Kurt barely noticed as everyone else present quietly left the house. Apparently John had a go bag. Well, of course he did. He must have planned this, or been part of it, if these guys were in the house. Whatever, Kurt would worry about it later. “You actually want to come home? With me?”

“Well, we kind of have to see if they’ll let me into England first. I’m hopeful, but the application is still in the middle of processing right now.” Dom ran his hand through his hair. “Look, I didn’t plan this out very far. I just wanted to get back to you, to come and find you, and to ask you to please let us be a family. You have no obligation or anything like that, but I really need to try. I want to be with you. I want both of us to be with our kid. I want to be here by your side while you bring all that joy and comfort to the world, that I saw those people talking about.”

The world spun for Kurt, and he went to get a glass of water. “I still can’t believe this is real. I’m a little bit afraid to trust it, because it just seems stupid to trust things that seem too good to be true, you know? But this is something we can do. It is. We can find a way to make it work for us.” He took Dom’s hand. “I don’t want to do this by myself. And to be honest, I’ve missed you.”

Dom smirked. “I think I figured it out, when you thought you were dead and seeing me was your dying fantasy.”

“Right.” Kurt snorted. “About that.” He chugged back some water. “Look, as much as I’m happy to see you, I think I sweated out half my body weight today, and I’d really like to go and scrub it off. Do you think you’d mind if I had a quick wash?”

Dom ducked his head and blushed. “I don’t mind at all. The others made me wash up before I came over here. Apparently the AC in my car isn’t working too hot.”

Kurt frowned at him. “Should we maybe get that fixed?”

“I don’t know, it probably costs more than the car is worth at this point.” Dom scratched his head. “It isn’t that important to me, you know?”

Kurt chuckled. “Will you let me get you a new car? As a gift? That way we can drive around a bit when we’re in the States.”

Dom frowned, and then his eyes lit up. “So we’ll be coming back to the States sometimes?”

Kurt laughed. “It’s important to me that the baby be born in England, so we don’t have to do anything stupid for its citizenship. It will already be an American citizen, because of you.”

“That’s right!” Dom relaxed even more. “Go ahead and wash up, babe. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Kurt raced up to the bedroom and hopped into the shower. He hadn’t been kidding about all of the salt and such crusted onto his body. He had removed most of the makeup they’d painted onto him in his trailer, but he wanted to scrub away every remaining trace. He didn’t want to assume anything right now, but he also wanted to be as clean and fresh as he could be for Dom.

Kurt walked back into the bedroom, only to find Dom waiting for him. Had he been there this whole time? Kurt hadn’t heard him come up the stairs, but Kurt had been distracted. He didn’t mind so much, either. He felt a certain shyness, sure, but he liked that Dom made his intentions clear.

Dom looked him up and down, sending shivers up Kurt’s spine. Did Dom know what that look did to him? How could he? It wasn’t like they’d had a chance to discuss it. We’ve got all the time in the world, Kurt promised himself, as his cock lengthened and filled.

Dom stepped forward and put his heavy hands on Kurt’s shoulders. “It’s been a long trip.”

“I missed you.” Kurt stood still. He still had the instinct to try to hide, to cover himself, but he fought it. Dom didn’t like it when he hid himself. “It’s weird how we weren’t together very long, but it was still awkward to be without you.”

“Awkward how?” Dom inched forward, so they were just separated by a few inches. Kurt could feel the heat from Dom’s body, even through the jeans and tee shirt he’d wore.

“The bedding smelled different after you left.” Kurt licked his lips. “It’s hard to sleep. It’s harder to concentrate. Harder to eat.”

“Mmm.” Dom walked around behind Kurt and trailed a feather-light finger across his shoulder. Kurt had missed him so much that even that little bit of contact was like a fiery path across his skin. “I’ve missed you too, you know.” He bowed his head and kissed his way across the same shoulders he’d just caressed.

“Have you really?” Kurt breathed deep. Dom smelled amazing. Whatever soap they made him use at the Radisson was good stuff, because it did wonders with his natural musk, and a little hint of peppermint that seemed to follow him everywhere. Kurt never wanted to be apart from Dom’s scent again.

