August

May 5

"So where are you guys going this weekend?"

James was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, eating cookie dough directly from the bowl while Sheridan tried to clean around him.

"We're - move! - we're going to visit some family of his."

"Who?"

"Cousins."

James frowned down at the cookie dough, then stuck a finger in and swirled it to get a good coating of dough on. He put the finger in his mouth and talked around it.

"I didn't know he had any cousins over here. I thought his cousins were all in England or the Delta."

Sheridan paused.

"Well, he does. And we're going to go see them."

James shrugged.

"OK. Well, have fun. Have lots of sex. Get pregnant. Tell me how it goes."

Sheridan nodded.

"We'll see you Sunday night."

James took another fingerful of cooke dough and stared off into the distance.

"Harley's been acting really nice lately."

Sheridan made a noncommittal grunt.

"I think he's getting excited about the baby."

Sheridan went to the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of water.

"Oh?"

James nodded.

"He touches my belly now when we're having sex."

Sheridan blinked.

"Oh. Of course that's what that means."

James ignored this.

"Anyway, I'm just glad he's back. I was worried for a while there."

Sheridan nodded.

"Yep. Me too."

~:~

Caddy had come knocking on their door earlier that morning to ask permission to go have an hour's riding lesson with Mahir and Anders, and Henrik had granted it immediately. Phidias had wondered about his husband's offhanded permissiveness until the door had clicked shut behind Caddy and Henrik had put both hands on Phidias' hips and flipped him over onto his back. Phidias was naked under the covers (Henrik's orders), and his husband had first fondled him, dragging his hands lustfully over Phidias' skin before grinning impishly and diving down under the covers to pleasure his mate with his mouth. When he resurfaced, eyes glinting and mouth obscenely wet with Phidias' effusion, his cock had been so hard Phidias had thought it might shatter if he touched it. He'd decided the best thing to do would be to return the favor, and was just about to go down on his husband when Henrik stopped him, using both hands to push Phidias back on the bed and part his legs. Then he fucked him so hard that when Phidias came, he saw stars.

This, Henrik assured him afterwards, was the way he had planned to wake Phidias up for the rest of their lives.

~

When they made it down to lunch, Denis and Tyson were already seated at the large dining room table, drinking tea and reading through a local newspaper. Denis looked up at them and smiled.

"Henrik. Goh morgon."

Henrik gave a short wave. Denis glanced at Phidias, then back to Henrik. "Her goh dat?"

Henrik smiled.

"Well, thank you. What are we having this morning?"

Without looking up from his paper, Tyson pushed a bowl of fruit forward towards Henrik. Henrik stared at it.

"Is this it?"

Denis shrugged.

"You're late. We ate all the quiche."

Henrik blinked at him for a minute. Tyson folded his newspaper over and kept reading unconcernedly. "There's always leftovers."

Henrik made a face.

"I'll make something." he turned to Phidias and kissed his cheek. "Sit, please. I'll be back shortly."

As soon as Henrik disappeared through the kitchen doors, Tyson and Denis abandoned their pretense of disinterest. They both reseated themselves on either side of Phidias; Tyson leaned forward, eyes sparking with barely restrained eagerness.

"Well?!"

Phidias stared at them. They stared back at him. He glanced towards the door, then back at the men.

"Well, what?"

Tyson sighed in exasperation, and Denis answered him.

"Well, are you pregnant yet?"

Phidias' face colored.

"I don't - I don't know how I'm supposed to know that."

Tyson and Denis exchanged looks.

"With a test?" Tyson suggested gently. Phidias frowned.

"It's only been a few days."

"So? The best can catch it within 12 hours now. Of course, you'd need a hospital for those. But even for at-home ones, you only need 3 days. You've had five."

Phidias glanced at the kitchen doors again, hoping to see Henrik.

"Well, I don't know."

Tyson sat back in his seat.

"I bet you are."

Denis nodded.

"Most likely. Henrik never does anything by half-measures."

"What are you going to name him?" Tyson asked.

Phidias was momentarily bewildered - not because the question was a shocking one, but simply because he hadn't thought much about the ultimate end of the pregnancy, which was a child. Another small person to take care of and feed and keep out of trouble. He wondered what Caddy would think about having a brother. Had Caddy even thought about it? Most likely. Caddy seemed to think of everything. But a name...he had no idea, and said as much to Denis and Tyson.

Tyson grinned.

"That's OK. Ev and I haven't decided on one either, and we have even less time than you do."

Denis pointed to his belly.

"Gunnar Valentin."

Tyson appeared to think this over.

"Josef Peter, Denis Antony, and Gunnar Valentin. Not bad."

Phidias looked over at Denis.

"You have kids already?"

Denis nodded.

