"We're always late for everything! Annie- for Christ's sake- bloody hurry up!" Terry Thorne struggled with his cufflinks whilst dancing round his daughter who was sprawled out on the floor of the hotel suite reading a Harry Potter novel and oblivious to anything, much less the sense of urgency of her father. "And get off that floor! Can't you sit in a chair like a normal person when you're reading?" As he passed the French windows he darted out and yanked his son off the balcony from where the six-year old boy was dropping a cupful of water on passers-by many floors below. "I'll bloody clip you one if you do that again, you little toe rag," he warned.

Annie listened to Terry's litany of abuse and rolled her eyes - everyone was getting it tonight. 'Looks like he's nervous,' Annie grinned to herself as she put the finishing touches to her makeup and secured her earrings. Walking over to her husband who was still finding the cufflinks a step too far, she knocked his large hands away and deftly threaded them on for him. He stood glowering at her.

"I can do it myself."

"I know you can! But your 'bear with a sore head impression' is getting on our nerves. Calm down and stop being such a grouch!" She straightened his tie and dusted him down, privately admiring him in the well-cut black evening suit and the black silk shirt and tie. He was his usual well-groomed self, with the addition of a neat beard that she had persuaded him to grow - it was cold in New York, she had teased, and his thin Antipodean blood needed all the fur it could use. He looked good enough to eat - especially in this edgy mood when his serious frown and pursed-lipped annoyance were so plainly evident. She noticed his fingers constantly in motion and his foot tapping impatiently as she fussed and primped - so she took her own sweet time. "You look sexier than ever when you're in a mood," she whispered, and gave his groin a surreptitious squeeze as she reached up to plant a soft kiss on his lips.

"Not now!" he muttered but she saw the flash of amusement in his eyes. "Later...I promise," he added with a sudden tilt of his head. Annie smiled back.

"How do I look?" 

Terry dropped his eyes from her face and drank in his beautiful wife's elegant black cocktail dress, lace over silk, its slightly unorthodox cut giving her appearance a contemporary and individual look. It clung to her narrow body, accentuated the wasp waist and tiny hips, and, as she twirled around, he noticed with a satisfied smile, the sweet cling of the fabric to her pert buttocks. Annie's long legs, fitted into an impossibly delicate pair of shoes finished off the ensemble. "Well?" she asked, striking a pose, her thick shiny black hair swept up into a messy roll and strands falling provocatively on her naked shoulders.

He rested his tongue thoughtfully on his upper lip and gave her a nonchalant look. "You'll do," he replied and then grinned as she swatted him on the arm. "OK...I give in...bloody gorgeous, and you know it." He held up his hands before his face in surrender.

Annie gave him a simpering doe-eyed glance back. "Just fasten this," and she handed him a pearl choker. As he leaned in from the back to secure it, he lowered his head to place a kiss on the nape of her neck, bared by the hairstyle she wore; her fragrance assaulted his senses and he moaned softly in anticipation of a later consummation.

"I want you, beautiful Anna," he told her in his low sex-baritone; she twisted her neck and raised her eyes to his. They kissed softly.

"Ewwwwww! They're kissing again," Liam observed to his sister who was still lying prone in the centre of the room, sucking her thumb as she frightened herself half to death with Harry's latest adventures. Liam Thorne was not in a good mood himself, having been forced to wear an outfit that he hated - expensive designer slacks, white cotton shirt and the absolute insult - a tie. He was already pulling at it and trying to turn the clothes into the loose and baggy style he preferred. Growing up in New South Wales, his preferred dress was shorts and a singlet and even the bitter cold of a New York winter was not persuading him to enjoy wearing wooly hats, jumpers and the like.

"Get lost, Liam, you're disturbing me," Zoe snapped, without even raising her eyes from the page. She had little patience with her brother at the best of times and cooped up in this hotel suite he was even more annoying than usual.

"I'm bored. Why've we got to go to this stupid wedding anyway? There'll be nothing good to do," he whined. "Bet there aren't any kids there but us. None of their mates have kids - they're all too stuck up and posh. We'll have to sit there all night and if we move he'll say, "You - get back here - now!" Liam aped his father's deep voice.

"Well, I like weddings...they're romantic. I'm going to dance with Dad, he promised me. And Mum said I could taste the champagne." Zoe countered; she made it a point never to agree with her brother even when he was right.

"I'm not dancing. I'm going to drink whisky. No one will find out," Liam boasted.

"They will when you fall down drunk. Imagine what Dad will say then?"

"I don't bloody care. If I want to do it, I'm going to, so there!" Liam pulled his tongue out at her and she immediately rolled over and shouted:

"Mum! Liam swore and pulled his tongue out at me!" in the bored voice she always effected when she was ratting on her brother.

"Liam!" Annie shouted.

"I've bloody warned you already, mate- you start that behaviour today and I'll give you a bloody good hiding - you got that?" Terry pointed at him threateningly. Liam shrugged it off with his usual truculence. He was as stubborn and fearless as his father - some might say as reckless, too.

Annie ran up and pulled Liam straight, forced him to wear the smart soft grey tweed jacket she had bought for him and brushed him down, dragging a comb through his unruly sheen of hair. He bucked and pulled a sour face; Annie knew exactly who he had inherited that look from. "Liam, you look great. Really smart. Promise you'll be sensible? This is a really special occasion and they aren't used to kids in these places...so, don't let us down, hey? A lot of Dad's old mates will be there, too, and he doesn't want you larking about like a lunatic. OK?"