Dom didn’t speak. He kissed the back of Kurt’s neck instead. Then he mouthed his way down Kurt’s spine, kissing and nothing else, moving back up until he got to the juncture of the neck and shoulder. There, he let his teeth graze the skin. It wasn’t enough to break the skin, or even to leave a mark. It was just enough to get Kurt’s blood pumping.

He moved to turn around. He wanted to kiss his lover, to press their skin together and to renew his acquaintance with the taste of Dom’s skin, but Dom just put his hand on Kurt’s shoulder and shook his head. He wanted Kurt to stay right where he was, to let Dom take control. This was new for him, new for them, and for a second Kurt tensed up. Was it going to be a repeat of that first wretched encounter?.

No. Kurt could trust Dom. He knew things were different now. Dom cared about him, saw him as a person.

He put his hands against the wall and relaxed. He sometimes liked to be taken care of in this way. It would be amazing to feel what it would be like with someone he cared about this much. He’d just spent six grueling weeks of intense physical, mental, and emotional toil. Dom was the only person he could trust like this, to take control so he could just let go and relax.

Dom ran his sure hands, the hands that had fought for his country, the hands that had taken and saved countless lives, along Kurt’s arms, along his sides, and along the outsides and then the insides of his legs. Kurt didn’t know why this was such a turn-on for him, but it was. He treasured the sensation of Dom touching him, exploring his body. He loved the way Dom was so careful to be gentle, when Kurt knew exactly what those hands could do. His body flushed warm, almost feverish, as Dom’s light touch passed over his smooth skin. He broke out into a sheen of sweat as Dom brushed over his muscular chest, his still-flat belly, and the bubble of his ass.

Kurt couldn’t restrain a whine as the physical connection was lost. He heard fabric rustling. Dom must be getting rid of his own clothes. Sure enough, when Dom returned, he pressed his warm flesh against Kurt’s back, his hot, hard cock poking up against Kurt as a reminder of things to come. First, though, Dom’s gentle fingers ran over Kurt’s demanding cock, from tip to base. He traced the arc of his balls as he rested his chin on Kurt’s shoulder.

Tremors racked Kurt’s body. He didn’t know if they came from desire, or from the effort of holding still. All he knew was he couldn’t stop them, and he didn’t know if he wanted to.

“Want me inside you?” Dom’s breath was hot against Kurt’s ear.

“Please.” Kurt nodded, biting the inside of his cheek against saying more. A thousand nonsense words sprang to his tongue, but he didn’t want to say anything else. He didn’t want to spoil the moment with babble.

Dom grabbed a tube of lube from somewhere and slicked up his fingers. Had it been in his pocket? Had someone put it in the bedroom when Kurt wasn’t home? It didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was the sweet relief when Dom slipped his fingers into Kurt’s waiting body. Kurt tried to hold himself still as his alpha worked him open, but he couldn’t hold back the little moans as Dom worked. Kurt wanted this. He needed this. He just wanted Dom, damn it.

Finally, Dom slicked himself up and worked himself into Kurt’s tight body. He didn’t bother with a condom, and Kurt wouldn’t dream of asking him to. He had the vague thought that they should probably have talked about it, but he didn’t care enough to stop things. Kurt groaned and rocked backward, impaling himself on Dom.

Dom gave a low, dirty little chuckle and slammed into him. He snapped his hips back and slammed into him again, and again. His hands gripped onto Kurt’s hips, moving him where he wanted Kurt to go and setting the pace he wanted.

Kurt loved it. He met Dom thrust for thrust, knowing that Dom would never hurt him or try to give him more than he could handle.

Dom covered Kurt’s whole body with his own, almost sheltering him. It was an indescribable feeling of safety, to be engulfing his alpha and still covered and protected by him. When Dom reached around them and grabbed Kurt’s cock, it only took a few tugs before Kurt came. Dom followed soon after, and he held himself upright long enough to drag them both into the shower and clean themselves up.

Kurt let himself be guided back to the bedroom, and Dom tucked them both into the big comfortable bed. “So,” he said, as he settled Kurt into his arms. “Will you still want me as a civilian?”

