* I'll Take Care Of You *

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-ONE

Cosmo raced on ahead of them as they strolled through the orchard behind the cottage, Pansy making little dashes to keep up, then hiding in the grass to leap out at them and bat at their feet. Urs had Niki in the carrier again, claiming that he liked the feeling of his son dangling from his chest and anyway it was his turn after Maggie had carried the little fellow for 9 months.

The fruit trees had flowered and set fruit, though not as well as they would next year after so many years of neglect. They had been properly pruned so the branches arced, like an open umbrella and the grass had been cut by Kosta with the ride-on lawnmower, very short around the trees, with the walks between rows left longer, just perfect for a half grown kitten to hide in.

“The gardener says these are plum, he thinks the yellow variety… and wait until you see what he found at the back of the orchard.”

“A cave full of Viking treasure,” Urs said with a laugh, not prepared to fret over anything today, he was so content with his life.

“Silly…though that would be fun. Grapevines…he thinks that he can coax the newest shoots to produce for us over the next couple of years and we can make our own wine or at the very least grape jelly. I can just picture you stomping around in a vat, singing and getting those long toes of yours stained purple.”

“Um…not me Baby…I volunteer to be the taster…you get to do the stomping. You watch, Niki, your Mami is going to try to coax me into stomping.”

“She is not…I don’t coax…or beg…I’ll just have to find myself a young Swiss Lover who loves to stomp grapes if you’re going to get old and boring on me already.”

He sighed.

“Do I have to sing in Italian?”

“Of course not,” she said with a grin. “It will be very special Swiss wine so you can sing in Swiss German. There, Nikolai, see how co-operative your Papa is?”

He smiled indulgently at her and took her hand, silently amazed at how well she had accepted, even relished, country life. For a woman raised most of her life in the city she was doing very well, had adjusted to small town living with a zeal that surprised and delighted him. It had been a concern of his at first when they moved to Willisau. Now he wasn’t sure why.

She had become a central part of his extended family effortlessly, just being herself, embracing each new experience, joining the choir, making friends, becoming fiercely loyal about supporting the local businesses, teaching part time in the Music Department at the Academy. Her cooking skills were remarkable now and she had branched out into making jams and conserves, pickles that he couldn’t get enough of…their larder was bursting at the seams and the growing season wasn’t even half over. When he mentioned this she just shrugged and said they would make good little gifts in the Christmas baskets they wanted to share this Holiday Season.

He listened to her humming as they walked along, enjoying the lovely day and thought of how she had turned this dream into a haven for him. She seemed to have a sixth sense of how he felt, what he needed and constantly created an atmosphere that soothed his nerves, inspired his creative juices, gave him the space he needed now and then to get his thoughts in order, alone, or to touch base with his friends, reconnecting. She didn’t cling, but when they were alone together she was totally there for him, ready to be quiet and snuggle, to just be present or to be wildly abandoned, whatever it was he needed.

And then of course there were the little surprises. The funny or endearing cards he had found tucked in his luggage when he traveled, the chocolate or cookies that always seemed to appear just when he needed a sugar boost, the birthday cake that had been special delivered to the Hotel on his birthday by Mami and Papa, their travel arranged by Maggie, the camping night out they had gone on the first night home, while Niki was still away…she had arranged everything up at the stream, just the way it had been for their wedding night, so they could celebrate, late but never the less, endearing and important to both of them.

Most important to his mental state were the IM’s, pictures and phone calls. She kept him up to date on Niki with a steady stream of photos and anecdotes on his progress, some that Heidi took with Maggie, some with other members of his family, Papa, Mami, Franz and Shannon, even the twins and Tante Sofia. Emmie came by and held her brand new engagement ring up to the camera for him to see, Yanni and Mina dropped by…it was like having a party, but online.

He would sign off after talking to Maggie and anyone else who happened to be visiting, feeling connected somehow, more at peace with the distance, still eager to be home but able to handle the separation better.

They had duly inspected the grape vines and the raspberry bushes that had, in spite of everything produced a good crop this year and were heading back to the house.

“What time is everyone coming tonight?”

“Shannon couldn’t get a sitter until 19h30 so they’ll swing by and pick up Marc and Sonja at 19h45…Yanni and Mina should arrive about then too.”

“Does this mean I have to shave?” he asked running a hand over the chin he hadn’t shaved in the four days he had been home.

“Absolutely not…this is your home, dinner with our friends…you know Franz will come in jeans and so will Marc. Relax, Swiss…every thing is under control.”

Urs pulled her to a stop and pointed to Cosmo who had gone on alert on the path in front of them, head up, hackles raised slightly, legs braced to attack if need be, nose pointing toward the nearby trees and working as he tested the scent coming to him. At only 7 months he hadn’t nearly reached his full growth but was still very impressive and very ready to defend his charges.

Niki had fallen asleep and Urs gently slid the carrier off, transferring it skillfully to Maggie as he watched the trees to see what the pup had sensed.

“What is it?” Maggie whispered, her only sign of fear the paling of her face as she too watched Cosmo.

“Don’t know….”

Urs urged her to move quietly behind the pup, past him and up the slight hill until they could see the cottage just below them. It wasn’t far now. He looked back and saw that Cosmo still hadn’t moved, which should mean that the danger hadn’t either.

“Maggie I want you to run to the cottage….if Kosta isn’t there, go on to the house and tell him where I am, to come and bring the .3006. Then lock the doors and wait for me.”

She nodded and gave him no argument, agreeing that it was imperative to get Niki to safety. Whether she could convince herself to remain at the house after the baby was safe would be another matter.

“Promise me…” He tore his eyes away from the treeline for a moment to stare into her eyes.

“Damn…I promise.”

She ran, her feet barely touching the ground, one arm wrapped firmly around the carrier and the sleeping child so he didn’t bounce around. As she neared the cottage she saw Kosta on the terrace of the main house, just going inside and fairly flew across the bridge over the stream, burst into the house moments behind him and delivered her message.

Kosta ran to the arms vault in the safe room, came back out with two weapons and shouted at Maggie and Heidi as he raced by and out the door.

“Stay here!”

Heidi put her hand on Maggie’s arm as if to force her to stay but she swore and shook her head.

“&%^$*#@*…he made me promise.”

She locked all the doors and windows with the automatic panel and climbed rapidly up the stairs to place Niki in his crib and go into the bedroom which faced in the direction of the orchard, hoping to see something. Heidi joined her and they watched as Kosta jogged over the grass, met up with Urs, both checked their weapons and then Urs urged Cosmo forward.

The only sound for the next 15 minutes was the breathing of the two women as they watched out the window, waiting for some sign of what was happening.

Finally Cosmo came racing out from the trees, happy, tongue lolling as he raced a bit then waited for his human companions. Kosta appeared to have both rifles over his shoulder now while Urs had taken off his shirt and was walking, bare-chested, carrying something in his arms…something with spindly legs that hung down to his thighs.

“Is that…is it a fawn?” Heidi said, totally confused now.

“I think so,….it should be safe to go see.”

They went downstairs and waited on the terrace while the men got closer, crossed the bridge and approached. Indeed it was a fawn, staring wild eyed at the creatures around her, bleating piteously now and then and feebly struggling against Urs’ strong arms.

“Poachers!” Urs fairly spat the word out as if it were bad tasting.

“Poachers on our land. They shot her mother and then left the fawn to starve. Cosmo smelled the blood, that’s what set him off. I couldn’t just leave her there, she’s so little and defenseless.”

“Oh Urs, of course you couldn’t. Could we make her a little bed for now and find out what to do with her? There must be some one in Wildlife that can give us advice.”

