xp_logs | Moira and Nathan and mercenaries and Kinrosses and jealous co-workers, oh my!

A pleasant evening is spent at the Bairn and the Dove. Then Rory arrives. On Muir, the situation is assessed, and Moira deals with all of the emotions coming home has provoked. (Friday evening/night)

In all the years the Bairn and the Dove had been open for business, it really hadn't changed much. Nestled near the docks, close enough to be able to have some atmosphere but far enough that there was no fish smell, the middle-sized, red brick building hinted at warmth inside its walls. The place had a simple design, with a hint of older pub days, to it. Moira paused as the group headed up the brick path to the door and smiled. It looked like Anna had kept her gardening skills up to boot, because the spring flowers were nearly overflowing in their abundance.

She leaned on the door just hard enough for it to swing open and her senses were assualted by familiar smells and sounds. That kind of old wood, musky smell, mixed with smoldering logs from the fire place (it was still chilly enough for a fire), mixed with the smell of drink and food. Billie believed, firmly, that a good pub meant strong, well-cared for wood. Every piece had been handstakingly carved by one of the locals, long since dead unfortunatly.

The place was pretty deserted, not surprising for the time of day. Moira grinned and cupped her hands around her mouth. "OY! 'ow 'bout some bloody service, ye ol' laze 'bout?!" She grinned over her shoulder. "This should be interestin', I dinnae exactly tell them we were comin."

"Surprise," Nathan said softly, remembering the last time the Pack had descended upon the Bairn and the Dove en masse. Not that it hadn't been a thoroughly enjoyable evening, but still... He eyed Dom and Theo in particular, remembering their rather heated game of chess. Theo actually looked ashamed of himself; Dom just stuck her tongue out at him. Bridge, bringing up the rear, was quite obviously trying not to snicker.

Moira didn't have a chance to respond as a sudden screaming came from the back. A tall blonde blur came tearing out of the back room and simply vaulted the oak bar. Anna barely gave Moira time to brace herself before bodily throwing herself at her older cousin, bellowing something that probably only Moira understood. The women staggered back and bumped into Theo, who merely laughed, but the two of them never stopped hugging.

"Moira! Ye dinnae TELL us ye were comin'!" Anna squealed as Moira laughed and attempted to breathe again.

"'ands off, Anna," rumbled a voice from the back. "An' let 'er old, forgotten uncle 'ave a chance." Moira, still staggered by Anna's welcome, barely had a chance to blink before she was swept up in a fierce embrace by Billie.

Nathan couldn't stop smiling. The pure, unadulterated joy coming from the link was impossible to resist, and the Askani were humming happily at the back of his mind, delighted by the whole thing. They were big on clan, after all. "Hey, Anna," he said, and tried not to yelp as she threw herself at him next.

Domino regarded the whole thing a little wistfully, but jumped as Theo leaned over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Repeat after me," he said, his 'whisper' sounding like a hundred bumblebees buzzing in unison in her ear. "'This is a good thing. I'm very happy to see everyone so happy.'"

She poked him in the ribs, then plastered on a cheerier smile.

Billie finally set Moira back on her feet and gave her a quick look over. "Ye 'avenae been eatin' enough." He looked over at Nathan. "'as she been eatin'? Anna, let th' poor man go! Good ta see ye back in me inn again."

"Good ta see ye two, Uncle," Moira commented, shaking her head ruefully. "I'm sure ye remember everyone..."

"I may be old, gowan, but I 'avenae 'it senility jus' yet." Billie grinned at Theo, Bridge, and Dom, and shook their hands in turn. "Good t' see th' lot o' ye again." He raised an eyebrow at Domino. As bartender most of his life, he was good at reading people. "Lass, ye look like ye could use one 'ell o' a drink."

"Maybe just one," Domino confessed. "Need to be fit to fly the bird out to the island tonight."

"Hey, I can be the designated pilot," Bridge said cheerfully. "Isn't like I haven't done it before."