He nodded. "But it's boring, Mum..."

"I know. I promise once this is over we'll have some real fun...there's heaps to do in New York. We'll have a ball!" She chucked his chin, already charmed by the little cleft and the strong jaw that showed even at six what a man he would be one day. Annie never ceased to be amazed at the stamp of his maleness and how little of herself she could see in him. Only the dark violet blue eyes and the finer edge to his features belied his mother's delicacy. Liam gave her a broad grin - he was such a one for his mother - and that flashing charm that his father used to such devastating effect when he wanted to, came blinding across his face. "Just keep that smile on your face and you'll have them all eating out of your hand," Annie whispered as she kissed his forehead and he ran off.

Zoe was adjusting the fall of her pale mauve dress and slipping on her matching ballet -style pumps. Annie held out her black velvet coat as she daintily eased it on and then dragged the book from her hands as she made to go to the door whilst still reading it. "The book stays, Zo,"

"Aww, Mum...I'll just read it in the boring bits..." she protested. Terry caught the tail end of that.

"Think again, Zoe. I am not having you like a zombie with your nose in that book everywhere you go - particularly not at someone's wedding! Who taught her to read anyway?"

Annie grabbed her wrap and purse. "Terry, you do talk some rubbish - you should be delighted that she's such a gifted reader- she won the book prize again this Christmas- best in the year!"

He sniffed. "Well, she'll be wearing glasses any day now and probably break her bloody neck walking up and down stairs without looking where she's going... Is that everyone? Let's get this show on the road, then. Come on, you lot, out, out, out!" He clapped his hands and the children ran past him, used to his tendency to military discipline at such times. He held the door for Annie as she sailed out in her own sweet time. "Hey, big guy? Did I tell you, you look bloody great?" Terry held out his hands as if to say, "What do you expect?" and grinned at his wife, slapping her rump as she passed by. Hands in his pockets, he strolled to the lift, while the children had the usual argument about whose turn it was to press the lift button.

Two nights' earlier

Mel put the finishing touches to the table decoration as the catering staff completed the setting out on the table. She checked her watch - almost eight. It was unlikely that they would be late. Just then Dino breezed past her, stopping to nuzzle up behind and plant a kiss on her neck, his hands caressing the swell of her belly. She murmured with pleasure and heard the low answering purr in his throat.

"Wish we had time for a quickie," she teased. He shook his head at her in mock disapproval and patted her butt. 

"Wicked girl!" he growled back before moving on to open a couple of bottles of red and standing them to chambrer.

"Nervous?" he asked a little quizzically.

"A little. I know we've talked on the phone but...it's not the same, Dino, not like it used to be. I still have residual issues and she's embarrassed. Especially about meeting you - I think she feels she let you down. I happen to think she did. She let us all down," Mel added dramatically.

"Maybe you'll understand her better in a few months," Dino reasoned, easing out the cork from one of the bottles.

"Meaning?" Mel asked queried.

"I think children change the issue. She was protecting her family. What he did was very dangerous in the extreme - not to mention a serious criminal act. The repercussions could have been disastrous. Baby, he risked more than he should have..."

Mel shrugged and decided not to argue with him. Dino knew her feelings on the subject and she herself wondered if he really was as understanding as he purported to be. It wasn't just about Annie's abject refusal to accept Terry's decision to drop everything and go in for Dino when he had been in that Saudi hellhole. Her former friend had subsequently thrown Terry out and nearly broken him for what he had done - and Dino had been full of rage for the damage that Terry had suffered. Where was the drive to protect their children at all costs when she had filed for divorce? How had the taking of a young lover been of comfort to them after they had witnessed the ejection of their father from their house?

The apartment bell buzzed at that point and broke into her reverie. She jumped slightly and felt the quiver of nerves at the evening ahead, wishing she could take a glass of something strong to calm herself.

Dino answered the intercom, smiled, said something she could not quite hear and then chuckled at the response. It was clearly Terry; she saw Dino press the release to enable them to access the elevator. Their apartment was not only upper end Manhattan at its elegant best but also fortress-like in its security, something even more important than luxury and style to a man of Dino's background and career. He had potential enemies everywhere.

He opened the apartment door and strolled down the plush carpeted entrance hall decorated with its mixture of modern Zen and antique touch; Mel had eclectic and unconventional tastes in most things that matched her future husband's own.

She heard the 'ding' of the elevator, then the raised voices as their guests stepped out; Dino's rapid fire delivery and the deeper tones of Terry's clipped drawl. There was also the unmistakable softer lilt of a woman's voice.

"Honey...look who's here!"

Mel fixed a smile and went out to greet their friends. It was hard not to smile at the sight of them after so long, despite it all. Annie looked fabulous- hair now cut in a tousled shoulder-length style, dressed in tight black pants, a black lace bodice and rich emerald green brocade jacket, diamonds at her slender throat and wrists, her skin lightly golden from an Australian summer. Terry, as usual, took her breath away. His hair was less severe than she remembered it, the slight curl making him look younger than his age - 45 now she estimated- and a neat trimmed beard giving him a sexier, more rugged look. His blue-green eyes twinkled; he was smiling broadly at the sight of a pregnant Mel, not something anyone had ever remotely envisaged. Terry was dressed casually; dark grey wool trousers, black v-necked jumper and a leather jacket. Mel still recalled with fondness the night she had first met him many years ago; one of the wildest sexual nights of her rather wild sexual past. She wondered in passing whether he ever thought of that.

