The King and I (closed)

"I think it's important that we keep to our schedule. We need to show whoever is doing this that you are not going to back down." Charlie said softly, lending him her opinion and support. "You don't want to seem like a simpering king, now do you?"

He arched an eyebrow,

"This from the woman who wanted to hide me under a rock? Seems like some of my foolhardiness finally starts to rub off on you."

He smiled,

"All right, we'll do the travel thing, maybe just postpone it by a day or two just to get over the shock of the assassination attempt and then continue to make the people love me."

"Deal." Charlie said as they both settled in for the duration of the flight.

Once they touched down again, it was controlled chaos as the security teams worked to take stock of the situation. Charlie followed Dave into the nearest limo as they were whisked off back towards the palace. The city passed by them in a blur as a light rain began to fall.

"Your mother is going to be worried sick, I'm sure." Charlie said softly as she glanced across the interior of the car to Dave.

Quite contrary to his usual reluctance to follow security to the letter, Dave allowed himself to be rushed under protective cover into the limo. Once inside he looked out of the one way bulletproof glass and waited until they started moving.

"Yes she will be and of course the nice bruise will upset her even further."

He looked out of the window at the passing crowds,

"Mothers. Can't imagine life without them."

He smiled slightly,

"Of course my sisters will now try to break even more rules. Are you sure I can't Convent them? Not even now that we have these security problems?"

"There hasn't been a royal sent to the convent since the middle ages, Dave." Charlie said with a grin as he talked about his sisters. "Besides, I think they would cause you even more problems there. Imagine all of the scandalized nuns that you would have to deal with when they get terrorized by the gruesome twosome."

Charlie reached out and touched Dave's cheek, pulling his gaze to her own as she looked deeply into his eyes. "Your father would be very proud of you, Donovan. The way you've handled everything so far has been nothing short of amazing."

He rested his hand on her own and turned his face to kiss her palm softly,

"If I can make everybody proud of me, there will be no need to dodge bullets or protests about democracy."

He held her hand and with a naughty smile kissed her palm once more, travelling to her wrist, kissing it gently, but managing to make that little act seem extremely erotic, he winked at her and allowed her, her hand back.

"I think it is time that I had a talk with my sisters, please make sure to arrange that for me?"

It was not a command, just a request and he knew that she would also see it as such, he ran his hand along the side of her face and over her hair,

"You know...I think that you knew how much I love you a long time ago."

"I'll make sure your sisters are ready to meet with you." Charlie said with a smile as he kissed her wrist in an extremely intimate moment.

Then he turned sentimental. Her smile softened and she let out a little sigh. "I've always loved you, Dave. You were just too stubborn to do anything about it."

He laughed,

"Oh now I'm the stubborn one."

He shook his head and looked out of the window as they turned into the palace grounds,

"Well then, time to face the music. I will most probably have to issue a public statement later today or early tomorrow."

"You'll always be the stubborn one where I'm concerned." Charlie said with a grin as the car turned into the palace grounds.

The ground was still covered in snow, but she could see the increased security that had been called in after the events of that morning. No doubt Dave wouldn't be able to go anywhere without a group of security following behind him.

"I'll take care of your statement, Dave. You just take care of your family." She said softly as the car pulled to a stop under the covered awning and his door was opened for him.

Dave waited for the driver to get out to get his door, he leaned over and gave Charlie a firm kiss, as the door opened he stepped outside, giving her a wink as the kiss broke. He straightened his jacket and took a deep breath of the crisp air,

"Ah, how good it is to be home again."

He walked up the steps and right there was his mother, waiting for him with that dreadful haunted look in her eyes. Dave stopped in front of her and gave her the required bow,

"Your highness..."

That was how far he gor before her arms wrapped around him, hugging him fiercely and making him wince at the sudden pressure on the bruise. He wrapped his arms around her, he knew she would need some time to regain her composure, the loss of the king and her youngest son still fresh in her mind. He closed his eyes and rested his jaw on top of her head,

"I missed you too mother."