“She won’t exactly be housebroken, Luv…I don’t think she’s more than a week old at the most.”

“You weren’t housebroken at one week either, Urs Buhler…bring her in.”

Maggie made the litte deer a bed in a sheltered niche under the stairs, with a cushion off one of the lounge chairs and a blanket that she squished up. Urs placed the trembling fawn in the little nest and Cosmo flopped down in front of it with his velvety head and cold nose just touching the fawn’s tiny head. They were surprised to see that the contact with the pup seemed to calm her and when Pansy came to investigate, having missed all the fun for some reason, she curled up against the downy belly and all three slept peacefully.

Urs got on the phone, was shunted from one department to another, finally reached someone who seemed interested and told them what he thought had happened.

“We were going to bury the doe but thought you might want to see the arrow she was killed with, in case there have been other reports….so we’re bringing her back to the workshop, away from predators.”

He lisened for a while, motioned to Maggie to give him something to write on and made a list, then thanked the person for talking with him and hung up.

“Apparently there’s been a rash of animals hunted with a bow, in the past week, and all on posted property. Someone will be out in an hour or so to take the doe away…the baby may have to be here for a few days as there are no spots available at the rescue and rehab centres…he told me what to do, how to feed it…we’ll need to get some goat’s milk and bottles with large nipples…and lots of paper.”

And so Kitzi came to live with them, another member of Cosmo’s expanding flock.

**

“Rehkitz…that’s fawn in German,” Yanni said softly as he crouched and watched the resting red deer, absently stroking the fluffy canine head that Cosmo had raised at his approach.

“She’s a late birth, apparently,” Urs answered. “The Ranger who came out to take the doe away says that she’s about 5 days old, whereas most of the fawns would have been born in May or June. We moved her in here because it’s easier to clean up, we already have the means to hose the floor down for the plants and she seems to feel safe hidden away under the shrubbery. He showed us how to feed her and encourage her to piddle and…that ‘s what the litter pan is for.”

They shut the light off in the conservatory and closed the baby gate behind them as they went back to join the others.

“You won’t be able to keep her in the house when she gets older, will you?” Shannon asked as they settled around the fireplace.

“No, it wouldn’t be a good idea for Kitzi or for us once she gets inquisitive. Urs and Kosta are going to build a secure enclosure for her off the back of the workshop. During the day she can run free with Cosmo, foraging in the pasture and he can bring her in at night so she’s safe from predators.”

“I’m not sure I would be willing to invest so much time and energy into something you have to let go back to the wild eventually,” Sonja said with a frown. “I mean after a few months, you would be so attached to the animal, it would be hard to turn it free.”

“The Ranger says she will just drift away to join other hinds when she comes into season the first time, probably in her third year. Cosmo will likely be the biggest problem we face when she leaves, but it’s a natural cycle and we’ll deal wih it when the time comes,” Urs said as he refilled wine glasss, sneaking a smile to Maggie who had expressed the same concerns. “In a way it won’t be much different than letting your child grow up and move on with his own life.”

Shannon laughed. “Well at the moment the faster that happens the better. The boys are driving me wild…they’ve been playing games with me lately, trying to confuse me as to who is who. And apparently they’ve been driving the teachers at Kindergarten insane. We put them in two different classes to make them form friendships with other kids rather than keeping just to themselves and they keep switching places. I even put them in different color shirts everyday to give them more of a sense of individuality, but they keep resisting every move I make.”

The conversation drifted to anecdotes of the children and the bell on the oven timer announced that dinner was ready. Mina helped Maggie bring the food to the already laid table and they sat down to eat, sharing several bottles of wine and a great deal of laughter as the meal progressed, casual, noisy at times and enjoyable, sharing that most precious of gifts, Friendship.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWO

Their days quickly established a routine. Kosta and Urs built a nice shelter, attached to the workshop with a little bower that was dark and secluded where Kitzi could rest during the night and feel secure. They dug holes for posts and strung fencing to enclose a huge area for her to play in, though they needn’t have worried since Cosmo took his work very seriously. Even Pansy got into the game, swatting at Kitzi’s sharp little hooves when she wandered too far from the workshop.

She thrived on the goat’s milk they fed her four times per day, supplementing her diet with grasses and flowers and the fruit treats that her human companions offered now and then. The vet visited and gave her vitamin shots of A,D and E, a bit of Selenium and something he called an 8 way vaccine. The second week she began eating special pellets that they bought from the vet and started drinking less milk, more water from the basin of fresh that was kept near the terrace for her and Cosmo. Pansy refused to drink from the basin, instead preferred to perch on a flat rock by the stream and get her liquids that way.

When he wasn’t working on his Triumph, playing with Niki, watching Kitzi or cuddling on one of the Lounges with his wife, Urs gardened.

They wanted an herb garden near the back door of the Kitchen and he decided to turn the soil now, while he was home. It would be ready in late September when the perennial herbs could be bought and put in. The day he finished it Maggie found him in front of the house, staring at the front fields.

“You have that ‘Super Gardener’ look on your handsome face…what are you planning now?” she asked, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his ribs.

He laughed and grasped her hands in his.

“Am I that predictable?”

“Only to me…are you thinking about all those bulbs that we ordered in Rotterdam?”

“Yes, and the wildflower seeds that I saw in the garden shop in Willisau. The seeds we can broadcast and I think we should naturalize the bulbs, putting clumps of them in a scattered non-pattern. I could dig the holes for you then you and Kosta or Heidi can put them in …I think early October should be about right.”

“Or you could let us dig our own holes and go for a ride. You haven’t been out on the bike for a while…aren’t you just itching to try it out?”

He turned to face her. He had given her several lessons on riding the Harley and she was doing well, perhaps not ready to go alone yet, but it was working out a lot better than when he had tried teaching her how to drive a car.

“How do you always seem to know? Would you be upset if I took off for a day, alone?”

“Of course not…I know what a careful rider you are and that you’ll come back to me. And it makes me tremble to think of how sexy you’ll be when you get back, all windblown and smelling of leather and blow back from the engine, with a major case of helmet head. My own Biker Dude!”

He grinned as he rolled his eyes and took her shoulders in his hands to hug her.

“I would like to take the Triumph for a spin, see how that refurbished carb holds up….”

“First thing tomorrow? I’ll fill the vacuum flask for you and fix a snack for your lunch.”

That settled they returned to the house to shower and have dinner, then Urs stayed with Niki and Maggie went to choir practice with Heidi.

By 20h Niki was sleeping soundly and he sat on the terrace with the Monitor close by, watching as Cosmo herded Kitzi into her night time shelter and pushed the door closed, the latch automatically engaging and locking her in and predators out. She rattled around inside the enclosure for a few minutes, having several long drinks of water and a few pellets, then disappeared into the dark nest.

Work done, Cosmo raced to the terrace to join him, settling beside his chair, seeming to watch the sunset along with his friend. Pansy suddenly appeared from somewhere, using Cosmo for a trampoline as she bounced off him and onto Urs’ lap, purring a greeting and curling into a contented ball of vibrating orange fluff and tiny kneading paws that didn’t quite pierce through his jeans.

There was a restlessness in him and he didn’t know why. It was almost like the feeling he got when on tour, the knowledge that he had no choice in what he would do the next day or the one after or the one after that… Perhaps going out on the bike was a good idea. It would be nice to feel free again, to not have things that needed to be done, or have his time regulated…He shook his head thinking how unfair that was. Maggie never worked out his day’s chores for him. She would occasionally ask for help with some minor thing but for the most part she asked him what he wanted to do and then planned her schedule around it.