Mel threw her arms round him and they kissed warmly; he raised her gently off the ground to swing her round. "What a picture, love. You look amazing...good to see you again..." Over her shoulder she watched Dino and Annie. Annie smiled, blushed and then suddenly embraced him; he held her close and they touched quietly, a moment of apology and forgiveness- she knew that Dino would never have admonished her for her decision - it simply wasn't his style to bear a grudge.

Terry set her down and she turned to Annie. They'd known each other almost twenty years. It was impossible not to slip back to where they had once been. Mel held her arms out and Annie moved forward, rubbed her friend's pregnant tummy with a 'Hi, little fella!'- and then they kissed and cried and whooped a few times.

"We going to spend the whole night out here?" Dino asked as the two men watched the women. The girls pulled apart and the men threw an arm round them; they linked together as they sauntered back to the apartment.

After dinner- the men

Dino and Terry stepped out onto the wide balcony that ran round the entire perimeter of their penthouse apartment. It was a cold night- they wore their jackets, carried out a bottle of Glenmorangie and lit up the Cuban cigars that Terry had smuggled though customs for Dino.

"Cold enough for you, Oz?"

"Yeah - what do I need my bollocks for at my age anyway?" Terry quipped as he sipped the malt.

"So what's up? I know that face, Tio."

Terry sat back and swirled the golden liquid round in the crystal tumbler. "Not much passes you by, mate, does it?" He rubbed a hand thoughtfully over his beard. "Got a bit of a favour to ask you," he added.

Dino raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the balustrade, legs crossed at the ankle, contemplating his feet. "That so? Well, as I recall, I owe you a big one, pal. Lay it on me..." he said, but his light tone belied the undernote of caution.

Terry took a puff of his cigar and let the smoke out slowly as he exhaled. "I've got a new assignment. Promotion of sorts. A different area of responsibility you might say..."

"Quit the army-speak...this is me," Dino muttered softly, raising his glass and catching Terry's eyes.

There was a pause and the Terry shrugged and went for it. "Australia is no more quite the back water it once was defensively. 9/11 raised the profile of all of us. Bali reminded the southern hemisphere that they couldn't sit back and watch this one out. Since then we've been on high alert, surrounded by Islamic nations and in bed with both the Brits and the Yanks. That puts an officer like me into prominence. I've got field experience in counter-terrorism, a background in covert ops, technical skills and - thanks to K and R- contacts all over the fucking place above and below board. They've co-opted me for analysis and defence advice back in Special forces. The rank of Lt. Col..."

"Yeah...I kind of expected that you'd have to be involved at some level. No fucking sense keeping the only soldier they've got with any experience at a desk at a time like this, hey?" Dino observed. "But where do I come in?" He cut to the quick- the rest he could work out for himself.

"Ah... well..." Terry stopped and thought for a while. "Mate, this is highly confidential - I'm already way past my orders once I open my mouth but I'm not going to bullshit you. I've got a team - three other boys who are pretty hot stuff- they've all been seconded to units like NATO or the UN in the past so they've been blooded already. We're going under cover. Military intelligence. The government is under attack on all sides at home and committed to the West abroad. They've had enough of relying on the CIA and MI6 handed down the occasional tidbit to keep us sweet. I guess you can say that the public demand that we too get in the arena. There's a certain level of resentment that Bali might have been avoided if someone had been more proactive about the security of Australians..."

Dino tilted his head. "Old story. Pearl Harbour syndrome. Best way to win Allies is to make sure they get shat on by the enemy in the worst way thus preventing them from staying neutral. Holding back intelligence is an old game, Terry, you know that."

Terry nodded. "I didn't make a judgement, I made an observation - even if it is a hard one to explain to the bereaved, hey? Sorry but your death is so useful to the international community...OK, I'm not getting soft, Dino, but my kids are Australians, my wife lives there too. Not quite so logical when you have your own at stake...maybe you'll understand that soon enough?"

Dino raised his hands. "I'm not being callous, Terry..."

"I know - just a few things on my mind - sorry, I'm on a short fuse. Back to business...we are in with the rest of you but we don't want to be like little kids at the big boys' party...we want our own networks set up and our own intelligence gathering..."

"So...you're going covert again? Jesus, what about your family? Annie didn't exactly jump for joy the last trip you made..."

Terry sighed. "She's a soldier's wife. What choice has she got? I have my orders, I go. That's what a soldier does - he soldiers."

"So she doesn't know yet?"

He smiled ruefully. "Why are you so fucking smart, mate? No, she doesn't know. But I plan to tell her - soon. Look, she's not going to like it - I'm not sure I do- but that's life. It might not be generally acknowledged but we are at war, in a manner of speaking..."

