Held To Ransome

Allies...

"Darling wake up!  Cal!" Tom shook her gently but insistently, "I've got amazing news! Wake up sweetheart!"

Callie, moaned and opened her eyes.  Squinting at the clock, it said the ungodly hour of 7am.  For normal people that was getting up time, going to work time, start the day if not with a smile then not with a moan of pain time. For her, today, it was torture "What you horrible cruel man?  You know I came to bed late!" she was smiling but now with her eyes tightly screwed shut again.

"Sorry love, I can't help it if you and Emily were talking all things weddings till 1.30am.  This is fabulous news!"

She sat up and looked at him sleepily, he smiled and kissed her softly. "It wasn't the talking" she admitted with a wince "It was the wine." and he laughed.  She'd been so funny coming to bed a little tipsy - something he hadn't seen before. He'd pretended to be asleep as she crept around the room trying to be quiet and giggling away to herself.  Once or twice he heard her saying "Look Loki in my bed" in a whispering sing song, and even once, as she convulsed in silent laughter "I've got Loki's Pokey Stick!"  It took all his self control not to join her.

 Now, slightly hung over and a little embarrassed, she sat blushing.  Did she remember what she'd been saying?  The colour of her cheeks suggested she did.  She looked more beautiful every day and right at this moment?  With her hair in a cloud of sleepy waves, her eyes wide like a fawn? She was just perfect.  He was so glad he had this morsel of news to tell her.

"There's a strike.  A writer's and technical strike.  Production on stuff in the pipeline is halted.  We're ok for Essex since it's pretty much done, but the explorer one is off for the moment.  I don't have to go away - and when I do?  Because of the delays, it will be somewhere wild and windswept but much, much nearer." he hugged her tightly and he could feel the relief and joy in her arms.

"Oh TOM that's amazing.  I'm so glad  - not that the poor souls feel they have to strike, of course not, but that you're not going away. Now THAT is worth getting up at this ungodly hour for.  Why don't we go out to breakfast to celebrate.  Somehow cornflakes and toast just don't seem enough today!" 

"Well, funny you should say that..." he stood up and proceeded to get dressed out of his joggers and t-shirt, "I have a little plan for today's outing.  If we leave early, we can get there for lunchtime."

"Where? What are we up to?"

"Put your best meeting-the-family face on love, time to run the gauntlet of my sisters.  Sarah and Emma.  Sarah is home at the moment so it's a good chance." he saw the utter panic in her eyes and the biting of the bottom lip.  "Oh sweetheart, they're going to love you every bit as much as Mum does.  She was the one that suggested it.  I think today is the perfect day to do it."

"Ok" she said in a small voice. "I'll do my best to be what they think you deserve."

"Oh God please don't do THAT - they think I'm an overgrown kid who needs to be kept in check.  Especially my ego.  You'll see" he laughed "a distinct disregard for fame.  Exactly what I've always loved about them though.  A bit like you.  You will LOVE them too." 

He bounced about like a six year old on blue Smarties and she had to laugh.  Older he may be, wiser?  Hmmm jury was still out on that one she contemplated as she brushed her teeth.  As she came back out of the bathroom, he was sitting on the stairs, waiting.

"Callie?" 

"Yes love?"

"Do - do you think you'll ever hear from your folks again.  I only ask because it might come up later and I want you to be prepared." he looked worried and she came to sit next to him, like a couple of little kids spying on the grownups downstairs.

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know Tom, I really don't know.  I tried a couple of times but Mum always just burst into tears on the phone and Dad refused to speak to me full stop.  I spoke to Richard and Grace again the other day and Richard said they just feel so guilty.  That they weren't here when I needed them.  He told them that nobody could have known what would happen.  Doesn't make a difference. I still love them but... " she paused, she was no longer upset by it, just disappointed. 

"He's right you know, no matter how much we might want to, some things just can't be fixed. Not unless everyone really wants it.  I just have to wait." she kissed his cheek. "But it's ok, I have you and them and Em and Terry and even Luke.  I only have to face The Sisters and I'm all set." she scrambled to her feet. "I take it 'early' takes into account a coffee and croissant stop?  I'm - as always - STARVING!"  she trotted off to the bedroom and Tom watched her go with a smile.  She was, as always incredible.

Washed, dressed, coffee'd and croissanted, they made it to his Mums for lunchtime as planned.  Taking a deep breath, she got out the car and held his hand tightly.  Walking up to the house, all grey flint and red glossy front door, she thought it looked picture perfect. There was the scent from some unidentified plants wafting in her nostrils - basic gardening was her limit - and the gravel of the drive crunched under her feet.  Everything seemed heightened by her fight or flight response which was firmly in the flight category at that moment.

Before they got to the door, it opened and there stood the the three women who'd been in Tom's life, for almost all his life.  Diana smiled but his sisters? They looked at Tom with a scowl and Callie felt herself blanche.

"Thomas! How dare you!" the older of the two sisters, Sarah, blurted out and he looked at her with venom. 

"Don't you forget who you're speaking to, you Harpie!" he retorted, his lips curled into a sneer.

"Oh how COULD we brother DEAR" the younger, Emma, one chimed in "your ego got here a full hour before you did. "

Despite the tension, Callie could feel a giggle rise at that one. She suppressed it.

They turned their attention to her now and she could feel Tom tightening his grip on her hand.  She tilted her chin up and met their gaze with nothing but a smile.

"So you're Callie eh?" the younger one - Emma - came out to meet them. She stopped and there was interminable silence then, suddenly, she hugged Callie tightly.  "Welcome to the family!" she stepped back and Sarah and their mum came out. "We're sorry, we just had to give him a hard time.  He's such a DIVA!" she rolled her eyes then hugged Tom as he punched the tip of her chin gently.

"You two are just horrendous!  See what I have to put up with?" he turned to Callie who, by now, had been hugged by Sarah and kissed by his mum.  She stood, arm in arm with them and smiled. "Oh I think your sisters are lovely!  Bright, articulate, shrewd and very very pretty.  Don't know what you're talking about!" she grinned and he stared, a look of horror on his face.  

"No, it can't be possible, she can't be one of them.  I'm done for, Gods help me!" He fell to his knees, head tipped back and arms held out to either side. With a shout to wake the gods he yelled.

"HEIMDAHL  OPEN THE BIFROST - SAVE ME PLEASE!"...