He watched as the sun dipped behind the mountains in the distance and sent shafts of orange and mauve into the sky, saw a few dark images flitting across the darkening heavens as bats began their evening sorties for food and wondered if anywhere in the wide world there was a man as happy and content with his life at this moment as he was.

**

“Yvie, watch this…” Frank called out to her from the knee deep water of the pond on his father’s farm. He held Hans in his big strong hands while the little boy wiggled, eager to get back in the water again and when she looked up, let him dive in head first and swim to the top again, laughing and paddling away as if he had been swimming all his life.

At just over 2 years of age, Hans was still young enough for his body to remember swimming in the womb for 9 months so he had been a breeze to teach to swim in this world. Of course he was never allowed in unsupervised but Yvie thought he might be able to swim better than she could. She had always had a bit of timidity about deep water, wasn’t a good swimmer because of it and had hoped that it was an irrational fear that she wouldn’t pass on to her son. Thank goodness Frank was more like her brothers about swimming, very seal like and at home, though he didn’t torment her like Urs and Franz used to.

They had decided to come out to the farm for the weekend, to get out of the unbearable humidity in the city and to see if Frank’s mother would thaw out her disapproving attitude towards Yvie. Amanda wasn’t rude, in fact she was overly civil and that was almost worse.

Frank brought Hans back up to the blanket and made the boy laugh as he toweled him off, tickling his round tummy, then settling him on the blanket with a plastic glass of juice.

“Finished your book?” he asked as he dried his hair roughly with a towel.

“No…lost interest…it was much more entertaining to watch you two playing in the water. We should head back to the house soon though. I know she won’t let me help but I need to offer to help with dinner.”

“I’m sorry, Sweetie…I don’t understand what Mom’s problem is. She knows how much I love you and she can see what a good mother you are and how well we get along. Maybe I should try talking to her, though last time I tried she went in her room and turned the radio on loud.”

Yvie thought of how much alike, yet different his mother was from hers.

“Has she always been this way when you brought a girlfriend home?”

He shook his head.

“I’ve never been this serious about anyone so Mom and Dad have rarely met anyone I’ve dated.”

Yvie saw Amanda in the distance, heading out with a pail, towards the blackberry bushes that grew wild beyond the barn.

She stood, asked Frank to watch Hans for her and walked off at an angle that would take her on an intercept course. As she neared the unaware woman she could feel the tension rising in her body but flexed her shoulders and took some deep breaths to calm herself. It was time that she and Amanda had a heart to heart and cleared the air. She was a Buhler, the strength of her family was still in her though it had been subdued for so many years. What she could have with Frank was worth fighting for and today was to be the opening volley if necessary.

Amanda looked up, startled as Yvie called out cheerfully to her.

“Many hands make light work, thats what my Mami always says. Were you thinking of pie or for making jam?” She was determined to ignore the cold stare and smiled as she matched her stride to the older woman’s.

“Pie…Frank likes my blackberry pie.”

“I’ll have to pay close attention to how you make it then. My berry pies always tend to have mushy bottom crusts and of course Mami isn’t near for me to ask her what I’ve done wrong.”

Baking…a safe subject it seemed since Amanda kept the conversation going.

“Turn the heat up for the first 15 minutes to set the bottom…and cover the edge of the top crust so it doesn’t burn….I’ll show you.”

Wow!! A whole sentence, probably the longest that she had heard coming from the pinched lips.

“You aren’t a city girl then?”

They had reached the bushes and began picking, the bushes so heavily laden that it wasn’t necessary to move around much.

“Oh, no. Our place was outside of a small town, only around 7,000 people…I’m only in the city now for the courses at George Brown.”

The picking went on in silence for a few moments, the pail filling rapidly with two adding to the contents.

“He’s a nice little boy. Well behaved and smart….a pleasure to be around.”

“Frank is good with him…it’s hard to believe he’s never been around children much, he seems so natural.”

“I couldn’t have any more after Frank…something went wrong inside. I don’t want to lose my son.”

There, at last, the reason for her coldness.

“He loves you and his father very much, Amanda…that will never change, no matter what he does in his life or who he is with. The bonds of family are strong in my life too, something that time or distance can’t break.”

She put her hand full of berries in the pail and took Amanda’s hands in hers.

“I love your son, very much, Amanda, so much that I would never want him to have to make a choice between his parents and me. It would destroy him and destroy the love we have. I would leave him before I ever let it come to that, though it would break my heart.”

Amanda stared in the glistening eyes of this young woman she had tried so hard to dislike and freed one hand to reach a work roughened palm up and pat her cheek.

“Well we can’t have both of you wandering around with broken hearts, now can we? Let’s finish this and go do our baking…Yvie.”

Hearing Amanda speak her name for the first time and seeing the tentative smile on her lips was nearly Yvie’s undoing but she held it together and went back to picking berries. They filled the pail and shared the weight of it on the way back to the house, talking about cooking and the farm, the silly things their men had done, the courses that Yvie and Frank were taking…Talking at last.

**

Urs was ready to go early the next morning and went to bring the Triumph up to the house while Maggie finished packing him a lunch. He walked in the shed and laughed when he spotted the bike, now aware of why the bed had been empty this morning when he woke and why Maggie had joined him in the shower when he was almost done.

She had cleaned the bike, polishing the chrome and the lustrous blue paint until it positively gleamed, even had the dual chrome mufflers so shiny they looked new. There was a discrete sticker on the seat that he had to lean closer to read, one that made him chuckle when he read it since it would be directly under his butt when he was astride the saddle…. ‘Property of Maggie Buhler’.

He wheeled it up to the house and parked, went in and found her just closing the clasps on his saddle bags.

“As if I would forget,” he said as he wrapped her against him, placing her hands on his butt and bending down to capture her smile with his lips.

They went in the Lounge to peek at Niki were he had fallen asleep surrounded by toys in his playpen, guarded by their watch cat who had fallen asleep on the job.

Urs dropped a soft blanket over the little body, blew him a kiss and took Maggie’s hand to go back out to the bike, scooping up the saddle bags on the way.

“Have you decided where you’re going yet?” she asked as he attached the bags firmly.

“Not really…maybe south towards Ticino…there’s some good steep climbs in the passes that way.”

“Good, that should get any kinks out. Just be safe and come back all in one piece, my Swiss.”

He left her with one last kiss that rattled them both, left him thinking that maybe he wouldn’t go but she laughed and gave him a push.

“I’ll remember where we left off, trust me, I’ll remember. Ich Liebe sie.”

With a last ‘I love you’ he started the throaty roar of the motor and slowly pulled out onto the drive, waving once as he circled the corner of the house and was gone.

As he had said, he headed south, quickly covering the kilometers needed to bypass Luzern, listening to the motor for any tell-tale knocking or hesitation, anything out of place that could mean a problem. The familiar territory slipped past him, unnoticed until he finally began to relax. The bike was performing beautifully, just as he had hoped and he started to enjoy the usual feeling of freedom, of nearly flying, the wind creeping into his helmet, past the domes and zippers of his jacket, making the leather of his pants cold and almost brittle. He smiled as he remembered the first time he had taken Maggie out on the Harley, that day when they went to the coast and she released her grip on his waist, holding her arms to the sky and screaming with the sheer joy of riding.

