It! The Terror From Beyond Space

Home for the Holidays

Part B  

By the time we finally made it back downstairs, breakfast was a burned disaster.  

"This seems to be becoming a habit, and not a good one. If the Colonel will deal with the mess, I'll cook this time." I opened windows to air out the kitchen, then took out another frying pan and put strips of bacon into it.  

Carr grinned and gave me a mock salute. I responded by blowing him a raspberry.  

It was a companionable breakfast, and once it was done, I started to clean up the kitchen.  

"Baby, I'd like to make Grandpa Carruthers' world famous eggnog. If I make it now, it will be chilled enough for tonight."  

"Nifty. What do you need?"  

"Eggs, sugar, vanilla extract." He thought for a second. "Ground nutmeg, brandy, rum, whipping cream, and milk."  

"Check the fridge. Pop loves to bake, and we should have what you need. The nutmeg and vanilla are in the spice rack, and the brandy and rum should be in the liquor cabinet in the dining room."  

"Nifty." He winked at me and set to work, whistling, 'Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays…' 

When we were both done, we went out to shovel the front of the driveway.  

We were dressed warmly in long johns, jeans, and quilted flannel shirts. Having grown up in the Northeast, Carr knew what winter could be like. He'd brought along a knit cap and a pair of lined gloves.  

I wrapped the end of my stocking cap around my neck and gave a spare scarf to my lover.  

"Good thing I remembered our boots."  

I opened the door to the mudroom, displaying snow boots, rain boots, boots of every size and variety. "Pop doesn't throw out anything."  

And Carr laughed.  

We shoveled in unison, and working together it didn't take us too long to clear enough of the drive for Hamilton to be able to park his car.  

"Okay, now let's go sledding!" I took the shovels and propped them against the back porch, then scooped up a handful of snow, formed it into a snowball, and tossed it idly in the air.  

"I wouldn't try that if I were you, Lieutenant." But he stooped to gather some snow into his gloves.  

"Oh, no?" I pulled my arm back and let the snowball fly.  

I played shortstop in high school, but  that didn't mean I couldn't pitch a mean curve ball. I was aiming for his shoulder; somehow I caught him in the chest, and his feet went out from under him, and he landed on his back. And he didn't move.  

"Carr!" I felt the blood drain from my face. I raced to his side and dropped to my knees beside him. "Carr!"  

I couldn't tell if he was breathing, so I put my head on his chest to see if I could feel any movement, but I still couldn't tell. I started to panic and sat up, about to pat his cheeks.  

And got a faceful of snow.  

Carr was leaning up on his elbow, chuckling wickedly.  

"You… you were *faking*?"  

"Age and experience, baby. They'll win out over youth and enthusiasm every..."  

I growled and launched myself at him, and we went rolling in the snow. I knew I was going to get the upper hand, and when I did, I straddled his hips. My fingers twined in his, and I yanked his hands above his head, mimicking his actions earlier, when we were in bed.  

"You were saying, Colonel?"  

His navy eyes glinted with dark fire, and he rocked up enough for me to feel his cock in the vee of my thighs. The next thing I knew, I was on my back in the snow, and he was kissing my mouth open.    

"I love how you kiss me, Carr," I sighed into his mouth.  

"I love you, baby." He made sure I felt him against the front of my body. "And I think we'd better get up before we get soaked." He stood and offered me a hand, and when I was on my feet, we brushed the snow off each other. "Now, where's your sled?"  

"It's in the storage space under the back porch." I'd had the forty-eight inch Flexible Flyer since I was twelve. It had been big for me then, but now if I didn't bend my legs, my feet would drag in the snow.  

Once I'd retrieved it, Carr and I each took hold of the rope knotted to the hand rail; it would control its direction. We began the ten minute walk to Hobbes' Hill.  

We tramped through the snow, clambering over the mounds the trucks had piled at the street corners, the sled skidding down to hit our heels.  

"One day I'd like to take you to my hometown, baby."  

"You… you want to take me home?"  

He swatted my backside. "Well, of course." It turned into a caress.  

"That's great! Will we be going to see anyone in particular?"  

"All my blood relatives are gone, but there was a family that took me in after my mother died, and I want you to meet them. They were good to me, and I stayed with them until I was old enough to enlist."  

"I don't remember any mention of a foster family in any of the articles about you."  

"And you read them all?"  

"Of course I did!"  

He laughed at my exasperated expression. "They were always very private and preferred not to be interviewed."  

"How are they going to feel? About us? Or will you keep the fact that we're lovers from them?" That would mean they would give us separate beds. I didn't like the idea of sleeping apart from him, but if that was how he wanted it, I would go along with his wishes.  

"Oh, baby, no! They've known since high school that I liked pretty boys; they're going to love you!"  

I knew I was blushing. Men should be considered handsome, or good-looking, but the way Carr said that made me want to be back in bed with him. I bumped my shoulder against his instead. "Well, I'll look forward to meeting them."  

"Maybe we won't even have to wait until next Christmas."  

"Whenever you want to go, Carr." I tugged his jacket sleeve.  

He smiled and rested his hand on my fingers. Abruptly, he looked around, his expression intent. "What's that?"  

We were very close to Hobbes' Hill. The song drifted towards us on the chill December air.  

'All the world's a blanket white, of snow so cold and crisp and light, the dark winds blowing, we are going onward through the night.'  

It was the song our parents had sung when they'd taken us sledding, and now my friends were doing the same for their children.  

"I know that song!"  

"Come on!" I laughed and grabbed his hand, and as we started to run, I took a deep breath and joined the chorus, "'A- ah- o- la! A- ah- o- la!'"  

My lover sang along, and we were both laughing and breathless by the time we reached the top of the hill.  

"Tinker!"  "Hey, Tink!" "Tinker!" My friends all greeted me, grabbing my hand and pounding my back. "Ernie told us you'd be coming!  

"Hi, everyone! It's good to see you all!" I pulled Carr forward. "This is my colonel, Colonel Carruthers!"  

I introduced the men and women with whom I'd gone to school, and he smiled and shook hands all around.  

"Hey, Colonel! It's good to see you again!"  

"Ernie. It's good to see you, too."  

"I'm glad you could make it. I'd like to stay and shoot the breeze, but I've got to keep an eye on my kids. They keep trying to see how close they can come to the old pine."  

"Just like we did?" I teased.  

Ernie burst into laughter. "Don't tell them that. As far as they're concerned, we were perfect angels who never caused our parents a moment's worry!"  

"Right." I joined his laughter. "And they bought that?"  

"Hey, would this face lie?" A young male voice called, 'Daaaaad!' and his smile became indulgent. "Listen, I gotta get over there."  

"Sure. Mind the pine tree!"  

"Mmm hmmm." He jogged over to where his children waited impatiently. That seemed to be the signal they were waiting for, and with banshee yells they hopped on their sleds and launched themselves down the hill.  

"You take the first run, Andy."  

"Thanks," and I pushed off, belly-down, steering with the hand rail. The wind whipped tears from my eyes, and snow from the runners of other sleds stung my face. I was almost giddy from the adrenalin rush of the wild ride, and when I reached the bottom I pulled the sled sharply to the right to avoid the pine tree, bringing it to such a precipitous stop that it tipped, and I rolled off.  

I laughed, caught the rope, and ran back up to the top of the hill.  

"It looks like you're a little out of practice, Lieutenant," Carr murmured as he brushed snow off my shoulders and back.  

"Yeah, it's been a while. Now it's your turn, Colonel." I grinned and gave him the rope. He walked to the edge of the hill, braced one knee on the sled, and used the other to start his downhill run. It was obvious he was keeping a cautious eye on the kids who barreled past him, shrieking with excitement.  

"Tinker!"  

"Mary! Hi! How are you?"  

"I'm fine. And you?"  

"Never better! I must say you're looking fantastic for a woman who's had five kids."  

"You do say the sweetest things! They keep me hopping."  

"I'm a little surprised you're out here. George always loved sledding."  

"He's at the Savings and Loan." Mary sighed. "Even on Christmas Eve, people need last minute cash. But Mother Bailey agreed to watch the baby, so I was able to take the children sledding today." She saw my expression and placed a gentle hand on my arm. "You'll have little ones of your own one day, Tinker. Oh, dear! I'd better make sure my troop stay away from that tree! Bye for now."  