Charlotte gasped as he leaned in and gave her a kiss. She let her eyes close for a moment before he pulled away. The wink that he gave her made her smile and she watched as he left the car to confront his mother. She watched silently as the queen hugged her son tightly, doing away with decorum as she let herself be the concerned mother that she was.

The moment was broken as the driver closed the door and climbed back into the driver's seat, looking at her in the rear view mirror as if to ask where she wanted to go.

"The press corps' office, please." Charlie said as the car moved from the entrance, her eyes finally pulled away from the scene of Dave reuniting with his mother.

It took a long while for his mother to regain her composure, it took an even longer time to weather her scolding, gentle and low-voiced, he felt like she could have been screaming at him. He knew that being bait was not a good idea, but she made him understand just how idiotic it really was.

He wasn't sure how Charlie had managed it, but he found his sisters in his state room, the doors had been blocked and it left only the three of them inside the room in which his father had scolded and at times punished them all, he perched on the corner of his desk, loosened his tie and looked sternly at the two of them. As always, they actually squirmed, he allowed them to feel the gravity of the situation before he spoke, "Your time for rebelling is over."

They looked curiously at him now, "Earlier a bold step had been taken to get rid of our family. From now on the two of you will sneak out to nightclubs, allow strangers to grope you in the most inappropriate places, scandalize our mother no more."

"But, we..."

"I am NOT finished." The sharpness of his tone conveyed itself without the need of rising his voice. "So far I have allowed it all, I have turned a blind eye to the shopping, the drinking, the partying and yes even to the drugs. But now it all stops and let me assure the two of you. One miss step, just one and I will do the unthinkable."

He paused, his eyes sharp as a blade and as hard as stone, "I will send the both of you to the Sisters of Grace convent." The Sisters of Grace was known for one thing and one thing only. Military-like discipline. He could see their faces blanch at the mention of the convent. "And you will receive no special treatment, so this is me reigning the two of you in. Disobey me and you will find that I am not father. Are we clear on this?"

The two of them looked at each other and then back at him, nodding silently, "I can't hear you." Their vocalized confirmation was meek, it seemed that the seriousness of the case had come down crushing hard on them. They had been allowed to roam wild and he knew that he was partially responsible, but now was not a time to point fingers, it was a time to bring affairs to order.

He slipped from his perch and stepped to them, then he embraced the two of them in a big, brotherly hug, "Hello Gracie and Stacy, hope you two weren't too scandalous while I was gone." He drew back from them after the hug and gave them a small smile, "Now run along, I have a few things to finish up." He watched them leave and took a seat behind the desk, flicking open the first folder

By the time Charlie returned to the palace, she had a splitting headache and her stomach rumbled in hunger. She had answered questions from members of the media from all over the world. In between interviews, she had written a press release and Dave's statement about the incident. Of course, the palace would never comment on the personal lives of the royal family and she stuck to that hard line golden rule. She made no mention that the entire royal family was back under the same roof, nor where Dave was exactly. She protected his privacy fiercely.

As the car pulled up in front of the palace, she stepped out as snow started to fall. It was chilly that evening, the sky dark and grey as she walked inside the door being held open for her. She found Dave in his private office and she flopped down in the overstuffed chair next to his desk and let out a long sigh.

"You owe me a raise." She commented as she looked at Dave with a grin. "And the biggest steak you can afford."

He hardly glanced up when Charlie entered, from the tell-tale click of her heels and the strides he knew that it was her. "A raise? This from the woman who complained when I did give her a rather gracious raise." He finally looked up and met her grin with one of his own, "Well I haven't eaten yet and now that you mention steak I do feel that I could do with something to eat."

He pushed the files to one side and pushed away from the desk, "Well come along tired gal, let's get some food into you and perhaps coerce you to find some place to rest for the night."

