“Lucky!Uncle Chaun!”Pip raced ahead, stopping short when Ford didn’t release his hand, looking the picture of a harried parent.Pip must have done it before, because he quickly apologised and waited patiently for Ford to reach the table and release his hand.
“Hi, sweetheart.”Lucky drew Pip into the seat beside him.
Chase slid across the bench to sit at the window and leave room for Ford, who ducked in to kiss him.Chase shook his head in exasperation, knowing better than to challenge his public display.
“I didn’t realise we’d have a special guest.”Lucky wrapped an arm around Pip, who beamed at being called special.
Ford laid an arm over the bench as a waitress stopped to deliver a third menu, one kids’ menu, and a colouring kit that distracted Pip.“I went to tell Wynna I got signed off my usual meds.”
Chase cut in.“Signed off?Wasn’t today your first session?”
“Yup.”Ford looked pleased, no doubt hating the mandated requirements of active duty.“I’m cleared for duty and bumped to weekly therapy for the rest of the year.”
“Why not?”
He focused on the menu, though Chase could tell from the tension in his shoulders that it was a mask.“I normally get a dose of Bittersweet to regulate me.Seems Dr.Kai thinks I already got a good dose of Bittersweet in my life.”Looking up, he pointed at Lucky.
“What?”
Ford leaned his elbow on the table and tucked his chin into his palm.“She says you both do the same job as Bittersweet and I don’t need the synthetic stuff,” he said, making it clear that he not only agreed but approved, and Dr.Kai had just won his everlasting loyalty by accepting their bond.“I found Wynna filing paperwork, with Pip colouring in the corner.Since it were late in the day, I figured why not all have dinner now with the kid and we can sneak snacks later.”
Pip laughed, obviously sharing an inside joke.
“Fucking Azrah, you’ve got Pip wrapped around your finger,” Chase muttered, not sure whether to be fascinated or terrified.
“We’re much the same, ain’t we?”Ford stared at Pip with affection, and Pip was quick to nod, which meant he understood what Ford meant.
While Lucky brushed at Pip’s hair and spoke quietly with him, relaxed and happy, Chase focused on Ford.“You happy about how therapy went?You don’t feel it’s too soon to be signed off?”He might be worse off, if the therapist hadn’t done her job properly.Ticking a box was fine, and rushing an agent into the field would be understandable in their line of work, but he didn’t want Ford to suffer.
“Nah.Dr.Kai knows me.I had a bit of a meltdown last time.She called it spiralling,” Ford admitted, glancing away to avoid having to look at Chase.“Got all stuck in my head, drinking to make mysel’ sleep, pissed off all the time.She thinks I were grieving for my mate.”Ford shrugged, though he’d already told them there was no emotional connection to his true mate.“Something ‘bout delayed and repressed emotions that morphed into grief I couldn’t understand, because I been burying it so long.Yada yada.Ain’t make sense to me, but she’s a good doc.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Thanks for caring, meda.”
Of course he cared.They were mates, and they’d gone far beyond a distant attraction or hiding from the truth.Across the table, Lucky was keeping Pip focused on his picture, but from the darted glances up, he was also keeping an eye on Ford and their conversation.
“Why did you pick that colour, Pip?”
“I like green.”
“That’s a good reason.”Lucky lifted a pink pencil and hovered the tip over the paper.“Can I colour in a cloud?”
“In pink?”Pip cocked his head at the paper.“Okay.”
Chase closed his menu, knowing what he’d get and what Pip would want.While he’d love to sit next to Lucky and get closer to that intoxicating scent of contentment the bond created, he loved this more.Watching Lucky and Pip, with Ford by his side, his heart was happy.
“Can I see Uncle Kain again?”
“Kain?”Chase sensed where this was going and glared at Ford.“Did you have him with you when you came to speak to Juniper?”
Ford didn’t even look repentant.“I was on my way to surprise you two, but you told me you both had one more class.I took Pip to the park until it was time for your lunch break.”
“You didn’t leave him in the car alone, did you?”
He snorted, laying his hand over Chase’s on the table.“I was gonna bring Pip wi’ me, but we bumped into Kain and he offered to sit in the car, to read him a comic book.It worked out, be happy.”He ducked in to steal a quick kiss that Chase wasn’t in the mood for.Damn him, he was charming even while admitting that he’d left Pip with a relative stranger.
“Thank Azrah I trust Kain.”