"Bye, Mary." I thought about how great it would be to take a son or daughter, or maybe even both, to Hobbes' Hill on Christmas Eve, with my lover, their father…  

"C'mon, Lieutenant!" Carr was back from his run, and I smiled at my fancifulness and took the sled from him.  

We were up and down the hill, a couple of times riding the sled together. Once I even slipped up behind Carr as he was about to make a solo run, and flung myself onto him as he lay face down on the sled. The impetus put the sled into motion, and I laughed breathlessly into my lover's ear.  

Time passed in a blur of pleasure.  

A pair of latecomers reached the top of the hill just as it began snowing.  

"C'mon, Dad," the boy beseeched his father, "let's go! Ma said if the snow comes down really hard we gotta go right home!"  

"Okay, Stevie. Make sure you stay on the path, though."  

The boy rushed to the edge of the hill and jumped on his sled, and his father turned to me.  

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Blanchardville's own rock-hunting hero. Hello, Tinkerbell."  

I stiffened, but I made sure my expression didn't reveal my distaste for that nickname when I turned to face the former captain of the high school football team. He was the only one who called me that. I noticed the toned body he'd had in high school had gone soft, and there was a discontented twist to his mouth. After college he'd counted on becoming a professional football player, but it hadn't worked out, and he was stuck working in his father's hardware store.  

"Steve."  

"You weren't expecting to see me today, I bet. Gaye never takes Stevie sledding, but you didn't know that, didja? She thinks it's a guy thing, but that worked out okay for me " His eyes glittered. "Admit it: you came home hoping to take Gaye away from me! Don't try to deny it; everyone knows you never got over her."  

"Are you nuts, McDonald? I dated Gaye for about three weeks, but as soon as she got one look at you, she couldn't see me for dust."  

"I bet." His lip curled, and his stance became aggressive. "Just you listen to me! Gaye's my wife, and she's gonna stay my wife! Just because you got that pretty-boy face of yours plastered all over the Blanchardville Gazette… "  

Pop had sent me a copy of the town's newspaper, along with a note that she'd bought a dozen other copies, and I'd blushed bright red when I'd seen the article on the front page, Home Town Boy Does Good. The item had been picked up from AP, including the picture taken as I'd hopped down from my little fighter jet, having just blown the Defender and its Martian passenger out of the stratosphere. Carr was in the picture also, and if the face plate of my helmet hadn't blocked my expression, the entire planet would have been privy to how much I loved this man.   

"…  that doesn't mean you can waltz in here and take her away from me!"  

"What?"  

"Prob… problem, gentlemen?" Carr was panting slightly from the climb, but his eyes were bright, and he was smiling. While Steve McDonald had been yammering nonsense, he had finished his run and climbed back up to the top of the hill. I'd missed seeing it.  

"No, sir." I could see from the curious raise of his eyebrow that I'd have to make introductions. "This is Steve McDonald."  

"McDonald. Nice to meet another friend of the Lieutenant's. I'm his Colonel."  

"Oh… uh… how do you do?" Steve shook Carr's hand.  

"I believe it's your turn, Lieutenant."  

"Colonel, Anderson and I haven't finished catching up on old times."  

I wanted to groan and beat my head against a tree. The last thing I wanted was to stay here and try to convince Steve that I had no designs on his wife.  

"I'll take the sled down again, then."  

"All right." I should have been happy I was such a good actor that he hadn't realized there was a problem. I waited until he left, then turned back to Steve. "Steve, I haven't talked to Gaye in years, and…"  

"Yeah, well, make sure you stay away from her." His hands fisted the front of my heavy jacket, and he tried to jerk me up onto my toes. He frowned when he wasn't able to, but kept on talking. "She's my wife, the mother of my son, and as soon as the Reverend Mayhew is done talking to her, she'll realize what she's throwing away for a pretty face."  

"I have no interest… Look, that's the second time you've called me that." And while I liked it when my lover called me that, I didn't when McDonald did. "Don't do it again." I knocked his hands away, and his jaw dropped. I'd put on muscle in the years that I'd been in the Air Force, and he hadn't expected that. "I have no interest in your wife. I have someone…"  

Screams interrupted my next words, and we both spun around to see what had happened.  

"Oh, christ! Stevie!" There had been an accident at the bottom of the hill. My sled was lying on its side, and even from where I was, I could see a runner was badly twisted.  

Steve took off at a run, but I passed him as if he was standing still.  

"Carr!" I skidded the last yards to his side and flung myself to my knees beside him. He was lying on his back, and he was very still. "No! Don't you do this to me!"  

And then his eyes blinked and focused. "Lieu… lieutenant?"  

"Thank god." My head dropped to his shoulder, and I held onto him and shuddered.  

"What… what happened?"  

"I was… I was hoping you could tell me."  

He blinked again, then tried to sit up. I slid my arm around his shoulders and helped him, and he leaned against me. "The snow is wet," he complained.  

"No sh… " There were children standing around, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "No kidding."  

"Tinker, I'm so sorry." It was Mary. "Tommy lost control of his sled."  

So Steve's son wasn't the one who'd been the cause of what had happened. I didn't bother looking around to find him.  

"Is the Colonel all right?" Mary asked.  

"Ye… yes, I'm fine."  

"You're not fine, C— Colonel. You're bleeding."  

"Don't make a big thing of it, Lieutenant." He tugged off his glove and touched his fingers to his cheek "Damn," he said mildly, "I am bleeding. Well, this is nothing."  

It *wasn't* nothing, but I kept quiet. In public he was my colonel, and I wouldn't challenge him. I searched my pockets for a handkerchief, finally found one, and gently touched it to his face. It was just a scrape, and it had already stopped bleeding.  

"Is the little boy all right?"  

"He's fine, Colonel. Thomas, how many times have I… What do you have to say for yourself, young man?"   

"But Ma, it wasn't my fault." The little boy's eyes were round in distress. "I couldn't turn my sled! I was heading right for the big pine tree, and that man rammed the back of my sled! I didn't do anything!"  

"Here's the problem, Mary." Ernie came over with Tommy's sled. "Look at this. The rope that controls the hand rail snapped."  

It was Mary's turn to look distressed. "I asked George…" Her mouth tightened. "Your actions saved my son, Colonel. Tommy, thank Colonel Carruthers."  

"Thank you, Colonel Carruthers," he parroted. But he didn't look thankful. He looked at his damaged sled, and the corners of his mouth were pulled down in a frown.  

"Janie! Peter! We're going home! Has anyone seen Zuzu?" When all her children were accounted for, Mary came to Carr. "I can't thank you enough, Colonel." She held out her hand.  

"It's quite all right, ma'am. Help me stand, Lieutenant." Once he was steady on his feet, he shook her hand. "The important thing is that the boy is okay."  

"I think we'd better go home too, Colonel."  

"It's really starting to snow," Ernie said. "I think we'd all better head for home."  

The kids protested, but it was half-hearted. Tommy could have been seriously hurt if he'd hit that pine tree, and they all knew it, no matter what their age.  

The snow was coming down harder. I looked down at my sled, sighed, then bent and picked up the rope. "Let me give you a hand, Colonel."  

I slid my arm around his waist, and we began the walk home. The sled's glide was no longer smooth, but it didn't matter.  

Carr was in one piece.  

****  

We left our boots and outerwear in the mudroom, and entered the warmth of the kitchen. It was redolent with the odor of roasting pork, garlic, and rosemary leaves.  

"Sweetie!" Pop looked different. Her eyes, the same color as mine, were bright, and she was a little flushed, but I assumed it was because the roast needed to be turned every twenty minutes. She hugged me, kissed my cheek, and brushed the hair off my forehead. "You're so cold! And your hair is wet!" She laughed softly and pinched my chin. "I shouldn't be surprised. You never did come home from sledding with a dry stitch on." She turned and smiled at my lover, holding out her hands to him. "Welcome, Edward. I'm so pleased to see you again."  

"Thank you, Geraldine. It's good to see you, too. You're looking lovely." Carr took her hands and raised first one, then the other to his lips.  

Pop gave him a vivid smile. "I can see why my boy loves you – you are a charmer."  

Carr actually blushed. He tugged at his collar and glanced at me sheepishly, and I grinned at him. He was.  

"We weren't expecting you so soon."  

"It was starting to snow harder. And it was getting dark," Carr murmured. Abruptly he swayed. I was beside him immediately and put an arm around him to steady him.  

