Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program "SPACE: Above and Beyond" are the creations of Glen Morgan and James Wong, Fox Broadcasting and Hard Eight Productions, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended. Dylan Mackenzie belongs to me.

Rating: NC-17

PROMOTION
by
Geek




Chapter 1

Dylan McQueen sat in the hot Alabama sunshine, her twin sons, now a few months over 2 years of age, on chairs to each side of her and her 8-month-old daughter on her lap. The boys had been behaving beautifully all morning. They'd sat waiting patiently, eating the treats she had brought for them and drinking their cups dry. She glanced at them both. Hamish was beginning to nod off. Dill'd been surprised that he'd managed to sit still for so long. Cameron sat watching the people in front of them expectantly, his black clad Daddy doll clutched on his lap and his thumb firmly fixed in his mouth. On her lap Isobel had long ago drifted to sleep. Dill felt like sleeping herself, with so many speeches being spouted, and some high ranking official congratulating almost everyone he knew.

Stifling a yawn, Dill peered down to the front row where she could see her husband's squadron, the 58th, -the Wildcards - sitting waiting for their moment. From her seat she couldn't tell which one was her husband. All she could see were their white covers as the sun blazed down on their heads. Finally the time came when she heard his name called. His slim figure rose from his seat and marched smartly up to the podium. My, she thought, how fabulous he looks in his dress blues, the buttons shining brightly in the sunlight. Even the red stripe on his pants legs she'd teased him about, saying that it just didn't match the rest of the outfit, seemed perfectly in place.

Dill looked quickly to her left, catching movement out of the corner of her eye. Cameron was standing in his chair, having heard his father's name called, and clearly wanted to get a good look at him. Holding onto him with her free hand, she smiled as he turned to her, his eyes shining brightly.

"Daddy!" he pointed proudly.

"Yes it is, little man. Now shush. Sit down, sweetie," she told him.

Refusing to sit back down, Cameron continued to stand, and with a huge grin, began waving to his father. Dill tried to get him to stop, but the man sitting next to him, himself wearing an impressive amount of medals on his uniform, leaned across.

"Mrs McQueen, I presume?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes," she nodded, embarrassed somewhat by Cameron's behaviour.

"Don't worry about this young man waving. It happens all the time," he reassured her. "After all, he's just as proud of his daddy as the rest of us."

"Yes, but any minute now he'll start calling him," Dill whispered.

"It's okay, I promise," the man told her. "I must say they've been incredibly well behaved this morning. You should be very proud of them."

"I am," Dill smiled. "Of course his brother has gone to sleep, but there was no way Cameron would miss this. He adores his father, and even a glimpse of him is enough to make his day."

All the while Cameron had been waving. Timidly at first. Then, as he realised his mother wasn't going to stop him, more and more vigorously, obviously desperate to get his father to wave back.

"Daddy can't wave to you, sweetie," she told him. "He's busy. But you can see him later. Sit down or just stand there nicely."

"That's my daddy," he told her firmly.

"Yes, Cameron, it's daddy. We'll see him soon. Look, its Cooper," she told him pointing, trying to distract him before he started calling.

"Daddy! Coop!" he called out.

"No, Cameron!" Dill told him. "No shouting. They can't say hello back to you. They're busy. Now stand there nicely or sit down." As he turned his big blue eyes on her and gave her a look so reminiscent of his father, she almost laughed out loud. "Don't give me that look, mister! It doesn't work for daddy. It's sure as hell not going to work for you."

In her arms the baby stirred. "Now look, you monkey boy," she scolded him gently. "You've woken up Isobel. Shush before you wake Hamish too!"

"That's Isobel!" Cameron proudly told the man next to him.

"Well, you certainly gave your children interesting names, ma'am." He smiled at Dill.

"I'm Scots," she told him simply. "And so's our surname. It made sense."

"Ah, I see," he replied. " But I thought Colonel McQueen was an Invitro?"

"He is," Dill told him warily. She was always suspicious of anyone who brought up the invitro issue. "But McQueen is a Scots name."

"Did he choose it himself?" he asked.

" No," she answered slowly. Dill was highly conscious of how some people might react to the knowledge that she was married to an invitro - a man artificially gestated in a growth tank, bred to be an indentured slave.

"Well, ma'am, however he got his name, it's one to be proud of. He's a well-respected officer of the corps, and it's about time he was finally given his promotion to full colonel. If he was natural born, this would have come years ago," he told her.

"He has it now," Dill smiled, relieved that the man seemed sincere. "And we're here to see it. That's what matters."

She reached out to stop Cameron from climbing off his chair. "No, Cameron. Stay on the chair, please."

"I want my daddy!" he pointed.

"No, Cameron. You'll see him in a little while. For now you have to be a good boy and sit nicely. Soon, my lover. Soon you can go see daddy."

"It'll be finished any minute now," Dill was told. "They've finished handing out the medals. The 58th truly are a squad to be proud of. They show us just how good we Marines really are."

"Oh, they surely do," Dill agreed. "They really are a lovely bunch."

"Lovely?" the man queried.

"As lovely a bunch of life takers and heart breakers as you could wish to meet," Dill grinned. "But then, I'm biased. After all, I'm married to the CO."

All around them people began to stand up, stretching their limbs after having sat for so long.

"You can let him go say hello to his daddy now," the man told her. "This is the point where families get to say hi, and then we all move along to the refreshments." He held out his hand. "It's been nice to meet you, Mrs McQueen. I hope we'll meet again soon."

