Sixty-nine.

Sixty-nine.
The drive to the harbour was a quiet one. Calum was too busy searching his mind trying to understand everything that Colt had said, and all that her words implied; so by the time he pulled up to park, he realised his latest and possibly stupidest mistake yet.

"I shouldn't have left," he admitted quietly, and mostly to himself despite Alasdair's presence.

"Aye, most likely you should have stayed," Alasdair replied all the same, his body angled as close to the open window as possible, "You've kind of proved her right." He was unhelpful enough to point out, inbetween deep lungfuls of clear outside air of course.

Calum sighed in frustration. "You couldn't have enlightened me on this sooner?" He asked in annoyance.

Alasdair laughed, "I could have, but, not my monkey, not my circus," he shrugged, "Besides, I have my own things to keep me preoccupied, it's not all about you."

"Oh really, and what's on your mind then?" Calum asked, turning his head to watch the gentle bobbing of the boats in the harbour, while only half listening to Alasdair's response.

"Iona's pregnant." Alasdair's voice echoed in the small space, snapping Calum's attention back to his friend.

Calum's brows rose, followed by a genuine smile. "Aye, that's a fair excuse. Is it yours?" He smirked out, deliberately trying to wind up his best friend, "Better hope it doesn't come out looking like Paul or maybe Logan."

"Piss off! Of course it's mine, you fucker," Alasdair laughed, punching Calum in the arm.

"Congratulations, man," Calum laughed back, momentarily distracted by his friend's good news, and happy to enjoy the moment "I'm chuffed for you, mate. Genuinely."

"Thanks, its early days though, so we aren't telling anyone officially. But, I'm guessing your wife is probably already aware," Alasdair stated back, knowing how much his mate thought of her cousin.

"I'll keep it quiet, Buddy, but I'm sure it will all be grand. You deserve it," Calum smiled, before his face tensed as he returned to his own reality, "But, now I guess it's time to head home. Face the music so to speak."

"I'd say it sounds like a plan, but that means the reality is, that you've made me get in this van for fuck all now, and that's not okay," Alasdair scowled.

Calum shrugged uncaring to his friend's plight, as they pulled out of the harbour and headed home, picking up more speed than he probably should on the familiar country roads.

It wasn't too long after they had driven away from the harbour, that Alasdair broke the silence again, "So, what exactly was it, that had your Mrs. so worked up?"

"Ha," Calum gulped awkwardly, "Honestly, I guess, and I am guessing, I maybe wasn't meant to take her word at face value in Indonesia," Calum stated with a grimace.

"What exactly did you do?" Alasdair pushed, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I just booked a few fishing trips, she said it was fine." Calum stated half heartedly, "I mean it's a once in a lifetime chance, and Colt did genuinely say she was fine, so I went."

"You've said that, already," Alasdair pointed out, "Now, define a 'few,' Calum?" Alasdair asked, shifting in his seat to lean closer to the open window.

"Six." Calum nodded with a grimace, "Colt joined me for two of them though, so really only four."

"Fuck!" Alasdair gasped, "Iona is right, you are a moron," he laughed.

Calum hissed, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"On your honeymoon. I mean, shit, that's moronic," Alasdair stated incredulously, "Then your first day home, you plan to go fishing... Shit, she really must love you."

Calum frowned at his friend, "I highly doubt love, is what she feels right now."

"Nah, you're still walking, and haven't been skinned alive, or castrated. That's definitely love." Alasdair laughed. "Especially after you abandoned her to go fishing, you bloody moronic turnip!"

"I really fucked this up, didn't I?" Calum stated with a sigh, the truth fully dawning on him, "Shit, I'm such a prat."

"Aye, you are," Alasdair, stated, before adding, "And, as much as I hate to suggest it, knowing it means longer in this damn van. But, you need to buy your wife something as an apology. Or figure out a way to make it up to her."

"Really?" Calum asked, glancing quickly at Alasdair's face to see if he was joking.

"Aye, you need all the bloody help you can get on this one." Alasdair clarified, before leaning out the window some more.

