Because she didn't recognize anything in hers. She didn't recognize any of the clothes. Until she dug a bit and found
some of her own. And, tired as she was, it finally clicked.
"Never mind." She clarified as she lifted out shirts she knew she'd never bought. But they were in her size. "Suzette."
She muttered. Noticing with a certain amount of alarm that she was missing some of her own clothes the French
woman had apparently deemed goush. "I'm going to kill her." She told herself and then bit back another yawn and
amended: "Right after I get some sleep."
She ended up having to resort to a silk tank top and shorts. Which matched better than her usual sleep wear. And,
admittedly, felt nicer too. Though she felt a bit guilty and indulgent. Brushing her hair out, she managed to maneuver
her way back into the bedroom and find the bed.
"Suz repacked my bags." She managed by way of explanation.
"Guess that's what friends are for." Hector said with a chuckle, though from his vantage point he didn't see anything
wrong with Suzette's choices.... "Swan packed mine, guess guys are different." Though, Swanson had maybe left a
surprise or two in there he was NOT going to tell her about. At least not until she and he had gotten some sleep.
The box of Trojans rolled up in a pair of socks didn't require mentioning after all as he moved over in the bed, used
to sleeping smack dab in the middle.
A 'real' bed was a luxury for him. Usually he got his bunk, or when on an op, whatever was available, usually the
ground or a truck.
Andi made a noise to indicate what she thought of 'friends' and crawled into the bed with him. The grumbling noise
turning into a melting sigh as she sank down next to him. She shut her eyes and sighed again.
"I haven't have a real bed since..." she drifted off as she thought about it. Turning her face into the pillow just to
inhale the clean smell. "Since before university probably." She made a soft humming noise and shifted over to tuck
herself closely against him, lean body fitting itself completely against his. "I've been dreaming about this." She
murmured. Soft bed. Warmth. The feel of him against her. His skin felt good against hers. Necessary. Mind starting to
drift, she pressed a lingering kiss against his jaw. "Thank you." She whispered it. Feeling... safe... "For this..."
"Don't thank me too much." He said with a chuckle as he held her close, slipping one arm right under her head, the
other around her waist wrapping completely around the small of her back. "Wait until the poodle starts yapping...or
something." He said with a yawn. "And Swanson forgot to pack my M-16, so no idea what we're going to do with it."
The house was cool, he had shut the windows to block out any neighborhood noise and turned on the AC while she
was in the shower, and making a cursory check of the house. All was as it should be. He even had sun tea brewing
and okra soaking on the back porch. Things to deal with tomorrow. Right now...he was planning on just breathing.
She should protest thoughts of violence to a dog. Or something of the sort. She was sure of it. But - she couldn't
think right now.
There was no such thing as being too close to him and the way he pulled her tight was reassuring. Needful. She
wound her own arms around him just as closely and tucked the side of her face against his. Loving the familiar feel of
the brush of his unshaven cheek. The familiar smell of him. The familiar weight of him. His body felt so warm against
hers. So good. Her legs tangled with his long ones. Closer. Needful. Sleep took her locked tightly against him that
way. And there was no room for dreams.
Hector figured, by looking at a calendar, that they spent two days like that. Occasionally getting up to use the
bathroom, or eat something quick, before staggering off to bed again.
It had been a hard week for them to say the least, and they both had earned their rest and relaxation, even if they
spent it like two slugs on a log!
But what was that saying? All good things....?
Certainly applied to this situation as the bedroom door got thrown open one morning. Far too early for two
vacationing workaholics. Then it slammed back shut and the pitter patter of not quite grown feet running down the
stairs.
"Mom!! Mom!!" Came screaming. "Uncle Hector's here!! And he's got a girl!!"
Andi made a stifled noise. Pressing her face automatically into Hector's shoulder and squinching down further under
him. Not quite sure what all that had been about - waking up halfway through had certainly done nothing to clear
things up. But the slamming of doors was really going to have to stop.
"Uh." She managed. After a minute her brain started clicking in, though she still made no move to shift her position.
Starting to have a sneaking suspicion... But what she commented in a murmur was:
"Poodle's noisier than I thought."
Hector groaned and shoved his own head under the pillow. Wondering if he denied this was happening if they would
just disappear. Then thought it was actually pretty slim. In fact if he delayed, they all might come in. And throw open
the blinds. Open the windows. Jump on the bed. Make all sorts of noise....
"I'll go take care of this." He said with a sigh as he got reluctantly out of bed and covered her back up. He trudged
down the stairs, rubbing his face with his hands and made it to the landing when he was ambushed.
Completely attacked out of the blue and tackled by two children who really shouldn't have had the body mass to take
him down.
Unfortunately for him, he had taught them how to take down people bigger than them, hoping they'd use it on other
people. Like people other than him.
"Well, good morning, sunshine." His sister drawled out with a raised eyebrow.
Andi let him go with a mumbled protest. Something about 'blighters'. Considering simply going straight back to sleep
and letting him deal with the sudden child infestation that seemed to have occurred. Not that she didn't like children.
Just - it was awfully early in the morning for them.