He pulled into a lookout just before Andermatt to enjoy the view, maybe stretch his legs a bit, and, even though it wasn’t yet lunch time, opened the pannier and pulled out one of the sandwiches Maggie had made. It was perfect, just the way he liked it on the thick homemade bread that she was experimenting with, soft and light as a feather, the crust crunchy and not dusted with the cornstarch stuff that most bakers sprinkled on the top…she knew how he disliked that. It was rare, garlic roast beef with paper thin slices of sweet onion and emmenthal cheese, pepper, no salt. Perfect.

He walked over to the railing as he ate, the breeze ruffling his hair and kissing his slightly sweaty skin, even through the neatly trimmed beard that he had been growing since he came home. Niki loved it…it tickled when Urs kissed his little round tummy and he loved to grab a handful and yank, bouncing up and down in the carrier as if his Papa’s beard was a wonderful new toy to play with. What a little charmer he was, always with the ready smile, if you could see it since lately he always seemed to have either his hands or a foot at times stuck in between his rosy lips, chewing on it and drooling on everything in sight. The book said it was a precursor to teething…Maggie said it heralded weaning on to a bottle since there was no way she was nursing him once he had teeth.

He had laughed when she stated that in no uncertain terms and now he smiled at the memory and the look on her face when she added ‘Nursing one big boy with teeth is dangerous enough!’ and how she had blushed.

He finished his snack, found a handy tree for relief and mounted up again, this time taking to the winding roads that went past Andermatt to St. Gotthards Pass.

Mid afternoon found him high up in the pass, leaning on the back rest with his helmet behind him and his legs stretched out across the seat to the handle bars, thinking about how Maggie would love the view and wondering how old Niki had to be before he could take him on a real ride…did they even make helmets that small?

He was high enough that there was snow around, left over from the winter…at this elevation it never completely melted. The air was fresh and clean and still, only the occasional sounds of other vehicles as they worked there way over the curves that switched back and forth in endless chicanes to the crest, then reversed for the down hill side.

Another vehicle pulled in as he was half drowsing in the quiet and he opened his eyes to see a young woman step out of a sleek Audi, stretching her back muscles as she stood and looked at the view.

She was lovely…dark hair, a nice trim body, blue eyes he saw when she faced him and smiled his way.

“Lovely up here isn’t it?” Nice French accent to her Swiss German and a pleasant voice…all things that in the past had made his senses go on alert and today made him think of…his wife.

“Ja, I always have to stop here and just soak up the atmosphere.”

He smiled as he thought how different this chance meeting with a beautiful woman was. In the past he would have been intrigued, possibly tried to make conversation and if she seemed intelligent maybe get her phone number. Now he found himself comparing her to Maggie…and his lovely wife won, hands down.

He swung his feet to the ground and sat up, pulling his helmet on and donning his gloves, giving the woman a curt, cool nod as he started the bike and went back onto the Motorway.

Had he changed so much? Everything he did or saw reminded him of Maggie and Niki….he was eager to share the view with them, the feeling he had when he rode the bike, the freedom. Perhaps that was the difference…in the past he had needed to be out, away from everyone to feel free…and now he WAS free…free to chose to be with his family, with the woman he loved, the person he chose freely to share his life with….Riding the bike was his pleasure but his family…that was his life.

He laughed at the simple truth of it, overcome with the knowledge that had been right there but too close to see.

Maggie, Niki, his family and friends, the haven she had made of their home…that was the constant in his life, the harbor that he could count on to soothe, inspire, invigorate, when the pressures of the outside world and his crazy work load became too much.

He laughed aloud, the sound echoing off the majestic peaks and slowed the bike to take the next round about, searching for the correct exit.

The bike was working perfectly…and he was free to go where he wanted more than anything to be…Home!!!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THREE

Of all the bad luck!! Just when he was impatient to get home the bike let him down. Well to be fair, it was a common failing, something that bike riders had to deal with since, unlike autos, they had no spare tire.

Urs hitched a ride with a passing truck, the driver kind enough to load the bike in the truck bed and take him into the nearest large town. Of course since the bike was old the tire he needed had to be couriered from Luzern so that added more waiting time and he spent it in a café, drowning his impatience in several lattes.

He thought about surprising Maggie but was impatient to hear her voice so pulled out his Mobile and called her.

“Urs…is everything alright?”

“It is now…I’m waiting in Beckenried for a new tire for the bike…they had to send one from Luzern so I asked them to courier it. Other than that the bike works great…but I miss you and Niki…I don’t want to tour around without you to share the sights with me. I’m sorry if I gave the impression I was stewing about something lately, Love… There have been so many changes in my life the last couple of years…I felt that I was kind of losing my Self, getting drawn into being someone different than I was before I met you, before Il Divo. It’s all sorted now…I WANT to be with you and Niki…I’ll explain when I get home…Keep Niki up for a while so I can kiss him good night, please Liebe. And Maggie…Thank you for letting me work this out…I love you so very much.”

He knew she was crying because of the pitch of her voice but she merely said she loved him and she would be waiting for him to come home.

There had still been no courier van arriving at the shop across the street so he went in the café and paid for another latte, this time adding a flaky croissant and fruit spread to the tray before returning out to the patio area.

His thoughts were still on his relationship with Maggie and as if a light had gone on, he realized that the changes in her life over the past two years had been even more dramatic than in his.

She had been blind and independent when they met and pure, untouched by any other man. Yet she had given herself to him with a passion that frightened her at first, had quickly learned the joys of physical love and adjusted her life to suit his, without any complaints or demands. Learning to be part of a huge family had been another change, one she accepted with delight, embracing that and all the other firsts in her new life with zeal because she loved him.

And the chameleon-like quality he had noticed with music had played a huge part in how well they related to each other….she became his friend, his wife, his mistress, his lover, nurse, quiet companion, mother of his child, confidant, inspiration, his calm center….everything to him except his jailer. All the years of his previous existence had been the rehearsals for what he had now…the ultimate performance of a life filled completely with love.

He shook his head, laughed at himself for being so analytical… not everything could be taken apart and inspected so closely for flaws. Sometimes a person had to merely trust to their gut instincts and his told him that he was a lucky man.

The courier pulled up across the street just as he finished his croissant. He picked up one last slice of peach and popped it in his mouth and hurried across the street to help put the new tire on so he could be on his way.

**

Maggie replaced the handset and sank into the nearest chair, shaking with relief. She had known that he was trying to work something out in that nimble brain of his and agonized over the fact that it was something she couldn’t help him with. All sorts of dark, unpleasant scenarios had tumbled around in her head during the time before he left this morning, even more so when he went down the drive, leaving her behind. She had wanted to run after him and beg him not to go but couldn’t … some instinct held her back, something that told her she mustn’t start being a clingy wife, a woman who made him feel trapped by all the resonsibilites of having a family, a home.

She looked over to the play area where Niki was happily chewing on a purple stuffed tiger.

Urs had to stay with her and with Niki because he wanted to, not because he felt it was his duty…he had to stay because he loved them. In fact he had to stay with her because he loved her more than anything or anyone else. Niki would always be a part of his life, he had no choice in that.

She shuddered to even think that perhaps he had tired of her, perhaps he had met someone else while on the tour. NO!! she would not think such thoughts. But what if…?

Niki looked up, startled, when she jumped to her feet and began tidying the Lounge.

Best to keep busy and not have such non-productive thoughts filling her head. He said he wanted to be here, that he loved her…what more did she need?

She finished folding the throw over the back of the sofa and looked around for something else to do. The team who came out to clean 3 times a week had just left a few hours before…everything was spotless. Heidi was puttering in the kitchen and had mentioned something about going home early since she and Kosta were going in to town for dinner with some of their new friends.