"Two: Josef and Denis. They are 7 and 3. They are in Spain - Josef wasn't well and so we left them with their tutor."

Phidias looked over at Tyson, who shook his head.

"This is my first. Everett's, too. But my brother has three already."

Phidias must have looked confused, because Tyson clarified: "My brother, Anthony, has one adopted son and two from Mahir."

Phidias raised his eyebrows.

"How old are they?"

"The oldest is about 19 - that's Ghali; the others are 13 and 8. Mikail, and Khalil. Too young to make such a long journey, so they stayed at home with their brother. You can meet them when we get to Wafra."

Phidias nodded, then stopped.

"When who gets to Wafra?"

Tyson's eyes widened briefly as he realized his mistake.

"When we do. Denis and I." he looked to Denis for help, but the sound of plates being dropped in the kitchen and Henrik cursing eloquently in a Scandinavian language distracted them. When Phidias turned back to ask Tyson his question again, the young man was gone. The kitchen doors moved suddenly, and Henrik appeared in them, carrying a tray laden down with toasted sandwiches and two glasses of juice. When Phidias stood to help him, he realized that Denis was gone as well.

Henrik set the tray down on the table and was just about to head back into the kitchen to clean up when he saw Phidias' face.

"Something wrong?"

Phidias frowned and shrugged.

"Are we going to Wafra?"

Henrik's face shifted from annoyance to interest to blank unemotion.

"Would you like to go to Wafra?"

Phidias hesitated.

"For how long?"

Henrik shrugged.

"I have business there in a few weeks. I had thought you and Cadmus might like to come along. It would be a nice trip."

Phidias pondered this.

"What kind of business?"

Henrik stared at him for a half second too long before he answered.

"Just a few meetings about some of our offshore assets."

"What kind of assets?"

Henrik approached the table and sat down.

"What did Denis and Tyson say to you?"

Phidias shook his head, suddenly feeling frustrated.

"Nothing. They didn't say anything to me. Nobody is saying anything to me. They almost do, but then they stop. I feel like everyone is keeping something from me. I feel like you're keeping something from me."

Henrik sighed and reached across the table to take Phidias' hand. Phidias pulled away.

"Phidias."

"Just tell me what's going on. I don't like this."

Henrik rubbed his head with one hand.

"I don't know how much the others have told you. There isn't much to tell. I am a scientist."

Phidias eyed him warily.

"And also a businessman. I know the party line. Go on."

Henrik fiddled with the edge of the blue and white checkered cloth that covered the tray.

"The others as well - we all met while working in the Emirates, south of al Kuwayt. We became friends. We had some common goals. Eventually, we formed an alliance amongst ourselves - we share our resources, our information, our experiments and our lives. We are a group of scientists who contract our services, as a team, to a variety of interested parties. Thus, we are a firm. But in reality, we are much more than that. We are a family."

Phidias ran through this in his mind and couldn't find fault with it, although something still seemed off-key to him.

"So if that's all it is, then why do you all act like you're keeping secrets among yourselves?"

"Why do you and Cadmus keep secrets between the two of you?" Henrik snapped back, more fiercely than he'd meant to.

Phidias' heart jumped into his throat.

"What?"

"What I mean is that it is the nature of families to keep some things private. You will learn them over time, now that you are a part of us. You are not excluded."

Phidias laced his fingers together on the table in front of him.

"How did you all meet?"

"We worked together."

Phidias narrowed his eyes.

"I know, but I mean on what? Where?"

Henrik shrugged.

"Various projects, experiments. How did you meet your friends? The details are inconsequential, and took place so long ago and in such esoteric situations that it would be tiresome, and not at all informative, for me to relate what I can of them to you."

Phidias folded his arms across his chest.

"I just want an answer."

"I met Anthony in Dubai, working on a population prediction model with some Emirate scientists."

Phidias processed this.

"What was he doing?"

"Temporarily filling the post of translator."

Phidias drummed his fingers on the table.

"Are we really going to Wafra?"

"I am going to Wafra. I would like it very much if you accompanied me."

"What for?"

Henrik looked startled.

"You are my wife. I don't want to leave you here."

Phidias shook his head.

"No, I mean what are you going there for?"

Henrik's face relaxed.

"An annual meeting of the firm, and a brief rendezvous or two with past colleagues."

Phidias exhaled slowly. Henrik watched him.

"Are you feeling a little better now, sweetheart?"

Phidias rankled a little at the mild condescension in Henrik's tone, but nodded.

"It's fine."

Henrik put his palms flat on the table.

"Good. I'll get the plates."

He stood to go, but as he did, Phidias spoke again.

"I'll have more questions." he said, looking straight into Henrik's eyes. "Later."

Henrik tilted his head in acknowledgment.

"Later, then. For now, let's eat."

~:~