Timelined the day after Pretenses and Plans
<Shaw> Sebastian sent the robot off to watch for his mistress and paced the space between the bed and dresser in the master bedroom.
<Shaw> It had taken Tony's people hours to search the home for surveillance equipment, and an hour more to install some systems of Stark design, all cleverly disguised as Sarkissian's work. The inability to trust his own people was frustrating, but he was happy to have a friend in the highest of places.
<Shaw> Now, secure in the knowledge this space was safe, he could relax. But, he didn't. He took another turn around the room, then down the hall to open the door of the nursery.
<Jessica> Jess got Viper to drop her off, deciding her bike was not the best of ideas given her current condition, but told her to go and wait for her somewhere else because she wanted to be alone with Sebastian. She went to the door and let herself in, Widget's excited beeps and whistles greeting her. "Well hi! I missed you too." She laughed a little and gave the robot a fond pat.
<Shaw> The robot and the security system let him know she'd arrived and Sebastian started down the stairs to meet his wife.
<Jessica> Hearing the movement, Jess paused in the small room at the bottom of the stairs to wait for him, running a hand through her hair.
<Shaw> He paused and caught his breath when he saw her. He'd spent rather a lot of time debating how best to greet her, not wanting to overwhelm her. And, more importantly wanting to ensure she was truly alone. "Hello, Jess," he started, taking the last few steps to the foyer.
<Jessica> "Hey..." she gave him a small smile, "Everything okay?"
<Shaw> "Yes," he said, though with a slight pause. "Where is Sarkissian?"
<Jessica> "No idea, probably getting coffee - she drinks more than you do. I told her to go and wait somewhere that wasn't here... is that okay?" She chewed the corner of her lip.
<Shaw> "That's fine." He licked his lips, eyes falling to her worrying her own.
<Jessica> "Okay... um... speaking of coffee... do you want some?" She nodded to the stairs, indicating they could go up to the kitchen.
<Shaw> "Yes. There's... I already made some, in fact. And tea, for you. I've been here for some time." Deciding perhaps the foyer wasn't the best place for this, he extended his hand for her to proceed him.
<Jessica> "I'm sorry to keep you waiting then... had to wait for Viper to finish yelling at someone for melting a table..." She gave a half shrug, "It's a weird place... feels like home." She offered a small grin over her shoulder as she headed up the stairs ahead of him.
<Shaw> The sight of her, the smile, it made him want to sweep her up and carry her upstairs - and not to the kitchen. He started up the stairs close behind her, reaching out to rest his hand on the small of her back. "I rather hoped this still felt like home, koibito," he said, leaning in to whisper it in her ear.
<Jessica> She stopped walking at the use of the nickname, turning on the spot to face him.
<Shaw> He grinned at her.
<Jessica> It took a moment or two for the information to process, the smile creeping onto her face bit by bit before she hugged him tightly.
<Shaw> "I didn't even know how much I missed you, Jessie." He returned the embrace, burying his face in her hair.
<Jessica> She sniffled and buried her face against his shoulder, "How much do you remember?"
<Shaw> "Everything, I think. It's still a little muddled." He was running his hands over her sides, reveling in the feeling that things were finally right again. Licking his lips again, he pulled back to cup her face in his hands and kiss her.
<Jessica> She returned the kiss, head still reeling, and decided to try something. Do you remember this too?
<Shaw> Oh yes, love, and this. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss and reestablished their link, letting his happiness wash over her as he threaded his fingers into the hair at the back of her head.
<Jessica> Her own happiness fed back to him over the link and she relaxed her hold on him a little, You know, we're almost at the bedroom...
<Shaw> So we are. Sebastian grinned into the kiss and shifted to scoop her up just as he'd wanted.
<Jessica> She giggled, looping her arms around his neck, nuzzling him affectionately. She'd missed the moments like this.
<Shaw> As had he, and he held her close as he bounded up the stairs, peppering her face with kisses.
<Jessica> She found herself thinking that it was a good thing Sharky wasn't there because he'd have got under Sebastian's feet by now and they'd both have gone flying. Neither of them were looking where they were going.
<Shaw> He arrived at the bedroom and set her on her feet, letting her body slide down his. My beautiful wife, he sent, giving her a quick kiss before he helped her out of her jacket.
<Jessica> I love you. She smiled, reaching up to help him remove his tie.
<Shaw> He let her pull his tie free, taking her hand and kissing it before he took the tie and tossed it across the room. I love you, he replied, reaching for the hem of her sweater. But you are wearing entirely too many clothes.
<Jessica> So are you. She grinned, raising her arms so he could remove her sweater.
<Shaw> Once she was free of her bulky sweater, his mouth opened slightly at the sight of her. Sebastian set his hands on the swell of her stomach and fell to his knees. Pulling her closer, he held her and placed a kiss on her belly. It was amazing how quickly she was growing.
<Jessica> She smiled, looking down at him and lifting her hands to run the ends of her fingers through his hair. "Things'll be different this time..."
<Shaw> "They will, because you will be careful, and so will I." He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his cheek against her belly.
<Jessica> "And at some point I will also get Bobby to tell me where they put all our stuff for the nursery..."