She gathered Niki from his play area and changed him, put a water bottle in the mesh pocket of the carrier and donned it with the laughing little boy dangling in front of her. A good brisk walk was what she needed to burn off some of the excess adrenaline that was making her head buzz. She waved at Heidi and took off over the field at a quick pace, joined by Kitzi and Cosmo for a while until the fence stopped Kitzi and she had to command Cosmo to stay behind.

**

Urs made better time than he had expected since the courier had delivered the tire so promptly. It was just about Niki’s dinner time when he came slowly up the driveway to the house, the sun still not quite touching the mountains and the lights of the house still dimmed.

It had never looked so welcoming to him, the wood glowing, the sheltering trees still lush and green. Just as he was about to lock the gate he saw the red Volvo coming down the drive and waited until Kosta and Heidi drew abreast of him.

“Short ride,” Kosta commented with a grin.

“Got homesick,” he replied, grinning as well.

“We’re going to visit friends…Maggie and Niki are in the Kitchen.”

He waved and shut the gate behind them, mounted and went up to park the bike in the shed.

Maggie looked up with a smile when he entered the house, just a hint of something apprehensive in her eyes.

‘You made good time, “ she said as she offered Niki a spoonful of something orange and mushy, something he was having none of as soon as he spotted his father.

Urs laughed at the little guy and gave her a quick hug, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

“I need a shower…can I give Niki his bath, after?”

She smiled again, looking up at him, searching his face for some hint of what they would talk about after Niki went to bed…she was sure there was be a discussion.

“I know he would like that…he’s almost done here.”

Urs sped up the stairs to their suite and shed his leathers, hanging them in the plastic bag in the end of the dressing room and dropping his tee shirt, socks and jockeys in the laundry hamper. Hi boots went in the boot rack after a quick swipe with cleaner to remove the oil and road dust and he started the shower running, adjusting it to very hot before stepping in.

He was surprised at the lukewarm reception he had received from Maggie. She was usually so perceptive of his moods…didn’t she realize that he was here because he wanted to be with her, that this was where he felt at peace?

‘Of course she doesn’t know, you fool,’ his little inner voice chided him. ‘You ask too much of the woman… she isn’t a mindreader…you have to tell her how you feel, what you have come to understand… right now she doesn’t know if you’re here because of Niki, or because this is where you park your bike.’

He scrubbed himself vigorously, shampooed twice, rinsed and dried off in record time, donning only a pair of black Calvin Kleins…bathing Niki was not a dry spectator sport and he had learned from experience to wear very little.

He heard Maggie’s laughter before he entered the nursery and paused in the doorway to watch his little family.

They were sitting on the carpet in front of the crib, Niki just in his diaper and Maggie in a soft blue cotton tank top and a flared cotton skirt that she had pulled up to expose her tanned legs. The boy was chortling happily as he batted at a plastic toy that had levers and doors that opened to reveal an animal picture if the levers were pushed. Each time one opened he laughed at the sounds it made and Maggie shut it so he could do it again.

She must have sensed that he was there for she turned and looked at him, her grin fading into a timid smile before she turned her head back to face their son.

“Bath time, little man…your Papa is ready.”

Urs scooped him up and took him in the bathroom for his nightly soak and splash.

Twenty minutes later both father and son were in need of the towels Maggie had ready and she cleaned up the spillage while Urs got him ready for the night.

Maggie joined them as Urs lay his son in the crib and turned on the mobile with the CD that played soft lullabies. They watched for a few minutes as the honey colored eyes became heavy and finally closed.

Urs turned to leave the room and found that Maggie had quietly preceded him. He lengthened his stride and caught her arm as she went down the hall, pulling her back against him.

“Maggie…Liebeling, don’t shut me out…I need you…”

He felt her breath catch as she stifled a sob. Her body was tense against him as if braced for a blow.

“Come in our room, Luv. We need to talk.”

He dropped his hands off her and she followed him into the room, sitting stiffly in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

“That won’t do, come here.”

He sat in the other chair and held his hands out to her. She went to him obediently and sat on his lap but he could feel the tension in her and sighed.

“Maggie you know I love you, I will always love you. I went out on the bike today because I was confused by all the changes in my life over the past few years. I didn’t understand that what you have given me, what we have created is something I’ve longed for all my life and it was bound to make changes in me as a man. I don’t need to get away to find peace anymore…it’s here, with you, with Niki. You have given me such a gift…of your love, of understanding, of freedom to choose to be the man I was always meant to be and to live my life willingly enveloped in the love you offer me so freely. Yes, I have changed…I’ve grown up, grown into who I was always destined to be and I choose to be here with you, with our children….you have given me so much and all I’ve done in return is hurt you.”

He felt her relaxing against him, felt her tears dripping from her cheeks onto his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Don’t cry, Beloved. Please, don’t cry.”

She sniffed and wiped at her tears with a shaky hand.

“I kept waiting for the BUT… ‘I love you, but’ …I thought you were going to leave me, that you were bored with me, with our life, that maybe you had met someone….all these nasty thoughts creep in when you don’t know what’s going on.”

“Bored!!!?? Not likely…I’m never quite sure who I’m going to bed with… my gentle little wife, my mistress, my lover, a trembling ingénue, a lusty woman from Amsterdam, a biker Babe…you constantly surprise me and I am NEVER bored. And when we aren’t experimenting in mindblowing loving you are so many women to me, playmate, performer, sounding board, companion, nurse, muse, helpmate…. All the things a real wife and soulmate can possibly be. Maggie, I’ve met lots of women while I toured but none of them attracted me…none of them are people I want in my life now and forever.”

She raised her head to look in his eyes, surprised to find them glistening with tears as he tried so hard to explain what he felt and why. His voice could coax meaning and feeling out of music seemingly without effort but verbalizing the same emotions was so difficult for him. She leaned forward to kiss his eyelids gently, cupping his face with her hands.

“Urs, if you don’t stop talking and love me, I may have to add another persona to my repertoire…Dominatrix.”

He laughed and hugged her pliant body against him.

“Perhaps we can save that persona for another night…I was rather looking forward to bedding my lover tonight.”

“Your lover came prepared, just in case,” she said and placed his hand on her leg, encouraging him to explore higher.

His eyes lit up and darkened as he encountered…nothing …under her skirt.

“Urs, don’t you want dinner?” she asked as her breathing became ragged.

“Dessert first,” he murmured from deep in his throat as he lifted her onto the carpet in front of the fireplace and began a thorough inspection of her skirt.

Speech was impossible, fears forgotten and time stood still.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FOUR….HOUSES & HAIRCUTS

It was nearly midnight when they crept downstairs like naughty children and raided the refrigerator for food. The tension was gone, no more doubts or uncertainties.

Urs made a gigantic sandwich that he called ‘the Matterhorn’ and indeed it rivaled that famed peak in height. Maggie sat at the counter with her plate of fruit, elbows braced and her hands under her chin, waiting for him to try to take the first bite.

“Don’t stare…you’re making me nervous,” he said with a laugh.

“I just don’t see how you’re going to eat it except with a knife and fork.”

“I’ll have you know my mouth is used to stretching around very big things,” he said with a leer and raised eyebrows as his eyes dropped to her chest.

As he had guessed, she blushed.

“I still can’t believe you did that…. twice.”

He laughed.

“I had to see if one was chocolate…I like my son to have the finer things in life, even at this early age.” He picked the Matterhorn up and took a hearty bite, chewing for a long time and washing it down finally with a drink of milk.

“Seriously, Luv, you should know by now that nothing is Taboo between us. I didn’t just marry you for your superior intellect you know.”