-----

Sometime later Calum was stood on the dunes of the beach by his and Colt's home. The machair was in full bloom, making the fragrant fresias in his hands seem somehow inferior to the broad carpet of delicate wildflowers and long grasses that were blowing softly in the gentle breeze.

He watched his wife standing, ankle deep in the water, while she was staring out over the softly rolling waves. He could feel the swirl of conflicting emotions rolling down their bond, and he was struggling to comprehend them all.

The most prevalent emotion was some kind of fear, but it wasn't terror related, it seemed to be deeper rooted, and he found himself questioning how he was too blind to notice Colt's displeasure on their honeymoon, and he cursed himself for letting them get to this stage. Oh, she had snapped at him, while they were away, and plenty of times, but he had no idea what was the real cause.

But the confusing part was he also detected a sense of happiness inside her as well, and he wasn't sure what the explanation for that could be.

All the same, any lingering doubt that his fishing trips were a bad idea, had already been severely squashed when he and Alasdair arrived home, and Iona let loose on him with both barrels.

"What kind of asshole are you, Macgregor! Abandoning your wife for half your bloody honeymoon, to go fucking fishing! She is worth one hundred of you, and yet you expect her to run about after you like some sort of skivvy. All while you piss about on a boat, barely half a day after coming home!" Iona roared at Calum, lunging at her cousin's mate, claws extended as soon as he exited the van.

Calum hadn't even seen her appear from the house, but he was glad when Alasdair quickly grabbed her around the waist, lifting her from her feet in the process. Calum couldn't help but smirk at her behaviour; Iona was definitely in the early stages of pregnancy.

"Look," he sighed, "I know I messed up, okay? But, I can't make up for it with you keeping me here yelling," Calum stated, moving to go past both of them and into the house."

"Well, good luck with that one, Macgregor," Iona laughed out at him, "Because you won't find her in there," Iona smirked, from her place held tightly against Alasdair's chest.

Calum froze midstep and turned around, his fist.tightening on the stems of the bouquet he was holding. "Where is she, Iona?" His voice came out menacingly.

"Careful Calum," Alasdair warned him, turning Iona away from his friend automatically.

Calum had to take a moment to calm himself, remembering Iona was pregnant helped, and after a minute he asked again, "Iona, I canna make it up to her, if I canna find her. Now, please," he added through gritted teeth, "Where is she?"

Iona's eyes were filled with her own anger, and her nostrils flared aggressively, as she swallowed her next hiss. Then she ignored Calum altogether and turned her head into Alasdair's shoulder, taking comfort in his presence, while hiding from her mate's best friend.

"Iona." Alasdair pushed her this time, "Tell the man what he needs to know," he stated gently.

Letting out her anger with a sigh, she finally relented and lifted her arm pointing in the direction of the bay, "She went for a walk on the beach, to clear her head."


And there, on the beach Colt stood unmoving, as Calum silently approached in the sand, not even the plastic wrapper of the flowers he carried was rustling, while he closed in on her.

Colt didn't budge as Calum approached, nor did she flinch away when he pulled her against his chest, presenting the flowers around their bodies in front of her, as he stooped to rest his chin on her shoulder with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Love," he opened up genuinely to her. "I should have realised you weren't alright, and that I was being a selfish prick."

Colt swallowed loudly, but felt too choked with emotion to speak. Instead she simply leant her head against Calum's, closing her eyes and feeling his presence.

After a moment, Calum turned his wife to face him, feeling distraught at seeing the leftover tear streaks on her face and her red puffy eyes.

He startled her slightly when he dropped to his knees in the water begging her, "Please, don't cry. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." He began to rant, "I got carried away, I love travelling and experiencing the world, so I took your words at face value, and didn't see your hurt because I didn't want to. I was selfish, and a fool. Please, please forgive me," he begged, wrapping his arms about her waist, and burying his head against her.

Colt began to thread her fingers through his hair, pulling gently on his scalp and eliciting unbidden purrs from his throat.

"Stand up, Calum," she spoke softly to him.

"No, I'm not finished," he objected instantly, clinging on to her tighter.