Charlie let out a sigh as he pushed away from the desk, offering her food and a place to sleep. The offer did sound nice and she accepted his out stretched hand in her own. She pulled him to a stop before he could move, however. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly, her cheek pressing against his shoulder. She didn't want to talk anymore about what had happened that day. She simply wanted to be with the man that she loved and adored.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, offering her that reassurance and comfort that he was there and that she was with him. This being his private study, he did not fear sudden intrusion, nor spying eyes or ears. He moved slightly away and when she looked up at him, he caught her lips with his. Kissing her gently, his hands gently cupping her face as the kiss continued, finally after a very long time, the kiss did draw to an end and he rested his forehead against her own, their mingled breath warm on their necks. There wasn't much to say, talking would just spoil the moment for him, here he was holding the woman of his dreams, but he could not hold her. Just yet, not before he was king and made his intentions of marrying her very clear.

Charlie smiled as Dave moved away from her slightly and caught her lips with his own. He knew how to kiss her in a way that made her toes curl. He was slow, methodical, and completely intoxicating. His hands cupped her cheeks, the kiss continuing past the point of decent. When it did end, her eyes finally opened and she stared into his eyes with a mixture of love and adoration.

She reached up and touched his own cheek, her fingers gently trailing over his skin as they both simply stared at one another. Neither wanted to speak and break the magic of the moment. She wondered what he was thinking right then and there. He was probably thinking about the future and how they would fit into it together.

He looked down at her, those lovely eyes, the open, honest face and the silky hair, his arms was around her waist, holding her close to him...this was the moment in which he could stay forever, but then a soft grumble brought to attention her hunger, he just had to chuckle.

"Well then, come along, let's get some food into you." He gave her one last kiss and then allowed her to "escape" his arms. He pushed open the door and waited for her to exit before following and closing the door behind them. Together they made their way towards the dinning room, ready for a late dinner.

Charlie laughed at the loud growl that her stomach issued at the worst time. She let out a small sigh as she took his hand as he pushed open the door. They walked together towards the private family dining room. The large room was empty of anyone else that evening and she took a seat at the table as she waited for Dave to place a order for them.

"I think when my country manor is finished, we should both learn to cook." She teased him, laughing at the look that he gave her. "I can't afford a private cook like you, Donovan. I'll have to learn to do it with my own two hands."

"Correction, you can't afford one yet. Once the income of the natural gas starts to eclipse that of the production cost and you have paid the crown for the money used to set up the industry, I am sure that you will be able to have your own cook." He took his seat and stretched out his legs, "And anyway I can cook, you have no idea how disgusting Army food can be, we lived like kings during the survival training. So I can cook. I just don't know if you'll be able to stomach it though." He gave her one of his wise-ass grins

"You cooked for a bunch of starving soldiers." Charlie commented, laughing softly at the look on his face. "I dare say that my tastes are little more refined than that. Although, I do know that you can cook a mean bowl of pasta."

"Cook? Pasta?" He look confused for a moment, "Oh you mean those prepacked packets which you heat up. Yes I'm a master at that." This time it was his turn to laugh at the look on her face. "Yeah, pasta is a favorite and once you make something enough, you actually learn how to make it tasty." He raised his eyebrows, "And since you're the elder sister, did you not learn to cook? Or were you too busy running after royal brats?"

"I seem to remember a certain snotty prince who told me that my cookies tasted like charcoal when we were 8." Charlie said, looking at Dave with an eyebrow raised. "That was the end of my cooking career. You refused to taste anything that came out of my play oven ever again."

He drew a face, "Did you have to remind me? I wasn't THAT snotty and the fact that it was a play oven." He waggle his hand, "If you pull that oven out, I'd rather starve, I have eaten enough raw, burnt, spiced and pickled food to satisfy ten sisters not just two."

He sat upright as the door to the kitchen opened and their food came into the room on a stainless trolley, "As requested, the biggest steak you can eat. I took the liberty of adding the wedges."

"Ah, so he does listen to what I say!" Charlie said as the plate was placed in front of her and the cook soon retreated after she gave her thanks. "And all this time I thought you simply tuned out what I was saying to you."

As they were alone, Charlie leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, grinning at him as she looked down at the mouthwatering plate. "You better propose to me quick, Dave. I might say yes right now."