Dino leant forward and took a chair opposite Terry round the table where they normally dined in summer when the weather was fine. "Terry - an officer of your age and rank- not to mention the quasi-government role you are in at the moment, is given an option on this kind of junket - I know that. You said yes. You could have said no. Don't fuck me about."

Terry ran his hands down his face. "I couldn't say no. How many men they got with my singular talents and experience, d'ya reckon? So they hit another holiday resort, Qantas jet, Sydney Opera House - could I live with myself? Could I risk my own family to let a less experienced man run this show? What choice did I fucking have? You can't hide behind your own life at times like these- we are all at risk if this blows up in our faces..."

Dino had known the answer even before Terry had tried to explain, but he wanted to hear him say it to remind him what kind of man Terry Thorne was. There were not many like him left. "I know... he lowered his voice to almost a whisper, "But what are you telling me all this for, hermano?"

A grin broke over Terry's face as he recognized his friend's pledge of assistance even before he made his request. But then Dino had probably worked it out already. "I need a cover, mate, for me and my team and one that can aid me to exploit my old links. Officially I have resigned my commission after a difference of opinion with my superiors and have returned to my old career which is now looking safer and a whole lot better paid than the military. I want to bring over a team of a few 'disenchanted' ex-soldiers whom I've tempted away with offers of high salaries, perks and adventure. I want to re-join the old firm - K and R. Can you think of a better excuse for me to be around in these places asking questions and putting myself about? Terry Thorne refused to go back into active service. Can earn a packet if he is prepared to take the medium risks of K and R as opposed to the extreme danger of a soldier in Special forces in the current climate. Anyway, he's struggling to maintain the lifestyle - wife's got expensive tastes, wants the best schools for his kids...." Terry opened his hands as if to say- 'stands to reason, mate!'

Dino listened. "Mind made up? I can't talk you out of this?" 

Terry shook his head. "I already resigned. I'm officially unemployed, mate, and I need a job. You know what kitting my family out with clothes for your wedding has just cost me alone, not to mention airfares and hotel bills and the rest...?"

"...I'll leave a message with Laurie - she's my PA. The office is yours. Choose your location..."

"Here. New York." Terry said quietly.

"Here?" Dino looked surprised. " What about the kids and Annie?"

"I want to relocate while this is going on. Mate, she'd be out on a limb there in Oz and people could always get to them. At least here you'd be close. Would you do that for me? Keep an eye on them while this shit is going down?" Dino recognized the need there in his friend's voice and he also knew Terry was being realistic. This job could have all sorts of repercussions and a man had to know that his family was as safe as it could be if he was going to be able to relax enough to do it well.

"Terry, you don't even have to ask. Laurie will sort out some properties for you to look at -especially if you use that alleged charm of yours. She knows the score and she's a soft touch for aging soldiers."

"Less of the aging, mate. Don't enjoy that honeymoon of yours too much...I just might be in your chair when you get back, ya know?" They both grinned. "Where you going anyway?

Dino chuckled. "The British Virgin Islands. Where else would Mel choose? She reckons it's the nearest she's going to get to re-gaining her maidenhead..." The two men laughed heartily at that.

"Dean...I appreciate this, mate, more than I can say, more than you'll ever know..." Terry's face showed again the return to that underlying tension that Dino had noted in it all night. He placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be watching out for them while you're away. You know it, man. I wouldn't let any harm get near to the three of them - ever..."

Terry looked up and the two men exchanged a glance that said more than their words. "Never doubted it, mate. But I wish you luck with my son - he's a fucking lunatic. Zoe's like Annie - and ten times worse - but that little bastard's like me - except twenty times worse. He'll drive you shitless. Mate, have a daughter..."

"It's a boy," Dino muttered, a slow smile creasing his face.

Terry cracked a wide grin. "Oh mate, that is fantastic! Here's me thinking you were firing dummies and then you finally shoot her a live one...And a Y to boot....woo hoo!" Terry pumped his hand and clapped Dino on the back. "Nothing like it, mate, fatherhood...little girls are...well, ya know? But a boy...Christ, it's like..."

"Lost the power of speech, have you?" Dino said laughing at Terry's about-face on the subject of his son whom Dino already knew he adored. "Must be cold. Let's go and rejoin the ladies and see if they are still being polite to each other..."

"You didn't ask about me and Annie," Terry observed quietly as they made their way back.

"I didn't imagine you'd be into sharing," Dino wryly retorted. 

Terry gave him a look and an enigmatic smile.

After dinner- the ladies

"That was a fine meal. Thanks, Mel." Annie smiled as Mel poured her a liqueur to go with the small cup of coffee; they carried them over to the lounge, an oriental-themed alcove with an indoor Balinese water garden, white silk upholstered couches set around a low bronze engraved Indian sweetmeat table, the wall behind hung with exquisite Chinese brush paintings. Annie stroked the fabric of the couch and grinned.

"What's funny?" Mel asked as she settled down, wrapping her slim legs clad in soft white jersey underneath her. 

"Just imagining our Liam living here. White silk and a six year old boy are a recipe for disaster..." she responded.

Mel laughed back. "Yeah...I expect a lot of things will change in a while. It is a boy, you know? I had a 3-D scan and it was pretty obvious, even to us. We've even chosen a name. Nathaniel."

"Nathaniel! A fine old American name. Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter!" Annie observed.

