There were many ways that Nick imagined waking up in the morning. Most of them, involved several ways in which he could continue the previous night's activities. Alone time in a house with two children was hard to come by. It felt harder still with the latest changes in their life - her new job and his. Often, they both collapsed into an exhausted sleep before they could even get to anything more carnal than a goodnight kiss.

They hadn't let the rare opportunity for alone to pass them by. They had woken several times through the night, almost relearning each others' bodies. Nick had been insatiable. He was hungry in a way he never had been before and Betsy had been the only one who could cure his hunger. It had been the early hours of the morning before they had finally drifted to sleep, completely spent. 

Nick could have slept for days. He wanted to sleep for days. Yet, despite the lethargy in his arms and legs, he found himself pulled back into wakefulness. He kept his eyes closed, breathing deeply to try and catch on to the remnants of his dream. Now that the rare opportunity was here, with his diary clear for the day, he wouldn't mind spending an extra hour in bed if it meant he got to spend it with Betsy in his arms. He couldn't even place this feeling. It was so new. All Nick knew for certain was that he was content for the first time in months. 

A tension had existed between them since her attack - perhaps even before - a tension he hadn't even realised was there. Yet, it was clear to him now. A part of him had been holding back. A part of him still expected Betsy to turn around and walk away. She had done it once before even if he understood her reasons. Fear could claim anyone. But alone in the tent, with nothing between them, he felt all of that hesitation disappear. For better or worse, he was hers. He would go along with whatever she decided but only after he proved to her how much he had to offer her. How much they had to lose. 

Something snuffled at the side of his face. Tightening his hold around Betsy's waist, Nick buried his face into her curls. Again, there was more snuffling. Eyes springing open, his body immediately tensing as Nick glanced over his shoulder. And then he sighed loudly. 

"You are a bloody menace," he berated the horse, receiving a snort in response. 

Impatiently, the large stallion grabbed on to the corner of the blanket and tugged. It slid from their bodies allowing the call morning air to flood into the cocoon of warmth.

"No," Nick chastised, grabbing onto the corner of the blanket and starting a rather futile game of tug of war with his damned horse. If he didn't love the beast so much, he'd be tempted to sell the nuisance. 

"Nick," Betsy groaned sleepily, burrowing further in pillows. "Stop stealing all of the blankets."

 "Sorry, but it's not me." He apologised, giving another tug. The thin blanket, unable to take the strain, split down the middle so that both horse and owner were holding half. Blinking, his partner rolled on to her side and blinked. 

"Nick, there's a horse in our tent." 

Chuckling at her sleepy voice, Nick stroked a hand through her hair. "Thank you for stating the obvious." He said before covering her body with his half of the blanket. "Go back to sleep, I will deal with our little escape artist."

 Aware he was the subject of their discussion, his horse snorted. "Think you're funny do you?" He asked, leaning over the side of the pallet to snatch up his discarded jeans. 

Not bothering with underwear, Nick slid his jeans over his hips, before hastily stuffing his feet into his shoes. Then, he moved over to the horse and stroked a hand along his nose. After ensuring the mischievous stallion hadn't injured himself in the escape attempt, he gently guided him towards the flaps which separated the tent from the outside world. The horse reluctantly moved, his hooves clacking against the wooden floor while his snout bowed down to snuffle at Nick's pockets. 

"Enough of that, I have no treats in my pockets and after your behaviour, I don't think you deserve them." Nick chastised, patting the horse on the neck as he guided him out into the cool morning. 

He ignored the muffled laughter behind him as he stepped outside. His breath immediately turned to mist as he exhaled.  And then he released a  big sigh. Somehow, the stubborn mule has undone the fastening on the gate. The spare food had been knocked on to the floor. No doubt, he had been looking for apples. While his equine companion had remained within the corral, Warrior was clearly not so well behaved. 

"You need to start taking some tips from some of your friends, buddy." Nick instructed, leading him back to the makeshift corral and then closing the gate behind him. "I'm inclined not to give you any apples after your stunt." 

Even though he said the words, Nick knew he didn't mean them. The horse was like another of his children and he couldn't resist indulging him.

 Securing the gate as best he could, Nick addressed his horse in a fatherly tone he often used on his children. "Now, you stay in here until I let you out and I might give you an apple." 

The horse's ears flickered. While Nick wished that was agreement to his terms, he knew the horse would do whatever he wanted. He was a damned escape artist, finding a way out of his stall when it shouldn't even be possible. He had no clue how he would keep the damned horse contained. 

Giving the ropes one last tug, Nick turned on his heel and hurried for the relative warmth of the tent. His eyes immediately went to the pallet. Only a few curls were visible from beneath the torn blanket. The rest of Betsy was huddled on under the broken half, shivering at the cool air brushing over her naked body. 

Pulling a spare blanket from a basket in the corner, Nick carefully draped it over her body before leaning down to press her lips to Betsy's curls. Just because he had a rude awakening didn't mean that both of them had to suffer for it. 

Busying himself with making coffee and breakfast, Nick absently pulled his work phone from his pocket. For the first time in a long time, he had turned it on silent. He had been blissful to have a reprieve and be out of contact for a short period. Yet, when he clicked the home button, a flood of notifications greeted him. He knew his assistant would be handling them all. He trusted her with that. Yet, it was hard to let go. 

