Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

Brogan relaxed happily into her kiss, laying at her side when their lips parted. With a long, content sigh, he murmured, "Did y'ever think we'd make it this far, love...?" He had to admit to himself that, twenty years ago, he could've never imagined it.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia thought about the question that her husband had asked and she laughed softly. "No, I didn't. Especially since you were too stubborn to realize that you needed to be loved by someone."

She stroked his cheek and grinned. "But you've given me a house full of beautiful children and so many beautiful moments that will last me until I'm old and gray. I love you even more for the bad times as much as the good."

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan couldn't help a smile then, taking her hand that caressed his cheek and pressing a kiss to her palm. He picked himself up and then scooped her up to retreat back to their little picnic blanket. He was content to laze around all day with her, all their honeymoon if she liked.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia was laughing as he picked her up from the bank of the loch and carried her back towards their picnic. He had never given up his habit of carrying her when the mood struck him and she found that endearing. As they lazed on the blanket, snacking on the food that was left, she thought about Inverness and the children that she so sorely missed.

"I miss the children." She murmured softly, looking into her husband's piercing gaze. "As much as I looked forward to this time away from them, I really do miss them. Especially Heather and Ashelin."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know, I miss 'em too... I can't 'elp but worry 'bout Kate, though. Even with Kell an' everyone else beside 'er, I left 'er one hell of a responsibility." He'd always worried for Kate the most as she wasn't exactly a typical girl and especially not a typical princess, so nothing that might've been 'one-size-fits-all' with most girls would work with her. Brogan enjoyed the challenge but he knew that it was sometimes a struggle for Kate still growing up into her own woman.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Worrying about kitten has turned you grey before your time." Julia teased as she pulled at the grey hairs in his beard. "She has a good head on her shoulders though. She might not always make the best decisions, but she's trying to learn. That's all that we can hope for. The same for Sam and Rho. They're learning each and every day."

"I worry about Ciaran. He still seems so overwhelmed with everything around him. Perhaps we should let him go off on a journey, like Durban did when he was Ciaran's age." Julie suggested as their conversation turned towards their oldest son.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Y'might want t'talk to 'im about it. I don' think I have th'heart t'let 'im go, honestly." Brogan sighed and laid back to look up at the sky. "It kills me t'think some o'the kids'll leave one day... 'Specially Kate and Ciaran. I've got no doubt Sam an' Rho'll have their own adventures, but I don' think they'll really leave. Ciaran an' Kate, though... Kate migh' never get t'come back. Ciaran'll probably end up with a werefolk tribe like 'e always wanted."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Kate will always come back as long as you breathe, love." Julia said with a smile down at her husband. "She adores you too much. Even when she is the queen of all Scotland, she will still need her Da."

Julia lay down at his side and let out a long sigh. "Ciaran will stay close to Inverness. He loves Heather and Ashelin too much to not be around while they grow."

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan then smiled over to Julia and took her hand. "An' how's it feel t'know yer about t'be a grandmother?" Brogan had been excited for so long for Annie's baby and had done everything in his power to make sure Annie had everything she needed when the time came.

 

[heartofcourage]

"About as good as knowing that you'll be a grandfather." Julia said, knowing that Brogan was so incredibly excited for Annie. "It means the world to me to know that she's happy. She deserves to be happy with David."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I was worried for 'er fer a long time, David too, but I think tha' trip t'Greece is wha' made it all work out. Made 'em see tha' they needed each other, it wasn' jus' a simple want. Much as I hate t'admit it, I'm glad they brought Ria back. David needed 'er an' I suppose I needed a little more grey." He closed his eyes with a relaxed sigh. "What with all you lasses stressin' me, I'll be white before long," he chuckled.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Hopefully not white before your time, love." Julia murmured as she kissed her husband deeply, letting him know just how much she still loved him after all of those years together. "I still fancy my tall, dark, and handsome Scot. He's the man who stole my heart. Perhaps you know him?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Pretty well, I'd say," Brogan grinned up at her and stole another kiss. "Gods, yer beautiful." The rest of their time in Inverlochly was much like this. Though they did receive some news toward the end of the week about some racial issues arising throughout the isles more than ever before, all was well with Inverness for the time being.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia had enjoyed her time away from Inverness. She and Brogan had reconnected, emotionally and physically. They had made love in nearly every room of the small keep, tried out every surface, and enjoyed the loch until Julia begged for rest. She slumbered peacefully under the blankets, a smile on her lips as she relaxed for perhaps the first time in her entire life.