"Trust you...can't get anything past you, can I? Yeah...Scarlet - good name for me, hey?" Mel blushed. Annie looked down, a little embarrassed, sensing a putdown. Had she sounded pretentious? She had been too long around academics and instinctively dropped her knowledge into conversations these days; her blue stockings were showing. Not everyone was as tolerant of her as Terry, who would merely have given her a wry look.

Annie changed the subject. "A little boy...how wonderful. You must be delighted!"

"We're both delighted. It's what we both want," Mel answered, again a hectoring note in her voice.

"Of course...I'm sure you are..." Annie glanced to the balcony hopefully, mentally praying that Terry and Dino would return and bale her out, filling the silence with their wit and banter, but they seemed deeper in conversation than ever, despite the cold out there. "....What made you change your mind about kids then? You always seemed pretty set against a family...marriage, too..." Annie tried a final gambit to open Mel up.

Her friend paused and took a sip of mineral water. "Things kind of changed after Saudi. It made us both sit up and realize what we might have lost. I thought he would die," her voice cracked slightly at the memory, "He thought so too. Time had run out for us. And then we got it back. It changes everything when you think you've lost someone. It makes you rethink everything. We both regretted never having had a child...never having made something of the way we feel... something tangible...forever..."

Mel was not given to trite sentiment and was already struggling with this much emotional confession; Annie patted her arm and nodded. "I know. We've been there too. In different ways." The women exchanged a look and Mel recognized the silent plea. "Give me a chance, Mel...I am trying..."

Mel remembered years ago and some of the things that Terry's career had caused for Annie. Kidnap. A brutal rape that almost killed her and how that had seemed to give Terry an emotional kick up the ass where his love life was concerned. Then his near fatal shooting in Indonesia and what the birth of little Zoe had meant to them both the next year. Annie had had to deal with plenty of shit over the years and she knew the score. Maybe one last time had been one last time too many.

"I know you have," Mel whispered. "What a pair we are! Where did we pick these two losers up, hey?"

At that Annie grinned and Mel joined her; it was the kind of remark they might have made years ago in their girlhood and the tentacles of friendship and entwined lives, shared experiences, snaked out to wrap around their hearts again. Without a word they embraced and somehow knew that things were going to work out now.

"How are things between you and Terry. Better?" Mel asked the question that had been on her mind for months ever since the news that she was filing for divorce had first reached her.

Annie gave her a hooded look and appeared not to want to talk about it, sipping at her Cointreau ice, standing up, helping herself to a cigarette and walking away to light it. Blowing out smoke, she closed her eyes a moment to compose herself. "Better. Better than better. I was a fool. But he gave me a second chance. I won't blow it again."

Mel joined her; Annie stubbed out the cigarette, aware that she shouldn't be smoking round her. "Don't worry...the cig doesn't bother me...you hurt him a lot. Dino was very angry with you. Maybe we have no right to an opinion and I'm sure there's another side to it but...Christ, a young lover? How could you have done that to him?" She couldn't restrain herself.

Annie looked away, fidgeting nervously with her hair. "I threw him out long before that. We were already getting a divorce...it wasn't all my fault..." But somehow her protest seemed vain and she did not pursue it.

"You had Terry and he needed you. You kicked him when he was down..."

Annie made a groan of frustration. "You have no idea what went on! Look, all these years, I never made comments on your morals. Don't make a judgment on mine, Mel! Sex is just sex - how many times have you said that yourself?"

Mel shrugged. "I've never cheated on Dino. Once we were committed, that was it. I knew when I'd found the real thing. You were married. Had children..."

"Fuck you, Mel. I'm not listening to this crap. I'm a grown woman and, if I may say so, a little more experienced when it comes to talking about marriage and motherhood. I don't care how idyllic your romance is...the real world is tougher than that. Terry and I had problems - and we got over them. None of the rest is even remotely your concern!"

It was Mel's turn to blush even though she also went on the defensive. "Not our concern? You turned your back on Dino and tried to stop Terry going to his aid. He'd be dead if you'd had your way. This baby would never have been conceived..." she ran her hand protectively over her stomach.

"That's the real crux of this, isn't it? You can't forgive me that. I'm sorry, Mel, and I'm not proud of myself for what I said either, but I did it for the right reasons. At least they seemed to be the right reasons in my mind at the time. Christ, Mel...Dino goes into stuff with his eyes open. It wasn't Terry's responsibility to get dragged down by Dino's career, just as I don't expect Terry's professional life should now come under Dino's remit. How would you have felt had it all gone badly wrong? If they had both died? Someone has to see the flip side of all this buddy- buddy heroics! Terry has three children, for God's sake...would you be so willing to risk Dino now once this child is born?"

"Dino would never let you and Terry down," Mel insisted vehemently.

"I didn't expect Terry ever to let you two down either. But this was different. He chose you and Dino over me and the kids. I was asked to make the sacrifice - no, actually I was told I was going to make it. Quit throwing it all in my face. I paid the price in the end." Annie jabbed her finger threateningly at Mel who replied sardonically:

"You did? I rather thought it was Terry."

The two women surveyed each other and then both hunched their shoulders, embarrassed at their display. "Let's call it a truce, hey? Annie muttered under her breath.