After shaking her hand, he disappeared into the crowd, leaving her to look around for Cameron, who'd vanished from his perch on the chair. Gently waking Hamish, she took him by the hand and headed towards the front, confident that Cameron would be there already. As she approached, she could see him, wearing his father's white cover as he snuggled in his arms.

McQueen's eyes widened as he saw her. "Dill?" he asked incredulously. "Is that really you? In a dress?"

"Yes, it truly is," she smiled, blushing furiously. "Iona told me that for such a special occasion I simply had to. She helped me choose it. Does it look okay?"

"Dylan?" came another voice. "Wow. You look fantastic!" It was Cooper Hawkes, an invitro like McQueen, and the current beau of Dill's best friend Iona, grinning with delight at the sight of her. And even more so at Isobel, who'd seen him and was reaching for him. Since their arrival earlier that day, Isobel had taken rather a shine to Hawkes. "Can I hold her?" he asked.

"Of course," Dill chuckled, handing her over. "Iona said to apologise for her not being here. She had a sudden spate of births to see to." She turned back to McQueen. "Well, colonel, there's another man here who needs a hug too." She bent to pick up Hamish, who had gone strangely quiet and was clutching at her legs.

"Hey, little guy," Ty smiled at him, holding out an arm. "I've got room for another. Coming for a hug with daddy?"

Hamish clung to his mother as though his life depended on it. McQueen's face dropped.

"Don't worry, Ty," Dill told him, reaching to give his arm a squeeze. "It's probably the uniform. He's never seen you in it before."

At that moment the rest of the squad arrived. The two women, Shane Vansen - small and dark, her shoulder length hair today pulled back into a French plait but every inch a Marine - and Vanessa Damphousse - a tall black beauty, who even in her unisex dress uniform still managed to exude her femininity - followed by Nathan West, slim, dark haired and earnest looking.

"Congratulations," Dill told them. "It was about time." She turned to the shorter of the two women. "So, Shane, how does it feel to be Major Vansen? And you guys - Captains! Keep going and you'll soon catch up with the colonel here." She smiled at him. "A full bird at last. I'm so proud of you." She fingered the medal he wore. "And more fruit salad too." She looked around at them. "For all of you."

Hamish wriggled in her arms, seeing the rest of the squad. McQueen's face dropped even further and he hugged Cameron closer to him as Hamish called out "'Phousse" and reached for her.

Chuckling, Dill handed him over and turned to grin at McQueen. "I think we need to have a few more so Shane and Nathan don't feel left out!"

They all looked at his horrified face and burst out laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, the children finally put to bed, Dill and Ty sat on the terrace of the house they'd rented in Mobile, watching the sunset. Dill sat snuggled up close as Ty wrapped an arm around her.

"Your mother didn't come to the medal ceremony." he said quietly.

"No," Dill said softly. "She said that although she thinks you're ok, she wasn't interested in seeing you more than she had to." She looked up at him. "Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" he asked.

"Because she's an old cow. She should have come. You looked so damn handsome in your dress uniform. I'm so proud of you Ty, a full colonel at last."

"It was nice of her to arrange a celebratory party for us. I think the 58th were dying to meet her. You always make her sound like such a battle axe, and she's not at all." Ty chuckled.

"It was nice of her, yes. But you know, I think they were glad to get away. What I want to know is who all those other people were? You seemed to know most of them, and mother certainly knew them all."

"Well, I suppose they're people she knows from her days training as a doctor. She trained in a military hospital, didn't she? And I assume it was on base somewhere." Ty told her.

"I guess so. But I think she's been keeping in touch with them over the years. That's why I got sent to the Saratoga - someone she knew asked her." Dill grinned up at him. "I'm sure glad they did. I mean, how else would I have met you? Just think, Ty, if they hadn't decided to try and be politically correct and send me to teach you and Cooper to play?" She laughed at the memory of McQueen and Hawkes barefoot, running around on large sheets of paper, leaving painted footprints.

"What?" he asked as she collapsed into a fit of the giggles.

"You and Cooper - your face when I told you we were going to do foot painting." Dill laughed.

"You should have seen yours when I picked your legs up to do that wheelbarrow thing." He was laughing himself now.

"Someone up there was looking out for us that day. Just think… we might never have met at all. No Cameron, no Hamish, and no Isobel… no us." she said with a grin.

"Well, we did, so let's not worry about what might have happened. General Addams complimented me on what well behaved children I have," he told her. "And on my perfectly delightful wife. When did you meet him?"

"General Addams? I have no idea," she said, puzzled. "Unless he's the man who was sitting next to Cameron. He told me not to worry when Cameron stood up on his chair and waved to you. Did you see him?"

"I saw. I heard him, too. Calling out to me and Hawkes." Ty nodded.

"I tried to stop him, Ty. I did truly. But of course, once he'd seen you, that was it. And then when everyone stood at the end… well, he took off to find you like a bat out of hell." Dill smiled. "He's missed you terribly. But fortunately he has the doll. He carries it with him everywhere. I have to sneak it away to wash it while he's asleep, and then once it's dry, sneak it back again."

"And you? Have you missed me? Or have the children kept you too busy?" Ty asked quietly.

"Of course I've missed you! What a thing to ask! It's hell without you. Yes, the children do keep me busy, but that doesn't mean I don't miss you. How could I not?"

"Good. I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling miserable then." he smiled.

They sat cuddled up in companionable silence for a while, then, "Ty?"

