It was on the tip of her tongue to mention that there were several women that always looked at Hector like they were
going to strip him down right wherever they were. Just because he hated hearing that kind of thing. But then he
asked his question and she automatically glanced at the closed kitchen door. And thought - now see? THAT'S why
they're good together.
"Depends on whether she's been talking to the others lately or not." Jo answered with a shrug. His sister and her had
kinda hit the point where they'd agreed to disagree. Strangely enough, their interaction had actually gotten easier
once Cassie had realized she was gay.
"Just don't tell me it was her mom leering and we're okay." She stated instead.
Hector chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I met her mom already, back in Africa. She was this close," he said,
holding his thumb and index finger a small ways apart, "from insisting I brush my teeth after meals and no swimming
for a half hour. "Well, I know she's talked to Sara, but I don't worry about Sara."
Sara was beautifully independent and not overly concerned with the minutiae of her siblings' lives.
Jo chuckled at the image of someone telling Hector to wash behind his ears and slow down when he was eating. The
way he said it, it didn't sound like the other woman had been annoyingly nagging. It might have been funny seeing
Hector's reaction to that kind of thing. He hadn't gotten a lot of mothering growing up...
"Sara reminds me of you." Jo relaxed back in her seat and gave Hector a grin. "God help us all. She wants a job part
time at the bakery during season, I'd be glad of the extra help."
The kitchen door swung lightly opened and Andi came back in.
"Well, everyone's properly strapped down in their seats and safely on their way home." She commented. Leaning
down to kiss Hector before leaning over and dropping a surprising kiss on the top of Jolanda's head as well. Then
she glanced down at the damp towel and the chocolate smears and slide Hector a laughing look from the corners of
her eyes. "Did you manage to spoil your dinner?" She asked. With just the right amount of hopeful inflection in her
voice.
Jo laughed at that. "Yeah, the day Hector isn't hungry or has run out of room is the day me and George Clooney
settle down in a quiet little love nest and start popping out babies." She said.
Hector gave her a look. "We don't have to go if you don't want to. But this is a 'we' thing, no me staying home and
you facing them." He said. "But Jo's got a point about food...."
Andi chuckled but her eyes warmed and softened and she leaned in to kiss him again, touch more tender.
"I know." She murmured. Meaning that. As much as she didn't want him going through that, it softened her heart that
he insisted. Because it was for her.
"Extended family." She supplied in case Jolanda hadn't been filled in. "Noxious but they are willing to pay for as much
as Hector will eat." She stood behind Hector and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her cheek
against the top of his head. "So what evil were you two plotting?" She asked, eyes laughing.
"Well," Hector drawled out, "when I shoot up the town, Jo's gonna give me a brownie!" He said with a smile. "That's all
we came up with so far. Oh, and Rachel's addicted to the Sopranos, a TV show about the Mafia, so.."
"...So when you want to take on the nutty doc, I'm so there." Jo said.
Andi chuckled.
"Well, I was just going to grease the door handles on the inside of his car and fill it with driver ants but if we'd rather
do it Mafia style I'm along for the ride. If I can drive the getaway car." The last was said as if that was a serious perk to
the entire enterprise for her.
"Better than what I came up with. Which was the normal male honor by hand to hand combat. I win, he signs the
paper...or I hold his hand and sign it for him..." Hector said with a chuckle.
"Well, let's postpone the gladiator match until, I don't know, the end of time?" Jo said. "I see enough on TV. Besides,
hard to eat brownies and cookies with no teeth, don't you think?"
"She is always poking holes in my plans." Hector said, moving his head to look up at Andi, making Jo laugh.
"Okay, I have to get back to the shop." She said, finishing her soda and putting the empty bottle in the sink. "Let me
know if I need to bail you out later."
She grinned down at Hector.
"And I do so like your smile." She teased about the toothless part before raising her head to give Jolanda a smile.
"You can stop by anytime. And bring Rachel if it’s a non-telly night too. I'll even let you in the door if you're not
bringing sweets."