"Can we eat?" Theo asked planitively. "I haven't eaten in... almost five hours! This is bad."

Nathan chuckled, sliding an arm around Moira and not missing Anna's firmly approving look. "Sorry, Billie," he said with a grin. "We usually bring extra provisions just for Theo. He tends to eat people out of house and home."

Billie waved a hand at him. "Dinnae trouble yerself. We jus' started up some o' th' food fer dinner. I'm sure we can find enough for th' lot o' ye. An' 'im." The smile he sent him was very similar to Moira's; the family resemblance was hard to miss. The other thing that was hard to miss, for Nathan at least, was the look Billie sent over Moira's head. The I'm The Closest Thing She Has to A Father And We *Will* Talk look.

"We'll get ye all served!" Anna agreed, grinning gleefully at the couple in front of her. "'ow lon' ye stayin' an' wha' do ye drink?"

Moira blinked, feeling rather like she'd just been run over by a truck by all this excitement.

***

"So," Nathan said casually, sliding into the booth opposite Billie, unable to help giving the older man a faint grin. Dinner had been nicely cleared away, and things had quieted down. "Shall we do this now, while we're both in a fairly mellow mood?"

Billie glanced up from his drink and then peered around Nathan quickly. "Good, Moira's nay payin' us a lick o' attention. Aye, I believe we shall." He leaned back in the booth and quietly eyed the younger man in front of him. "Ye realize I love th' lass like Anna, aye?"

"I know," Nathan said simply, setting his water glass down. Moira had leaned over at dinnertime and pointed out that mixing alcohol with the sleeping pills was not such a good idea. "Whatever you want to ask me, Billie, or tell me... I'm listening."

"She's been through a lot, I dinnae 'ave ta tell ye tha'." Billie looked down into his drink and shook his head. "I never approved o' Joe an' God knows I bought Rory more'n 'is fair shair o' drinks when 'e broke th' bastards nose. I want 'er ta be 'appy an' I like ye." He looked back up and under the white beard, his jaw tightened. "If I ever 'ear tha' ye've 'urt 'er, there'll be 'ell ta pay. I dinnae care 'bout yer mutation or yer guns, Nathan, they won't matter."

Nathan nodded. Billie had needed to say it, just like he needed to give the appropriate reply, and neither were any less heartfelt for being predictable. "I want her to be happy, more than anything," he said very quietly, pushing his water glass around the table in front of him, from one hand to the other. "She deserves it, and I'm going to do my best to make sure she gets it. I'm... retiring, I'd guess you call it, Billie. Going to start teaching over at Xavier's this summer." He smiled again, still faintly. "I know that's not a guarantee that things are going to be trouble-free, but I hope it shows you I'm in for the long haul." He dropped his eyes back to the water, falling silent for a long moment. "I can't promise you that I'll make her perfectly happy every day for the rest of her life," he said, even more softly, "but I can promise that I will never, ever treat her like Joe did. I respect her too much to ever do that."

The older man looked at him thoughtfully, nodding slowly. "It does tell me something, at tha'. I know 'ow much Moira worried an' fretted when ye went off on yer jobs. Remember th' time right after she stopped drinkin' when ye left. I stopped by, ta see 'ow she was doin', an' found her asleep at her desk, a bottle o' whiskey unopened next t' 'er. Never brought it up, but I can only imagine 'ow lon' she sat an' stared at th' bottle an' battled those demons o' 'ers."

Nathan's jaw clenched, and he couldn't stop the flash of pain from crossing his features. "She won't have to be alone like that again," he said, his voice a bit rough. "That much I can promise."

"Good. We really do 'ave ye ta thank for bringin' 'er back, Nathan." Billie suddenly smiled and shook his head. "But damn, if it dinnae take ye two th' longest time t' realize wha' was lookin' ye bot' right in th' face."