<Shaw> "Yes," he laughed a little, "or we could get everything new." He worked her belt free and pulled her jeans open to kiss her skin. "First, we need to make sure what just happened to me can never happen again."
<Jessica> "Definitely... and we need to let me punch the person responsible very hard because it will make me feel better."
<Shaw> His hands stilled and he sighed, looking up at her. "It was the Lord Imperial, love."
<Jessica> She thought about it for a moment then nodded, "Yep. Still want to punch him."
<Shaw> "He ordered Monet to wipe my mind."
<Jessica> "And her... but that's not new, I've wanted to punch her since I met her, I just never had a good reason to..."
<Shaw> "No, she was ordered to wipe it, and if that didn't work my fate was to be just as Jason Wyngarde's." He slowly stood to cup her face with his hands again.
<Jessica> Jess frowned then. "Damn it! She did something nice? Since when is she programmed for nice?" She lifted her hand to take one of his. "I can still punch him though, right?"
<Shaw> "Oh yes," he said, laughing, and kissed her hand. "She locked my memories away for a time instead of removing them entirely, so yes, while I'm not entirely pleased with her, I am grateful." Resting his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes and opened his mind to allow her to see what had happened.
<Jessica> She took a few moments to process all the information. "It would have been nice if she'd have told someone else this so that someone didn't freak out, get all depressed, and go to hide out with a terrorist for a while."
<Shaw> "And that was precisely what I told her, but unfortunately you were probably safer with Sarkissian. At least, where you are concerned, she is something of a known quality." Tipping his chin toward hers, he brushed their noses together.
<Jessica> "She is and she's been very good, actually... helpful..." she smiled, stepping back close to him again. "And she's promised to behave herself."
<Shaw> "She will need to behave herself for a while longer, I'm afraid."
<Jessica> "You want me to stay with her for the time being?" She couldn't hide her disappointment.
<Shaw> "I don't want you to, but I want you to be safe." He gave her a quick kiss. "I've had this place checked, it's secure, but my penthouse, the club, even my offices?" Sebastian sighed and shook his head.
<Jessica> "I'm very safe, I promise... even when I'm not with her, she gave me stuff to make sure I don't get hurt.... but I'm not allowed to teleport because my hitchhiker doesn't like it." She wrinkled her nose. "You know she'd still offer to help find anything they left behind if I told her it was an issue..."
<Shaw> "Stuff?" His tone was skeptical. "I told Monet we very likely will need Sarkissian," he said, pulling away from her to pick up the small box beside their wedding photo.
<Jessica> "And how did she take that?" She bent to rummage in her jacket.
<Shaw> "How does she take anything?" He returned to her with the box.
<Jessica> "In my experience? Bitchy with a side of snarky." Finding what she was looking for, she straightened up again.
<Shaw> "Precisely!" He grinned, pausing to enjoy her shirtless in front of him. Really, they should get back to what they'd been doing.
<Jessica> "She gave me this for the time being... it's hers but she's making one for me that won't go kaput with my freaky biology. They're a bit sensitive to electricity and I broke the prototype..." she chewed her lip, giving him a somewhat sheepish half-smile.
<Shaw> Distracted, he reached for it. "What is it?"
<Jessica> "Way too much fun." She nodded sagely, letting him take it to look it over. "I confused the shit out of Sharky for like half an hour - it's a personal force field generator. Telekinesis all portable and without the daft redhead."
<Shaw> "Ah," he said with a smirk, remembering his unsuccessful attempt to shoot Sarkissian in the face a year ago. "Is it sensitive to EMP?"
<Jessica> She gave a shrug, "Maybe not this one... at least I haven't broken this one... but I don't think I can generate an EMP." Although that could be a lot of fun to try.
<Shaw> He placed it on the table beside them. "I'm glad she's making provisions for your safety, and I suppose I will need to speak to her." Considering this, he made a sour face. "But not right now."
<Shaw> "Right now, I have something to return to its rightful owner." He opened the box to let her see their rings in the velvet.
<Jessica> She looked at them for a few moments before lifting her gaze back to his face, "Are you sure? I mean.... if it's not safe...."
<Shaw> "You needn't wear them in public if you'd rather not... I probably won't be able to for a time, as Monet and I intend to play the hand we're dealt to search for an opportunity..."
<Jessica> "Well... I'm not really in public at the moment... so I doubt that's much of an issue..." She offered her hand to him, "and I have been missing them."
<Shaw> "I'm sorry you were without them, Jessie." He took it and nearly fumbled the box, discovering his own hands were trembling as he slipped both her rings onto her finger.
<Jessica> Taking his hand and kissing it, she smiled, "Back where they belong."
<Shaw> "Yes," he said with a sincere smile. Before he dropped the box entirely, he slid his own ring into place and tossed the box to the table beside her gadget. Then, he caught her face yet again and gave her a fierce kiss.
<Jessica> She returned the kiss, sliding her arms back around him to keep him close. We'll fix this and make sure no one can do this to us again. I love you.
<Shaw> Yes, we will. If he had to kill all the Lords Cardinal. He smiled into the kiss.
<Jessica> She slid her hands down his arms to catch his and gave him a small tug toward the bed. And we can discuss all the details later...