, why should they be?" Jake asked with a shrug. They were allowed to have lives of their own, after all. "And if they are, then we'll just deal with it."

"We have been as close as family these past years," she pointed out, but she didn't seem worried about breaking that bond if necessary. "I think I do not want to disappoint them, but looking after ourselves should not be a disappointment, should it?"

"Maybe they'll be happy for us," Jake suggested. Sam and Ailis might be happy for them anyway; he wasn't so sure about the rest of them. If they really were like family, then they should be happy for them. They'd sent them off on this honeymoon, hadn't they' That had to mean something.

To be fair, Sam and Ailis could get Grimm, Chief, and Rory to do pretty much anything between them. If the ladies were happy for them, the gentlemen wouldn't have a choice but to be happy as well, or risk discord in their own home. "I hope they will be," Leia said quietly. "But even if they are not, we are not raising our baby in a house with all those guns."

He smiled, looking a little amused at the way she had put that, but in complete agreement. It wasn't the guns that bothered him so much though, as it was the lack of privacy. But she had a point; the house they'd been sharing with the team wasn't the kind of place to raise a family. "We'll figure it out. Don't worry," he assured her.

"I never worry when I am with you." And it was as simple as that. She had made her choice years ago, when they had first met and bonded. So long as Jake was near, she would never be less than content.

He smirked as a thought came to mind. "Maybe we should just tell Chief he's gonna be a grandpa," he suggested. The man couldn't possibly object to that.

Leia giggled, delighted with the thought of that. "He might enjoy being a grandpa," she agreed. "I wonder if Grimm would melt if someone gave him a baby to hold?"

"I'm not sure Grimm would know what to do with a baby," he said, chuckling. "Think they'll ever start a family?" he asked, curiously. He knew John was not entirely human anymore, so he wasn't even sure if it was possible or if he and Ailis even wanted a family.

She shook her head uncertainly. "I do not know if they can," she said thoughtfully. "But I think Ailis would like to have a family with him. He is stubborn, though."

"Mmm," he murmured to himself. Maybe they'd start a trend, but he wasn't sure what that would mean for the team if they all decided to "settle down".

"If she does get pregnant, I would be willing to bet that argument will be rather epic," Leia commented with a faint smile. They all knew how the Grimm couple's arguments ended, it was just a case of whether they got to throwing more than words before they made up.

"You don't think John would be happy to be a father?" Jake asked curiously. He thought he'd gotten to know the other man pretty well the last few years, but he was a hard man to get to know.

"I think he would, but he would also worry himself sick over every little detail," she pointed out. "He doesn't know how to let go of the things that are out of his control."

"Maybe," Jake admitted uncertainly. He didn't really know for sure, but John did seem to be the kind of man who needed to be in control. He wasn't really sure what would become of the team if they all decided to start families.

To be fair, the team had accumulated a ridiculous amount of wealth in the last few years, and none of them spent it on anything much. They were in a good position to start families, all of them, if only they chose to.

"I guess it's up to them," Jake said with a shrug of his shoulders. Whatever the others decided to do wasn't up to him or to Leia, after all. "I just hope they'll be happy for us."

"It isn't up to them," she said quietly. "So long as we're happy, that's what matters." She tilted her head, smiling over at him. "And we are happy, aren't we?"

"I mean, it's up to them if they want to have kids," Jake clarified, a slow smile spreading across his face at her question." He reached over to give her hand another squeeze, blue eyes meeting her gaze behind those spectacles of his. "Yeah, we're happy. Very happy."

"I mean our happiness isn't up to them," she giggled, twining her fingers between his affectionately. "I am fairly certain that nothing we do or say will have any impact on what happens in other women’s' wombs."

"No, it isn't," he readily agreed. Forgetting his dinner for a moment, he leaned close to touch a kiss to her lips. "Love you, Mrs. Jensen," he whispered against her lips.

She smiled into his kiss, nibbling his lip tenderly for just a moment before drawing back. "Love you back," she murmured, brushing the tip of her nose to his."

He smiled, confident of her affection for him without her saying the words. "But what do you think of my cooking?" he asked, as if that was even more important, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

She glanced down at her plate, already half-empty. "I think I like it," she teased, loading up her fork once again. "That, or the baby already has a taste for your cooking."


Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:06 EST
"Maybe both," he admitted, feeling ridiculously happy. Finding himself in Rhy'Din and meeting Leia, his whole life had changed for the better. Yes, he missed his sister, but despite that, he wouldn't change a thing. "Congratulations, Mama," he teased.

"To you, too, Papa," she pointed out, toasting him with her beer. "Wouldn't have happened without you." She winked, her smile warm and relaxed as she applied herself to finishing her dinner with enthusiasm.