Pop's eyes narrowed, and she touched her fingers gently to my lover's cheek. "What happened?"  

"It's nothing."  

I made a scoffing sound.  

"Tinker?"  

"It isn't 'nothing', Pop. I keep telling him that." I glowered at my lover. "George and Mary's boy, Tommy, lost control of his sled. He was heading straight for the pine tree."  

"Oh, no!" Pop knew which one.  

"Carr managed to nudge Tommy's sled and change its direction, but the runners tangled, and Carr scraped his face on something before he knocked himself silly."  

"Edward, that was so … "  

"Reckless," I inserted.  

"I did what had to be done." He sounded uncomfortable. At the praise, or because it had been twice in one day that he'd scared me spitless?  

"I want to get him into a hot bath. He's soaked."

"Don't talk about me as if I'm not standing here leaning against you."  

"You're shivering, and…"  

"Don't treat me like a child, Lieutenant."  

"Don't pull rank on me, Colonel."  I began to hustle him out of the kitchen. "Pop, maybe some tea with honey?"  

"That's a good idea, sweetie. I'll put on a kettle, and I'll have Benjamin shovel more coal into the furnace."  

"Thanks, Pop." I muttered under my breath, so she wouldn't hear me, "At least he'll be good for something."  

We went up the stairs, through the bedroom, and into the bathroom.  

"Sit on the john. I'm going to start the tub."  

I put the stopper in the drain and turned on the hot water. Before too long I knew the room would be filled with steam. I added some cold water so he wouldn't wind up looking like a lobster, then shut it off.  

When I turned to my lover, he was wrestling his jeans down his legs. They were stuck just above his knees.  

"Geez, you're worse than a kid! Sit, I said." I pushed him down onto the commode and got the wet denim and the longjohns he wore under it off him. His legs were cold and covered with goose bumps. "Now get in the tub! And don't trip on the rug!"  

"Yes, s-s-sir." His teeth were starting to chatter. He eased into the tub, groaning as the heat seeped into his muscles. "Oh, god, that feels good!" He closed his eyes and leaned back against the warm porcelain. It was a deep tub, and the water was up to his shoulders.  

I gathered up jeans, longjohns, shirt, and undershirt, and dropped them into the wicker hamper, took a few thick towels from the linen closet and draped them over the radiator so they'd be warm when we were done, and then stripped off my clothes.  

"Scoot forward a bit?" I climbed into the tub behind him and sank down. My legs were on either side of his, my cock pressed against his lower spine, and I pulled him against me and kissed his cheek.  

"I'm in heaven."  

"You very nearly were. When I saw you lying there, on your back, out cold…"  

"I'm sorry, Andy; I didn't mean for you to worry, but it's up to us to protect the weak and the young."  

"That wasn't even our kid," I grumbled.  

"Baby…" He tipped his head sideways and kissed my jaw. "Would you want a child?"  

"I don't think the Air Force would look too kindly on two men raising a child alone. Besides, who'd stay with the squirt while we were on assignment?"  

"Geraldine?"  

"What?"  

"Oh, not that she would stay at our place, but we could leave Tinker, Jr. here if she had no objections. You've told me time and again what a great place this was to grow up in."  

Suddenly I couldn't catch my breath. "I never thought… could we really…?"  

"I think General Cameron would back us. There are a lot of orphans who need a good home. And we could both put in for a transfer to the Air Force Base that's about twenty miles from Blanchardville."  

"Rickenbacker AFB? That's… that would be… Oh, fuck. We're forgetting Hamilton ."  

"Andy, why would he object? Our child would be the grandson of the woman he loves."  

"He's twenty-nine."  

"I thought you were going to give him a chance."  

"Yeah, but… Look, Pop doesn't know this. When I was fourteen… "  

"Tinker, did Hamilton ever touch you? Molest you?"  

"What do you … Geez, *no*!"  

"If he had, I'd have killed him. Even if Geraldine does love him." He pulled my arms tighter around him. "The water's getting cool." I freed an arm, leaned around him, and turned on the hot faucet. "All right, tell me what happened when you were fourteen. It won't make any difference, you know."  

"I hope it won't, but… "  

"Tinker, just tell me."  

"Okay. See, I'd been playing baseball since I was six, so it wasn't unusual that I made the Blanchardville High Redlegs in the fall of my freshman year. I was really happy about it, but I broke my wrist and was out the rest of the fall season."  

"You never told me…"  

"Carr, kids break bones all the time. I'd forgotten about it until just now."  

He brought my wrist to his lips and kissed it. "There. All better."  

"That's the wrong one."  

He took the other one and kissed it as well. I reached under the water and tickled his navel. He wriggled and would have gone under if it hadn't been for my other arm around him.  

"Dammit! Are you okay?" Water splashed over the rim. I wasn't worried about it, I knew the rug would absorb it. "I'm sorry…"  

"It's all right, baby." He relaxed against me.  

"It's not. You could have gone under!"  

"I knew I wouldn't. You had me."  

"Carr. I love you so much."  

"I know. Now finish the story before I turn into a prune."  

"Yes, sir. Now, you see, the thing about Blanchardville High is that one locker room is set aside for the boys on the baseball team in early fall and spring, and the boys on the football team in late fall and winter."  

"Hold it a second! The water's getting too high!" He used his toes to pull the chain connected to the plug and let the excess water run out. When it was down to an acceptable level, he put the plug back in. "Okay, continue."  

I was tempted to tickle his navel again, but it wasn't worth drowning him. I drew in a deep breath. "Well, it was after the first football game of the season. I wanted to explore the team's locker room, and I took the opportunity to sneak in. I wandered up and down the rows of lockers, jumped on and off the wooden benches between them, then went to explore the showers.  

"I thought everyone was gone, but I was wrong. I heard someone whistling, and then Ben Hamilton walked out. He was the star quarterback, and that year, his senior year, he was the captain of the team as well. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and another one draped around his neck. God, Carr, he was…" I cleared my throat. "He had dark chest hair, and it wandered down in a line to disappear beneath the towel. As he walked, I caught a glimpse of naked thigh. And then the knot gave, and the towel fell to the floor. I got an eyeful of naked cock, and my eyes almost bugged out of my head."  

"Was he hard?" Carr's hand was rubbing my thigh under the water. "Watching you watching him?"  

"You're a dirty old man." I laughed in my lover's ear. "No, he wasn't hard. I was only fourteen, and a gangly fourteen at that, all arms and legs.  

"Anyway, he was so calm about it. He bent down and picked up the towel and covered himself. 'Looking for someone, Anderson?' he asked.  

"My mouth was dry, and I couldn't get a word out. I made my eyes meet his. I shook my head and bolted out of there as if the demons from hell were after me."  

"So that was the first time you'd ever seen a naked man?" I nodded. "Did you ever talk about it?"  

I laughed. "No. We hardly moved in the same circles. I doubt if he ever thought about that day. Like I said, I was just a gangly fourteen-year-old."

"But he knew your name."  

"No… Wait a second. You're right. That's odd."  

"Mmm. I think we'd better get out of the tub, baby." He displayed his fingers. "I am turning into a prune."  

"But I love you anyway. Stay put." I got out and pulled the plug. The water formed a miniature whirlpool and gurgled as it went down the drain. I took a towel off the radiator. "All right, out you come."  

"I feel much better," he murmured as I dried him off.  

"Good." I knotted the towel at his hip, took another one to dry myself, and snatched a kiss. "Y'know, Pop said dinner wasn't for an hour and a half." I gripped his towel at the waist and led him into the bedroom.  

Carr glanced at the clock on the night table. "That's still forty-five minutes." I grinned at him. "Shouldn't we go down and help her with the rest of the preparations?"  

" Hamilton can handle that. Why don't you lie on your stomach, Colonel? I believe you could use a nice, relaxing massage."  

He looked intrigued, then returned my grin as he tossed his towel aside. "I believe you're right." He made himself comfortable while I went back into the bathroom for a bottle of oil. I poured some into my palm to warm it, then straddled his thighs and let the oil drizzle onto the long muscles of his back. I nipped his neck, then set to work stroking and kneading the firm flesh under my hands.  

"I want you sooo much," I breathed in his ear. My cock was nestled in the crack of his ass.  

"Then take me, baby." Carr rocked back against me.  

"Carr?" I scrambled off him.  

