New Mutiny

Chapter 8

"There's my palm trees!" Becky didn't quite have her face pressed to the window the way a child would, but she wasn't far off. It was probably only her history as a flight attendant that was keeping her from touching the window as she gazed down ground, nearer by the second. The short side trip to Iowa had gone better than she had expected, and breakfast with Seth's mother ended up being quite fun. The flight back to Chicago was so quick it barely felt like they got off the ground before they were landing again, but the flight from Chicago to Orlando wasn't that long either; since they wouldn't be jumping many time zones, they might actually be able to enjoy the rest of their day. Warm weather, the beach, and Seth: Becky thought it sounded like the recipe for a lovely day.

"They have some in the terminal too, don't they?" Seth leaned across the armrest to see what had delighted her so much. He probably thought her fascination was strange, given all the greenery in England and Ireland.

Becky reluctantly sat back as the plane's descent grew a bit rocky. "I'm not sure. It's been a while," she said, "and I never spent much time in the terminal, really. I was always more excited to get outside."

Seth laughed. "I don't recall you packing a bikini...."

"Not much call for them on the commune," Becky replied, catching herself just before she said the pack lands. If anyone overheard, they likely wouldn't think anything of it—coupled with her accent, they would probably assume it was 'some quaint Irish thing'—but she knew she had to be cautious. Back home or even in England, she was on familiar turf. It had been years since she was in America and the differences ran far deeper than just what side of the road people drove on. Seth was going to be her anchor, but she also couldn't lose sight of his allegiance to The Authority. "I can pick one up here. It won't add much weight on the flight back," she teased, "and it'll give me a chance to go shopping too."

Seth leaned closer as the plane stopped and people started disembarking. "Do I get to help pick it out? Quality testing and all...."

Becky smiled up at him as she reached for her purse tucked under the seat in front of her. "I don't know. People kept encouraging me to hang out with Sasha and Bayley. Shopping sounds like a fun day...." She saw a flash of recognition dart through Seth's gaze and knew he had noticed that she hadn't included Charlotte in their theoretical plans, but he didn't comment. "Or both," she added quickly, wanting to smooth over the lull. "Like I said, bikinis are small. I could get two. Don't know what I'd do with them in London unless I wanted to add swimming to my workout, though."

Since they didn't have to contend with Customs this time, they were able to get through the crowds quickly—except, of course, when Becky wanted to stop to look at the palm trees. While she was admiring them, Seth's phone beeped and he dug it out of his cross-body bag. "Roman's here," he informed her. "Ready to go greet some other palm trees?"

"Sure." Just as with his mother, though, Becky felt her muscles bunch up at the prospect. She had at least met Roman before, but they hadn't interacted much; until she was on her almost-literal death bed, she couldn't even remember if they'd said more than five words to each other. "You're sure he doesn't mind? Some human spouses get tetchy if there's a werewolf of the opposite sex around, thinking we're going to make a move on them or something."

Seth shook his head, propelling her gently but insistently towards the baggage claim area. "Won't be a problem. Galina knows Roman's loyal. If anything, you'll have to worry about his kids, because they'll be delighted to have another werewolf around. Besides, there's plenty of room in my guest house," he grinned as he grabbed a baggage cart, "and I don't mind sharing."

"Your guest house? They have a guest house just for you?" Becky knew The Shield had been close, but she wasn't sure how deep the loyalty between Seth and Roman remained since Jon had left. The remaining two Shield brothers were definitely close, but it took a lot for a werewolf to trust someone with their children, so Roman obviously had a lot of faith in Seth.