Jo laughed.
"You'd have to smuggle me in then so Hector wouldn't find out."
"Nice. Making fun of me when I'm here. It's natural to take advantage of sugary foods when you've got the chance,
knowing when you go back to work, MREs are waiting for you!" Hector pointed out.
"Well, good to know you prefer my desserts over those dried....things...you pass as food." Jo said with a chuckle. "I'll
let myself out. Call me." She said as she walked out.
"So you want to get ready to do this?" He asked Andi.
Cripes. Why not, yeah? She was busy making a muck of families today.
"I suppose we should." She agreed. Glancing at the clock before leaning back down to press a kiss to his forehead.
"Just remember, it doesn't matter what this lot thinks." It was important he understand that. This wasn't like his family.
Her eyes met his. Upside down. "They can't stand my Da and they've disowned my Mum. When they put a shot
across your bow you're allowed to return fire."
"Ooh, really?" He asked with a chuckle. "Because I'm good at firing shots back you know." Even people thought he'd
just take it, every once in a while when the opportunity presented itself, he'd take them up and return it blow for blow.
"Then I promise I won't be polite."
"Good." She answered, voice sincere. Hector was precious to her. And - after Cassie's accusation of being a
manipulative, interfering whore - well, someone deserved a chance to stop being so bloody nice about all the noses
everyone seemed to be sticking into what didn't amount to their business.
"I love you." She told him. "All of you." She pressed a kiss to his neck and smiled. "Especially - I mean, even when
you're being bad."
Hector caught that and laughed. "I'll remember that, I have a knack for being 'bad' when the occasion calls for it. You
know the Rangers think the Delta are the ultimate in bad asses, right?" He said. "Come on, let's get cleaned up and
showered up and get this over with."
She chuckled as well, shifting backward until he stood up. Then she peeked around behind him.
"Well, I don't know." She commented. "As asses go," she used the American term, complete with American accent, "I
don't think yours is bad at all." She shot him a grin and then headed out the room.
They were borderline late to the dinner, having tried to 'conserve' water earlier. Didn't work out as planned, but it
never did. And they never seemed to mind. Hector figured, if the water heater was new, and he was rarely home,
might as well give it a work out while he could, right?
Not that it mattered, her family wasn't even there, Andi had plenty of time to change a bit and get seated at the table
with Hector before her family even decided to waltz in.
"Gotta be a European thing." Hector said. "Even Southerners aren't this late."
"It means they didn't have the upper hand in chosing where they sat us." Andi commented. Slipping her hand under
his larger one on the top of the table. The shower had helped. Though that wasn't quite the word for it. It had been
good for her. Everyone was trying to make her feel ashamed that she was sleeping with Hector. His sisters as if that
was all she was to him and it was the only way she kept him. And her family as if it were anathema to her walk with
God. She knew her Bible. And she also knew what she was doing. And she knew why Hector loved her and it wasn't
for what he got in the bedroom. Though they both enjoyed that. Their 'shower' had been not so much a reminder as
a reassertion. That their lives were theirs. And no one else needed to understand or approve. And there was no
shame.
"But they traded that so that this could be their way of saying they're more important than us. Because we have to
wait for them. And they know we'll wait because if we don't we'll have to do this all over again later and they know we
don't want that." She looked at him from the edge of her eyes and one side of her lips tipped upward. "Welcome to
the Moreau side of the family. Everything's a mind game."
"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling." Hector said with a chuckle. "If nothing else, we'll see how they deal with nice
uncultured American bluntness. I figure if I can tell the SAS where to stick it, and live, then these people don't have a
chance. Mostly because I don't think they're armed with bullets and piano wire..."
The waiter brought their drinks as they waited, strong Americano coffee for Hector, this wasn't the type of place that
even served Pepsi, or sweet tea for that matter. So he made due.
"Remind me to give them a bill worth sticking them with."
Both edges of Andi's lips curved now and she looked over at him with a soft laugh.