She rolled over onto her stomach and incidentally into the warmth of the spot Hector had just been in. Looked blearily
at the clock. Thought - it didn't feel that late. With a sigh she put her head back down on the pillow, still looking at the
clock. Thinking - she could hide in here. From the sound of the noise she thought they were too busy devouring
Hector and if she lay very still they just might be satiated and pass her by. But children didn't travel alone. They
usually traveled under the protection of at least one parent.
Which meant his family was here.
She made a face and then pressed her face into the pillow. Smothering herself was, of course, an option...
"Oh bloody bullocks and bother." She sat up, running a hand through her hair. She could hide in here and wonder.
Or she could venture out. Of course, the second she ventured out, she'd become a face they could recognize. And
she hadn't exactly been meaning to meet his family in her pjs. Though getting dressed and presentable was a bit out
of the point. After all, Hector in boxers and her in full gear would come off as forced and faked to the extreme.
She sat up with a groan and rested her arms across her knees. Cocking her head to listen to the sounds from the
stairs to see how it sounded the battle was going.
Hector was tackled by children, surely Andi heard the thump that resulted when his body hit the floor! Why wasn't she
here saving him?!
"Traitor." He mumbled as the children slowly got off him, at their mother's beckoning. "So...Cassie....what the hell are
you doing here?" He asked, standing up and looking at his sister.
"I have a key for a reason, remember?" She said, chuckling as her brother stood up. She saw the latest addition to
the scars on his body, still pink, still recent, if healed. "So that was what the big to do was about." She observed.
"I didn't make the to-do." He said.
"So where's the girl?" Cassie asked, looking past Hector into the hallway.
"If there's any grace from God, she's slept through this all and she's slept through your whole visit." Hector said as
his nephew and niece clung to his legs.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Cassie asked. "Come on. Now I'm definitely not leaving until she makes an
appearance."
"You're such a brat." Hector said.
Cassie laughed, but this was the first 'girl' Hector had brought home for anyone to meet since high school. No way
was she letting someone else get the scoop on that.
It had gotten quiet.
Too quiet.
Andi decided the children were probably picking their teeth with Hector's bones right about now.
Shifting, she slipped out of the bed and padded over to his closet in her bare feet. Pulled out one of his collared
shirts and pulled it on without buttoning it. It, only, barely, made her slightly more presentable she thought with an
inward sigh as she ran fingers through her hair to settle it back into place.
Not the way she had intended to meet the family at all.
Still, there was really no help for it. She couldn't exactly hide in the bedroom forever. She glanced back at the bed.
Honestly... actually she could hide in here forever... With a shake of her head and a mutter prayer, she opened the
door enough to peek out. Was assured that no one was in the hallway at least. Somehow that saved a bit on the
awkwardness of actually exiting the bedroom in front of his entire family. Feet silent on the polished wood floor she
came to the head of the stairs. Saw Hector and his new leg shackles halfway down. Saw the dark haired woman a few
steps lower. Took a small amount of comfort in the fact, if the entire clan was present, they weren't, at least, present
at the foot of the stairs. Yet.
Since she now had the focused attention of the woman at the bottom of the stairs, Andi offered a small smile.
"Mornin'."
Cassie just stared at Andi, for sure until a minute ago that both her brother and her children had been lying. Or at
least putting her on. But there she was in the flesh, looking decidedly sleep tousled. In her brother's shirt.
She looked at her brother who just shrugged.
"Come on." Hector said, moving past the awkwardness. "I'm starving."
"You're always starving. What's that got to do with the price of tea in China?"
"Easy. You broke into my house, you get to make me breakfast." Hector said, walking toward the kitchen with his
'shackles' still in place. "Oh yeah, Cassie, Andi. Andi, Cassie."
Andi seriously did consider faking this as a one night stand. The woman at the foot of the stairs couldn't have looked
more shocked if she'd had a third eye. Which - she supposed was reassuring. It certainly indicated that women in
Hector's bedroom weren't exactly a common occurrence if she'd had any doubts previously. Hector shuffling off left
the two of them to deal with each other and she thought very nasty thoughts about his retreat as she came the rest
of the way down the stairs. There was no help for it really.
"Pleased to meet you." She offered, offering her hand for a shake as well. No hiding her own distinct accent now she
supposed. "Sorry about the surprise. You must be the one that has the son with the dirt collection, yeah?"
"Oh yes, my brother's bright idea." Cassie said, recovering as best she could as she shook the English woman's
hand. The accent was quite unmistakable. "I've got two shelves full of baggies and vials."
She looked over Andi with a curious, and yes suspicious, eye. "So. Andi is it? How long have you known my brother?"
To say this was out of character was like saying the Pope was Catholic.
"Hello! Breakfast. Hungry." Hector called out.
The clarification on her name and the way it was put tipped her off that she was in hostile country. Which she'd been
braced for so it wasn't a nasty shock. Siblings had every right to be protective of their kin. Strangely enough, it was
reassuring Hector hadn't apparently told his family everything. It made her feel... protected. And that somehow made
all of this much easier.
Cassie was, unless she missed her guess, Hector's favorite. So it was import she decided she liked, or at least
accepted, the newest female addition. Andi had no intention of leaving her place next to Hector and his family
mattered a great deal to him.
Oh God... she hated this part...