One of the missed calls however made him frown. 

The number was still saved into his phone even if he hadn't called or answered the calls of his 'step brother' for many years. What could he possibly want? Nick's relationship with his step family was fractured. After his father had favoured his acquired family over him in the will, giving them the family business despite how hard he had worked, their relationship had fallen apart. Before, he could almost remember times when they had been amicable. They had almost been like real brothers.

He shook his head and focused on pushing down the plunger on the cafetiere. It was a long time ago and going over ancient history would serve no purpose other than to remind him of past betrayals. He didn't want to dwell on that anymore. He wanted to focus on the future - a future with the woman behind him. 

"Mmm, is that coffee I smell?" 

Pouring a generous amount of coffee into two mugs, Nick returned to the pallet. Betsy sat up, flicking her hair out of her face and then blearily reached for the steaming mug. 

"Is it me or is it cold this morning? Autumn is definitely here." 

Nick smiled, leaning across to press a kiss to her shoulder. "And soon it will be winter and that means Christmas." 

Betsy took a sip of her coffee, her hand absently rubbing at her scarred thigh peeking out of the blanket. 

"How's your leg? I didn't hurt you last night, did I?" 

Her hand stilled, her eyes dancing with mirth as she peered up at him. "You didn't hurt me. At least, not in a way I didn't want. I know at times you think I'm delicate and need mollycoddling but I can assure you that I am not easily broken." She glanced down at her leg and massaged the tight muscles. "It's an after effect of the injury. It acts up in the cold, or when it's going to rain. I'm not sure that will ever go away." 

Nick glanced down. It was all his fault. If he had done more - protected her like he should have - she wouldn't have these after effects. A hand, hot from where it had been curled around her mug, pressed against his cheek. 

"Enough of that. I know what you are thinking and you need to stop blaming yourself." Betsy stated, her thumb absently stroking his cheek. He peered up at her through his lashes. "You need to stop torturing yourself over something you can't change. We both have to. It's something I've learned from therapy. Holding on to the 'what ifs' will just make us miserable."

"I would ask when you got so smart but I've always known you were smart." Nick turned his head and pressed a kiss to her palm. "Smart and beautiful." 

"I would ask what you wanted but you already know I'll give you everything - if I haven't already." 

Nick grinned, his eyes sweeping along the length of her covered form. He didn't need to see what was beneath, it was all firmly imprinted in his memory. "I may have to take you up on that -." 

His phone vibrated in his pocket causing him to jerk. Coffee slopped over the edge of his cup, soaking into his jeans. Cussing, Nick fished out his phone and stared at the screen. 

"Time to get back to reality?" Betsy asked, leaning her chin on his arm to stare down at the lit screen. Yet, he made no attempt to answer the call. 

Nick frowned and shook his head as the unsaved number flashed across the screen. "Nothing that can't wait." 

The words were no sooner out of his mouth before his screen was lighting up again, his phone buzzing angrily within his hands. Betsy leaned forwards and placed a kiss upon his shoulder. 

"It's okay. It must be important if they're trying to get hold of you this desperately." When Nick opened his mouth to protest, Betsy covered his lips with a hot kiss that made him even less inclined to answer the call. "Answer it. I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to date you. Besides, I need to get dressed so I can Facetime with the kids. Is it sad that I miss them and it's only been twenty four hours?" 

If that didn't strike at his heart strings, nothing else would. Dropping the phone onto the blankets, Nick grasped her face with both hands and pulled her into another kiss, this one hot and urgent. He groaned against her mouth, devouring the taste of her. How had he got this lucky? 

The phone started another round of its insistent buzzing between them. Pulling away, Nick rested his forehead against hers. She picked up the phone between them and pressed it into his hand. 

"Take the call." 

Reluctantly, Nick clambered off of the pallet, phone in hand. As it began its next round of angry buzzing, his slid his finger across the screen. 

"Davenport, speaking." He barked, his voice easily slipping into formality. Even as he listened to one of his divisional heads chatter on, his eyes watched as Betsy slipped into a t-shirt before digging out her own phone. The grin on her face was genuine and filled with joy as she chattered away to his children. There was no hint of disappointment. 

"Sir, are you listening to me?"

 "Sorry, carry on." Nick replied, forcing himself to focus on the voice chattering on the phone. 

His heart however was right with Betsy and their children. They were what he wanted most. His family. As if sensing his thoughts, Betsy lifted her beautiful blue eyes from the screen, a tender smile playing on her lips. 

"There's the woman I'm going to marry." The thought was so overwhelming that Nick muttered it aloud. And then, he blinked. Panic clawed at him. For a moment, Nick tensed, his gaze lifting to her face, expecting a reaction from Betsy. Yet, she showed no signs she had heard a word.

 Distracted, by the eager chatter of the children, her smile was wide and her shoulders relaxed.

 She didn't hear. 

Nick blew out a breath. That was too close. He could never regret proposing to Betsy but she deserved a proper proposal. She deserved more than to have the words blurted out because he was having a moment. 

Nick refocused on the voice droning in his ear all the while wishing he was part of the happy call happening just a few feet away. He just had to remember that everything he was doing, he was doing for them. That was reason enough.