by Aiden Bates
"That's right, Amelia!" He dropped a kiss onto her button nose, which earned him another squeal and several giggles. "I'm your daddy!" His heart swelled with pride. Maybe someday he'd get tired of hearing her incessant chatter, but that day hadn't come yet.
She pointed over at Jake, who was busy strapping his own daughter, Chandra, into the other car seat. Chandra was only six months old, able to look around and show an interest in her surroundings but not to do much else yet. "Jake!" Amelia identified, kicking her little feet with glee. "Chandra!"
"That's right, sprout." Jake winked at her as Chandra grabbed his tie and pulled it into her mouth. Chandra was getting a new tooth, and that meant everything was fair game right now. Fortunately Jake was a scientist, and science had taught him to do his research. He only wore machine-washable ties these days.
"No sprout! Mel-ya!" Amelia put her hand on her chest. "MEEL-ya!"
Oliver shook his head with a rueful grin. He couldn't believe how forward his daughter's language development was. She was only fifteen months old, but she had plenty of words and she was more than happy to use them. She always wanted more words, too, demanding to know the identity of everything she could see. She might not be able to pronounce everything yet, but she was getting there. He adored her curious mind. "That's right, honey. You're Amelia."
Amelia settled into her seat with a satisfied grunt, and Oliver was able to finish strapping her in. Jake looked up at Oliver. "Is that seriously what I'm in for?"
Oliver closed the door and walked around to the driver's seat. "I don't see why not. I mean you guys are smart guys, you read to her often, there isn't any reason why Chandra wouldn't be an early talker." He started the car while Jake buckled himself into the passenger seat. "For real, though, everyone's wired differently and she's used to hearing two different languages so she might not. Bilingual kids talk later."
"That's true." Jake glanced into the mirror, so that he could get a glimpse of their kids. Amelia had reached across the seats and taken Chandra's hand.
This had become a daily ritual, ever since Jake had returned to work. The babies shared a daycare. They spent most of their time together when they weren't at daycare too, with one of their fathers always being at the other one's house. Oliver and Jake always provided babysitting services when the other needed it, whether it was because one of them got called to a crime scene in the middle of the night while their mate was unavailable or for more pleasant reasons. Chandra had even inherited a healthy portion of Amelia's clothes, as Amelia outgrew them and Chandra grew into them.
Now that Joe's omega knew that he was also expecting a girl, those dresses, pajamas, and onesies would get recycled again. Oliver's heart swelled with joy at the knowledge that they'd be able to keep the happiness going around the family, and that the adorable mouse onesie with the tail wouldn't disappear.
Ordinarily, Oliver would drop Jake and Chandra off at their place on his way home, or they'd drop him off at his. Tonight, though, Amelia was going to be staying with Jake. She was going to stay there for a few days while her dads took a little drive down to Newport. She'd come down with her brothers and the rest of the family in a few days.
When they pulled into the driveway, Oliver had a hard time separating from Amelia. He knew that it was for the best. They'd been planning this trip for a while, and they'd been planning this vacation for almost two years. Oliver just couldn't quite reconcile that purely-theoretical we'll leave her with Jake for a few days with walking away empty handed, and knowing that he wasn't coming back for her.
He kissed her goodbye, not once or twice but three times, and told her to be a good girl for her brother. Then he got back into his car and drove the whole ten minutes to his own house.
Sam was waiting for him when he got there. He'd changed out of his work clothes and wore khakis and a polo shirt. He looked incredible, but then again, he'd always look incredible to Oliver. Maybe there were a few more gray hairs in his beard than there had been two years ago, but that was okay. It just made Sam look more distinguished. Oliver greeted him with a kiss when he walked in the door.
Sam lifted their suitcases like they weighed nothing. "Are you ready to go?"
Oliver looked into his husband's gray eyes. "Yeah. It'll be a long drive." He bit his lip and glanced at the playpen. "I miss her."
"I do too." Sam gave Oliver a little smile. "We'll see her in a few days, though."
"Yeah." Oliver followed Sam out to the car, and tried not to think too hard about what was going to happen between now and then.
Would Amelia be able to tell somehow?
They hit some traffic on the way down to Newport, but it wasn't bad. Oliver was in Sam's car, wrapped in Sam's presence and Sam's scent. He could have been in bumper-to-bumper traffic and not cared. Things weren't perfect, of course. They both had their own insecurities, but they'd made a commitment and so far they'd done a good job of honoring it.
They pulled into the parking lot at the hotel and checked in. The hotel was a true indulgence, something that was so far out of the ordinary for them that Oliver would never have thought of it for himself. It was in one of the old Newport mansions, now converted into a luxury hotel, and their room overlooked the ocean. It had been decorated with the French Renaissance in mind, had a jetted two-person tub, and dripped opulence.
Sam had found it. All three couples had saved for a long time to be able to afford it, but they were worth it.