He rolled over, his legs sprawled wide, and his cock jutting toward his belly. His eyes were on my cock, which swelled under his gaze and quivered in arousal, and we both licked our lips.  

"But we've never…" My face felt hot.  

"Don't you think it's about time we did?"  

"But *you've* never…"  

"Not for a long time, baby. I want to with you."  

My mouth was drier than it had been the day I'd seen Ben Hamilton come out of the boys' shower.  

Carr scooted to the edge of the bed, placed his feet flat, and arched up, offering himself to me.  

My hands were still slick with the oil I'd used to massage him, but I poured more into my palms and coated my cock.  

Passion colored his cheeks. "Andy," he growled. "Don't tease. I want you. Now!"  

My fingers were trembling as I touched his puckered opening, pushed gently, and felt silken heat grip my finger.  

"You're so tight!" I gasped. I made sure there was plenty of lubrication, and then I removed my finger and replaced it with my cock, taking my time as I breached my lover's hole. Finally I was completely in him, and I shuddered.  

I entwined my fingers in his and brought his arms above his head, and began thrusting into him. The first time he groaned, I froze. "Carr, what am I doing wrong?"  

"Nothing!" He rocked back and hooked his ankles behind my waist. "You hit my prostate! Oh, god, do it again! I forgot…"  

Too relieved to be jealous of who before me had treated him to such sensations, I started to move again, and he matched me thrust for thrust. I'd never felt anything like this. It was vastly different from having my cock gloved by his hand. I moved faster and faster, squeezed my eyes shut and opened my mouth to draw in more oxygen.  

The hair on his chest chafed my nipples. His cock was trapped between our bodies. He freed his hands, grabbed my ass, and squeezed the cheeks, and his fingers rubbed my hole, making me jerk and drive into him even harder.  

"Yes, that's… Oh, yes, baby, again! The hair on your groin… Oh, jesus, every time you move I can feel it rubbing against my cock."  

Electric shocks seemed to shoot through every extremity, and my balls drew up.  

"Come… come with me, Carr." I could barely pant out the words. "Please, come with me."  

"Yes," he growled. His legs tightened around my waist, his teeth closed over the tendon on the side of my neck, and he bit down gently.  

And we both came.  

****  

We were both very relaxed when we came back downstairs. Carr was limping a bit, but he assured me, "I'm fine, baby. I'm better than fine, and we will definitely be doing that again!"  

"Yes, sir!" I squeezed his hand and poked my head into the dining room. Although the centerpiece had been removed to the sideboard and the Christmas placemats and napkins were in place, the table hadn't been set yet. "Pop," I called, "We'll set the table."  

"Thanks, sweetie," she called back from the kitchen. "I was waiting for you two to come back down. Do you still want that tea, Edward?"  

"No, thank you, Geraldine. I'm feeling much better now. I'm sorry you went to that trouble for nothing."  

"It's all right. I'll use it to water my plants."  

"Uh…" He looked confused, and I wanted to kiss him.  

"It's good for them. C'mon, Carr."  

He followed me into the dining room. "Look at these!" He examined the placemats; cream linen edged in red and green and with embroidered sprays of holly and ivy. The napkins were a perfect match.  

"Mom and Pop bought these their first Christmas together."  

"They're beautiful."  

"Thanks. They mean a lot to us." The good China was kept in the China hutch, and the sterling silver flatware was in the buffet beneath it. I opened the doors, took out the dishes, and held them out to him. "If you wouldn't mind, Colonel?"  

"Not at all, Lieutenant." He cupped the back of my head, drew me close enough to kiss, then paused a breath away. "After your earlier actions, I'm your devoted slave." He let me go, stroked his knuckle along my cheek, then took the plates. I stood there, bemused, as he placed them before each seat. "The silverware, baby?"  

"Oh, right." I opened the middle drawer of the buffet. "The wine glasses are up on the top shelf. Let's get this done, and then we can see if Pop needs any help in the kitchen."  

"I thought that's what Hamilton was for."  

"Yeah. That's right. Yeah."  

"Baby…"  

We went into the kitchen. Pop was at the stove, and again I noticed that there was something about her …  

"Is there anything we can do to help, Geraldine?"  

"If you'd take the mashed potatoes and creamed spinach inside? As soon as I finish the gravy everything will be ready. Tinker, would you take the biscuits and the butter? Benjamin sliced the pork, and he'll take that."  

I looked around. "Where is Hamilton ?"  

"Here I am." He came out of the pantry with a couple of bottles of red  wine. He was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, a far cry from the suits he'd wear in his father's law office, but he still looked every inch the successful man. "Tinker."  

" Hamilton ."  

Carr put down the potatoes and held out his hand. "I'm Edward Carruthers."  

"How do you do?" They shook hands. "You're Tinker's colonel, aren't you?"  

"Yes. I am." Carr gave him a friendly smile. 

"Gerry has spoken of you. I'm pleased to finally meet the first man in space. I understand you're part of the family too."  

"Yes. He is." I waited to see if Hamilton had anything to say about… anything.  

What he did say was, "Call me Ben, why don't you? Seeing as how…"  

"Benjamin," Pop rested her hand on his arm. "Later, darling?"  

Hamilton — *Ben* -- took her hand and folded it into the crook of his arm. "Whatever you say, darling." He smiled down at her – not too many men in town were taller than Pop – and his smile was …  

I swallowed. Was that how I looked when I smiled at my lover?  

Pop's smile was incandescent, and she touched her fingertips to his cheek.  

I cleared my throat and said gruffly. "Let's go in to dinner before everything gets cold."  

****  

Throughout the meal I watched Ben and Pop. He held her chair for her, made sure she was settled comfortably, and before he took his seat, he offered the platter to her so she could take the best slices of roast pork. It was done so naturally, and I realized they must have done this before.  

He sat at the bottom of the table, opposite from her, and he passed biscuits and butter before she even had to ask, before he took any for himself.

And it suddenly hit me what was different about Pop. She was at peace. I'd never realized it, because I had never seen her any other way, but the choice she had made all those years ago had been like an invisible cloud, always hovering over her. Now, because Benjamin Hamilton accepted her, it was gone.  

Under the table, Carr nudged my foot. I looked across at him, and he smiled and raised his glass of wine in a silent toast.  

****  

Dinner was done, the wine was finished, and what little leftovers there were had been stored in the refrigerator.  

"Pop, instead of coffee, let's have the eggnog that Carr made."  

"That sounds like a good idea, sweetie. I saw it in the refrigerator earlier, and I knew Edward must have made it. Neither of us ever had any success when we tried to make eggnog ourselves."  

"I could have gotten good at it," I groused.  

"I'm sure Edward is a very good teacher."  

I thought of him, caring and patient the first time we'd made love, teaching me that it didn't have to be the way it had been with Van Heusen, and I blushed bright red.  

"Uh… I'll clean up the kitchen, Pop," I volunteered. "Why don't you all go in the parlor. You can light a fire in the fireplace, roast some chestnuts, admire the way Carr and I decorated the tree. But no opening the presents until I get there!"  

"Isn't it early to be opening presents?" Ben looked curious.  

"It was a tradition in my mother's family for each child to open one present on Christmas Eve."  

"Tinker and I continued after Julie…" Pop's lips became a thin line and her eyes were sad, and I hurried with the explanation.  

"We open the rest before we leave for church on Christmas morning."  

"That's a nice tradition. I wish my family had done something like that." Ben cleared his throat. "I'll help with the dishes." His offer startled me.  

Pop looked from him to me, then glanced at Carr, who was watching us with interest. "Shall we?"  

"Sounds good to me."  

"The chestnuts are in the pantry. I'll get them. Tinker?"  

"I'll get the pan, Pop."  

"Thanks, sweetie." She went to get the chestnuts.  

The pan in which the chestnuts would be roasted was in a cabinet below the kitchen counter, black from all the fires it had been in. I took it out and gave it to Carr.  

"You'll need a knife to puncture the chestnuts too, so they don't explode," Ben said. He went into the drawer that held various utensils and found a paring knife. "Here you go."  

Carr took it as well. "I'll start the fire." He gave me a lazy grin and headed for the parlor.  

"Don't you go shaking the presents!" I called after him.  

Pop came out of the pantry. "Don't take too long, or you'll both get what the littlest pig got."  

"You won't have time to miss us, darling." Ben's eyes followed her as she left.  

"All right, do you want to flip a coin to see who washes and who dries?"  