Relaxing a little, Nathan smiled back. "Terminally stubborn, both of us," he said, and then laughed aloud, drawing attention from the alarming little cluster of women and Bridge and Theo, who were bent over a checkers board. "There's a lake at Xavier's. She pushed me into it. Clarified some things."

Billie's eyebrow shot up, a smirk tugging at his lips "Clarified a lot o' thin's apparently," he mused, eyeing his niece. He looked back at Nathan. "Stupid question but one tha' 'as ta be asked. Love 'er?"

"So much it frightens me," was Nathan's quiet confession.

"Love'll do tha' t' ye," Billie said, a wistful look on his face as he thought about his own wife, thankful that he had had the time with her that they had been given. But he still missed her. "'Tis obvious tha' she loves ye as well. Ye do good by her, it seems, never seen her look so 'appy. Nay in years."

***

This was surprisingly... not as painfully awkward as she had expected, Domino reflected grudgingly, watching Moira and Anna babble happily at each other as she sipped her soda water. G.W.'s offer aside, that was her helicopter, and she wasn't letting anyone else take it on a night flight.

"God, 'tis been t' lon'," Anna said, sipping on her scotch slowly. She glanced from Moira to Dom and raised an eyebrow. "So. Nay coffee pots flyin', this time 'round, ladies?"

Moira glanced over at Domino, who glanced back and they both shrugged. "Give it time, we may want t' end up 'urtin' one o' th' boys sometime, soon."

"But not with coffee pots," Domino said blithely. "I've learned my lesson. The coffee pot is sacrosanct." She cast a wistful look at where Theo was on his second bottle of Glenmorangie. "Personally, I like those bottles better."

Moira snerked a little bit and took a sip of her coffee. "I'm sure'n Billie could be persuaded ta pack ye some before we leave," she responded. A glance over her shoulder had her eyes widen slightly. "Good grief, 'ow many plates is tha' stacked by 'is arm?"

"Looks like.... six, maybe eight." Domino looked away, shrugging. "I once saw Theo chase down a deer and eat it raw, while we were trekking through Siberia... um, looking for someone. He did offer some to me, but I decided to go for the MREs."

Instead of looking disgusted, Anna looked rather interested. "Tha's bloody well impressive, tha' is. Man would never go 'ungry like tha'."

She shifted in her chair and Moira eyed her suddenly. "Lass, are ye workin' out?" she asked, blinking. Her younger cousin seemed a lot more muscled than the last time she had seen her.

"A wee bit. We get some rowdy customers once in a while an' me da is gettin' older. So 'tis up ta me ta bust some 'eads now."

Domino smiled approvingly. "And I bet you're damned good at it," she said, eyeing Anna thoughtfully.

Moira rolled her eyes at her cousin and rubbed her chin. "I'll attest t' tha' right 'ook o' hers, tha's fer sure..."

"Oh?" Domino asked, and batted her eyes at Anna. "Do tell?"

***

"Going well," Theo observed, glancing up from the checkers board, first at the women and then Billie and Nathan.

Bridge snorted softly. "What were you expecting?"

Theo shrugged. "Excitement," he said lightly, or as lightly as his deep bass voice could manage. "Lots of volatile people in here."

"You're a pessimist, Grizz."

"Realist," Theo insisted, moving one of his piece. "King me," he said cheerfully.

***

Moira laughed as she watched Theo pretend to take her uncle on in an arm wrestling competition. No contest, of course, but he was letting the old man have his fun. She grinned up at Nathan as she leaned closer to him, but she also made sure to keep an eye on Anna and Dom. They seemed to be snickering an awful lot, their heads together except for the moments when they shot suspiciously amused looks at other people in the room. Things were starting to wind down, Moira realized, yawning. She had nearly forgotten what jet lag was like.

As she stretched and yawned further, the front door suddenly banged open. "Do I even want to know why the pub is closed for--Moira?" The British voice behind them was, in turn, irritated and then flabbergasted.

Moira turned, smiling. "Rory, 'bout time ye bloody well got 'ere," she called, standing up to head over. "Been 'ere for 'ours."