"Don't underestimate Liselle. She might not have bullets but she might have the piano wire."
As if summoned the door to the private room opened and Bea swept in. She was dressed in light blues, something
soft and very girlish and it only accentuated her perfect heart shaped face and blond curls.
"We're late!" She declared, managing to sound breathy and apologetic. As if she'd actually run all the way here.
Andi's lips compressed against the smile and then the shorter woman was breezing over, planting kisses on cheeks
all around. "So late. I'm sorry. It's horribly my fault! I mean, we would have been late anyway. You know Liselle. But I
just couldn't find the right dress to wear!"
Robert had come in behind her, unnoticed in the flurry and was chuckling now.
"And she tried them all on." He stated, sounding like a fondly tolerant husband. Or dog owner. Andi had stood up to
greet Bea - so much safer taking the impact of her that way - and his eyes went up and down the taller woman, from
the thin straps of the sun dress to the cinched in ribboned waist and the calves showing against the sway of the soft
fabric. "Twice. Anne, you look - amazing."
"It's in the genes." A now familiar rich voice announced from the door and Liselle came in on Cole's arm. Looking
breath taking in an evening dress that was a little too sleek and sexy for the meal and knew it. But it managed to not
stray into cheap or easy. One edge of her rich red lips curved. "She can't help it. None of us can." She arched a slim,
elegant eyebrow at Hector.
"You do look beautiful." Cole agreed honestly with a smile. Then offered his hand to Hector. "And it's good to see you
again."
"Good to see you too," Hector said.; "Now we can get this show on the road, see Liselle, you're not in Europe. You're
in America. Here it’s not fashionable to be late, it's just damn rude."
Lateness tended to piss him off, maybe because he ran his own life on a strict schedule usually. And people
deliberately throwing it off track never rated favorably. He signaled to the waiter, who brought over the menus and
wine list.
"Mmmm. I missed you too." Liselle told him before leaning in to give Andi a kiss on the cheek, smile hiding in the edge
of her lips. Robert held Andi's chair for her as she sat back down.
"Oo." Bea positively sparkled. "I want to sit next to Anne! We've got sooo much to catch up on! Why, I haven't even
told you about Uncle Bernard yet, have I?!"
"Then you should sit across from her, dear." Robert stated mildly. Holding the chair for his wife. "That way you can
talk to her face to face instead of having to shift."
Bea's perfect blue eyes met her husband's across the table and there was a brief moment when they narrowed, just
minutely, and his eyebrow rose, just as minutely. Then Bea was flouncing.
"Fine!" She sat down in the chair Robert was holding for her. Patting at her hair before she leaned across the table
and caught Andi's long hand in her smaller ones. "I'm going to spend all night telling you about the wedding!" She
declared. Throwing a glance at Robert who ignored it and pulled out his own chair on the other side of Andi.
"Oh God." Liselle took her seat before anyone could try to dictate it to her. Not incidently both at the other head of
the table and directly across from Hector. "Give me that wine list."
Cole just chuckled and shook his head, pulling back the chair on the other side of Bea.
"Don't mind?" He asked her and she rewarded him with the full extend of her sunshine smile, complete with a girlish
giggle.
"Oh, I'd be delighted, Cole. He just bought a HUGE chunk of land in Alsaka!" She leaned forward on the table to
confide in Andi. Eyes properly wide. "Can you believe that? All Russians and gold." She shivered appropriately. Cole
chuckled again.
"It's actually pipelines and snow and not much else." He admitted.
Andi's hand slipped back under Hector's.
"Alaska's a nice place." Hector agreed with a shrug. "We trained on the Iditarod one winter as part of our extreme
training. Interesting weather. He's right. Pipelines and snow, that's really about it."
He made a pointed effort to just basically ignore Liselle, who apparently thought she should be the center of attention
anyway.