"Gerry usually… she lets me wash." Was he hesitant?  

"I assume you know where the dishwashing soap is?"  

Ben opened the cabinet below the sink and took out the bottle of the green liquid. He put in the sink stopper, started the water and added the soap, then filled the second sink with clean water to rinse the dishes.  

While he was doing that, I went to the drawer where Pop kept the dish towels. I took out a Christmas-y one and slung it over my shoulder. In the drawer next to it were the aprons.  

"Heads up!" I tossed him one, and he caught it, tied it around his waist, and rolled up his sleeves. "This is new." The apron said, 'Kiss the cook!'  

"Er…" He was blushing. "Gerry bought it for me."  

"Hmmm."  

"I wanted to talk to you alone, Tinker." He stacked the dishes in the sink.  

"I assumed as much."  

"Really?" He gave a rueful laugh. "Gerry says I'm transparent."  

"That isn't good for a lawyer."  

"True, but it's not a problem when I'm in a courtroom. I'm not facing her then." His expression was rueful, as if he knew how revealing that remark was.  

"Tell me something. What does your family think of you wanting to marry a woman Pop's age? How do they feel about the fact that you won't have any children with her? And did you tell them… ?"  

"No!" he interrupted. "That's between Gerry and me. As long as I show up in court every day and don't lose a case, my father doesn't care what I do. And as for my mother, having a grandchild would simply remind her that she's growing old." He looked into my eyes, and his eyes were very blue, very serious. "You've always been Gerry's whole world; d'you know how I envied that devotion?" He picked up the dishrag and set to work on the first dish. "I remember the first time I saw her. Oh, I had seen her around town, Blanchardville is a small town, how could I not? But the first time I really *saw* her was at the opening game of the football season, my junior year." His junior year? He hadn't even turned seventeen! "I had just intercepted the ball, and she was on her feet, cheering her throat raw. I nearly fumbled the ball. She was so beautiful, so vivacious… "  

Pop loved high school sports, and she had taken me to games even before I was old enough to understand the rules. When she cheered, I cheered.  

"Are you telling me you fell in love with her then?"  

He rinsed the dish, put it in the dish drain, and started on another. "I guess you don't believe in love at first sight?"  

I made a noncommittal sound, took the dish, and dried it. I'd been younger than that when I'd begun my first scrapbook of photos and articles about Edward Carruthers.  

"I always made a point of talking to her whenever I saw her, and she was always so sweet to me, but… I knew I didn't stand a chance. Hell, everyone in town knew Gerry didn't keep company with anyone. I stuck to girls my own age, but even when I went to college, none of the girls could measure up to my memory of her. I even… " He caught himself and turned back to the sink. "Well, that's neither here nor there. Things changed in my senior year at college."  

"I went away to the Air Force Academy."  

"Yes, you did. She was so proud of you, but I imagine you're aware of that. How couldn't you be? And when you were chosen to go to Mars… She read everything that was printed about that mission. So did I, Tinker. I called in favors from a congressman who was in my class in law school." Ben turned, and the soapy dish slipped from his fingers into the sink, splashing water on the floor and onto him. He looked down at the apron and took it off. "Damn. It's soaked through. I'll have to get changed."  

"Do you want a pair of my jeans? They might be a little short in the leg, but otherwise I think they should fit."  

"Thanks." He looked startled, and then a little ill-at-ease. "That won't be necessary, though."    

He didn't reach for his car keys and his coat and head for the front door. Instead, he walked down a short hallway and into the largest bedroom in the house.  

Pop's bedroom.  

I followed him.  

Against one wall was an antique double dresser that had been my mother's. After we lost her, Pop put her own clothes in it. Against another wall was an equally antique chifforobe that had been stored for ages up in the attic. I hadn't even noticed it wasn't in its usual place when Carr and I had gone up there to get the decorations.  

Ben went to it and opened a lower drawer, pulled out a pair of jeans, and tossed them on the big bed that was against the east wall, framed on either side by floor to ceiling windows.  

He toed off his shoes and stripped out of his jeans. The tail of his shirt hung over the curve of his ass, and when he bent to ease a foot into a leg of the dry jeans, the shirt rode up to reveal jockey undershorts.  

He realized I was standing in the doorway. He zipped his jeans and fastened the button at the waistband. "She loves you, and I…" He ran a hand through his hair. "I've seen the way you look at Colonel Carruthers, so you have to understand. I love her. I have for a long time."  

I believed him, I really believed him. I turned away but paused. "What about me and Colonel Carruthers? Do you have a problem with the fact that we're two men, and we share a bedroom?"  

"I'll tell you the truth, Tinker. If you weren't Gerry's son, I don't know how I would handle it."  

"You don't?"  

"No. I might not seek you out to be my friend, but I wouldn't cross the street to get away from you if I saw you coming. And if you or your Colonel ever needed legal representation, I'd be there for you."  

"Because I'm Pop's son? But Carr isn't related to her."    

Ben frowned at me. "Are you deliberately being obtuse? Don't you see how it is? I love Gerry. Gerry loves you. You love the Colonel, and because he loves you, he loves Gerry. And Gerry loves me. We form a circle."  

"Yes, I guess we do."  

"Tinker, I want to marry her."  

"Uh… yeah?"  

"And I'm asking for your permission."  

I would have thought he was being condescending, but his body language told me otherwise. He was worrying his lower lip, his fingers were picking at the seam of his jeans, but his eyes held mine. "All right, Ben. I just have two things to ask of you. Don't call me 'son', and don't expect me to call you 'mama'."  

He laughed. "That's a deal."  

"Okay then, hurry it up." I turned to go back to the kitchen. "We won't get our share of the chestnuts until the dishes are done."  

****  

The presents were stacked under and around the Christmas tree, forming tunnels for the trains to run through. There were a couple of large, bulky presents, one that had my name on it in Carr's handwriting, and others of various sizes, all wrapped in colorful paper and tied with ribbons of red or green or gold.  

The lights on the tree winked through its full branches.  

"This is Ben's tree, Tinker." Pop ran a gentle hand over the pine needles.  

"I thought so. You'll plant it as soon as the ground thaws?"  

"Yes, probably around the middle of March."  

I wondered if she'd plant it at the far end of the east lawn, where she'd be able to see it from her bedroom window.  

"It's a nice tree, Pop."  

"Thank you, sweetie. Knowing you accept Ben..." She blinked rapidly and cleared her throat. "I was telling Edward what a wonderful job the two of you did decorating it."  

"And I was telling Geraldine what a slave-driver you were." Carr joined us.  

"Me?" I widened my eyes and flattened a hand on my chest.  

He laughed at my attempt at innocence. "Who was it insisted each decoration be hung in a precise spot?"  

"That would be me." I grinned and bumped my shoulder against his. "Do you like the way the train and the village are set up, Pop? Carr was a big help, you know."  

"Ah. It's fantastic, sweetie. You've both done a marvelous job."  

"Thank you, Geraldine." Carr was grinning broadly.    

"Thanks, Pop." I kissed her cheek.  

"And Santa is bringing you a Pullman car *and* a sleeper car because you were away last Christmas." She kissed me back and pinched my chin.  

"This is an unbelievable train set you have, Tinker."  

"Thanks, Ben." I was surprised by the wistfulness in his voice. He crouched in front of the transformer, apparently enthralled with the layout. "If you throw the switch and push that button, smoke comes out the smoke stack and the whistle sounds."  

He extended his hands as if he were reaching for the throttle, then withdrew them.  

"Well, I imagine your layout is even bigger than this one, Ben."    

"You mean because I'm a Hamilton ?" His expression became shuttered. "No. I never had a train set."  

"What? How could you not?" Even in years when things had been tight, Pop had seen to it that there were at least tracks or street lamps or *something* for my village, even if she had to make it by hand. My favorite was the replica that she'd made of this house.  

"My father didn't believe in trains. Not miniature ones at any rate."  

Everyone in town knew that the Hamilton fortune had been made from the joining of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad.  

Pop's mouth tightened. She wasn't a swearing woman, otherwise I knew she'd have had some choice words to describe Ben's father. "Benjamin." She stroked the hair back off his forehead. "Every boy should have a train set."  

"Gerry, it isn't a big deal. I'm… I… "  

"It *is* a big deal. Since we'll each be opening a gift tonight… Tinker? Help me please, sweetie?" We dragged one of the large boxes from behind the tree and to where Ben stood. She straightened and beamed at him. "Merry Christmas, darling!"  

