Meeting the Family

By Donna and Toni

Derek and Nick had been very pleased to see Fiona once again at Ceara's birthday party, and Derek had extended the invitation for the young woman to come to visit them at the House in person. To his delight, as well as Nick's, she had told him she accepted, and to this end, the two men were now busy making sure their home looked perfect, two guest rooms prepared just down the hall from Philip's room. They'd been told one of Fiona's friends would be accompanying them, and were looking forward to meeting her as well.  

Since they were taking the coach, it was going to be quite the adventure, just as Fiona had predicted. The stage went by way of Camelot, where it stayed overnight. King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere extended their complete hospitality to the passengers, even to inviting them to eat with them that evening! At the dinner, Rob Roy pressed a sealed envelope into Fiona's hands, asking her to deliver it to Mercy Campbell when she returned to the town of Edan.  

The young woman had promised that she would, tucking it away in her bag for safekeeping; Philip didn't have to ask what she thought might be in the letter. He and everyone else had seen the way the tall Scot looked at the young woman, and he had a pretty good idea. The same thing that a letter from himself to Fiona would say, if he wasn't lucky enough to have had her consent to "keeping company" with him. As he gazed at the dark haired beauty sitting beside him, he said a silent prayer to always keep him in her good graces, even through arguments or whatever else might come their way.  

If they weren't expected at the Legacy House, both Fiona and Philip would have been tempted to stay! It was after all, Camelot. Vanessa, who was traveling with the couple as a *chaperone*, was especially delighted to visit with her two fae sisters, and would not have complained in the least bit. Not to mention, she really enjoyed all the attention showered onto her by the Knights.  

The royal couple and many others were there to see them off the next morning when the three of them climbed back into the stagecoach. A basket of food and drinks was placed at Fiona's feet. After all, they would be traveling a good part of the day before arriving at the Legacy House sometime in the middle of the afternoon. Once Con Madigan dropped them off there, he would then head to Esperanza, where he was scheduled to pick up some of the soldiers that were there on leave.  

The threesome loved watching the scenery during the trip, and before they knew it, they were at Legacy House. It was a beautifully old-fashioned house, and Philip smiled as he heard the two women's exclamations of delight as they spied part of the beautiful gardens around back. Just as the coach let them all off in front of the place, both its occupants came out to greet them.  

The older of the two men came to help the women off, while Nick helped Philip get their bags from the coach driver. "Fiona, a pleasure to see you again. And this lovely young woman is?" he inquired, looking at Vanessa. There was something different about her, he just couldn't put his finger on it; however, whatever it was, he sensed nothing evil about it, so he remained relaxed.  

"Isn't this Vanessa?" Fiona chuckled. "Be careful now, or won't she be flittin' around this grand lookin' place like a butterfly?"  

Vanessa giggled at Fiona's private little joke and smiled at the two men that lived in this wonderful looking place. It looked like she was going to have a very good time during their stay there!

Derek chuckled as well, and told his newest guest, "Welcome, Vanessa; I'm Derek Rayne, and this strong young man is Nick Boyle." Nick grinned his own hello, and with the introductions made, the two women and three men headed inside the house.  

"Your rooms are upstairs, ladies, just down the hall from Philip's, if you should want to rest or anything after your long journey," their elder host explained. "And if you feel like exploring, the run of the house and gardens are yours, of course." That Vanessa was certainly beautiful, Derek thought to himself, then pushed such thoughts from his mind. She was also much too young to be interested in anyone his age. He knew how cautious Nick was when it came to dealing with women, but maybe this one would help him to relax a little. 

Both ladies wanted to refresh themselves before exploring. Riding in a stagecoach could be a dusty experience. After they had cleaned up, the two women came down the stairs, giggling conspiratorially with each other in such a way that it made Philip's eyebrows go up. He had a feeling the two of them were up to some type of mischief. Fiona was dressed in a lightweight summer blouse that was so sheer he could see her cotton chemise underneath it, along with a linen skirt that came down to the middle of her shapely calves. Vanessa was wearing a short, colorful dress made of a flimsy material that seemed to flutter around her as she moved like faery wings. Or butterfly wings in her case. 

Still, he dutifully performed as Tour Guide, while Derek and Nick were seeing to the preliminary preparations for dinner; with a woman on each arm, they headed into the gardens. As they strolled along, the heady scent of several different types of flowers surrounded them - Philip had always found this a wonderful place for thinking, back on Earth. 

"I like this place," Vanessa said with a smile as she watched little butterflies flit around some sweet smelling flowers. "I feel at home in gardens like this."  

"Yeah, it does remind me a little of your garden back by th' church. All we need is a fountain or waterfall or somethin'..." He gave a small yelp but covered it with a cough, rubbing his arm casually where Fiona had pinched him, and to whom he gave a wounded look. He knew Vanessa would understand his little joke, there was no need to get violent! 