"The Iditarod?" Cole was interested and shifted in his chair to face Hector better. Liselle gave the back of his
shoulders an appreciative look and went back to the wine list, holding a running conference with the waiter. Who was
being VERY attentive.
"I got to ride along for a little bit of that. Just to give me a taste." Cole admitted. "It was brutal. I heard the army was
rough but I didn't know they did that for fun to their soldiers."
"It sounds exciting!" Bea perked up, dragging her eyes from her husband to look at Hector as well. "Did you learn
how to mush the dogs and make igloos?"
"I can't tell you how surprised I was when I realized your account was traveling." Robert turned his attention on Andi,
ignoring the rest of the conversation. "It’s been almost four years since you traveled last."
"My account's private, Robert." Andi reminded him and he gave her a perfect smile. Resting his hand warmly over her
free one now that Bea was distracted enough by ice and snow to have temporarily released it. Andi expertly freed her
hand to wrap it around her glass of water.
"I know, Anne. I don't pry. But I admit I peek in on it once and a while just to make sure you've got enough."
"You can build suitable shelters anywhere if you know how." Hector said. "As for the dogs, a little bit. Sled dogs aren't
the kind that sit in your house and wait for you to take them out, a whole other breed, barely domesticated, but wow
can they do their jobs."
Inadvertently describing his own chalk, in a way. None of them were so domesticated as to be hanging all over their
woman waiting for permission to blink, or content to stay in side behind a desk when there was so much more out
there.
"So are you an adventurer in your leisure time then?" He asked Cole.
Liselle, handing the wine list back to the forgotten waiter now that she'd made her choice for all of them, let out a low
chuckle that would have given an dying man reason to dream. But she didn't comment. Cole shrugged with a crooked
grin.
"I think that's a bit too flashy a title." He admitted. "I do enjoy traveling though. Hidden parts of the world are -
amazing."
"He went down the Amazon in a dug out." Bea volunteered. "With no one but an interpreter! For two months!" She
rested a small hand over her heart. "I would have been terrified!" She admitted, huge eyes on Hector. "And there was
the story you were telling about climbing in the Himalayas." She reminded Cole. "Anne, it was this whole religious
thing!"
"That's unnecessary." Andi was firmly telling Robert as she locked eyes with him and there was the subtlest twist to
her wrist that caught itself almost before it started. So the water glass stayed upright. Robert missed it but Liselle
gave a pleased hum from her seat.
"Nonsense." Robert told her gently. "I enjoy looking out for you. After all, you are family now. Again." He smiled at
that. Andi's brows went down in warning and there was no mistaking the 'drop it' look.
"Well, it wasn't exactly 'religious.'" Cole interjected. "We did stop at a Tibetan monastery but that wasn't exactly the
point of the climb."
"Aren't there monsters up there?" Bea asked without looking away from what was going on across the table. "Anne,
what's the name of that snow monster?"
"The Wampa monster?" Andi asked. Half the table got the joke. Which meant Cole and strangely, Liselle.
"I don't think so." Bea stated thoughtfully. "It's that snow beast. That's supposed to have big feet."
"A Yeti?" Andi supplied helpfully and Bea nodded.
"That's the one! Do you run into any Yetis?" She asked Cole. Who chuckled again.
"Not this time around I'm afraid." He gave Andi a smile. "Have you ever been to a Tibetan monastery?" he asked. She
slide a look at Hector and one edge of her lips curved.
"Not yet. I believe that's our next vacation."
Hector returned her grin, slowly turning up the corners of his lips, as the rest of the table slowly disappeared from the
foreground and the whole restaurant seemed to close around them.
"I did tell you backpacking across the Himalayas was a real vacation, didn't I?" He teased, and mindless of her family
and their stiff awkward ways, lifted the hand that was in his and softly kissed the back of it. "Maybe we'll do the whole
Iditarod next....or something equally crazy."
Her eyes lidded for just a moment as his lips brushed her skin. Heart softening at his touch. Everything about her
softened in fact and even her back relaxed so that her shoulders came down. The smile she gave him as her eyes
opened to met his was the one only he ever received.