"Gerry… " He looked stunned, and I wondered about his parents. What kind of Christmases had they given him?  

"Open it!"  

He was hesitant at first, removing the wrapping paper very carefully, but then I guess the excitement and curiosity got the better of him, and he ripped off huge swathes of it.  

"Oh, Gerry!" Ben took a large silver club car from the box and ran reverent fingers over it.  The windows were opaque, and the shadowy images of the passengers were etched on the panes. 

"Do you like it?"  

"Are you nuts? Of course I like it!"  

Pop laughed with pleasure.  

"I'd like to give you your present." His face was flushed, and he glanced at me. I realized what he was about to do, and I caught my breath.  

Ben put down the train car, went to a red plush stocking on the mantle, and took out a small jeweler's box. He returned to her, gave a small smile and opened the box, and dropped down to one knee. "Gerry, will you marry me?"  

"Benjamin!" Pop's eyes filled with tears, and she raised him to his feet. "I'll be so happy to marry you, darling!"  

He slid the diamond ring onto her finger, seized her in a hug that was so tight she squeaked, and rained kisses all over her face, murmuring incoherent endearments. He was kissing her with an intensity that seemed somehow familiar. I realized that was the way I kissed Carr.  

Carr was watching me. "You're okay with this, baby?"  

"Okay?" I slid an arm around his waist and leaned against him. We were as good as alone. I pulled my lover's head down and murmured against his mouth, "Yes, I am."  

And I kissed him.  

****  

We were all flushed and giddy and laughing when we finally came up for air.  

Carr opened my present to him, a 24 karat gold chain and pendant, the pendant bearing the likeness of the Defender. The reverse side was engraved with the signatures of her surviving crew members – Mary Royce, Major Perdue, Lieutenant Calder, and me.  

"Thank you, Andy." He fastened the chain around his neck.  

"There's… uh… something else in the box."  

"Oh?" He took out two plane tickets and held them up. "You want to go to Virginia ?" He was puzzled by my choice of destination.  

"That's part of it." I was almost vibrating with anticipation. "Keep looking."  

Carr removed a slip of paper and unfolded it, and his eyes grew damp as he read it. "Tinker. This is…  I don't know what to say."  

"They were your men." I'd arranged to have a granite memorial stone erected in Arlington National Cemetery for the lost crew of his ship, the Defiance . "They deserve to be remembered."  

"Yes, they do." He fumbled for a handkerchief and blew his nose. "I'd like to see it."  

"I thought you would."  

"So that's why the plane tickets to Virginia ."  

"Yes. We can leave early and go before we have to return to Base, or we can go whenever you want to."  

"You'd be willing to leave Blanchardville to spend the New Year in a cemetery?"  

"Carr, it doesn't matter where we are, as long as we're together."  

He blew his nose again.  

"It's your turn to open a gift, Tinker." Pop was flushed and her eyes were shining, and she hugged Ben's arm to her.  

"Yes!" I was as curious as she to see what my lover had chosen for me.  

"Here you are, baby." Carr put the other large box on the coffee table. It was wrapped in paper covered with snowmen.  

I tore off the paper and flipped open the lid of the box, to find another box within it. "What…?"  

Carr just grinned.  

This box had Santa wrapping paper. When I opened it, I found a smaller box in paper covered with reindeer with shiny red noses.  

The box in that one was wrapped in paper that had holly and mistletoe all over it, and I opened it to find the smallest box, wrapped in gilt paper. I tore the paper and removed the top.  

"Carr!" My voice was choked, and I blinked rapidly. Inside, lying on black velvet, was a sterling silver key. My hands were shaking as I took it out.  

"It's engraved. I told you I intended to get you something as appropriate as the one Geraldine gave you." Carr eased the chain I was never without over my head. The dog tags and the key Pop had given me clinked together as he undid the clasp. He took the key from me, slid it down the chain to rest next to Pop's key, and fastened it around my neck.  

I pulled him into my arms and kissed him.  

The inscription read, Always remember I love you. And the road leading home leads to me.  

****  

I put Christmas music on the record player, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry. We cracked open the chestnuts and popped them into our mouths, and drank Carr's eggnog.  

"This is the best eggnog I've ever had, Edward!"  

Pop was right. It went down very smoothly. I poured myself another as my lover raised his cup to her, grinning.  

"I thank you, and Grandpa Carruthers thanks you."  

"Here's to Grandpa Carruthers!" I toasted. I wanted to make another toast, but I realized my cup was empty. I frowned and refilled it.  

"I'd like to propose a toast," Ben said. "To the love of my life — to Gerry."  

"And to the love of mine. To you, Ben." Her smile was misty.  

"To Pop and Ben!" I had to refill my cup again. And what the hell, "To us, Carr!" I blinked and squinted at him. He was standing by the fireplace. "Why is the fireplace moving?"  

He came to me, took the cup from my hand, and put it on an end table. "I think you've had enough, Lieutenant. I should have warned you how potent Grandpa Carruthers' eggnog is."  

"I'm not drunk!"  

"Perhaps not, but you're feeling no pain. I think I'd better take you up to bed."  

"Yes, do me a favor and go away. I've been waiting all night to get Gerry under the mistletoe!"  

Pop blushed and smiled. "Why do you think I tacked it up in the doorway?"  

"That wasn't there before!" If it had been, I'd have taken the opportunity to kiss my lover every time we passed under it.  

"Let's go, Andy." Carr's hand was on my arm, and he started leading me out of the room. "We're putting a damper on things for the young folks."  

"Yeah, but… Shoot." We were through the door, and I'd missed my opportunity to kiss him. Well, I could kiss him upstairs. "Okay. G'night, Pop. 'Night, Ben."  

"Goodnight!" they called in unison.  

We went up the stairs, I kissed him, did a sketchy version of our usual bedtime routine, kissed him, and got under the blankets. I kissed him once more, settled into his embrace with a drowsy murmur, and nuzzled the spot where his neck and shoulder joined.  

He tipped up my chin and kissed me. "Go to sleep, Lieutenant, or Santa will never come!"  

"Isn't that Mrs. Claus' worry?"  

"Scamp!" he growled and nipped my ear, then spread me out and slid into me.  

And connected to him like that, I fell asleep.  

****  

It wasn't snowing when we woke up, but the sky was once again overcast and promising more. We ate a quick breakfast and went into the parlor to open the rest of the presents – clothes, gadgets, books, records.  

Time passed so quickly that we had to dress in a hurry in order not to be late for church. Ben drove us in his Cadillac, and the car's heater kept us toasty warm. Pop sat beside him in the front seat, and Carr and I sat in the back.  

The pews of Son of God Lutheran Church were filled with all the men and women I'd grown up with, and their children, their parents, and in a number of cases, their grandparents.  

And while Reverend Mayhew read the gospel, telling of the first Christmas, Carr hooked his little finger with mine, and we were connected once again.  

After the service, greetings were kept short. Everyone knew from the looks of the sky that we were in for quite a storm. We made it back home just as the first flakes began to fall.  

"Tinker, will you help me with the turkey?"  

"Wouldn't you rather have Ben?" I was staring at the mistletoe. Carr was just a few feet away from where it hung in the doorway, and I intended to maneuver him under it and kiss him. "I mean, Ben's the one who'll be working with you in the kitchen from now on."  

"No, I need to talk to you." She and Ben exchanged smiles.  

"Well… sure, Pop."  

Carr looked vaguely regretful. He'd been staring at the mistletoe also. He caught my glance, gave a slight grin, and shrugged, and I followed Pop into the kitchen.  

She turned on the oven, preheating it, then set to work gathering the ingredients for the stuffing. She'd made the bread cubes in advance. "Get the large bowl, please, sweetie? I thought I'd make it with hazelnuts, this year."  

"Sounds good, Pop." The bowl was on an upper shelf in the cupboard. I stretched a long arm for it, and then put it on the table.  

"What did you want to talk to me about, Pop?" I took onions and celery out of the refrigerator and placed them next to the sink. They'd need to be washed, peeled, and chopped. I rummaged through the utensil drawer, looking for the paring knife.  

"Tinker, when Benjamin and I marry in the spring, I'll be moving out of this house."  

"But Pop… this house has always been your home."  