"Yes?"

"Mother had an idea. Well, I say mother had an idea. But, well… she said she'd sign the cheque at least, which is why she came," Dill said hesitantly.

"Sign the cheque?" Ty asked.

"She's in charge of my trust fund. She said that she would clear the funds if you okayed it first."

"Okayed what?" he asked, sitting up straight and facing her.

"Well, remember that you once asked me to come and live at Loxley?" At his nod, she carried on. "Well, I thought, what if we bought a house here? A beach house… a holiday home. Somewhere that I can bring the children in the summer, or the winter, or whenever you have leave. We could all meet up together and…." Dill looked at his expression and trailed off.

"What you mean, Dill, is you're going to buy a house with your money, and this is your way of trying to make me feel like I get a say in the matter." Ty said stiffly.

"Don't go getting all macho about it, Ty," she pleaded. "So it's my money, so what? Why do you think my grandfather left it in trust until I was 30? So that by then I'd have a family - that's you and the children - and would be able to use the money sensibly. It's for all of us, Ty. What's wrong with using it to buy a place around here? If it means we get to spend more time together, surely that's a good thing? And one day this war will be over and you'll be posted home. It won't be to Scotland, will it? I've noticed a distinct lack of United States Marines in Inverness, Ty. They'll probably stick you behind a desk at Loxley, and we'll still never get to see you. But if we had a house here, you wouldn't have to live in Officers' Quarters, and me and the children would be able to come and stay for however long we liked. We could be a real family, Ty, all of us. Including any others that might happen along."

"Happen along? You're not telling me you're pregnant again, are you?" he asked, a note of panic in his voice.

"How the hell could I be?" Dill exclaimed. "This is the first night we've spent together in 8 months, and we haven't actually done anything yet!"

"Phew!" her husband grinned. "I have condoms. Please, Dill, let's use them. I know you want more kids, but in a few years. Not now. I'd like to have you as you are for a while yet."

"You know I'd like a big family, Ty. It's not like we can't afford it. Even without my trust fund, your pay would easily support a bigger family. And with the trust fund, well maybe we'll be able to afford to buy you something nice to fly. No more cadging lifts home to Scotland."

"That's blackmail," Ty said, raising an eyebrow. "We already have three lovely children. Let's wait a while before we have more. I'd like to get to know the ones we have a little better first. Surely you can wait a year or two for the next one?"

"I guess, but I can't help it, Ty. I just enjoy having your babies. It feels right. I can't explain it, but it just feels right knowing that I'm carrying another McQueen," Dill said softly. "And anyway we still don't know if we'll ever have any more, do we? I mean, you didn't think you could have these three, did you?"

Ty got up from his seat and pulled Dill to her feet as he kissed her gently, slowly kissing and licking at her collarbone.

"If you keep that up mister number four might put in an appearance sooner rather than later." Dill whispered.

"You know what…." he mumbled into her neck, his hand sliding down her body, pulling her dress up her legs to stroke her thighs. His eyes widened. "Stockings! Oh god, Dill, at this moment in time I don't care. You can have a hundred kids if you like. All I know is how sexy you are in that dress. I've never seen you in one before. You look beautiful. And you made a big impression on all the high ups who were here tonight. You know that, don't you?"

"Don't be silly," Dill smiled, turning in his arms to face him. "They spent the evening talking to mother. And to you. Congratulating you on your promotion no doubt."

"No, Dill. They spent a lot of time telling me what a lovely wife I have. Telling me that I'm a very lucky man. As if I didn't already know that." Ty chuckled.

"If anyone's lucky, it's me," she sighed, as his hands began to knead her bottom.

"So we're both lucky," he whispered, pulling her close to him, letting her feel his arousal as he kissed her hungrily. "Since I saw you in that dress, I've wanted nothing more than to get you out if it. Would your mother mind if we went to bed now, do you think?"

"She'd think that we had no manners at all, and we're behaving like animals, but who cares? After all, it's been forever since we last saw each other." Dill looked around her at the perfectly manicured lawn reaching down to the water's edge. "What's wrong with here? The sunset is lovely, the water is beautiful and the night is deliciously warm… why waste it?"

"What? Here, in the garden, for the entire world to see?" Ty asked warily.

"Who's the entire world? Where are they hiding? There's you and me. And if mother looks out, she'll get an eyeful, won't she?" Dill teased.

With a grin, Ty pulled Dill down onto the lawn and began to run his hands up under her dress, stroking her stomach as she lay on her back.

"Come on, flyboy. Forget the fancy stuff. You know what I want." Dill giggled. "There'll be plenty of time for that later. But right now I want to feel you inside me." She reached down to his pants, undoing the button and pulling the zipper down.

"TC! Dylan! What on earth are you two thinking of? Get off that grass this instant! You'll ruin that dress, Dylan, not to mention the show you're putting on for the neighbours! Come inside right now!"

"Damn! Caught by your mother!" Ty laughed, zipping himself back up.

"Like two naughty school kids," Dill tittered. "Come on then. Let's go inside for our telling off." She got up and took his hand as they headed inside.