"Only if you find a way to bring the hot water heater." She told him before her lips parted to reveal a full bright grin.
"Now there's a girl that knows how to travel." Liselle commented with her silk voice that somehow managed to imply
she wasn't necessarily talking about the hot water heater.
Hector glanced at Liselle and then just as quickly dismissed her. "I knew I could get you spoiled given time." He said
with a chuckle. "Hot water heater....gumbo....a friend with a bakery....now I know why you love me." He teased as the
waiter hovered around for the meal order.
"Mm." She commented, lips still smiling. "That must be it." She unwound her fingers from where they curved around
his larger hand just enough to raise them and rest the backs of them against his cheek. "I was just following you
around Africa hoping you had a nice hot water heater."
"At least a big one." Liselle commented. Once again, somehow managing to imply hot water heaters might not be
what she was talking about.
"Oh! That's right!" Bea chimed in. Missing the reason Liselle started to chuckle as she did. "You didn't have hot water
where you were in Africa, did you, Anne?" Again the wide eyes that were patent. "I would have died! I simply live for
my baths!"
"She does." Robert agree. Not really watching his wife though.
"It's not really that bad." Cole told Bea. "You get used to lukewarm or even cold showers."
"They had hot water at the Army base, didn't they?" Bea asked Hector.
"Sometimes, when I spent time at the base." Hector said, not really looking at Bea. "I don't really spend much time
there, I'm needed in other places for other things. Not exactly regular Army, I guess. Never much time for lounging
around with a hot water heater when I'm working."
He was ignoring Liselle entirely, not looking at her, not dignifying her borderline obscene comments with either a
reaction or a glance.
"Cold showers can be great, especially in Africa when everything is so damned hot and dry, there a hot water heater
is almost unneeded, who wants to take a hot shower just to go out in hundred degree heat with fifty pounds, or more,
of gear on your back?"
"Fifty pounds?" Bea was trying to do the calculation to kilos in her head and coming up with 'heavy' as the answer.
"They expect you to do that all the time?!" Andi's eyebrows rose just fractionally as she looked at Hector. Just enough
to indicate 'proper drama' while her eyes laughed.
Cole finally took pity on the waiter and ordered a wide smattering of the options on the menu for the table.
Robert leaned forward slightly, resting his arm next to Andi's that was still holding the water glass.
"So what exactly do you do in the Army, Mr. Garrett?" He asked, voice mildly curious.
"Pretty much whatever they tell me to." Hector said. "I'm trained for all occurrences and occasions." He wasn’t about
to list his credentials to impress this lot, didn't matter to him one lick. "Haven't found anything we couldn't do yet, and
you can't beat the free air travel. Fifty pounds is light, but like cold or lukewarm showers, you get used to it."
He winked at Andi as she introduced the 'proper drama' to Bea's statement. This wasn't going so bad. They were
easy to ignore.
"A handy man." Liselle approved with her sultry voice. Absently taking the glass of wine the returned waiter had
offered and tasting it before nodding her approval.
Bea was interested in other things.
"Do you ever have to shoot people?" She asked. Sounding horrified. "I remember hearing in the papers and on the
telly about wild armies of Africans when I was little. You were there, Anne! Remember?! Grandmother said they were
where you were living!" Her attention shifted back to Hector. "You don't have to kill people, do you?"
Hector spared Bea an amused glance. "Sometimes." He said. "But even that gets easy after a while." Was he going
for full on shock value? Maybe a little. But he also couldn't believe Bea was as innocent as she was presenting
herself. Probably an act to make men want to take her under their wing and protect her, equally as manipulative as
Liselle basically offering sex to every man around her.
"The real world isn't as easy or safe as your ivory towers and I'm not going to sit here and pretend it is. Yes, I kill
people, yes, I know how to kill people. Yes, I've almost been killed myself." He said as their salads came. "Just in time,
I am hungry!" He said with a chuckle.