Kurt snorted. “I think we’ve proved that I’ll want you any which way.” He rested his head on Dom’s chest. God, it felt good to listen to his heartbeat again. Maybe it wasn’t logical for him to feel this strongly about a man he’d only known for a little while, but he’d already lost him once. He wasn’t willing to lose him again.

The next day, Kurt got up when his alarm went off. He pulled his jeans on and turned to Dom, who rolled and groaned in the bed. “Come on, Dom, time to get up. No rest for the wicked you know.”

Dom pulled the pillow over his head. “I’m a civilian,” he said, voice muffled by the pillow. “Civilians sleep. I read it in a book once.”

Kurt ignored the pang of guilt that flared in his chest. Dom was a civilian now, it was true. And he was a civilian because of Kurt. It was all Kurt’s fault. Dom had made his own choices, though. Kurt would have to clear his own conscience by admitting he hadn’t asked Dom to do any of it.

“Look, you had me following you around at your workplace, didn’t you?” He pulled the covers away. If you really want to stay in bed you can, but I can’t stay. I need to go and support my colleagues. Besides, I’m proud of you, and I want to show you off.”

Dom groused as he sat up, mumbling in words that were only half intelligible. “Do I have to wear a ribbon or something?”

“What, like the Scotsman in that song?” Kurt blinked at him, and Dom just blushed. “No, no. It’s obviously very casual, no one’s very body-shy around there since we’re always changing costume and such. Whatever you’ve got in the bag will be fine. I just want my friends to meet my amazing friend. Partner.”

“Partner. I like that.” Dom kissed him. “Let’s keep that one.”

Kurt savored the moment, just for a few seconds, and then he helped Dom find some clothes. “Come on. Wait until you see the commissary. You’ll be in heaven.”

Dom didn’t take long to get ready. They were out the door and waiting by the time the car showed up, hand in hand, ready to face their new future.

* * *

Filming wrapped on SEAL Magnet a week later. Dom didn’t mind hanging around in Yuma as much as he thought he would. He and Kurt hung out on set all day with some of the other actors and helping out where necessary.

Sometimes “helping out where necessary” turned into “correcting firearms handling,” because even though Dom knew they weren’t shooting real bullets or making an instructional video he still worried about them hurting themselves and others. The damage had been done for the earlier parts of the movie, although most of the actors still wanted to re-shoot with the guns done the right way.

Kurt’s gun scenes were perfect, because Chief and Adami had taken him down to the range and made sure he knew what he was doing. Dom sent them a text in praise of them for that.

All Dom had wanted to do was to make sure these actors didn’t hurt themselves or someone else, or give some kids out on the street the wrong idea. What he wound up doing was getting credit in the film as the “firearms instructor” for the film. The producer, Gene, gave him a call to talk about it afterward. “I’ll shoot you a list of licenses you should get, but kid, that’s a good skill set to have. You can make some decent money, and of course you’re setting your own hours.”

Dom almost demurred, because he was retired now, and he wanted to get down to the business of learning to be a dad. Kurt urged him to rethink that choice. “Look,” he said, as they sat in the blessed air conditioning of Kurt’s trailer. “I want things to work between us. I do. I’m going to make every effort to make it happen. But Dom, sometimes they just don’t. Look at my parents. My dad dumped my mum, got her deported, and left her with no means of support. For six years she lived on government assistance, until I looked her up after I started making actual money again.”

“She was ill, and hopefully that won’t be an issue for you,” Kurt continued, while Dom recoiled in horror. “I don’t think I’d ever do that to you, but like I said, who knows? Maybe I wouldn’t intend to. All I’m saying is, this is a fantastic opportunity that’s really tailor made for guys like you to make some money now that you’ve served your country the way you have. And you’ll have some income of your own, and a reputation of your own in a growth industry. Yeah?”

Dom had to admit that his partner made a lot of sense. He started the process for getting the permits he would need, both in the United States and in the UK.

When production wrapped up, everyone went to the wrap party. Ben and Hopper went home after that, as they’d been using vacation time. Kurt and Dom sent them back with their most sincere thanks and best wishes to all the guys back in Virginia.