Nathan eyed Rory very carefully, all too aware of the wildly erratic thoughts the other man was projecting as he got a good look at the occupants of the pub and jumped to several conclusions. Out of the corner of his eye, he Dom straighten from her huddle with Anna and smirk across the room at him, that 'have fun, asshole' look on her face. He ignored her loftily, and let Moira make the first move.

"I would have been here had you called," Rory chided, watching as Moira walked over to him. She simply rolled her eyes at him and reached out for a hug, careful of the only arm crutch he used.

"So sorry ta disappoint," she replied, dryly, drawing back. "Ye look like crap. Wha' 'ave ye been doin', sleepin' in th' barn?"

"I've been crashed out on a couch since the invasion of the mighty citadel, remember?" Rory gave her a good look. "You, on the other hand, are looking well. Seems Xavier actually feeds his staff." He straightened slightly, an attempt not to lean so heavily, which he really only did later at night. The look he gave Nathan was rather hard to miss.

"Hey, Rory," Nathan said lightly, with the best friendly smile he could manage. "Been a while."

Theo stood up abruptly and wandered over to where Moira and Rory was standing, then just about lifted Rory off his feet in a bear hug. "My other favorite doctor!" he boomed, setting him back down carefully and grinning. "Still play parchesi, Doc? I think I owe you an ass-kicking."

Moira bit back a bark of laughter at the look on Rory's face as Theo plopped him back down on his feet, careful of the leg. "Well, um, yes I do. On occassion. When I have company." He nodded at Nathan. "Indeed, it has been a while."

"Well, ye'll 'ave company for th' weekend," Moira responded, not really enjoying the look Rory had sent her. "We're goin' ta be 'ere for a wee longer before 'eadin' ta Muir ta assess th' damage. 'ave ye been back?"

"No. No one's allowed to go back until you've arrived and signed that blasted paperwork. Apparently, W.H.O. didn't tear the place up. I hope."

Nathan blinked, staying in his chair. Rory gave every indication of focusing on the conversation, but the stream-of-consciousness rambling he was projecting was taking a rather nasty turn. Carefully, he reinforced his shields, determined he wasn't going to do the stereotypical male thing here. Moira had handled things beautifully with Dom; he owed her no less.

"Well," Bridge said easily from across the room, "we'll give a hand with the clean-up as well, if there's any needing doing. Gives us a chance to check the place out thoroughly for bugs and the like."

"Which is why we're here," Domino said with a bright smile.

Rory glanced down at Moira and frowned. "Think W.H.O. may have missed something?" he asked, actually not attempting to insult the people in front of him. "And why didn't you mention anything to me?"

"I'd rather be safe than sorry. 'Tis me Center an' I want ta make sure 'tis cleaner than th' Pope's bathroom by th' time we're done." She frowned at him and lowered her voice. "After tha' last conversation, I decided it may 'ave been better ta tell ye when we got 'ere." Moira glanced over at Theo who simply smiled. If he had heard it, he wasn't letting on.

Rory glowered a little, miffed at being left out of the loop. He was about to say something when his gaze caught the slight glint of metal on Moira's hand. For a second, his heart nearly stopped before he reminded himself that that was her *right* hand, not her left.

Oh, for pity's sake, Nathan thought with an inward sigh. That had come right through his shields. Maybe a little stereotypical male behavior was in order after all, he thought, getting up and coming over to where Moira and Rory were standing, deliberately putting an arm around her. "It's not being paranoid if they're actually out to get you," he said calmly. "And from the sounds of this Essex, some paranoia is probably in order."

***

She was where he had expected, out by the ruins. Best view of the ocean on the entire island, she had always claimed, but Nathan suspected the nearness of this spot to where Kevin and her parents were buried had something to do with its attraction, too.