"Yes, ma'am."

~~~~~~~~

"For goodness sake, you two, can't you wait until later?" Dill's mother said crossly as they came in through the French windows.

"Well, mother, it has been eight months. And the sunset is soooo romantic," Dill teased. "And, of course, Ty is just so deliciously handsome. No red-blooded woman could fail to be affected by such a combination."

Her mother just glared at her. "Well, it's not appropriate. Not at all. You, TC - you really should know better. How would it look if your superiors heard about it? And after getting your promotion, too!"

"I think, Moira, that you're over reacting a bit," he told her. "We didn't actually do anything."

"But you were going to! And that lovely dress would have been ruined, Dylan. Grass stains just never come out."

"And you know this how, mother?" Dill asked mischievously. "Did you and dad get caught?"

"Dylan! Really!" her mother snapped. "I made some supper, but maybe you two would like to bypass the food and just go and be private. Because I sure as hell don't want to have to watch the pair of you behaving like hormonally charged teenagers!"

"We can sit and eat our supper with you, mother," Dill laughed. "We'll behave, won't we, Ty? You won't have to send us to our room."

Her mother stared icily at her. "One day, Dylan, you are going to push me too far. You really are!"

"Calm down, both of you," McQueen told them sternly. "We'll behave, Moira, I promise. I'm sorry if we embarrassed you, we just got a little carried away. It won't happen again. Why don't we sit down and eat and we can discuss this house business."

The two women agreeing, they sat and ate the supper that Moira had prepared for them.

"What we need to think about, Ty, is where are we going to buy a house? Glen and Rhonda's house is lovely, but do we want to be that far away from Loxley? What about here, in Mobile? Or Montgomery near Rhonda, maybe?" Dill asked as they ate.

"Well, Mobile is nice. Or, at least, there are some lovely houses on the waterfront. And it's not too far from Loxley for travelling each day." Ty told them. "Of course I'm pretty sure the riverside places, like this," he waved his knife around to indicate the house they were in, "are expensive. But I do have a fair amount in my savings account."

"TC, Dill has the money her grandfather left her," Moira said. "He would have taken to you right away, so please don't think, not for a moment, that it is Dylan's money and therefore only for Dylan. My father would have seen in you the son he never had." She looked him squarely in the eye. "Perhaps that's why I resented you so much. I knew my father would have approved of you as a husband for my daughter, and that rankled a lot."

"Really mother? You've never talked much about grandpa Mackenzie. What was he like? I wish I'd met him." Dill said wistfully.

"You did meet him," Moira told her. "You were about four years old. He came to visit us. You took one look at his beard and sat yourself in his lap and refused to be moved."

"He had a beard?" Dill asked, intrigued.

"Oh yes. And I have to say it, but Cameron, although he looks like TC here, also reminds me so much of my father. I suppose it's the blonde hair and blue eyes. After all, a lot of highland folk are descended from the Vikings." Moira laughed. "My father really looked like a Viking too - tall, blonde, startling blue eyes. And he had a dry sense of humour that he kept well hidden. He used to tease my mother that when he died he wanted to be set sail on the loch in a burning boat and wait for the valkyries to come take him away."

"What did he do? "McQueen asked her. "For a living, I mean."

"He was a distiller - he made whiskey," Moira told him. "My sister and her husband run the distillery now, and I assume their son will take over eventually." She looked at her son-in-law thoughtfully. "Your sons, however… well, Hamish is already following in your footsteps, I'd say, and he'll be a soldier. But Cameron? Well, who knows what Cameron will do. Maybe he'll take over the distillery."

"Oh mother! They're not yet two and a half. How can you say Hamish is going to be a soldier?" Dylan cried.

"Look at him, Dylan. Open your eyes and look at him. He's a good head taller than Cameron. He walked at nine months. He's strong - very strong - and his invitro genes are already proving themselves. That boy looks like he was designed to be a soldier. Look at TC - he's slim built, and so are you. But Hamish isn't. I'm not saying he's fat, because he isn't, but he's going to be a pretty powerful young man."

"I know what you mean," Ty said quietly. "And frankly it worries me. I've sat and pondered it." At Dill's questioning glance he gave her a small smile. "It occurred to me that maybe somewhere in my gene mix they added something - they fiddled somehow. Maybe if they couldn't produce perfect soldiers, they wanted us to breed them ourselves."

"TC - that is a terrifying thought," Moira whispered. "Would they really do that?"

"Aerotech is capable of anything. They probably knew their days farming invitros were numbered and so looked around for something else. No doubt one day they'll say, 'look at all these tank brats. We designed them to be perfect soldiers', and of course they'll all be natural born, so no stigma."

"Jesus H. Christ, Ty," Dill whispered. "You really think that about our Hamish? That he's some kind of experiment?"

"I think Dill, that he's two years old, and he's my son. You know I would never let those Aerotech scientists near him, don't you?"

"Yes," she nodded. "But if you think that Aerotech did something to your genes, then the logical next step is that at some point they'll turn up on our doorstep to take him away."

"No, Dill, not till hell freezes over will I let my boy be so much as looked at by those so-called scientists. But I may well be wrong about it. I probably am. So let's not get too serious about it, shall we?" He smiled at the two wide-eyed women. "This is delicious lasagne, Moira."

Dill managed a smile, reassured and delighted that he'd referred to Hamish as his baby.

"Thank you. It's a recipe that Dylan gave me," Moira smiled.

"I gave you?" Dill asked, puzzled. "I don't think so."

"Not you - your father." Moira smiled again.

"Why did you name me after him? It's so confusing." Dill queried.

"Well," Moira began, "I don't really know. It just felt right at the time."

"So you still cared for him then, when I was born."

"Of course I still cared. If I didn't care, I would have had you terminated and carried on with my career," she told her. "But I didn't."

"Why didn't you try to find him?" Dill asked.