"You aren't even in your oil skins, Calum. You will get soaked, catch your death of cold, and then where will we be. Come on, Casanova," Colt chided him playfully, "Up you get."

"I would die one hundred times to get to love you, Colt," Calum whispered against her, "Please tell me I haven't messed that up?"

"Well that's not really necessary, come on, get up," Colt laughed, thinking her mate was acting ridiculously. "It doesn't matter anymore, Calum. None of tatters."

But Calum just held her tighter, and kept speaking, "I think we should go travelling, Colt."

"What?" She asked confused, and caught completely off guard.

Calum lifted his chin to stare up into her eyes, "I mean that we should take some time, and explore the world together," he stated as Colt tilted her head, regarding him silently. "Think about it, we'll jump on the back of the bike and head down to Dover, then catch the ferry to Calais. Once in France, we can just ride. Exploring every nook and cranny of any country we want, France, Spain, or we head straight to the Alps, and come out in Italy. You would be amazed at the food in Italy, Colt, there is nothing like it. Then, we could head anywhere, name the place, and we will go," he suggested his eyes sparkling as he explained his idea, "Just the two of us, Love, and I promise no fishing."

Colt laughed, placing her hands on Calum's shoulders and bit her lip, before she simply stated, "Three."

Calum was utterly lost, he had no idea what Colt's response meant. "Four?" He asked at random.

"It bloody better not be," Colt smirked.

"Love, what on earth are you on about?" Calum asked her.

"I'm on about, how it would be just the three of us. In fact, it's probably the exact reason why we shouldn't run off travelling on the back of a motorbike. Plus, I likely wouldn't fit on it behind you for long enough to travel the way we would like," Colt half explained, loving the look on Calum's face as he tried to join the dots unsuccessfully, with the information his wife was giving him.

"How will it be three?" Calum frowned, "You canna be thinking of taking the bloody horse with us?" He asked, appalled.

Colt tipped her head back, cackling with laughter at his horrified expression, before whacking him lightly on the shoulder, "Oh, you're hilarious," she sighed, "Way, way off the mark, but hilarious."

"Woman, will you just spit it out? Stop talking in bloody riddles," Calum spat out exasperated, making Colt's face light up all the more.

"Calum, I'm pregnant." Colt spoke clearly, her eyes shining, as her mate suddenly froze.

It took Calum a few minutes, before he swallowed loudly, and turned his head to look at his wife's stomach.

"But, how?" He asked. "I thought, but you said, you..."

"I did," Colt interrupted him, "But, as Iona pointed out, the doctors were speculating based on my DNA. No one actually tested what was going on in my ovaries," She smiled, with a small shrug. "Turns out, I am fertile, and I am pregnant, Calum."

Gradually his face began to light up in realistaion of what this meant. He stood with a flourish, his arms still wrapped around Colt's hips and lifting her up in the process. He spun her around, his splashes soaking both their lower halves despite Colt's elevated position, all while he roared with glee, and Colt shrieked, laughing with joy, her worries disappearing for the moment, while she lived in the happiness of the moment.

When Calum stilled, he gently lowered Colt down, placing her feet back into surf, and grabbed her face to kiss her deeply. Colt reciprocated, breathing in Calum's scent, beneath the fish odour that coated him from his time in the van. But, she didn't care about that right now, he was still her Calum, and they were having a baby, and in this moment, nothing else mattered.

Colt and Calum's life together was just beginning, and there was nothing she desired more than this path they were head down together.

THE END



Author's Note: Thank you for your patience, for those of you who are unaware, we have Covid at the moment, (just at the tail end of the infection now), which has caused the latest delay. In other news, we have just the epilogue to go, and I can confirm I have a couple of bonus chapters planned for later, but I want to get stuck into a couple of other projects first. I will hopefully see you there. As for Acknowledgments, I would firstly like to thank my husband he really is my rock, and we have had a few worrying months but I am so glad to walk this life with him and our children. Secondly, I would like to thank you, my readers for joining me on this journey, your support means more to me than I can say, and I am so grateful to have you all, so thank you. Bethany River x.