She laughed at him as he tried a second bite and part of the Matterhorn slid in an avalanche onto the counter.

“Okay, I give up,” he said and reluctantly reached in the drawer for a knife and fork.

“Do you still want me to trim your hair before you leave for London? I’m willing but you have a groomer going with you that would do it for you.”

“And I’d have to wear a hat on stage. You know what those people are like….cut, cut, cut…I don’t want it short, Luv and I know you like it long and curly so I trust you.”

“We’ll do it next week, then it will have 2 weeks to recover if I mess it up.”

She picked at her fruit while he finished the ‘sandwich’ and shook her head at his offer of a slice of lingonberry pie.

“Are you still planning on talking to Yanni about a bunkhouse type of building so we can have students here for advanced courses, like a summer or winter camp?”

“Yes, I like the idea. We have to talk it over with Kosta and Heidi though. They have enough work to do and we should consider hiring someone to do the scut work in the kitchen when the camp is operating, laundry and so forth…and we have to consider teaching staff since we can’t always be here to do it.”

She rested her head on her hands again and smiled at him.

“Is this a lead in to trying to talk me into a nanny again? I don’t see the need, Urs. Heidi and I managed quiet nicely…Lord, some women don’t have any help and they have children like stepping stones.”
He waved his fork at her as he began clearing the little bit of clutter they had made.

“You aren’t some women, Maggie Buhler…you are MY woman and this is a crazy lifestyle we have to live for the next few years. If we ever hope to have time to be together, you have to join me sometimes on the tours… I don’t want to be thousands of miles away from you and hear you’ve become so lonely you ran off with the milk delivery man.”

She grinned at him and then tried to look wistful.

“I can see your point…there’s something so sensual about poor old, one-eyed Herr Tochner…and he told me just the other day that he’s on this rigid diet…he wants to be under 300 pounds by Christmas.”

He came around the counter and slid his hands inside the short white robe that was all she had on.

“I can see I’m not going to win this one…how about a compromise?”

He was kneading her back with his long, clever fingers and leaned over to nuzzle her neck with an equally clever mouth.

“How about…mmm, you do taste good…hiring someone to help with Niki… ah, you like that do you?...when you join me on the BS tour…in November?….”

“You don’t play fair, my Swiss…. OHHHHHH!...do that again and I’m your slave for life!”


He laughed and picked her up in a Fireman’s carry, scooping up the Monitor and then taking the stairs at a dead run while she giggled and took advantage of his occupied hands by letting hers wander, causing him to almost stumble before he reached their door.

“Woman, you are so going to pay for that,” he growled as he threw her on their bed and divested himself of his shorts, then fell on her, silencing her laughter with his mouth.

“So who are you tonight, my little playmate?”

“Who do you want me to be?” she asked with a seductive smile.

“Mine, only mine,” he answered as his larger, stronger body engulfed her and she hummed with delight.

**

As soon as Petra’s replacement was able to take over her work load she took a leave of absence and they left for Denver to house hunt, intending to join the other Divos a few days before the start of the BS Tour.

The Miller clan was happy to have them back and had aleady done some of the ground work for them, culling the local estate agents for suitable homes for sale and after one day of catching up, they left Paul with a delighted Grandma and Grandad and started the rounds.

It was lovely in the area this time of year, the quivering Aspens glistening as they trembled in the ever present breeze, a first dusting of fresh snow on the higher altitudes of the distant peaks, children everywhere as they rushed about, cramming every summer experience they could into the long daylight hours of their last few days of freedom before school started again.

Every place they looked at had gardens blazing with the late flush of summer flowers, roses bursting one last time, Asters and Chrysanthemums just starting their fall display, Japanese Maples full and deepening in color as if the whole botanical world was saying a colorful farewell until the spring.

They pulled into the packed grey brick circular drive of the last house on their list for the day, following Charlotte, the agent who had arrived just ahead of them.

This one looked promising. The yard was beautifully landscaped, surrounding a well established and maintained older home of mixed wood and stone. A coverd portico came out all the way to the drive, glassed in so it was unobtrusive, ivy crept over the surface but not too much, not enough to hide the deep multifaceted windows and the fresh creamy white trim. There was what looked to be a three car garage attched to the house with a two level apartment over top, a lovely rounded room that they could see tall plants in {the conservatory that David wanted} and, according to the printed brochure, 3 floors containing 5 bedrooms plus a master suite, 6 bathrooms {one off the family room}, an office/library, eat in kitchen,, dining room, utility room…in short all the usual amenities of a large home plus a few more.

They spent nearly an hour going over the unoccupied house, visiting some of the areas twice, then sitting out on the stone terrace at the back talking quietly.

David had fallen for the place instantly, said he felt like he had come home when he pulled in the drive. Petra thought it looked like it had been transplanted from the UK and given an American twist that made it fit the area beautifully.

“One of the major pluses is that it comes partly furnished…those lovely wardrobes, the appliances, the terrace furnishings, even the bedroom furnishings in three of the suites and the apartment over the garage….and all that maintenance equipment. Why would the owners leave all that behind?”

“According to Charlotte, they retired to Barbados and it was just too prohibitive as well as unnecessary to take everything with them…. they’re probably in a smaller place, too. So what do you think, Pet…could you be happy living here?”

“You know I love it, Stretch, and I know that you do…I could just see your mind working in that family room in the basement, putting in shelving and bean bag chairs in front of a Plasma screen for your games and filling that little closet with your costumes…and it’s just far enough out of town and so close to that bluff that there isn’t much danger of someone building around us…and of course it’s only a 10 minute drive to your parents. The inspectors reports have given it an A+ with only a few cosmetic repairs needing done. But it does seem like a lot of money to me, even though it’s well within the budget you set.”

He hugged her against his chest and laughed.

“It seems like a lot to me too. I’ve never been in this particular income bracket before, Pet, but I’m getting used to it. And it isn’t as if we were spending it on something frivolous. We work hard and deserve a nice place to live in, somewhere we can enjoy our family and hobbies, where we can work if we want to and be sheltered from the public. I think we should make an offer on it.”

They agreed and talked for a while with their agent, settling on the amount they would offer, of course lower than what was being asked since the owners wanted a quick sale. They made one more swing through the place, Petra acting as guide while David video taped her antics, both succumbing to the thrill of possibly having this place as their own and acting giddy, silly with excitement.

They stopped at the supermarket on the way home with the shopping list that Susan had given Pet when they left the house earlier in the day…tonight everyone had voted for Mexican food and since it was a frequent choice in the Miller household they were always running out of something.

Pet laughed as David showed her the proper way to treat Serrano peppers with respect…plastic bag over your hand to select a handful then invert the bag, your flesh never touching the fiery little vegetable. They bought fresh corn tortillas from the in-store Tortilleria, still warm and wrapped in a brown paper bundle, tied with string in the traditional manner, sorted through the bins of tomatoes for a large bag full, half over-ripe and half firm and bought a large bag of pre-shredded Jack cheese, not exactly authentic but what was commonly used here. David was an expert at choosing Avocados, pushing quickly on the little bud where the stem had been to test for ripeness. He put the lemons that she had bagged, back and selected limes even though she claimed they were the same….and called her a ‘Gringa!’, shaking his head with a grin and an exaggerated eye roll.

They were waiting at the deli for the clerk to fill an extra large bucket with Refritos, the lard fried beans that were mushed and accompanied most Mexican meals, when David’s mobile rang. It was Charlotte, passing on a counter offer from the owners.