"Sweetie, once we're married, Benjamin's house will be my home."  

"Of course. You'll be selling this house, then." I turned away so she wouldn't see how the thought of this house leaving our family affected me. Ben's Christmas tree would be planted in his yard, but my mother's would be left behind. Would the people who bought this house be kind to it? I got myself under control. Pop deserved to be happy, and I wasn't going to be a baby about it. "Well, Mulberry Street isn't too far, and Carr and I can stay at Blanchard House when we come to visit."  

"Oh, Tinker, no! This house is yours! How could you think I would sell it away from you?"  

"But if you live with Ben, you won't need another house."  

"Tinker." Pop washed the stuffing from her hands. "Edward told me you both were planning to apply for a transfer to Rickenbacker Air Force Base." She went to the small desk that was beneath the telephone on the wall, picked up a wide, flat envelope that had a fancy bow on it, and handed it to me.  

Inside the envelope was the deed to the house. My name was on it.  

"Sweetie, this house is *yours*!"  

#####  

"And that, Gerri, is how your daddy and I came to live here in Blanchardville, in the house I grew up in."  

"And you lived happily ever after!"  

"Yes, we did." I dropped a kiss on her honey-brown hair. We all did.  

General Cameron had seen that we'd got our transfers to Rickenbacker AFB, but Ben was the one who had found the young woman who would be unable to keep her twin babies once she had them. He assisted us in the adoption process, and from the time they had been three days old, Gerri and Eddie had been ours. Carr suggested we name our little girl after Pop, and I'd gotten misty about that. He wanted our son named after me, but I'd been firm about naming him Edward. He'd gotten choked up.  

Ben also provided us with Mrs. Andrews, the smiling woman who had been his nanny. She cared for our children while Carr and I were at the Base and made sure there was a substantial dinner on the table when we got home. And at night she retired to the suite we had created for her out of a couple of bedrooms on the second floor. She was just down the hall from the room the twins shared while they were still in their cribs. As they grew older, Gerri, a few minutes older than her sibling, moved into my old bedroom, which had been suitably redecorated for a little girl, and Eddie had the one just off the playroom.  

Our six-year old daughter gave a little bounce, and I winced. She looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Pop."  

"It's okay, pumpkin." Three years before the experimental jet I'd been testing had stalled over the ocean and tumbled out of control into the Atlantic . I'd been able to eject, but my entry into the rough waters off North Carolina had been a bad one. I never would have thought water could be so hard. I'd broken every bone in my right leg – femur, tibia, and fibula, as well as my hip.  

It had taken a while for me to heal, and Pop and Mrs. Andrews had taken turns fussing over me, but Carr was even worse.  

"Look on the positive side," I kept telling him. "I'll know if we're going to have a change in the weather even before the weathermen!"  

"I'd rather be surprised, baby. I don't like seeing you in pain." He'd eased into bed beside me and held me.  

I opened my mouth to tell him it was fine by me, but he kissed it shut before I could say a word. 

Now Carr was lounging against the parlor doorframe. "Baby?" He had seen me wince.  

"I'm okay."  

"She's not too heavy for your leg, is she?"  

I pinched her chin. "No, this little lady could never be too heavy." I grinned at my lover. Above his head was a sprig of mistletoe. "Excuse me, pumpkin."  

Our daughter followed my gaze and giggled. "Are you going to kiss Daddy, Pop?"  

"Why, yes. I believe I am."  

Gerri giggled again and slid off my lap. "Eddie, Pop's gonna kiss Daddy!" She ran off to find her brother.  

"Unless you want an audience, you'd better be quick about that kiss, baby."  

"That's fine with me." I used my cane to help me gain my footing and limped over to him.  

"You always say that."  

"It's true." The kiss was long and unhurried and tasted of the coffee he'd had earlier. "Besides, Pop will keep them busy." I kissed him again.  

In the hallway, someone cleared his throat. "Actually, *we're* keeping them busy." Ben had his jacket on, although it was unzipped. At his side was his son, a sixteen-year old who was the spitting image of him down to his black hair and blue eyes.  

Benjamin Hamilton II was the result of a college tryst. Ben had thought he had no hope of winning Pop, and when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant, he asked her to marry him, but she refused. Maybe she realized she'd never have first place in his heart.  

Pop had written to me about it while Carr and I were on the East Coast, awaiting our transfers. Benjie had turned up on their doorstep a couple of weeks after they had come home from their Niagara Falls honeymoon.  

His mother's husband had shoved him toward Ben. 'I'm tired of having your cuckoo in my nest,' he'd snarled. 'Carol's having *my* baby, and she doesn't need your bastard any more!'  

Benjie had gone pale, and Pop wrote that sometime afterwards he'd told her that was when he'd finally realized why the man he'd thought of as his father all his life had never loved him no matter how hard Benjie tried to please him. 'I should have hit him harder, Tinker.'  

Pop had hauled off and socked him, knocking him on his ass. 'If I ever see you in this town again, I'll come hunting you." She'd squeezed her fingers into a fist, then shaken them. 'I've got a shotgun, and I know how to use it!'  

'You didn't break a finger on this scum, did you, darling?'  

'No, but it would have been worth it.' She'd put an arm around Ben's son. 'You're welcome here, Benjie.'  

'I'm gonna sue!' The man had gotten to his feet, rubbing his jaw.  

'Try it,' Ben growled. 'I'm taking you both to court. Carol might not have told you, but my family has a great deal of influence in this state, and I assure you, I will be awarded legal custody of my son.'  

'Keep the little brat! We don't want him!'  

'Henry…'  

'Shut up, Carol! This is all your fault, anyway! 'And *you*, Mr. High-and-Mighty Hamilton! You owe me room and board for keeping your brat for eight years!'  

Ben took out his wallet and threw a wad of bills at the man's feet. 'Take it and get out. And if you come back here, Gerry won't be the only one you'll need to worry about.'  

The man had scrabbled to pick up the money. Then he'd grabbed his wife's wrist, muttering and grumbling under his breath that it wasn't nearly enough. She'd looked back once, and then let him drag her away.  

Pop hadn't said anything about Benjie's mother in front of the boy, but privately, she wrote, she'd asked Ben what he had ever seen in her.  

'She looked a little like you, Gerry.'  

Benjie had been wary at first, but it hadn't taken Pop long to win him over, and as for Ben, he was overjoyed to have his son living with them and spoiled the boy with affection as he himself hadn't been spoiled.  

Carr and I thought he was a good kid and liked him a lot, and although technically Benjie was my step-brother and Carr's step-brother-in-law, he'd called us 'uncle' from the start. As he'd grown into his teens, he often volunteered to baby-sit Gerri and Eddie, who adored him; Mrs. Andrews would have some time to herself, Carr and I would be able to go out for a romantic dinner, and he'd have some spending cash. Ben didn't want him growing up without knowing the value of work.  

"It's Christmas Eve, Uncle Ed!" Benjie exclaimed. "We're going sledding!"  

"That's great!"  

Our kids peeked out from behind Benjie. "Can we go sledding too, Daddy? Can we, Pop?"  

"It's Christmas Eve, isn't it? Sure you can go!"  

"We're going sledding! We're going sledding!" They hopped up and down.  

"Okay," Carr clapped his hands together to get our children's attention, "last one to the mudroom is a monkey's uncle!"  

They ran down the hall to the kitchen. "Poppy, Poppy! We're going sledding!"  

"We're going sledding." Benjie grinned at us, then sauntered after the twins. Ben's grin was identical, and he followed his son.  

"I think we're due for a major snowstorm." There was a dull ache in my right thigh, and I dug my fingers into the muscle.  

"Do you think it's a good idea for you to go sledding today, Andy?"  

"I wouldn't miss it. And I'll be careful, I promise."  

"I'll be there to see you are." He looped his arm through mine, and we walked down the hall, his pace accommodating my limp.  

"Hey, Unc, I can't find Eddie's mittens," Benjie shouted. "Oops, sorry, I didn't realize you were already here. Have you seen them?"  

"*Daddy! Pop! Hurry*!"  

"Sounds like the natives are getting restless," Carr chuckled.  

"Did you look in the sleeves of his jacket, Benjie?"  

"Yep."  

"His pockets?"  

"Yep."  

"*My* pockets?"  

He hit his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?"  

"You're not a daddy yet."  

Ben paused in winding a scarf around Pop's neck. "And you'd better not be for a very long time!"  