"I can't argue with that," he said with a grin. Then again, it couldn't have happened without either of them. He wondered vaguely again if Sloti would be jealous, but he didn't bother to mention it.

Sloti had accepted Jake into their lives without any fuss at all, though he still teased the man constantly purely because it was funny. There was no reason to think he would be anything less than excited about having a baby to look after with them. Leia sighed happily as she set her knife and fork down on the empty plate, leaning back with a contented smile. "That was wonderful."

"Yeah?" he said, with a last forkful of chicken to devour. "Maybe I should cook more often," he said, though once they had a place of their own, he planned on doing just that.

"You should let me cook for you as well," she said, one brow raised high for a moment. "I do like it when you fuss and pamper me, but I am not too terrible with food."

"How about tomorrow?" he suggested. She'd been willing to let him loose in the kitchen and be a guinea pig for his cooking; it was only fair he do the same for her.

"I do believe we have an accord, Mr. Jensen," she teased, reaching up to shake her hair back from her neck. For a woman who went out of her way to style her hair in a way that hid the points of her ears, it might almost have been strange to see her flaunt them here of all places.

He wasn't sure why she bothered really. There were plenty of people in Rhy'Din who weren't human, but here in Tirisano, he wasn't so sure. And yet, they were all alone here; there was no one to see but him. "What do you want to do now?" he asked, though they still had to clean up the dinner mess.

"We should clean up," she said, looking around the kitchen. "Is it a bad thing if I just want to cuddle" It's been so long since we didn't have work to do, or prep to do, in the evenings."

"No, it's not a bad thing," he said. He, too, was enjoying the luxury of privacy that they rarely enjoyed back home. "Maybe tomorrow we'll explore a little," he suggested, though it hardly mattered. This time was theirs to do with whatever they wanted, alone but together.

"Oh, do you think we can go down to the sea?" she asked hopefully. "I haven't paddled in the sea for years. It won't be too cold yet, will it?"

"I don't see why not," he replied thoughtfully. He paused moment to finish his beer before getting to his feet to start gathering up the dishes. He didn't mind cleaning up so much, so long as they did it together. "We'll go see tomorrow."

Rising with him, Leia moved to the sink, turning on the water to begin washing the dishes. "That would be fun," she said with a smile. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"I don't know," Jake replied with a thoughtful frown, as he followed her into the kitchen to place the dishes near the sink. "I mean, I'm not sure what there is to do here."

"We can explore," she assured him, glancing up fondly. "Didn't they say something about a no-horse cart they hired for us, too?"

He smirked at her description, assuming what it was she was trying to describe. "Yeah, but it's called a car, not a cart," he corrected. Though cars were something of a luxury in Rhy'Din, they were everywhere back home. "It's a machine that runs on an engine," he tried to explain.

"Like the airship we have that goes to the stars?" she asked curiously, wiping the dishes with a careful cloth before setting them into the rack to dry.

"Something like that, yeah," he agreed, though starships and automobiles were very different things and operated in very different ways. He might understand computers, but he was no expert on those kinds of technologies.

"Because I would have thought you could use something like a Pegasus to pull a cart up to the stars, but Sam was very clear with me that I am never allowed to open any doors or windows unless we are landed on a planet," she went on, her tone just as conversationally curious as ever. "I don't understand. It isn't hard to breathe in the Astral Sea, you just have to be careful."

Jake furrowed his brows at her, wondering for a moment if she was teasing him before realizing she perfectly serious. "It might not be hard for you, but we're only human," he reminded her, not wanting to frighten her by telling her opening doors or windows in space would surely kill them.

"Oh. And if I let in the aether, it would hurt you?" she asked. It wasn't that she was ignorant or stupid, but her experience of the universe had been very different to his for a long time before they had met. Every now and then they found new topics to discuss filled with strange new concepts for her to learn.

"Leia, it would kill us," he explained, as gently as he could. Unless, of course, they were wearing something to protect them, but he didn't think it necessary to add that.

Violet eyes widened in shock on hearing that. "I did not know that humans were so sensitive to aether!" she exclaimed, shocked no one had bothered to tell her this before now. "We have been going into the Astral Sea for years, and I am only just learning this"!"

"Well, we can tolerate space if we're wearing the proper equipment, I suppose, but not without it." He furrowed his brows thoughtfully for a moment. "How do you breathe in-in the Astral Sea?" he asked, using her terms instead of those he was accustomed to.

"Well, you can't breathe it for long without a spell, but you can breathe," she said. "I haven't done it myself, but I've heard that it's very thick and sort of like breathing through treacle."

"So, it's magic," he said. There was the chief difference between them. He was from an Earth rife with technology, while she was from a place that was dependent on magic. He had often wondered, though, if magic was just science that was as yet not understood.


