REUNITED

Katherine spent some time alone in the chapel before retracing her steps so she could return to her rooms. She passed quite a few gentlemen along the way who all bowed courtly to her and introduced themselves. She thought it a little odd that everyone of them knew her name This delayed her quite a bit, so by time she finally arrived back at her rooms, her stomach was reminding her that she had not eaten anything other than one piece of fruit for over 12 hours. She paused outside the door feeling the presence of another immortal inside the room, while at the same time noticing the name placard edged with her Keith clan tartan that had been placed on the heavy wooden door.

~ Lady Katherine ~

Midwife

The presence inside was very familiar, so she did not hesitate opening the door. As soon as she did, the smell of food caused her tummy to rumble. Connor was sprawled out on the couch reading a book. What looked to be a full course meal was spread out on the coffee table. When the door opened he looked up and grinned at her, looked her up and down with undisguised admiration.

"Looking good, m'Lady! You always did dress up nice. I heard you wanted to spend some time alone in the chapel, so I thought I would wait for you here. Hungry?" he asked as he sat up straight and patted the spot beside him on the couch.

"Starving!" she said with a giggle as she sat down beside him. He couldn't resist pulling her closer to him and nibbling on her neck.

"So am I," he said in a low voice.

"Behave!" she ordered as she reached out to look at what was under the covers on the platters. " I haven't eaten since really early this morning."

"Yes, m'Lady," Connor said with a chuckle as he took one last nibble on her ear which caused her to squirm and laugh before reaching for plates for both of them. The food was excellent and they both put a good dent into the heaping platters full of delicious food before finally deciding they had eaten enough. As usual she just had a very small serving of the wine, while he pretty much wiped out the rest of the bottle. After they were done, he loaded up every thing in a dumb waiter that was on one of the inside walls and sent it on its way back to the kitchen.

Returning back to his position by her side, Connor pulled her once again into his arms and renewed his attack on her neck and ears. "I'm still hungry!" he told her, a wolfish grin on his face, "And a sweet little thing like you would be a perfect dessert." This time, however, she made no effort to push him away. Groaning softly, his mouth found hers as one hand started undoing the tiny pearl buttons of her high neck blouse. He had just gotten far enough to were he could slip a hand in and cup one her small breasts in his hand when there was a loud knock on the door.

"Go away!" he growled under his breath but Katherine just laughed at him while pushing him away. She quickly rebuttoned the shirt as she walked to the door.

She opened it up and smiled brightly when she saw it was Ev and Rayden outside it. "Come on in," she said as she pulled the door open and stepped out of the way.

"Thank you, Katherine," Ev said with a chuckle, not missing the one skipped button on the petite immortal's blouse and the slightly mussed look to her new friend's hair. She glanced over at Connor who was obviously pouting. "We didn't interrupt anything, did we?" she asked innocently. The Highlander didn't even dignify Ev's not too subtle teasing with an answer.

Ev walked over and sat next to Connor, grinning at him and taking his hand. "Poor Connor. He finally gets some attention and then we have to interrupt him." She giggled.

Rayden shook his head and grinned, then turned to Katherine. "We wanted to let you know that we're going back home to Mood House. We would really love to have you stay with us until you have your own place. There's plenty of room. I think you would like it there."

"Why do you call it Mood House?" Katherine asked.

Ev started to giggle again, and even Connor chuckled a little this time. "It changes according to our mood." She giggled. "Usually it looks sort of like a miniature castle from the outside with a huge courtyard and four big towers with the largest rooms in them. Sometimes its made of brick, sometimes stone, one week it was logs. I forget the occasion. Then sometimes its four separate houses that are all different."

Rayden smiled down at Katherine. "I like to play with it. One thing I don't play with is the meditation garden. It has fountains and benches and lots of separate little areas that are wonderful for times you might like to be alone. There is something for everyone."

Katherine looked a little skeptical, but she was too polite to question what they said. She figured she would find out soon enough. "Sounds lovely! Especially the gardens." she looked over at Connor. "Is that where you have been living?"

Connor grinned at her. "Yes I have, but after the twins are born I hope to get us our own place. Maybe up river from the Mood House. There is a wonderful place at the bend of the river that would be perfect to build a house on. And the meadows there would be perfect for raising horses."

Ev smiled at them both. "I hope you won't be too far away from us. Oh, I almost forgot. You will love the view. Its too beautiful to be real sometimes. You can look over half the island and way out to sea from the towers. I just love it there."

Rayden took Ev's hand and brought her up into his arms. "I love anywhere you are." He wrapped himself around her and smiled. "I want to get you home so you don't tire yourself out." He looked to Connor and Katherine. "Will you be coming to stay with us? We can get some rooms ready for you."

"I would like that," Katherine said. Glancing over at Connor, she seemed to be checking if that was ok with him, but no words passed between them.