Benjie blushed. "No, sir!"  

I swallowed a grin. Rumor had it that his father had been sexually active for some time by the time he reached Benjie's age.  

The twins were bouncing with excitement. They had new Flexible Flyers they were dying to try out. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"  

We went.  

****  

Hours later we returned to the house, wet, tired, and happy. Pop had brought dry clothes for her, Ben, and Benjie, and they went upstairs to change.  

"I'll get the twins into a warm bath." Mrs. Andrews smiled at them indulgently. Eddie and Gerri were drooping, and I imagined she'd see they had a nap before coming down to dinner. They wouldn't have wanted to miss opening the gifts that Santa had left early on Christmas Eve. Once they were in bed, we'd put the rest of the presents under the tree.  

"Thanks, Mrs. A. Captain Frost and Lieutenant Sanders haven't arrived yet?" Frosty had promised once again to try to spend some time with us.  

"No, Captain. I'm sorry."  

My happiness dimmed a little. I was anxious to show off my family, and I wanted to meet the lieutenant who had saved my friend's life in the Himalayas .  

Pete Sanders had been a second lieutenant then, and James Frost a first lieu-y, and that mission had given them both promotions.  

The government had learned of rumors of an Abominable Snowman who ranged those mountains and sent in a squad to determine if capturing this creature would aid in learning about cold weather survival.  

An airman had gone missing from their base camp, and because Frosty was in charge, he had gone after him. When Frosty didn't return, his second-in-command took up the search.  

Sanders had found both men in a cave, Frosty out cold, and the airman, who turned out to be my old chum, Johannsen, struggling half-heartedly to fight off the romantic advances of a very large, very hairy, very horny creature the locals called Yeti.  

I'd had a dream once about The Creature from the Black Lagoon. He had slid his long, glistening cock into the scientist who had come in search of him. Was that what Sanders meant in his report, that Johannsen had become the mate of the Yeti?  

Sanders was able to get Frosty out of there, but when he took some men to go back for Johannsen, they'd been unable to locate the cave, and because Frosty needed immediate medical attention, the rescue attempt had been abandoned.  

I hadn't understood why General Cameron himself had signed Johannsen's orders; I'd asked him about it.  

'Apparently Johannsen tried to get in touch with you shortly before Christmas. I believe you had already left the Base, so he came to see me, demanding a transfer to the West Coast. If I didn't agree to his transfer, he intended to go to the press and reveal the fact that you and Colonel Carruthers were living together in a manner that the Air Force did not condone.' He'd given a hard grin. 'It isn't smart to threaten a general.'  

"Andy, there's still time." My lover's arm was around my shoulder.  

"Sure." But Frosty had always seemed to find an excuse not to turn up. "But I'm wondering if he still has feelings for me and doesn't want Sanders to find out about it."  

"I hate to break it to you, baby, but I'm inclined to think Captain Frost has been over you for quite some time. He had the Lieutenant with him when they came to see you in the hospital. I've only seen one man look at another the way Sanders looked at Captain Frost."  

"And how was that?" I was relieved to think Frosty had finally found someone who loved him as he deserved to be loved.  

"Like he would kill for him, die for him." Carr stared into space, lost in reverie.  

"How would you know how that looked?" Had he seen that expression reflected in the mirror? I remembered he had bottomed for someone else before me, someone he must have loved very much to allow him to do that, and I started to get jealous. "Who have you seen looking like that?"  

"Andy, it's the way you look at me. Now," he continued briskly, ignoring my sudden intake of breath, "you need to get out of these wet clothes before you catch your death of cold."  

We had taken over the master suite on the first floor, and he urged me to it.  

"Absolutely, General." I stripped out of my clothes, leaving them all over the floor, and I went to work on his clothes. Then I tumbled him onto the large bed and sucked and nibbled my way up and down his body.  

****  

I'd just finished tucking in my shirt when the door chimes sounded, the first notes of The 1812 Overture.  

"I'll get it," Benjie shouted, thundering down the stairs.  

"That's a teenager for you," Carr chuckled.  

"Who do you think it could be?" I had given up on Frosty. "One of Benjie's girlfriends, maybe?  

"Why don't you go and see, baby?"  

I picked up my cane and headed for the front door. Benjie was just opening it.  

"Hello," I heard, "I'm looking for Captain Anderson?"  

"Unc!" Benjie called over his shoulder, "Someone to see you. Some 'two' to see you, and they've got luggage!"  

"Frosty! I was hoping you'd make it this time!"  

"I promised, didn't I?"  

"You've promised before."  

Abruptly, Frosty grabbed me and pounded my back, and my cane fell out of my hand. "Damn, but it's good to see you, buddy!"  

"Hey, I'm glad to see you too!" I freed myself and punched his shoulder lightly. "It's been too long."  

"I'm sorry. My assignments have been crazy, and I… "  

"Well, never mind, you're here now. Come in, both of you! We're heating the whole neighborhood."  

Benjie snickered. "Yeah, you'd better come in, or he'll ground you!"  

"Scamp." I swatted his butt as he closed the door. "This is my brother, Benjie."  

"So you're Benjie. I'm pleased to meet you."  

"I'm pleased to meet you too, sir."  

"Andy, you remember Lieutenant Sanders, don't you?"  

"Captain." The blond lieutenant extended his hand.  

"Of course! How could I forget the man who saved your life when he rescued you from that Yeti? How are you, Pete?"  

"I'm good, thanks." He seemed pleased that I'd remembered his name. "I really didn't do much. I just went after Jimmy when he didn't come back to camp."  

"That was a big thing to me, Pete. If you hadn't I'd be dead!"  

"Or part of the Abominable's harem!"  

Benjie had been listening, and his eyes widened, and he turned a shade of green. I cleared my throat.  

Pete colored.  

"Benjie, would you tell Pop there will be two more for dinner?"  

"Sure, Unc. Here." He thrust my cane at me and hurried to the kitchen. "Pop!"  

"Sorry about that, Captain."  

"It's okay. I guess someone is going to have an interesting conversation later."  

"Yeah." Frosty rocked back and forth on his heels. "Say, should you be on your feet?"  

"I'm fine. How long can you stay?"  

"We've got leave until the New Year, if you're willing to have us."  

"Don’t be an ass, Frosty. Of course Carr and I are willing to have you! Aren't we, Carr?"  

"Certainly." Carr was walking toward us.  

"Ten *hut*!" Frosty and Pete snapped to attention.  

"At ease, gentlemen. It's good to see you again."  

"It's good to see you, sir."  

"I'm sure you'd like to freshen up and get settled in."  

"Yes, we would, General."  

"I assume you'll want to do the honors, Andy?"  

"Yes."  

"All right. Don't put too much pressure on that leg. I'll see if Gerry needs a hand in the kitchen. Gentlemen, I look forward to seeing you at dinner." He nodded at them, gave me a look that made me catch my breath, and went to the kitchen.  

"Wow."  

"What 'wow', Frosty?"  

"If Pete looked at me like that, I'd be melting into a puddle on the floor."  

"Jimmy."  

"Yeah, babe?" Frosty turned to look at his lover, and he caught his breath.  

"C'mon, you two." I laughed. "I'll show you to your room." I limped up the stairs with them behind me. "I think you'll like this room. It's a good room for lovers."  

I opened the door to the front bedroom.  

****  

Christmas night. We had eaten to repletion, and all that was left was crumbs.  

Frosty and Pete had gone out for a walk in the brisk night air. They said they wanted to walk off dinner.  

Gerri and Eddie were sprawled on the floor, playing Don't Wake Daddy, a board game Santa, courtesy of Pop and Ben, had given them, and giggling with abandon as they tried to move their pieces from their bedroom to the kitchen without waking Daddy.  

Benjie crouched before the fireplace. He'd taken over the job of roasting chestnuts. Every once in a while he would gaze around at us, his family, and he'd duck his head and smile.  

Pop and Ben sat side by side on the piano bench, Ben playing the harmony. Their shoulders were touching.  

Pop looked over her shoulder and smiled at me. "'Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays… '"  

Carr put his arm around me. "There isn't, is there, baby?"  

"No, Carr." I rubbed my chin against the hand that cupped my shoulder. The key he'd given me years before was warm against my chest, hanging next to Pop's key and my dog tags. I smiled into his navy eyes. "And wherever you are, that's home."

~End~

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