Mel sat down and dabbed at her eyes, tears beginning to prick. "I don't want to fight with you. I don't want us to hate each other. I love you too goddamned much..."

Annie sat by her and held her against her breast, stroking back the long blonde hair. "I know I made a mistake. I know I lacked the courage that Terry had. He didn't want to risk us. He didn't want to go either. But he will always do the right thing...and sometimes it is so hard to be the one left at home to bear the brunt of what might be..." At that her voice broke and Mel suddenly saw it from her point of view. All the years she had sat silently by and waited for him. Everyone has their breaking point. "I just love him so much...it makes me selfish..." Annie whispered.

The return of the men prevented Mel from replying but she gave Annie a look that implied her sympathies were with her on that one. 

"So you didn't kill each other yet?" Terry teased as he sat down next to his wife on the large sofa and picked up her hand idly, rolling it in his. 

Annie blushed and glared at him in mock anger. But her eyes sparkled. Dino and Mel laughed, they shared another round of drinks and toasted to the future of the bride and groom- and the safe delivery of their son.

"No stag night then, Dino? After all the stunts you've pulled on other guys?" Annie laughed.

Dino and Terry exchanged looks. "Well, we were thinking of having a few beers tomorrow..."Dino replied.

Mel and Annie exchanged their own looks. "I warn you, lover, if you get up to some caper with your K and R pals there may be no wedding."

"Us?" Terry held his hands up in innocent denial. "We'll be on our best behaviour! Scouts' honour!"

"Why does that not make me feel any better?" Annie whined.

"No hen night? Naked soldiers?" Terry added making a passing reference to Annie's own hen night.

"In my condition?" Mel grinned. "Anyway, I've done enough hen nights for a lifetime. I am a sedate married woman from now on," she insisted. That brought the biggest laugh of all.

The wedding was a rather beautiful occasion; more so than Terry and Annie had expected, unsure whether a civil ceremony in a hotel was quite what they regarded a wedding should be. But from the room itself, beautifully decorated with flowers and elegant silk-upholstered antique chairs through the poignant words of the self-penned wedding service to the obvious love of the couple themselves, the whole occasion was quite perfect. And mercifully short, as even Liam managed to contain himself during the whole proceedings although he did complain about wanting to wee half way through. His father merely said: "Tie a knot in it," with a knowing look - he wasn't fooled. Liam was just angling to have a walkabout.

Annie cried, her boys sniggered, Zoe said they were horrible to make fun of Mum, which made them both laugh more, although Terry did take her hand quietly and give it a squeeze. He was as moved as she was by the ceremony but he was not as likely to let his feelings show, certainly not in a public environment; he was far too skilled an operator for that. The party moved on to an intimate dining room where the fifty or so guests were treated to a superb dinner graced with fine wines and champagne. Liam spilt his Coke all over the table and dripped sauce on the while silk chair cushions. It was pretty normal behaviour for him; Annie shrugged and apologized to the waiter who had to clear up, Terry fumed.

Terry, as the best man, acquitted himself excellently in the speech - his children sat spell bound while their Dad kept the whole party entertained with his witty and warm presentation. Zoe looked like she would burst with pride at her Dad while Liam seemed a little surprised to hear his Dad could be funny - especially when he told a rather smutty story which actually went right over the little boy's head but still made some impression. He had heard the mention of 'several naked women...' and knew that this was adult talk.

Annie wondered if this speech had been the cause of Terry's rather jumpy state recently. Surely not? He might not like such occasions but he was used to public speaking and this was a more pleasant subject from usually. She cast her mind back over the past few weeks. Something had happened at work, she knew that, for he had been quiet and rather morose at times for months. Several times she had asked him what the matter was but he had shrugged it off, merely citing pressure of work and the heightened security measures the current political situation required. Somehow she knew there was more to it than that but that he had not been entirely lying either. There was no doubt that his job was demanding more of him and that the Islamic threat was connected. You don't live with a man like Terry Thorne for nearly ten years without learning something.

Recently though she had noticed a change. At times he was very affectionate with all of them in a more effusive way than was usual. At other times he was short tempered and snappy, finding the normal rough and tumble of their lives annoying in a way that usually rolled over him. He hadn't been sleeping well, either - even before they left - and she had woken many nights to find him walking the boards downstairs, deep in thought. Sex had been unpredictable: he was either extremely horny, romantically tender or just not interested. His mood swings were quite alarming. Maybe it was his age? Annie wasn't sure but she thought it unlikely. These were more likely to be signs that Terry was worried about something, really worried, and maybe even anxious about the family. Her mind was inventing all sorts of possible explanations - none of them good.

Sitting down to warm applause, she gave him a kiss and he smiled. "Thank Christ, that's over!" he whispered and finished the champagne in his glass. Annie called for a waiter and ordered him a large Scotch. He caught her eye and smiled. She knew what he wanted: a stiff drink and her body. At least one could be managed here and now. He looked out over the crowded room, tables breaking up as couples rose to dance, socialize or visit the rest rooms. So many people from his past life here. His mind slipped back to the old days and his former life, to those long years before he had met Annie and how his life had been. He wondered how many other men here lived in that half-existence that he had once called a life.