“Hang on a second Charlotte while I talk this over with Petra….Baby, they came back with a counter $35, 000 above ours…she doesn’t think it will get better than this and it’s still nearly $100,00.00 under our budget….what do you think?”

He knew her answer…it was written on her face and in her sparkling eyes as she nodded and put her hands over her mouth, trying to contain her delight.

“Charlotte, tell them we accept…and call me, let me know when and where we have to sign the papers.”

The little boy that was never hidden far under the surface of the lanky body that housed David Miller, bubbled over when they reached his parents home and he rushed inside, whooping with laughter, with the bags of groceries and his video camera, Petra following closely, laughing with and at him, accustomed now to his wacky sense of humor.

He dumped the bags in the kitchen, kissed Susan on the cheek, scooped Paul up and raced to the computer to insert the card from the camera and sit cross legged on the floor to show Paul and anyone else who wanted to watch, their new home.

**

Urs leaned back in his seat and got comfortable. He had made the connection for the flight to New York, just in time by sprinting the last few gates down the concourse. The attendant came by once they were airborne and offered him a nightcap but he refused, indicating the large water bottle he had already put in the net holder. He ignored the bit of fluster that she showed when he smiled at her and accepted the small blanket, placing his own squishy pillow against the window, removed the tie from his ponytail and rested his head, thinking of Maggie, as always.

Parting had been easier this time, since it would only be a month and a few days until she joined him on the tour, with Niki and the young Nanny that they were trying out. He grinned as he thought of how he had won that ‘discussion’…had the turning point really been his promise of future ‘deviant sexual favors’ or was she just humoring him, keeping his promise in reserve for another day to see what he would come up with?

He tucked his hair back behind his ear, easier to do now that it was shorter and that too brought to mind another memory that made him smile.

They had brought a stool in the lav and put paper on the floor to keep the mess down, draped a towel around his shoulders and she stood behind him with a set of barber scissors in hand, meeting his eyes in the mirror and biting her lip.

“It’s just hair, Luv…hack away.”

“I’ve never understood why some mothers cry the first time their son gets a hair cut…until now. I feel like I’m cutting off a part of you that’s alive.”

He chuckled.

“Hair is dead, Liebeling…only the root is alive… Maggie if you don’t do it soon it will be dry and I’ll have to get in the shower again.”

She ran the comb through his hair once more and followed the shape of his head with her hand, stroking softly to the end which now was just below his shoulders.

“Look…that curl wrapped itself around my finger…it doesn’t want to leave you…I know, I’m being silly.”

Snip…the curl law on her palm and she placed it on the counter gently, smiling as a thought came to her.

“Don’t disturb this one…I’m going to keep it. Now lets see…all pretty well the same length I think, enough for a ponytail and just touching where the collar of your suitjacket will lay.”

The rest of the cut went without problems, except for the snipping sound once and her gasp and ‘OOOPS!’ It had been a tease he found when he grabbed the mirror and looked at the back, checked her eyes and saw that she was trying not to laugh.

After the cut and clean up she placed the first cut curl in the secret compartment of the Guardian angel he had given her, a locket of Rainbow Moonstone and Amethyst with a small compartment in the back. She claimed that the healing power of the Amethyst and the protection of the Moonstone would protect both of them now and he claimed that she still had a bit of the Irish Faery about her.

For some reason he thought about how lenient CASPAR had been with Team Ceol over the past year. There had been assignments but nothing overtly dangerous…some planning, an escort of a diplomat to a safe house, a few long distance instructions for panic rooms and explosive devices…was it because of Maggie’s pregnancy and now Petra’s or was Simon not willing to risk his cash cows unless absolutely necessary? He didn’t know, but it had been a relief. Even the thoughts of Laurenz still enjoying his freedom had seldom crossed his mind, except for times like when Cosmo scented the wounded deer or the infrequent times when he spotted the body guards at his parents or on Maggie when he first came home.

He drifted off to sleep, breathing in the scent of her from his squishy pillow, thinking of Niki surrounded by his stuffed animal zoo and laughing, the first of his tiny teeth peeking through. He was such a delight…his last thought before sleep was that Maggie would know in a week if she was pregnant again, if her cycle was late. He was smiling as sleep folded gentle arms about him.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIVE ….THE NANNY

From the opening in Philadelphia to where they were now, just arriving in Atlanta, Georgia, the Barbra Striesand/Il Divo tour had been amazing. Working with such a legenday performer as the inimitable Barbra had been an experience that none of the guys regretted, except for a minor set to with the queen of bitches, Rosie O’Donnell in NY. Even the uproar from her comments about their suits had worked out well, the fans and in fact, Ms. Striesand coming to their defense avidly and they had been advised to consider the source of the comments and ignore them…it was after all the only draw R. O’D had going for her and she did nasty so well that most people assumed she had been born that way.

For Urs the trip to Atlanta seemed never ending because of the treat waiting for him at the hotel…Maggie and Niki were already ensconced in their 2 bedroom suite, Nanny Ilsa in tow and ready to run interference in the evening so Niki’s parents could enjoy some alone time.

He smiled as he thought that the news they shared via the Internet hadn’t been what they wanted but the disappointment, shared, had been halved and they would continue to practice creating another baby until they succeeded. He wiggled a bit in his seat, trying not to think about their reunion and actually loving each other…IM’s were a stop gap only, not nearly as much fun or relief as the real thing and it had been a long 5 weeks of stop gaps.

The small personal photo album that he carried in his rolling bag peeped out from the half closed zipper pocket and he grew misty as he thought about the pictures he would soon be sharing with Maggie.

They had done two dates in Toronto, one on the 17th, the next on the 20th. Immediately after the first one he had been whisked in a catering truck out of the underground parking of the Air Canada Centre and driven to some warehouse district where he donned a uniform, scooped his hair up under a cap and accompanied 5 agents from CASPAR in a windowless van as they made what seemed like a run to drop off employees in various parts of the city. Once the all clear was given they drove through the gates of a large estate and into a garage, activated security once more and he was shepherded into the attached house.

Yvie and Frank had been waiting for him though it was by now close to one in the morning.

She looked radiant, even weeping with delight to be able to see him, hold him, to be wrapped in his arms and breathe in the unique Urs’ scent that she loved.

“So, OOs…Il Divo isn’t working out and you’ve changed careers I see…” she giggled indicating his catering company uniform.

“The worst is they want me to get a buzz cut…you look happy… Frank are you responsible for this glow I see in her eyes?”

He held his hand out to the grinning man and they exchanged looks, neither speaking of it but both recognizing the love they held for this tiny woman.

“Come in, Urs…don’t worry about your drivers…they know their way around here and are probably already tucking into a meal above the garage. We thought you might be hungry after your concert and have something ready in the Kitchen.”

The next 2 hours before weariness forced him to seek a bed had been filled with laughter as he consumed a quantity of specially made Swiss food, Gerstensuppe, Papet Vaudois and Zuger Kirschentorte, sipped some excellent wine that Frank proudly claimed came from the Niagara region of Ontario and listened to them talking about school and the farm that they would soon be ready to move to.

In return he showed them pictures of Irgendwo and Niki, the animals, candid shots of Maggie {Yvie especially like the shot from the back as Maggie bent over their son, wearing short shorts that left a great deal of her firm butt cheeks exposed}. There had been photos of Mami and Papa, Franz and his family, one of Schtute taken just a few days before she lay down to sleep one night and never woke again. It had been expected but hurt never-the-less and her human family mourned silently, comforting Heinz and Maxine as best they could while both animals howled and searched endlessly for their lost friend.

