Going Home

by Donna

Within 24 hours of waking up from her long healing sleep, Katherine was making it quite clear she had had enough of the clinic. She wanted to go home to the house she had shared with Sarah Jo.

The doctors weren’t very happy about that. She was still spotting a little, although both her and the baby seemed healthy enough. So after extracting a promise from her that she would stay in bed for at least a week more just to be on the safe side, the doctors finally agreed to let her go home. Sarah Jo was wanting to move back into her house as well, and with her there, the physicians knew that Katherine would be kept an eye on.

Much to Katherine’s annoyance, they also put a ban on any sexual activities until they gave her the go ahead. Connor just laughed when he was told by Kat that nookie was out of the question for awhile.

"We can still snuggle, can’t we?" he said teasingly. "Or if you think you lack self control, Johnny and I can always get rooms in the hotel." Katherine made a very unladylike comment, telling him exactly what she thought about that idea.

Connor just chuckled and scooped her up into his arms.

"I can walk!" she complained.

"Only to the bathroom," Giles ordered. "No further. Now quit your fussing or you can stay another day here in the clinic." Katherine hushed, wrapping her arms around Connor’s neck, and whispering some rather naughty things into his ear as he carried her down the street to her house.

"Maybe it would be safer for Johnny and me to stay in the hotel," Connor laughed. His comment earned him a clout on the back of his head, which he ignored. As they approached the door, Kat was showered by a deluge of flower petals from the tree they were walking under.

"Johnny!" she called out, waving to him as he peeked down at her out of the foliage. "Where have you been today?"

"I ride horse!" he said proudly, swinging down from the tree and joining her and Connor. "John ride good. Help Ghee-deee-yon at stables. His hand hurt."

Kat looked up at Connor quizzically. "Rope burn," he said simply, not going into any details. "Grisham’s horse pulled away from him."

"Ahh," Katherine said. Sarah Jo had told her the day before that Gideon had come in to be treated for some minor injuries. "I like Gideon. He is a sweetie."

John Clayton ran ahead, opening the door for Connor, grinning broadly at Kat’s gasp of surprise. "I make house pretty like forest." The house was filled with all sorts of greenery and flowers, including a flowering vine intertwined through the banister of the stairway. "Bring lots of fruit to eat. Lupe say she send lunch, so you no get up to cook. Dock-tah’s ordahs."

Kat grinned at the obviously memorized phrase as Connor carried her up the stairs. She had a feeling she would hear that phrase repeated a lot during the next week. The door to the largest bedroom was open, and the fragrant odor of flowers greeted her as she was brought in and laid on the bed. It wasn’t the room she had occupied before, but the previously unused master bedroom. Like the rest of the house, Johnny had decorated it up as well. "It’s very beautiful, Johnny," Katherine said as Connor laid her down in the middle of the bed. Next to the bed was a bay window, its lace curtains blowing gently into the room. Outside the window was the large tree that Johnny had been waiting in for her arrival. "It was a wonderful surprise," she said happily.

Johnny beamed with pride, and climbed up on the bed beside her and proceeded to brush her hair for her. Connor poured her a glass of fruit juice, and then sat down in a chair on the other side of the bed, watching the grooming session with amusement, while Katherine explained to him the significance of the act.

"Ahh. Johnny tried to brush mine the other day. I wouldn’t let him. Maybe I should have."

"Yes," both Kat and Johnny said in unison, making Connor chuckle.

Grabbing another hairbrush from the dresser by the wall, he sat down on the bed, and began to help brush Katherine’s hair. Johnny made soft "ohh ohh" sounds and let him take over while he ran the brush he had through Connor’s unruly hair. "You know this means he considers you part of his family," Katherine said solemnly.

"Yes," Connor agreed. "I understand that now." Once Johnny was done grooming him, Connor then reached over Katherine to brush Johnny’s long hair while the jungleman watched him with intense eyes that mirrored his own.

After the mutual grooming session was finished, the brushes were put away and both men stretched out beside Katherine. "Pretty little girl, what a nice big bed you have," Connor said with a wicked sounding chuckle, which Johnny promptly mimicked.

"All the better to cuddle with you both in," she said happily as they wrapped their arms around her. Katherine laid back on the pillow, enjoying the ensuing snuggling and nuzzling session. When Connor nipped her ear with his teeth, she squealed, and Johnny gave him a sharp grunt of warning, which to Johnny’s surprise, the Highlander did a very good job of repeating right back at him. For a moment, the two men locked eyes, glaring at each other.

"Behave you two," Katherine laughed, reaching up and giving both of their ears a yank, turning their attention back to her. "I’ll no have me bed be a battleground between you two." Then with a contented sigh, she closed her eyes, and within moments, drifted off to sleep, happy to be home at last.