Jake Jensen

Date: 2020-10-01 19:07 EST
"I suppose it is," Leia agreed with a shrug. "The only reason I exist at all is because of magic. Elves are a magical people - without them, there would be no half-elves."

"I don't understand," Jake said, still looking confused, as he took up a towel and started drying dishes. He'd lived in Rhy'Din long enough to know what elves were, and he knew his wife was half-elven, but he didn't understand what magic had to do with it. Wasn't it just biology"

"I don't truly understand it myself," she admitted. "But I do not believe elves and dwarves on my world evolved the way you taught me humans do. They just ....came into being. The gods created them."

"Back home, there are stories of elves and dwarves. Myths really. But no one really believes that they're real. They're just stories. Legends. It wasn't until I came here that I found out the truth," Jake said. He'd often tried to puzzle this out in his mind, but could reach no logical explanation. He had no logical explanation for why the Nexus had brought him here either.

"We have humans on Allansia," Leia said, pulling the plug out of the sink to let the water drain. "Ever since humans started to spread across the world, the magic has become rarer, though. Perhaps it's something about humans; perhaps you're not made to live so close to a power that could change anything around you at whim."

"There are people back home who claim to use magic. Witches and such," he said, though he was not sure if it really was magic or not. He had heard of humans who had some gifts of magic here on Rhy'Din, but he wasn't sure if that was the same kind of magic Leia's people were capable of.

"Oh, there are humans who can use magic," she assured him. "But I think they have to learn it, and apply themselves to keep learning it. I have a few spells I can cast without needing to think about it, but like humans, most of the time, I have to work at it."

"Because you're only half-elven?" he asked, though that seemed to be what she was saying. "But even elves have to learn how to use magic, right?" he asked, taking up one of the last dishes to dry it and put it away.

"I think so, yes." She considered his question for a moment. "Most elves who lean that way do, I suppose" They have a higher aptitude for it - it comes more easily to them."

"Are they like elves here?" he asked further. As far as he could tell, humans born on Rhy'Din were no different than humans born on Earth, other than for their upbringing and experiences.

"Some of them are," she conceded. "But some of them are very different, and it confused me when I first got here. I didn't realize that elves and dwarves and monsters were not unique to my plane."

"How do you think I felt?" he asked, though she had been there when the Nexus had pulled him through. He had always believed she had been the catalyst for it, though he wasn't sure why, other than the fact that they were meant to be together.

"I could not begin to imagine that," she admitted, curling her arms about his waist to lean into him. "It must have been so overwhelming, and yet you settled into life here with such ease. I was envious of you for a long time."

"Envious of me?" he echoed, looking surprised by that statement, even as he put his arms around her to draw her close. "It was only because of you that I stayed."

"You found it so easy to settle into life here," she murmured. "It was a struggle for me, and I still have days when I feel very lost in all the technology around me. But you are always there, and I feel safe with you."

He shook his head briefly. "It wasn't that easy. It was only easy because of you," he repeated. "But I wasn't happy back home. Not really. I mean, there are people - bad people - who want to ..." He broke off, not wanting to frighten or worry her too much. "Let's just say they don't like me very much."

She didn't need him to say it. Over the years, she had worked out that there was more than her keeping him in Rhy'Din, especially knowing the reasons Chief and his group had made their home here, too. "Wherever we are, I will be happy to be with you," she said softly. "But I would like you to be happy and comfortable and safe."

"I am," he was quick to reply. "I'm happy with you," he assured her, touching a soft kiss to her lips. He wasn't so sure about safe, but maybe that was why the Nexus had brought him here - to keep him safe. Why him, though, he didn't know.

She smiled into his kiss, hugging him just that little bit tighter. "I love you, Jake."

He mirrored her smile, happy to hear her say the words, though he already knew as much in his heart. "I love you, too Leia," he replied, though the words seemed inadequate to describe his love.

"Shall we go back to bed?" she offered, her smile strangely innocent as well as inviting as she looked up at him. Just having time to be quiet together was a luxury neither one of them could recall having since they had joined the Chief's team.

The smile he gave her was not quite so innocent. "If you want, but I'm not really tired yet," he warned, brushing his nose against hers playfully.

She giggled, circling her nose about his. "I don't recall saying anything about sleep," she murmured, eyes sparkling with fond intent.

"What are we waiting for then?" he asked, drawing back to take her by the hand and led her back to the bedroom. It was strange not to be followed by Sloti, or to overhear the Grimms either arguing or making up, or Chief shouting orders, or Sam and Rory giggling over some private joke. It was strange, but kind of nice. Though Jake knew it wasn't going to last forever, he was planning on taking advantage of every minute they had alone because this time alone together was only too precious and rare.

But they could change that, and would change that soon enough. After all, if three was a crowd, what could you possibly call a house crammed with seven adults, a ferret, and a baby"