As for Kurt and Dom, it was time to pick up stakes for them, too. Kurt was not a fan of Yuma, Arizona. Apparently he’d rather go to New York to wait for Dom’s visa to come through. Dom had other ideas, though. “Hey, were you serious about getting me a car?”

“I can be serious about getting you a car,” Kurt told him. “Why? What do you want?”

“Nothing too flashy.” Dom made a face, lest Kurt or John decide to plunk down a pile of cash on a gold-plated Cadillac just to see the look on his face. “But I figured you still haven’t met my mom yet.”

Kurt turned bright red. “Is she even going to be okay with meeting me?”

Dom wrapped him up in his arms. He understood what Kurt was afraid of. He didn’t want to be dismissive, but he didn’t think it was something he needed to worry about. His mother was a good woman, who didn’t judge people until she had a good reason. “She’ll love you, but I’ll tell you what. We’ll get a hotel room and have someplace to retreat to when we need it. Okay?”

Kurt took a deep breath, smiled, and kissed Dom’s forehead. “We can do that. Thank you.”

They stayed the first night in Las Cruces, in a much better hotel than the no-tell mo-tel Dom had stayed in on his way through. Riding in the brand new Porsche Cayenne—still too much for a normal person car, but Dom had to admit it was a lot of fun to drive—although with John along, it was a little awkward due to the lack of privacy, but it also gave them more opportunities to change drivers.

Mama greeted them at the door with six gift bags full of baby supplies and hugs for Dom, Kurt, and even John. Dom had figured that would be how it went, well maybe not the hug for John, but Kurt had to see it to believe it. John seemed a little overwhelmed at first, but he pulled himself together quickly and got on with things.

They spent a few days in Austin, just enjoying the farm and the city. Dad was a little less comfortable with the situation since Kurt and Dom weren’t married. Kurt’s history completely failed to impress him, too, and of course it was public knowledge. He didn’t say anything to Kurt, but he did bring Dom out into the pecan grove for a very serious talk.

“Now son, I understand that a man needs to start a family someday, but did you honestly forsake the Navy for a man who’s never been faithful for more than ten minutes of his life? That’s shameful, Dominic.”

Dom looked into his father’s eyes. He saw the judgment and the anger, but he saw the worry too. He drew himself up to his full height. “Dad, I love you. And I do respect you. But I need for you to understand that Kurt is my partner. We’re having a baby. Yes, it’s mine. No, there’s no doubt. He may not be what you want in a son-in-law, but I care for him. I trust him. We’re looking forward to starting a new life together.”

“And while I was ready to leave the Navy, for a few reasons, I’ve already found a job. I’ll be working my own hours and still be around to help take care of the baby. I’m going to have a very nice life. I’d prefer to have you in it, but if you can’t be civil to my partner I’ll just send you pictures.” He patted his father on the shoulder and headed back into the house.

They stayed in Austin for a week, and then they headed back to Virginia. Kurt didn’t object to driving, but John decided he’d rather fly. Dom didn’t mind having the road and Kurt to himself.

When they got back to Virginia Beach, they found Dom’s visa waiting for them. They said goodbye to their friends in Virginia, booked a flight to London, and flew out on the next available plane. Kurt was so happy to be on his way that he only freaked out a little bit about the plane.

Kurt’s mother turned out to be an amazing woman. Azade McNeil wasn’t able to move around much. She had a wheelchair, which she used whenever she wanted to leave her apartment, but she did quite a lot from the privacy of her large London flat. Kurt had his own room, of course. She wrapped her arms around her son, and then she hugged Dom too. “Welcome home,” she told them both.

There was no judgement here, not of Kurt’s former hedonism nor of his pregnancy. Azade was simply proud of her boy. Framed posters from all of his films lined her walls, and she could tell Dom exactly when she’d known just how special he was. She didn’t lash out at her ex-husband over the separation or the shameful way he’d treated her. She just smiled because her son chose and loved her, and took care of her as soon as he had the power.

Back in the States, the trials of the eleven congressmen were drawing to a close. Eight of them had changed their plea to guilty following the attacks on the Washington tourists. Apparently some of them had consciences. Watching it all unfold from across an ocean gave it all a sense of unreality, like something he might see in a movie. He hardly felt like he was part of it, even when he saw Chief on the witness stand giving testimony.