Endless hotel rooms, plane flights, months in unknown and often hostile countries, tedious weeks of fruitless negotiations leading to a few days of tense action, resolution or failure, soaking up the pain and danger for others. He couldn't pretend it hadn't been valuable work - but it ate into your soul. He wasn't sure how he would measure up plunged back into it again.

That wasn't the only thing on his mind either. He had to tell Annie soon; he suspected she already had some inkling. This woman who slept in his arms every night would already have an idea that something was up. He couldn't hide anything from her. He no longer wanted to. But this would be a terrible blow all at once; that he should be involved in dangerous covert work again, that she would have to resettle alone in a new country, that the relationship that they had struggled so hard to rebuild was now at risk of intolerable strain, that he should leave her with the children and no support or back up, that she would have to give up her career that she was only just beginning to reshape. That was even before he began to think about the reality of the task he was to undertake. It felt as if his head would burst.

Glancing across at her, she caught the movement of his head and turned to give him one of her smiles. She was so beautiful that sometimes she took his breath away, even after all this time. The fear that the light in her eyes when she looked at him would fade if she knew what was to come, scared him more than anything else he had to face. The unspoken dread that he might not come home and would lose all this - his wife, the children, the life he had finally found. It was a bitter pill to swallow but one that seemed to him to smack of the inevitable. This was how his life always turned. He could always save everyone except his own.

Shaking the rising melancholy away, he jumped up and grabbed her hand. "Let's dance!" Pulling her onto the floor, her head thrown back in a peal of laughter, he swung her into his arms and they moved easily together. It was a while since he had taken her dancing, too long by far. His hands pulled her in against him and she snaked her arms around his neck. He bent his head as if to whisper in her ear, but planted a soft kiss on the delicate flesh below; he heard her slight gasp and purr of pleasure. Tonight they would follow this through. Last night he had come home smashed after a night on the town with Dino and a pack of his former colleagues and acquaintances. They had spent a small fortune in a high-class strip joint. The booze and the overexposure to female flesh had actually made him disinclined to make love to Annie when he had returned to the hotel. Somehow it seemed unworthy and tawdry to touch her with the sight and sensation of other women in his head. She had been fast asleep anyway, curled up, looking like a little girl.

"...Hey...you're miles away. Penny for them?" he heard her voice as she smiled up at him. He shrugged and swung her round more expansively.

"Just thinking. About later. What I want to do first...then second..." he grinned back.

Annie pressed her thigh in against his groin. "Watch it, buster. Not here."

"Then stop seducing me, sexy..." His eyes drifted over Annie's shoulder and came to rest on his son, who was sipping the remains of his Scotch. "...fuck, the little bastard..."

Dropping his hands, he walked off the dance floor, leaving Annie standing there, while he dragged his son out and into the Men's Room. "Ya little bugger! I warned you if you started. How much have you drunk?"

Liam shrugged but owned up. "Just what was left in a few glasses - some champagne and your whisky."

"Bloody hell, Liam. I should get you a double Scotch and force you to drink it -then watch you spend the night chucking your guts up - that would be a lesson to you. But your mother would kill me. Step out of line once more and I'll take you back to the hotel and skin your arse for you. That what you want?" Liam shook his head; Terry continued, his voice changing from stern to gentle: "How do you feel, mate?"

"OK. A bit sleepy. I didn't really like the whisky. It burnt my throat." His son looked up with his limpid eyes; Terry shook his head and ran his hand through Liam's hair.

"Come on, let's have a wee and join the girls. I won't tell your Mum if you promise to behave for the rest of the evening. We won't stay late. The bride and groom'll be leaving soon." He walked over to the urinal, carrying a chair over, lifted Liam up on to it so he could reach and they both relieved themselves side by side. Liam was in heaven; normally Mum took him to the Ladies'. He loved it when he had a wee with his Dad. Meanwhile Terry's mind was on other things, unaware that his son was staring at him with scarce concealed hero worship. He was thinking of slipping out as early as possible to get Annie alone.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?" They zipped up and went over to wash their hands. "How come Auntie Mel is having a baby already? They only just got married."

Terry pulled a face. "Dunno. Must have wanted one so bad. Can't think why. Mind you, Dino and Mel don't know you well...that would soon cure them..."

Liam grinned and forgot to pursue his question; Terry breathed a sigh of relief. Why is it kids always ask things about sex in the worst possible place? Annie better have a few words with him. Or maybe he should? He made a mental note to ask her what to say to him and then have the talk before he left. The thought brought a catch to his throat. It occurred to him he might not be around to watch this boy become a man.

Shortly afterwards Dino announced his intention to leave and the guests gathered to say their farewells. When they reached Terry and Annie, the two couples embraced. "Make a man of him, Mel!" Terry grinned. "Which island you going to anyway?" he slipped in casually. Mel opened her mouth to speak but Dino pulled her back.

"Don't give it away! He's setting you up. I am not going to be the butt of one of his sick scams. He's probably been plotting one for weeks."

"I'll find out," Terry warned.

"Then do your worst but at least I might get one night's peace," Dino retorted.

With that they took their leave. Dino leaned on in. "Terry...start the ball rolling. When I get back I'll have everything figured out. I'll make sure this end is hunky dory."

Terry placed his hand on his back. "Appreciate it, hermano. Now go fuck your wife. And I'll go fuck mine. Have a great time!"