"Would ye be behavin' yerself?" Fiona chuckled. "But Vanessa is right. This is a grand place. I like it." 

"I'm glad ta hear it; this way you won't mind comin' back for a return visit." He put an arm around her shoulders as they walked, hoping she wouldn't pull away. It felt so wonderful to be walking through this favorite place with his arm around a woman he was rapidly caring more for every day. 

Smiling at the two of them, Vanessa said she wanted to explore on her own, and then with a wink at Philip, she mouthed the words, "kiss her!" to him as she flitted away. 

But the young priest was too shy to do that immediately; instead, they continued to walk along, now just the two of them, until they came to a large tree. It cast a large area of shade, and he smiled, "This is a wonderful tree for sittin', with a nice broad base and all....would ya care to join me for a rest, Miss McFadden? I can promise from personal experience it really is comfortable to lean against." He looked hopefully at her. 

"Wouldn't that be grand?" she chuckled, and together, the two of them eased themselves down on the soft thick grass underneath the tree. It seemed the natural thing for him to put his arm around her, and even more natural for her to lean up against his chest, sighing happily. They talked for a while, until she failed to answer his comment about something. The soft, rhythmic sound of her breathing told him that she was sound asleep.  

He took the opportunity to reach up and caress her hair as she sat there; she truly was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, and he wondered what her response would be if he did follow Vanessa's advice and kissed her. Nothing severe, just a small one, just to let her know how he truly felt....he touched her lips with two of his fingers, so very, very lightly it couldn't possibly wake her. Then his brows knitted in a frown as she started to moan in her sleep, her head moving from side to side. What could she possibly be dreaming about to interrupt such peaceful slumber? 

Fiona was back in Dublin again, at least in her dreams, the sound of children laughing about her as she helped them with their studies. Smiling at them, she went to go fetch a book out of the heavy bookcase located on the other side of the room. As she went by the window, she heard the sound of marching feet. Soldiers. She frowned in her sleep. Why would the approach of soldiers make her uneasy? The blast of the bomb planted just outside of her building caught her just as she was raising her arms to get the book, but the bookcase managed to shield her somewhat from the blast. As the world dissolved around her in a pile of rubble, Fiona woke up with a start, tears running down her face. "The children!" she gasped.  

Philip immediately knew which children she was talking about, as what her nightmare had been about became obvious, and he put both his arms around her and held her a little tighter, telling her, "Fiona, it's all right! You're not in Dublin any longer; you're in Edan, in Derek's gardens, with me! Shh now, take it easy...I won't let anythin' hurt ya. That's it, calm down now...." He stroked her hair once again, only this time to relax and reassure her. 

She clung to him, sobbing quietly. She would never understand the why of that act of terror. It was bad enough that they were attacking the British soldiers, but to plant the bomb next to a building that housed nothing but orphaned children? "Oh Philip," she moaned. "I'm sorry. But I canna forget it. No matter how hard I try!"  

"I know...it's all right." Just like he'd never be able to forget the way he felt when someone called and told him about Michael; it would feel like a knife in his heart forever. "Shh....it won't happen here, so don't you worry about it. It's all right...there now." He continued to soothe her, holding her and stroking her hair, and without realizing it, he started kissing her face in an unconscious gesture of comfort; tiny ones, but they were leading closer and closer to her mouth. And then, as soft and gentle as the breeze that wafted around them, his lips found hers and closed over them, in a long, tender kiss. 

Her face and lips were salty from her tears, but he didn't mind. And neither did Fiona apparently. She put her arms around his neck, and rather than pull away in surprise, she kissed him back!

The kiss went on until they both needed to breathe, and as their lips parted, he looked at her, a bit worried, and said softly, "Fiona, I'm sorry if I upset ya...I was tryin' to make you feel better and I - I guess I got carried away. If ya want to slap me for improper behavior ya can." He mentally braced himself for what a man taking an unauthorized kiss in her time would have gotten. 

"Yer a desperate man altogether, Father Philip Callahan, you are! But more the shame for me, wasn't I enjoying it as well?" Her eyes shone brightly in the growing dusk that was starting to fall around them.  

As it registered that she wasn't angry at him, wasn't going to slap him, and in fact looked as happy with it as he himself felt, a smile of relief immediately appeared on his face. He reached up and touched her face again, his eyes looking deeply into hers, and then, at least this time fully aware of what he was doing, he drew her close once again and kissed her once more. He truly hadn't been this happy since....God, he couldn't think of when he'd been this happy! He of course was very careful to keep his hands on her back, not venturing anywhere with them he wasn't supposed to. He didn't want to do anything to mess this up, now that he'd found it!