Once they settled into the absurdly fancy room, Oliver locked the door and turned to his husband. Sam was staring at him, pupils blown with lust. His jaw tightened. "Are you sure that you still want this, Oliver? Because if you're having second thoughts, or even hints of second thoughts, we'll call it off. I won't mind. We can still do the vacation; we'll still be together forever. We don't have to do this one part if you have any doubts at all."
Once Oliver would have been offended or bothered by that. Now he just smiled. "What do you want, Sam?"
"I want you to be safe." A couple of tears escaped from his eyes. "I want you to be safe, and healthy, and happy."
Oliver stripped off his shirt. "And?"
Sam grinned. "And I want you to be mine." He hung his head, but kept his eyes on Oliver as Oliver continued to take his clothes off. "I've wanted you to be mine since the day I met you. I can't fight it anymore. I just can't, Oliver. I want to see my claim on you."
Oliver had gotten rid of all of his clothes by now. "I want to be yours." He stepped closer to his alpha. "I want people to look at me, to see that mark on my neck and know that I'm your omega. I want to be tied to you forever. One life between us, Sam. That's it. I want you to know that I'm yours, every minute of every day, because of the way that we're tied together."
Sam put his hands on Oliver's bare shoulders. "We can't undo this once it's done."
"I don't want it any other way."
Sam got rid of his own clothing and grabbed onto Oliver. Oliver let his mate pick him up and carry him off to the giant bed and lay him down. Sam's muscles trembled with the effort of holding himself back even now. Oliver could have been perfectly happy to draw this out, or even try to seduce Sam a little bit, but Sam didn't seem to need that right now. He lay back and stretched himself out, making himself as accessible as he could.
It seemed almost as if someone had flipped a switch in Sam's head. Now that they were going to perform this claim, Sam seemed downright frantic with need. His hands were everywhere, and his mouth followed in short order. Oliver, with the small part of his mind that was still capable of rational though, knew that this was normal. Now that Sam had given into the urge to claim, his instincts would be pushing him further and further until he'd done exactly that.
And he knew that he was no better. Oliver was not typically a submissive lover, but right now every muscle in his body demanded that he bare his neck and yield. He rolled over when his alpha demanded it, and he parted his legs to give Alpha better access. He let Alpha work him open quickly, instead of dra
wing it out the way he usually liked, and he mewled his pleasure without shame.
Alpha entered him in one slow, patient thrust that must have been ten times as difficult given the white-hot need burning through him. Oliver didn't ask him to wait. As soon as he felt that he'd adjusted to the intrusion, he told his alpha to move.
Sam complied. He set an almost brutal pace, one that had Oliver gasping almost immediately. He wasn't about to complain. He wanted this, exactly like this. He let himself cry out in his pleasure, and he didn't hold back. He rocked back to meet his alpha's thrusts and gave himself over entirely to his instincts.
He had no idea how much time had passed when Sam's bite descended, but the effect was instantaneous. Oliver shouted into the pillow as he spilled his release up onto his body. Sam spilled into him, and it was over. The haze left him, and all that remained was the post-orgasmic bliss that he so treasured.
Sam collapsed on top of him for a moment, and then he got up and staggered into the bathroom. Oliver thought he was just going to get them a cloth, but then he heard the bathtub running. After a moment, Sam came back and helped Oliver to his feet. "Mine," he said, touching the spot on Oliver's neck where he'd left his mark.
It was still tender. It should have been. It was a bite wound, after all.
Oliver blushed and rested his head on his alpha's shoulder. "Yours," he murmured. "Forever."
Once the tub was full, they both slipped into the hot water and each other's arms. It was a nice, freeing feeling. They couldn't do this at home. The tub wasn't jetted, for one thing. It wasn't big enough for two people. It wasn't even big enough for one person to fully lie down in, and there was a guarantee that if someone tried to take a proper bath there would be a tiny person hammering on the door to be let in right away.
"Happy?" Sam shifted and squeezed Oliver a little closer.
"Yeah." Oliver relaxed into his alpha's arms even more fully. "I feel like I've been waiting for that—with you—my whole life." He stroked across Sam's hairy chest. "Nothing can keep us apart now."
Sam chuckled. "No. It can't. I'm always going to be here for you. And Amelia, of course." He stroked Oliver's hair. "I'm glad we finally did this."
Sam washed them both, and he even dried Oliver before bringing Oliver back to the bed. Oliver was perfectly capable of walking himself by this point, but his happiness had given him a certain degree of lassitude. He climbed into bed, and Sam tucked him into bed before slipping in beside him.
The next day, Oliver and Sam woke at the same time. That wasn't something they'd ever done before. Usually Oliver woke up first, to work out and take care of Amelia, while Sam slept a little bit later. Today, though, their eyes opened at the same instant. Oliver laughed when he noticed, and that brought a smile to Sam's face. "I'd forgotten about that," he said with a rueful shake of his head.
Oliver squirmed a little. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to bring up bad memories."