"The others have called it a night," he said, making his way over to where Moira was sitting on a large chunk of stonework, her expression somber in the bright moonlight. She moved over to give him space to sit down beside him, and he did, sliding an arm around her immediately. "No bugs, no apparent deadfalls in the clinic or the part of the castle you use, but we'll do a more complete sweep in the morning. It's been a long day." She nodded, leaning against him, and he kissed the top of her head, letting the silence carry for a few moments. "Are you going to come in to bed?" he finally asked, softly.

"Eventually," Moira murmured, leaning into him. The cool night air felt good and she breathed it in, the smell of the ocean refreshing her a little. She'd stopped by Kevin's grave earlier that evening, picked the weeds and had a little chat. The practise had been repeated at her mother and father's graves as well. The ruins, apparently the first manor on the island, had been her favorite place as a child and it only seemed right that her first visit home in so many months that she came here.

"'Tis good bein' back, there's jus' a lot o' emotions right now. Some o' them nay so good."

"I know." He had waited for a while before coming to find her, knowing she would need some time alone. The sweep had killed a fair amount of the intervening time. As well as it had gone, he had been feeling a little uneasy, walking the halls of the castle, but there had been nothing there to see or sense to explain it. Dom had finally told him to go find Moira and stop worrying.

She snuggled closer and closed her eyes. "I 'ad ta tell Theo nay ta eat Rory," Moira admitted, frowning. "I think 'e was serious, t'. I'm sorry, I know 'e's bein' bloody impossible towards ye."

And her, she reminded herself. Rory had been giving her so much grief about leaving, about the short stay about, well, everything, that it was starting to drive her absolutely loony.

"Dom's of the opinion that he needs to get laid." Nathan cleared his throat. "She actually, um, offered."

Moira blinked and looked up at him, jaw dropping slowly. "She *offered*?" She stared, unsure if she should be horrified or amused. Or both.

"Not sure what she thinks it'll accomplish, but yes, she offered," Nathan said, very diplomatically not using Dom's precise words. He wasn't sure what Moira's reaction would be to knowing that Dom thought a little rough sex would do wonders for Rory's wounded pride. "I mean, she's always liked Rory..."

"She 'as? Where th' 'ell 'ave I been these past years?"

"You didn't know that?" Nathan blinked, honestly surprised. "The constant verbal abuse is her way of showing affection with most people, Moira. Well... except when it's someone she doesn't like." Oh, that had come out making lots of sense.

"Mmm, seem ta 'ave missed tha'. Was probably t' busy dodgin' an' throwin' shots meself." She thought about it. "If it'll make 'im stop actin' like a bloody loon..." Moira made an irritated noise at the back of her throat. If he hadn't been subtly talking down to her, Rory had been less than two feet from her side the entire time since they all had arrived back at Muir. Irritation levels were definitely on the rise.

Nathan nodded, deciding to say no more on the subject. Dom would probably go ahead and do it, one way or the other - she certainly hadn't been asking for permission - and at least this way Moira was prepared. "Don't worry too much about how Rory's acting towards me," he told her. "I'm a big boy, I can take it. And so long as he sticks to being snarky and vaguely petulant, we won't have to butt heads too much." But they would have to talk before the weekend was out, and Nathan was not at all looking forward to that.

Moira nodded and laid her head on his shoulder. She decided it was simply not worth worrying over. They had been friends for a good long while now, they'd be friends for some time more. Time would let him get over whatever he was going through. The wind suddenly picked up and she sighed, happily, at the slightly chilly breeze. "Now this, this is more like it," she murmured, enjoying the much lower temperature.

"Northern-born brats, the pair of us," Nathan said. "Though my north was a little colder than this one."

"Brat. Speak for yerself, love. Complete angel, 'ere." Moira smiled a little but didn't pry at the last comment. It wasn't often he spoke of his 'home' and she always let him speak on his own terms about it.

"You are a lot of things, Moira MacTaggart," Nathan murmured, smiling a little as she didn't take the opening he had given her. "But trust me, you are not angelic."