"Because," her mother looked at her, "because it hurt far too much. I thought he wasn't interested. I thought he didn't want you or me. So why would I have gone looking for him? So that he could send me away? Tell me he didn't want to know? Sorry, Dylan, but that was just too much to ask."

"I understand," McQueen said quietly.

Moira looked thoughtfully at him. "Yes, TC, I believe you do. You're far more perceptive than I've given you credit for."

"It's not being perceptive. It's experience. I've been there." he smiled ruefully.

"Ty?" Dill asked softly.

He put down his knife and fork. "You and Amy aren't the only women I've been involved with, Dill. When I met Amy I was on the rebound. Well, sort of." Ty glanced at the two curious faces watching him. "I really liked her. A lot. And I thought she liked me. Until she found out I was a tank. Then she just dropped me… refused to speak to me, even to answer my calls," he sighed. "I was devastated. And then three weeks later, I met Amy. She was tall, blonde and beautiful. She didn't seem to care that I was a tank." He looked up at Dill's snort of disgust. "Well, she didn't seem to at first. And the rest you know."

Dill smiled at him, reaching out to take his hand. "I don't care that you're an invitro. You do know that, don't you?"

"I think a marriage and three children down the line is a little late to be wondering about that, Dylan," her mother said, rolling her eyes.

"Of course I know," he grinned at her. "Come on - let's take these dishes out."

"Yes, sir," Dill tittered, getting up from her seat and picking up the empty plates. "You know, going back to the house issue - I'm sure if I asked Rhonda, she'd help me look at places, or even maybe recommend a real estate agent."

"Here, Dill, get somewhere in Mobile. With a pool. I enjoy swimming and I'm not too bad, even with this damn artificial leg," Ty told her as they entered the kitchen laden with dishes.

"You have an artificial leg?" Moira asked from the doorway.

"My right one from below the knee. I lost it in those peace talks a few years ago." he told her matter of factly as he stacked the dishes in the washer.

"Can I see it?"

"Mother!" Dill cried.

"Sorry, the doctor in me rears her head sometimes," Moira apologised. "And I've been reading up on artificial limbs lately." At their questioning looks, she smiled nervously. "Keeping up to date."

"It's ok, you can see it. Give me a couple of mikes." McQueen told her.

"Now?" Dill asked. "For god's sake, mother!"

"It's okay, Dill. I don't mind. Really, I don't," her husband tried to placate her.

"What are you going to do? Drop your trousers?" She was almost yelling at him. "Honestly, mother, have you no decency?"

"Dill, calm down. She wants to look at my leg, not my butt! And she is a doctor," Ty laughed. "It's not like I have anything she hasn't seen before. What's the matter - jealous?"

"Oh, you!" Dill squealed as he flicked her with a tea towel. "Go on then, strip off. Show her just why I can hardly keep my hands off you. Hang on - let me help you with those trousers."

She made a grab for him, but he jumped away, laughing. "You are terrible, Dill. But you're right - the light in here is better than the light in the other room. You want to see it properly, Moira, so here's as good as anywhere." He bent to unlace his boots.

"No, let me do that," Dill told him. "Sit down."

She knelt at his feet, slowly unlacing his boots, watching his face as she stroked his ankle and ran her hands up his good leg.

"Stop it, Dill, that's not funny," Ty scolded her, knowing what she was trying to do.

"Spoil sport!" Dill poked her tongue out at him.

"If you two have quite finished," Moira said, with a shake of her head, "Honestly, it's like watching two children, not two adults, the way you two behave!"

They both grinned at her.

"Mind you," she said, "it's nice to see. At least I know my daughter's truly happy with you."

"Why, thank you, Moira. That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Ty smiled. "Now, my leg. Here you go." He stood up, and with a mischievous grin to Dill, dropped his trousers. Dill pulled them off his legs, tugging his socks off too, before sitting on his lap.

Moira knelt and lifted his leg. "You have some serious scarring here, TC. Surely they could have done a better job than this? I could have done a better job!" she said indignantly. "How long before you knew the risk of rejection was past?"

"About two weeks. I had to have complete bed rest. And then, once they were sure, I spent four months in rehab, learning to walk, balance, swim - that sort of thing." Ty told her.

"You must have hated that," Moira said absently, her fingers kneading his flesh around the scarring. "The bed rest, I mean."

"Yes, I did," he admitted.

"Well, if you'd bothered to let me know, I would have come and kept you company." Dill told him with a frown. "I'm sure I could have helped you stop brooding."

"Dylan, once they'd seen the effect you two have on each other, they would have banned you," her mother smiled. "You know, TC, I'm sure I could do something about these scars. If you'd like, that is. Even if I do say so myself, I'm a damn good surgeon and I do a lot of cosmetic work. Tidying this up would be a breeze." At their surprised looks she smiled. "Up at the local hospital I tend to do any cosmetic surgery they need. They don't have their own cosmetic surgeon, so they make as much use if me as they can. And I enjoy it."

"Thanks for the offer, but it's not like I show my legs a lot." Ty smiled.

"You have other scars though, I'll wager. And none of them any better than this."

"Yes, I do. But I've lived with them for so long, it really doesn't matter anymore. Dill doesn't mind them, do you?" he asked his wife. At the shake of her head, he turned to Moira again. "And anyway, my invitro genes are dealing with them. Slowly, but dealing with them." At Moira's intrigued look, he grinned. "I'm engineered to heal faster."

"Of course," she nodded. "Sorry. As I said, when the doctor emerges, I get rather carried away. But I know I can improve the look of that leg, TC, if you should ever change your mind."

"Thank you." he smiled.

"Okay, that's enough with the leg," Dill told them, climbing off his lap. "Good night, mother. I'm taking my husband away now. I want him all to myself. I've had to share him for most of the day, but now it's my turn." She took Ty's hand and pulled him upright. "Come on, flyboy - put your trousers on."

"Why bother?" Ty laughed, picking them up. "After all, in about five mikes you'll have them off anyway. Come on slow poke." he called over his shoulder to her as he headed out of the door.

Moira smiled, watching them. 'Grandchild number four - here we go', she thought.