Sam kissed him. "It's not, not really. When we first got together, the whole waking up together thing was weird as hell. Especially since we were still basically strangers to one another. But we got used to it, didn't even think about it anymore after a few months." He sighed and sat up. "I didn't think about it at all until he died, actually. Then it was, you know. Difficult. It's been a long time. I forgot how beautiful it was, to wake up next to someone like this."
Oliver pulled himself into a reclining position. "So what's on the agenda today, Alpha?"
"Mmm. I love it when you call me that, by the way." Oliver could see Sam's reaction, from the little flush on his skin to the way that his dick gave a little twitch. "I thought we might be able to go and explore Newport a little bit, grab something to eat. Then I thought we could come back here and make a mess of the hotel a little more. I was kind of tired last night after a full day of work." He wrapped his arm around Oliver's shoulders. "You know, I could get used to this."
Oliver laughed. "We'll see how you feel about this whole one-room living thing when Amelia gets here on Tuesday night!"
They found breakfast in a little coffee shop downtown, and they took a cruise around Newport Harbor. They did a little bit of shopping, and they hit the beach for a little while. They bought some food to bring back to their room, though, because they had no intention of leaving it.
By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, Oliver felt rested and sated. "I think this is something we both needed," he said, as he and Sam lay in bed and watched the ocean.
"The claim? Of course." Sam kissed Oliver's scar. He could barely keep his mouth off of it.
"That too. I'm beyond happy about that. Which you know," Oliver added with a mock glare. "I meant this." He gestured around the room. "This is the first time we've had to be alone together since we met, and I mean truly alone together. No one interfering. No one pushing, or pulling, or doing things for our own good."
Sam hummed. "It's true. Of course, I don't think we'd have ever gotten together if it weren't for people pushing, or pulling."
"There's that." Oliver leaned over and kissed his alpha's lips, morning breath notwithstanding. "I love you."
Sam carded a hand through Oliver's hair and kissed him back, harder and longer. "I love you too. And I always will."
<<<<>>>>
Preview Chapter: Look Back
Elias shook hands with Agent Fredericks. "I'm glad that we could resolve this case so quickly, and so well," he said. Maybe "well" wasn't the right way to put it. The parents were getting back a traumatized kid who was going to be scarred for life, mentally and physically. At least they were getting the kid back, he supposed, and he'd met the Wilkersons several times. If there had ever been a family with the heart and strength to help a kid heal, they were it.
Agent Fredericks shook his hand. "Honestly, we couldn't have done it without you and HomeSafe. You guys are absolutely top of the food chain when it comes to missing kids." She shook her head. "How do you guys manage it?"
Elias grinned. "To be honest, it's because it's all we do. We only work on missing kids, day in and day out. It's a grind, don't get me wrong, but it does allow us to help law enforcement in ways that they might not be able to do on their own." He stretched. The hotel bed hadn't been kind to him.
"So where's home for you?" Fredericks walked out of the building with him.
"I have a place in Providence. I'm not there very often." He chuckled. "I should probably sell it, to be honest, but I have to have some address to put on my tax returns, right? Seriously, though. I'm all over the place."
"That sounds…” She made a face but bit her lip; clearly stopping herself before she could say too much. "I mean I travel a lot, but I do come home first." She wrinkled her nose. "You must not have kids, then."
Elias could see his car in the distance. He focused on that, instead of on his memories. The last thing that he needed right now was to remember the smell of his own blood, or his own insides, in the hospital. He still remembered those, sometimes. "No. I don't. Can't, actually." That wasn't necessarily true. The doctors had slipped a "probably" in there somewhere, but that wasn't important right now.
"I'm sorry." She put her hand over her mouth. "That was incredibly callous of me."
He waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago." That wasn't a lie. It had been a long time ago, ten years, and yet he could still remember every detail. "Anyway, you have a safe trip back to Quantico."
"You drive safe now! Where exactly are you headed to next?" She knit her blonde brows together.
Elias opened his mouth to respond, and then he scratched his head. He never worried about where he was going, until he had to be there. "I have no idea," he admitted. "I got a message while we were in that press conference, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and listen to it yet."
"Oh. Well, drive safe!" Fredericks waved goodbye, and Elias slipped into his car.
He pulled out his phone and called his boss back. "Hey, Dagmar, what's up? I saw you called while I was in that conference wi
th the locals."
Dagmar cleared her throat. "How do you feel about taking on another case so soon?"
Elias rolled his eyes. How was he supposed to feel about taking on a case? His title was investigator. That was what it said on his business cards—Investigative Analyst. What else was he supposed to do, sit around for a week and do yoga or something? "I feel fine taking on another case, Dagmar," he told her. He tried to keep his voice from sounding condescending. "That's why I'm here."
She chuckled at him. "Glad to hear it, Elias. If it makes you feel any better, this one's in Boston. You can stay in a hotel on-site if you want, or you can work from your own place back in Providence."
Elias choked on his own breath. "Boston, Massachusetts?"
Dagmar laughed, just a little. "Uh, yeah, tiger. Where did you think I meant, if you had the option to work out of your place in Providence?"