Connor then added."I want her to stay here and get aclaimented some more. We can ride out there in a couple of days"

Katherine looked back at Ev and then asked, "Does anyone else live there with you?"

"Oh yes. Father Alec did, but I think he's going to stay here now. He's needed more here in the chapel. John Clayton, Lord Greystoke lives with us. I call him Johnny." Ev grinned affectionately. "He's a sweetheart. Probably out climbing trees right now. He's keeping an eye on the place, feeding the horses and everything, while we're gone."

"My mother will be joining us when we get home. Did you forget? I think father will be coming with her this time." Rayden couldn't stop cuddling Ev while he talked.

"Would you mind having an extra around? I met someone today that needs my help in a certain area. His name is Dani.", Katherine asked. Connor turned and looked at her curiously, then chuckled to himself. Katherine elbowed him in the ribs and told him to hush, it wasn't anything like that.

Ev smiled. "I know who he is. We'd be glad to have him stay with us, too. The more the merrier." She kissed Rayden's cheek before turning back to Katherine. "You sure make friends in a hurry. I'm glad you're enjoying it here."

Rayden smiled suddenly. He had his hands stroking Ev's belly as the babies started kicking again. "The babies are awake." He announced. He was fascinated, feeling the little hands and feet that seemed to be trying to push their way out.

Katherine chuckled and walked over to Ev and knelt beside her."Do you mind?" she asked with a questioning look.

"I don't mind." Ev tried to smile, but now that the babies were so big, this was hurting. She leaned back into Rayden's arms for comfort.

Katherine very gently touched her belly, feeling around. As she did, she crooned softly to the babies inside in her native Gaelic. Then with just her fingertips she did a light massage on her distended belly, make very small circles. As she did so, Ev felt her stomach muscles relax, and the pain faded.

"Oh, thank you. That feels so much better." Ev sighed. "I'm not due to the 4^th of July supposedly, but I feel like I'm about to pop already." She smiled at Rayden and kissed his cheek again.

"I've been making sure she rests and gets whenever she wants to eat and as much sleep as she can. But she's getting so uncomfortable and I can't fix that." He sighed and kissed Ev's cheek..

Katherine looked at Rayden appraisingly, then turned her attention make to Ev. "Believe or not, they are still on the smallish size, I would say at least another 4-6 weeks or so before they are ready for their debut. Rayden, you can help with her discomfort with the gentle massage I was doing and other things I can show you."

"I would love to be able to make Ev more comfortable. I feel what she feels, you know, through our bond. This is all quite an enlightening experience for me." He kissed Ev again. "We should be going so she can rest again." His eyes glittered with mischief as he looked at Connor and Katherine. "So we can expect you in a couple of days?"

Connor nodded. "I would like to have a little time to ourselves to get reacquainted. Hope you don't mind."

Ev giggled. "Why on earth would we mind, Connor? We have to get reacquainted every time one of us has to leave the room! I can't imagine being separated for such a long time!"

"Enjoy yourselves, then, and we'll have a place ready for you two and for Dani whenever you get there. We're taking the short cut." Rayden grinned and hugged Ev to him. They waved and then disappeared in a shimmer of lightning. Just as they disappeared, there was a shimmer and a tickly feel of little electrical pulses all over Katherine and when they disappeared, she was wearing an elegant nightgown of silk and lace that perfectly framed her slender figure.

As much as he appreciated the view, the look of surprise on Katherine's face at finding her self *undressed* in such a manner made Connor double over with laughter. Katherine glared at him for a moment, standing with her hands on her hips. "And just what is your problem?" she growled.

Stifling his amusement, he schooled his features and sat up; only to break out in laughter again at the stern look on her face. That got a sofa pillow tossed at him, which he promptly threw right back at her. That resulted in starting a wrestling match that ended up with them both on the floor, with her pinned underneath him. Taking full advantage of the situation, Connor nuzzled her neck, nibbling on it while enjoying the sounds of her giggles and the feel of her slender body pressed up against his. After a moment, he stopped what he was doing and looked deep into her crystal blue eyes.

"Ah, Kat, my bonny little lass. I have missed you so much," he said softly while his hand gently stroked the side of her face.

"And I you, Captain Connor me darlin'. Now would ye please be letting me up?" she asked with a tender smile, her eyes shining with her deep love for him. Connor made a show of reluctance, but then rolled off of her, and lay on the floor on his side watching her as she stood gracefully up.

Straightening the lovely gown Rayden has caused to appear on her, Katherine walked over to the door of the bedroom. She turned and grinned at the Highlander, who was still sprawled out lazily on the floor.

"Coming?" she asked with a soft, musical purr to her voice. Not waiting for an answer she turned and headed for the bed, knowing that he would be following right behind her.