~~~~~~

By the time they reached their bedroom, Dill had had enough.

"Ok, flyboy, get those clothes off right now!" she giggled. "Let me at that body." She began pulling at his shirt, her fingers fumbling with the buttons in her haste.

"Careful or this'll be another shirt you've ruined." he told her. "I want to see you out of that dress. Come on, girl - strip!"

"Yes, sir!" Dill giggled, stepping back and kicking off her shoes. "Undo me, please." She turned and presented her zip to him.

Bending his head to kiss the back of her neck, he slowly began lowering the opener, kissing each section of her back as it was revealed by the zip, until finally it was totally undone. Ty slid his hands inside and undid her bra. His hands moved around to knead her breasts as he kissed her shoulders and pushed the dress down with his mouth.

"Jesus, Dill, I'm so hard I don't think I'll last long," he moaned softly.

"Then stop wasting time and help me lose the rest of these clothes," Dill sighed, pushing backwards onto his erection.

Ty slid the dress down her body. He then pulled her bra off until she stood clad only in her panties and the hold up stockings that had so excited him earlier. Kneeling, he buried his face between her thighs, his fingers reaching inside her panties. Pulling them down her legs, he slid his tongue inside her, causing her to gasp and grip his head. With just a few flicks of his tongue, a little gentle sucking and nibbling, it wasn't long before Dill came, pushing his head into her hot centre as her body bucked under his attentions.

"Oh God, Ty!" she gasped as he began to remove her stockings, smiling widely as he did so. He kissed her thighs, licking his way up and down her legs until she was completely naked.

Standing up, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down, he removed the last of his clothes, revealing his prominent erection. Dill pulled him down onto the bed and turned her attentions to his cock. Her tongue gently swirling around the sensitive head flicking in and out of the slit, before she began to lick his length with long slow licks, making him writhe underneath her as she sucked him completely into her mouth. Sucking harder, she soon had him bucking his hips. Before he realised, she had inserted a finger inside him and was stroking his prostate, sending him into a burst of wild thrusting and bucking upwards into her mouth as he came, crying out, unable to stop himself.

"I told you," he gasped, his breathing ragged. "I said I wouldn't last long."

"That's okay," Dill smiled, snuggling up to him, her hands stroking up and down his body from his chest to his legs. "It won't be long before I have you ready to go again."

"Oh god, Dill, yes," Ty groaned as her hand began very gently to stroke his cock.

"See?" she giggled, as he grew under her hand. "And if I do this," he gasped as she firmly, but gently, began to pump him, "you'll be begging me to let you fuck me in next to no time."

Grabbing hold of her, Ty flipped them over so that he was on top. Bending his head, he began to lavish attention on her breasts, sucking and gently nipping at her nipples until they stood hard and firm. One hand he slowly danced down her body to her hot centre. Slipping a finger inside her, he began to thrust, matching his thrusts to the thrusts of his tongue in her mouth as he moved from her breasts to kissing her mouth deeply, tasting every inch of it.

Once Dill was moaning and squirming beneath him, he removed his fingers, and positioning his hard cock at her entrance, slid into her in one long smooth thrust. They lay, joined, kissing for a few moments before he began to slowly thrust himself in and out of her. He moved gently at first, but as she began to thrust her hips upwards to meet his thrusts, faster, until, with her urging him on, he let go completely and within seconds was pounding into her for all he was worth, gripping her shoulders to stop her from moving as he thrust hard and fast inside her.

"Go on, Ty!" she urged him. "Harder… faster… you know you can do it!"

His final few thrusts had the headboard banging against the wall as he pounded himself into her, both of them crying out as Dill came. Her muscles tightened around him, pulling him over, and making him lose himself in the sensations of his own climax before he collapsed on top of her, his chest heaving with the effort to breathe.

They lay, Ty wrapped in Dill's arms and legs, until he softened and slipped out of her. Only then did they rearrange themselves, until finally, with Dill wrapped in his arms, they fell asleep, content and happy. Dill smiled as she realised that not once had he even mentioned condoms.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He was woken by a voice in his ear. "Daddy, are you sleeping?"

Rolling over, he saw Cameron standing there, his doll clutched firmly under his arm.

"Hey, little guy," Ty smiled. "I'm awake. What's up?"

"Can I get in bed with you?" Cameron asked quietly, his blue eyes wide.

"Sure you can," his father smiled, lifting the sheet.

"I'm wet," came the plaintive reply. "I took my nappy off when it was dark and now my bajamas are wet."

"Take your pj's off then, and get in."

"Mummy makes me a bath," his father was told.

With a sigh, Ty asked, "Do you want to get into bed with me and mommy, or do you want a bath?"

"A bath with you daddy." Cameron smiled happily at him.