The congressmen were convicted of terrorism and corruption, since they’d taken bribes from Smolak among others to push an agenda favorable to White Dawn. Cook, who sat on the Armed Services Committee, admitted that he’d been the one pulling the SEALs off of White Dawn-related cases, and all at Smolak’s urging.

“He wants to bring the world back to a hierarchy, the way it was when he was a kid. I don’t see a moral problem with that, but I can see that a bunch of you do.” Cook spoke into the microphone at his sentencing hearing. “Think about it—wasn’t the world better then? Everyone knew their place, and there was order. There was none of this chaos that you see right now.”

Dom shook his head. He already knew the speech would fall on closed ears, given that the headline announced that Cook had gotten life. Prosecutors had only been seeking twenty years, but maybe making a speech like that to a black woman judge wasn’t the brightest moment of his career. “Well, I hope making that statement was worth it to him.”

Those congressmen who cooperated got lighter sentences. Those who did not met the same fate as their apparent leader. Then justice turned toward Smolak.

His trial was speedy. There was plenty of evidence against him, not only for terrorism but for treason. Smolak hadn’t just committed bribery, he’d conspired with a foreign terrorist organization and he’d put it in writing. He pled guilty. The judge spared him the death penalty, but Dom wasn’t sure that was the kinder option. Smolak was in his sixties, and he wasn’t likely to last long, but those years would be full of misery.

In the meantime, Kurt’s pregnancy continued. His health improved, and now that he wasn’t essentially working two jobs he got the rest he needed. He did read for a few parts, and he started the production process on three new films. Dom guessed the production company Kurt went into with his friend must be taking off nicely, because it kept him busy even when he was sitting on the couch craving ice cream.

They found out, somewhere around the middle of Kurt’s fifth month, that they were having a son. Kurt was happy it was healthy, but both Azade and Dom were overjoyed. “What’re we going to name him though?” Dom asked. “We can’t call him Algernon. That wasn’t even popular when Victoria was queen.”

“I want to make a snide comment about that, but you’re right.” Kurt made a face. “That’s why I’ve been calling him Algernon, actually—to force me to come up with something better. Let’s both come up with a list. When we’re closer to a date, we’ll know which names feel better to us.”

Kurt got bigger as the months progressed, but he was fanatical about gaining no more weight than strictly necessary and refused to eat more than he had to. He craved ice cream and sweets so badly he insisted Dom eat them, just so he could smell them, but he wouldn’t eat them himself.

“Losing all this baby weight is going to be hard enough,” he said mournfully. “I’ve gone this long without eating that stuff, and now all I want is a little taste.”

“You’re going to be fine, Kurt,” Dom promised. “You’re beautiful now, you’re going to be beautiful after the baby’s out, and you’ll lose the baby weight when you’re ready. It’s there for a reason.” He rested his hand on Kurt’s belly and felt their son kicking at him.

Kurt finally gave birth three weeks early. It wasn’t early enough to make doctors worried, but Kurt definitely had a lot of anxiety about it as they waited for the baby to arrive. “It’s because I wouldn’t eat the ice cream, isn’t it?” He grunted as a particularly challenging labor pain passed through him. “That’s why.”

“Maybe.” Dom kissed his forehead. “But you don’t have to worry about it right now. The baby’s fine, they’ve got it attached to all kinds of monitors. You’re fine.”

Kurt wouldn’t have described his condition as “fine,” but the doctors all insisted he was “performing beautifully,” as if that made any sense at all. His labor lasted twenty-four hours, and he finally delivered after his agony became so protracted that he lost consciousness twice.

He shook as they passed the baby up to them. “He’s beautiful,” Dom said, holding Kurt up to see the baby.

Xavier Michael Van Heel waved his tiny fist at the world and let out the kind of shriek that could have shattered glass. A nurse swooped in. “We’ll just get him cleaned up then,” she said, and whisked him away.

“Well,” Dom said to his lover. “We’re a family at last.”

“Yes, we are,” Kurt told him, and took his hand.