"You promised me that you wouldn't work." Julia murmured sleepily as her green eyes opened and she took in the sight of her husband hunched over a large wooden desk.

It was perhaps the most familiar sight that she could think of. Although his thoughts were always on her and their family, he would work early in the mornings and late into the evening if it meant just a few more moments with them.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know. But this can't wait, love," he muttered quietly as he read over the letter before him and wrote in response. It would be sent ahead of their return home to help Kate keep order for the time being. "Little bit o' tension back 'ome. Nothin' dangerous yet, but it worries me."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia pushed herself up on her elbow, watching him work for a long moment. He was always so serious when he worked and she had to smile at the wrinkles that had etched themselves around his tight lips and forehead.

"Should we go home early?" She asked him softly, willing to cut their time short of it meant going back home to help Kate.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don' wanna cut this short after we waited so long for it," Brogan murmured. "It's nothin' serious. Jus' tension. If Kate can't handle it, Durban certainly can. She'll be alright. I'm jus' gettin' a letter back fast as I can so she doesn' have t' worry..." Much as he truly trusted his daughter, he was also soft with her and always made it his priority to assure her that she could do anything.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia smiled as he said that they would stay, her head already resting on the pillow one more time. "You know, I don't think kitten could have asked for a better father than you. You spoil her so much. I've always been a little jealous of the bond between the two of you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Jealous? My girls are my life, darlin'. Kate jus' happened t'be th'one that needed me most fer the longest time. I guess I need 'er just as much." One couldn't compare the relationships Brogan had with his wife and children. They were all different, but Kate being so much like her father offered the great Scotsman an entirely new challenge and love.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You spoil her, love. Admit it." Julia said with a soft laugh as she pulled the blankets up to beneath her chin. "Just as you spoiled Annie and I'm sure you'll spoil Ashelin and Heather. None of the children could have asked for a better father."

She was quiet for a time after that, letting him work in peace. She didn't sleep. Instead, she was thinking about something that had been on her mind for a while.

"You know, I really wish the children had gotten to know my family." She said out of the blue, her thoughts turning towards Chester. "My mother would have been happy to meet her grandchildren. It would be nice for them to see the city. My brother would probably bar us from going, however."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I thought about tha'," Brogan murmured. The day they'd heard the former Lady of Chester had passed away in her sleep, he'd felt a bit of guilt for not having brought the children to her to meet. She'd been very reserved when he'd come to marry Julia, but not unkind. In fact, she had seemed to like the idea that someone was taking Julia to a better place, even if it was a place that the Englishwoman had been told to dislike. "Honestly, if ye'd like t'go back someday, I could manage somethin'. Yer brother can' stop you after what 'appened in th'war with Sarah."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Brogan, you know my brother better than that. If he thought that he could keep me away forever, he would." Julia said as she rolled onto her back and looked up towards the stone ceiling. "He hates the Scots with a passion. He sees our children as bastards. Seeing Chester one more time would be worth the heartbreak for me, but I would hate for our children to be put through that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Julia. If you want t'go back an' show th'kids, I promise you I'd make it 'appen," Brogan told her softly, putting aside his papers to come back to her side. "I've been spoiled all my life, never leavin' my 'ome an' th'land I love. But you only got t'go back once when y'needed help an' couldn't stay." He sat down at her side and took her hand.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia was quiet for a long moment as Brogan sat down at her side and took her hand in his own. She thought about everything that had been left behind there and those that she never got to see again. Her mother was dead. Her father long gone. Her brother had married Scottish woman and had never had children. The Chester line would end with him and with it, any tie that she might have had to the city.

"I'd like to go to at least see my mother's grave." Julia admitted softly, showing her husband for the first time in their marriage just how much she had missed her home.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then we will. An' we'll see if yer brother's grown up a bit too, aye? Age tends t'make a man realize what 'e's lost or driven away." Brogan leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I'll send a letter t'test th'waters."