Getting out of bed, Ty grinned at his young son.

"Where's Hamish?"

"He's sleeping," was the answer he got. "Daddy, where are your bajamas?"

"I forgot them," his father improvised quickly. "Come on, let's get you out of those wet things and we'll go take a bath. Or do you fancy a shower?"

"I don't like showers," Cameron whispered as his father pulled his pyjama top off.

"Why?"

"The water gets in my face," he was told, as Cameron sat down to pull off his pyjama pants.

"Well, how about if I hold you up like this?" his father asked, picking the now naked boy up in his arms. "And then I can make sure you don't get all the water in your face."

"But Cashus will get wet," Cameron said worriedly as Ty carried him into the bathroom.

"Cashus?" Ty asked the boy, puzzled.

Cameron shoved the doll in his face. "Cashus."

"Your doll's name is Cashus?"

"Mummy said he should have a name," Cameron nodded.

"But why Cashus?"

"I wanted to call him your name. Mummy said your name was Cashus." Cameron said simply. "I don't like your funny name."

Realization dawned. "Ah… Cassius. You named him Cassius. Why don't you like Tyrus?"

"Because I like Cashus." Cameron sighed as if his father was a half-wit.

"Of course. Sorry." McQueen grinned. "So Cassius can sit on the side here, while we take our shower. And I'll make sure you don't get water in your face, ok?"