He laughed, raised his eyebrows suggestively and the couple left in a shower of confetti, rice and flower petals. Zoe was impressed; Liam was gathering the confetti up and throwing it everywhere. "Right...let's get this show on the road..." Terry announced.

"No...Dad...you haven't danced with me yet...!" whined Zoe.

Terry grunted. "You sound more like your mother every day. Do they teach you how to do that voice in school?" But he took her hand and onto the dance floor. Annie sat at their table and Liam climbed on her knee, forgetting himself and suddenly sleepy. He lay back on her breast and she stroked his hair dreamily. "Liam...your breath smells of whisky..."

"Dad made me taste it," he lied. She suppressed a smile. Did Thorne men learn damage limitation at birth?

Mercifully the children settled quickly and were soon asleep. Terry closed the door softly and crossed the small lounge to their room where Annie was brushing her hair, seated at the dressing table. She was wearing a sheer negligee; he inhaled the light fragrance she wore. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he let his fingers roam down to caress her breasts through the fine fabric; her nipples pebbled and she leaned her back to rest her head on his genitals and raise her face to him. "Love me, Terry. I want you so much..."

Dropping his hands to her waist, he raised her to her feet, whirled her round until she faced him and then began to dance her back towards the bed. Annie began to strip him, easing off his jacket, unbuttoning his silk shirt and dropping it on the way. He toed off his shoes, pulled off his socks and then bare-chested, he drew her close again. Her fingers deftly opened his fly and slipped in; he was hard and hot. With a sigh she let his pants drop to the floor and he stepped out of them, now clad only in his silk boxers which were hardly containing his arousal.

Falling back onto the bed, they rolled over, kissing deeply, lazy and unhurried now, simply enjoying the luxury of uninterrupted time together and the feel of their bodies pressed against each other. Legs interlaced, she lay on him as they kissed, his hands running through her hair, holding her head masterfully as he loved her. Long wet kisses, murmuring and sighing, whispering half suggestions, exclamations, declarations that were cut off by the next wave of passion.

He flipped her over suddenly, crawling above her, dragging up the silky material as he slipped his hand up her naked thigh, suddenly impatient, his mood changing from romantic to sexual. She responded using her feet to ease down his shorts, grasping his cock and jerking it for him, her language suddenly crude and erotic, her behaviour as aggressive as his was. He laughed softly into her neck as he traveled down her body to her nipples and sucked them hard through the lace, before pulling her breasts from the low cut bodice and feasting on her, humping against her leg as he did.

Wriggling down, Annie found his cock and eased herself near. She wasn't interested in games any more; she knew what she wanted as she wrapped her slender legs around his solid thighs and pushed him inside her. He pressed down deep and grunted as he slid inside; she cried out as he took her quicker than she had expected. But she whispered: "No, don't stop...I want it hard...hard...oh God..."

"Christ..." he muttered as she squeezed down on him. "How hard you want it?"

"Hard as you got..." she dared him as he braced his hands against her hips and pulled her like a rag doll along the bed, raising one leg to his shoulder and then ramming in. With each pound her body shuddered, lifted and sank back. He realized through the mist of his lust that he was rougher than usual, that there was an edge of desperation in this act. Reining himself in, he slowed down and began a steady rhythmic pounding, relaxing his hold on her and caressing her body as he moved. She was moaning; she must have come and he hadn't even felt it. That's how far out of himself he had almost got.

Closing his eyes, he breathed steadily, slowed himself down and let himself go, felt the surge of heat and then the thrust and the waves of his orgasm coursing through him like white light. It wasn't his finest hour, he knew that, and he felt as if he had cheated her. They had had the chance for a really passionate interlude and somewhere on the way he had diverted it into caveman sex. Rolling to his side, he whispered as he gathered her body in to him: "You OK? Did I hurt you?"

Annie stretched like a little kitten, lazy smile on her face. "Why do you always think you hurt me if we get a bit carried away? How can you hurt a woman who's willing? I'm not made of porcelain, Terry. Mind you...I do feel a bit sore...you gave me a right old rooting then, big guy. Someone yanked your chain today? Everything alright?"

The nail on the head. He caught her eyes studying him with their intelligent gaze. She wasn't fooled. She knew that something was the matter and she was giving him a chance to speak about it here and now in the warm aftermath of love. In the safest place there was in the world, inside her arms. But it seemed as if to taint this moment with the truth would be like ripping the heart out of their private haven. The world should not be allowed to touch them there.

Lying on his bed, arms flung above his head, he fell silent. Annie crawled up him, the trickle of semen dripping from her to run down his leg as she lay across his nakedness. "You need to tell me, Terry. Whatever it is. I already know really. You're going away, aren't you? Something dangerous? Just get it off your chest, baby. I'm worrying worse not knowing...my mind is doing its usual mental gymnastics. Please, please Terry...don't clam up, sweetie. Not now...not here..."

He took a breath to steady his nerve and had the strange sensation of tears pricking his eyes. He knew that her innocence was about to be shattered and from this moment on her safe world would take a nosedive into insecurity; she would be as fraught with worry and stress as he was. All he wanted to do was shield her from harm. Live out his days in the mundane happiness of their family life. But for men like him that is never allowed. In the end what you are catches up with you.

"I've got new orders, love. It's gonna mean some big changes..."