"Ok," Cameron smiled.

~~~

Dill lay in bed smiling. She'd woken to the sound of laughter and singing coming from the bathroom, and now lay listening to Cameron trying to teach his father the words to Incy Wincey Spider. Ty was pretending he couldn't remember them, making Cameron howl with laughter as he sang the wrong words.

"No, daddy. Climbs up the spout, not the sprout!" Cameron laughed. "You silly!"

"You said sprout," came the reply, in a mock serious tone.

"No daddy, spout. Incy Wincey climbs up the spout again."

"Come on, let's dry off and go get into bed. Shall we wake mommy up and get her to make us a drink?"

"And a biscuit?" Cameron asked hopefully.

"Definitely a biscuit."

"And one for Cashus?"

"Yep, one for Cassius too."

"No, daddy. You're saying it wrong. Cashus, not Cassius!"

"Sorry. Cashus. Come on then. Grab Cashus and let's go wake up mommy."

"Mummy is awake!" Cameron yelled as he ran back into the bedroom and clambered up onto the bed. "A drink, mummy, and a biscuit. For Cashus, too!"

"Good morning, my lover," his mother smiled. "Where's my hug?"

Cameron climbed into her arms and hugged her. "Mummy, did you forget your bajamas too?"

McQueen grinned at Dill. She poked her tongue out at him.

"No, my lover. That silly daddy lost them for me."

Cameron turned to look at his father, who stood in the doorway wearing a towel around his waist. "Did you look in your trousers?"

"What?" McQueen asked, puzzled.

"When Hamish loses his blanket, it's in his trousers," Cameron told him.

"No, Cameron, mommy's pyjamas aren't in my trousers." Ty chuckled.

"Come on then, Ty. Get back into bed. We can have a snug before I go and make us a drink," Dill told him.

While they lay there snuggled together, Hamish appeared. "

Izzy," he told them. "Crying."

"I'll get her," Ty told Dill. "You go put the kettle on. I'm ready for some coffee." He pulled a pair of sweatpants from the dresser drawer, and pulling them on, went to get Isobel.

Dill got of bed and wrapped her robe around her. "Okay, boys, juice and a biscuit coming up. No jumping on the bed or you'll break the ceiling."

Dill was in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil when Ty appeared, Isobel hugged on one hip.

"What does she have?" he asked, tickling her under her chin, making her chuckle.

"Juice, like the boys. Sit her in her chair. She'll be fine. She's placid little thing, like Cameron was at this age."

"I never saw Cameron at this age," Ty said with a sigh, as he sat Isobel in her seat.

"Never mind, sweetie," Dill told him absently as she poured boiling water onto the ground coffee.

"Cameron's speech is really good. It surprised me," he told her as she handed him a beaker for Isobel.

"I know. The contrast with Hamish is stunning. Cameron has twice the vocabulary that Hamish does. But then Hamish has the muscles. It seems like neither got both."

"We had a real conversation," Ty said as he rummaged in the cupboard for biscuits. Finding them, he handed one to Isobel.

"I heard the pair of you singing in the shower," Dill told him.

"He called that doll Cashus. Why didn't you correct him?" he asked, helping Isobel hold her cup properly.

"Because he couldn't pronounce Cassius at the time. And anyway, Cashus is fine. Here, take the boys beakers and some biscuits. I'll take mother a cup of coffee."

"And who's going to look after Isobel?"

"You are. Take her with you and I'll bring our coffee when I've given mother hers. Did you do Isobel's nappy?"

"Yes, I changed her diaper. A bit different from the little guys." Ty smiled, picking Isobel up from the chair, grateful that the boys' cups not only had lids, but handles too, as he juggled them around so he could hold his daughter.

"Could that be because she's a girl and they're boys?" Dill quipped. "Now shoo! Take the boys their drinks and send Hamish to the loo. Both of them are out of nappies, just, but Hamish needs reminding. A lot."

"Cameron was wet. He'd taken his diaper off. That's why we had a shower," McQueen called back over his shoulder as he left he room.

"Thank goodness for waterproof sheets," Dill called after him.

When she arrived back in the bedroom with the coffee, Ty had tied the sheet to the bedposts to make a tent, and was busily engaged in building a 'camp' for the boys with the pillows.

"Honestly, Ty! You're nothing more than a big kid yourself!" she laughed. "Come out of there and have your coffee."

"Daddy, no!" Hamish wailed as his father slid out from under the sheet.

"Go on, guys. You can make a nest with the pillows, but don't let Isobel fall out of the bed," he told them, taking his coffee and sitting on the sofa at the end of the bed. "I can't believe how much they've changed in eight months. I mean, I can understand what they're saying to me."

"Well, children do learn to speak, Ty. It happens," Dill told him, grinning.

"I know that, ," he chuckled, hugging her to him. "But I mean, they're still babies, really. But Cameron speaks like a little adult.

"Well, children develop their speech at different rates. Cameron does have an exceptional vocabulary and he understands what he's saying. But poor old Hamish… well, sometimes he gets so frustrated with me that he tells Cameron to tell me," Dill said. "But it'll come eventually."

"Whatever you say, Dill. I'm impressed." Ty told her, sipping his coffee.

"Oh, you're easily impressed, flyboy. Just remember to watch what you say around them. They will repeat it. And you can expect Cameron to tell everyone that he saw you naked. Probably when you least expect it. Or, more likely, he'll announce to the world that you have a penis."

Ty stared at her. "He wouldn't?"

"Of course he will. Just like he told the girl at the checkout in the supermarket that mummy has breasts to feed Isobel," Dill grinned. "And he'd obviously heard me talking to Iona because he told her that daddy likes them too!"

"Oh my god," her husband whispered, horrified.

"That's children for you, Ty. They'll tell the world your darkest secrets if you're not careful. You wouldn't believe some of the things I heard when I was working. We had parents that I couldn't look in the eye because of what their children had casually announced."

"You're not working there anymore?"

"Do you even read the letters I send you? Or do you just eat the biscuits and bin the rest?" Dill asked, slapping him on the arm. "How can I keep working? You keep getting me pregnant!"

"Boys, save me! Mommy's smacking me!" Ty yelped.

Two blonde heads appeared from under the sheet.

"Bad mummy," Hamish told her sternly.

"No smacking!" Cameron announced with a frown.

"See? The little guys are on my side," he smirked. "But you're not pregnant now. You could work."

"You contrary swine! Last year it was all 'why do you have to work? I want you to stay home with the boys. Now you do want me to work! What's up? Are we draining your bank account too fast?"

"No" Ty said seriously. "You know that where you and the children are concerned, money isn't a consideration. I just meant that you said you needed to work, for your own sanity. But now you're not."

"Well, now I have three children to look after, Ty. I don't seem to have time to work too." Dill sighed.

There was a tap at the door and Moira came in.

"It sounded like you were all up and about. How about some breakfast?" she asked.

"Gamma!" Hamish yelled, seeing her. "Look Daddy's tent!"

"Clever daddy," his grandmother smiled.

"Can I have an egg, grandma?" Cameron asked, smiling at her.

"Of course you can, my darling," Moira told him. "But you need to put some clothes on. Where are your pyjamas?"

"I wet them," Cameron said, grinning. "Daddy showered me, and he didn't get my face all wetted!"

"Oh, definitely clever daddy then," Moira grinned, smiling at Ty. "Come on then, chaps - who's for toast?"

"Me, gamma!" Hamish cried, climbing off the bed. "And Izzy. Izzy likes toast!"

"Pancakes, grandma. Can we have pancakes too?" Cameron asked as he slid off the edge of the bed.

"Yes, of course you can, my sweet. Now where's that Izzy hiding? "

"In the tent, grandma," Cameron told her as he ran from the room, Hamish at his heels.

Moira looked at Dill and Ty. "I'll feed the children, and then I'll make us some breakfast. That should give you two time to shower or bath." She raised an eyebrow at them. "Or whatever." She picked up Isobel and headed out of the door, calling to the boys, "To the kitchen, chaps!"

"Izzy?"

"I know," Dill groaned. "I tried to stop her, but now the boys call her it, too!"

"I quite like it," Ty smiled, putting his empty cup on the floor by the sofa.

"You would!" Grabbing a pillow from the bed, Dill hit him with it. "There are no boys here to save you now, McQueen!"

"I don't need them to save me." He jumped up from the sofa and grabbed a pillow of his own.

They were busily engaged jumping on the bed, hitting each other in a full on pillow fight, when a small voice spoke, "Mummy, you said jumping on the bed would break the ceiling." It was Cameron, frowning at them.

The grownups stopped in mid fight, clutching their pillows to them, both of them looking sheepish at being caught.

"Yes, I did, didn't I? Sorry, Cameron," Dill said, trying to hide her grin.

"Is daddy making you jump on the bed?" Cameron frowned at Ty.

"Yes, my lover, he is," Dill said. "He's a bad daddy. We have to teach him not to do naughty things, don't we?"

"No jumping on the bed, daddy!" Cameron told him, wagging his finger at him.

"Sorry, Cameron," his father said contritely. "Shall we go and get some pancakes?"

Cameron nodded as Ty jumped down off the bed.

"Want a pick up?" he asked, throwing the pillow back onto the bed.

At Cameron's wide grin, he hoisted him up. "Come on. Let's go before mommy breaks the ceiling."

The pillow Dill threw landed on the floor behind him as he slipped through the door, laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~



Next : Part Two


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