“These are for you to keep…I made duplicates,” he had told her when she wiped the tears from her face and made to hand the album back. That earned him a special Yvie bear hug that surprised him…she was so much stronger than he remembered, physically as well as emotionally.

He had spent a wonderful day and a half with them on the estate, marveling at the beauty of the place even though the weather was fast slipping from fall into winter, getting to know Frank better, feeling much more content now about the new man in his little sister’s life and taking photos to show the family when he returned home.

Just after midnight on the 19th/20th he was returned to the hotel in the downtown core to sleep peacefully in his own suite until morning. No questions were asked by the guys at breakfast, but they could tell his time away had been pleasant by his relaxed attitude and upbeat mood.

Arrival was the usual controlled chaos of lineups, security, wading through the crowds, findng the transport and they all did it on automatic, tired but not as bad as when they were touring with back to back dates. Tonight was Halloween and they were looking forward to the next day, an off day to enjoy themselves and recharge batteries before the concerts on the 2nd and 4th of November.

Seb and Geena planned on spending most of their time at the Hotel pool and shopping…how that Frenchman loved to shop!! Carlos and Gerry had no plans other than to sleep in and eat too much, maybe catch a club in the evening, while David and Petra were just going to enjoy being together, maybe do some browsing through the furniture stores to get ideas for the new house they were so over the moon about.

And Urs really hadn’t planned much beyond playing with his son and loving his wife until she begged for mercy…not that she would, he thought, as they sped along the surface streets toward the Hotel. They were well suited that way, neither ever able to get quite enough of the other once they started, but also content to just share a closeness that melded their separate souls into one.

David nudged him with his hard elbow.

“You’re thinking about Maggie…you always get this sappy look on your face and your eyes get dark when you think about her.”

He grinned at his American friend.

“I’m Swiss…we don’t do ‘sappy’.”

“Alright…what were you thinking about then?...Aha!!...I’m right, aren’t I…? Look Pet…Sappy, Right?”

“Don’t try to drag me into this, David Miller…but Urs…you should put your shades down before you think about, what your thinking about….your eyes are so expressive…..it’s very… stimulating.”

Ur grinned and lowered his shades from where they rested on the top of his head, ignoring David’s victorious chortle, then laughing when he heard David’s delayed reaction to his wife’s words.

“Really? Stimulating?....Did you pack the Kryptonite?”

They were all still laughing and trying to find out the signifigance of that question when they pulled up to the entrance of the Hotel.

There was a message waiting for Urs when he checked in, from Maggie of course… ‘at the pool’. He hurried to his suite to drop off his luggage and find his trunks, then nearly jogged from the elevator to the steamy doors of the indoor pool.

He spotted them immediately, Maggie sitting on the edge of the shallow end while Ilse was in the water with Niki who splashed and laughed a few feet away. Shoes and tee shirt came off quickly and he dove in the deep end, swimming underwater until he saw the chubby little body above him, then surfaced, taking Niki up in his hands and cradling him as the little guy laughed and reached up for his face.

Urs lifted the boy up and held him snugged against his chest, wincing a bit when the clutching hands tugged on his hair but returning the wet kiss that was the newest trick that his son had learned, just before he had left home in September.

“You’ve been taking excellent care of your Mami, I see. She looks amazing, Son,” he said, looking over Niki’s head at his wife.

Her hair was wet but braided in a long plait that she almost sat on, her body toned and slender, except for her chest that still retained some of the fullness from nursing, the whole package encased in a simple black Lycra Bikini, accessorized merely by the sparkle of her eyes as she smiled at him with a mix of emotions…love, welcome, lust, pride.

He took two steps to the edge and leaned in to kiss her gently, making Niki laugh as he was trapped between them.

“Gruezi,” he whispered against her mouth, his eyes open and feasting on hers.

“We missed you.”

“I know…me too.”

He sighed and stepped back…now was not the time or place, though his body stirred after just that brief touch of her warm mouth. He let the water calm him and lay back with Niki on his chest, using his feet to propel them as he gave the squealing child a ride. The little fellow showed no fear of the water at all, the time they had spent in the pool in Willisau’s sports complex had taught him that there was nothing to fear.

After a few minutes they returned to find both Ilse and Maggie drying off and he handed Niki up, vaulting to the concrete edge and collecting his towel, shirt and shoes.

He smiled at Ilse as she gathered up Niki’s things and frowned silently as she blushed and became flustered. Perhaps hiring a young Nanny had been a mistake. If one smile from him had her awkward and strained, what would happen when she encountered the full Il Divo effect with all four of them?

She was a plain little thing, mousy brown hair and a sallow complexion, slightly taller than Maggie but a little on the plump side…20, if he remembered right, and from a large family in Luzern. Maggie had found her through an agency and in her IM’s said she was very good with Niki, very attentive and diligent, no boyfriend to be demanding of her time, willing to travel and agreeable to being the caregiver nightly while on the road.

“We never had a chance to meet…I’m Urs… are you looking forward to joining the tour?”

“OH, Yes,” she said, answering him in heavily accented English and flushing again.

“I’ve never been out of Europe before…and Niki is a wonderful little boy, so smart and fun to be around.”

They returned to the suite, Urs taking the opportunity to give Niki his bath to get rid of the pool water, then he fed his son some lunch while Maggie chatted, resting her head on her hands as she caught Urs up on what had been happening at home, then asked how the tour was going.

“Miss Striesand is such a consummate professional…it’s been a great learning experience so far. She’s demanding but fair, quite like all of us in a way since she’s very much the perfectionist. And the pace of this tour is so much easier to handle.”

Ilse came for Niki, to put him down for his nap. Urs kissed his son gently on the brow and handed him over, watching as she carried the boy into the second bedroom.

“Urs I have to leave you for a few minutes…somehow I’ve lost the converter for my laptop and need to replace it…I noticed a shop near the Hotel so while you shower I’ll just whip on down and get a new one…I shouldn’t be more than half an hour.”

He wrapped his arms around her, tempted to kiss her until she couldn’t stand but thought better of it and kissed her tenderly, patting her bottom with resignation.

“I guess I can shower alone one more time,” he said with a leering smile that made her laugh.

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise….I’ve thought up some new moves that you might like…a lot.”

She escaped before he could capture her again and grabbed her shoulder bag and key card as she grinned back at him and left the suite.

Mein gott, how he loved that woman! She was so complex, so much fun, so inventive, such a tease but worth the wait. Just the mention of new moves had his temperature shooting through the roof, yet he knew they had to wait. It was imperative that they be able to be reached at all times…duty came first, but sometimes it wasn’t easy to remember.

He stripped off while the huge shower warmed up. It was a luxurious bathroom, one entire end comprising a shower area that was open, no doors or curtain, just a glass half wall and grating of fine mesh near the open entrance to catch any spray or to drip on when leaving the confines. He set his supplies on the built in shelving on the back wall and stepped under the spray, enjoying the hot water cascading over his body and running off to empty down the drain. He moved directly under the nozzle and placed his hands on the wall, leaning on them as his thoughts wandered and the cascade of water loosened his muscles, finally reaching for the shampoo and taking a generous dollop to rub it into his scalp. He rinsed and did it again, rinsed once more, thinking of the long lovely showers they had enjoyed together, probably not a good idea since he was alone and his body reacted, not caring that no relief was in sight.

He laughed and applied conditioner, turning under the spray after a long 2 minutes to rinse it all out, feeling the silkiness when the creamy substance was gone and opened his eyes now that it was safe.

For just a second he thought that Maggie had returned and started to grin, stepped forward away from the lightly steamed glass wall and stared in horror at Ilse who stood in the shower entrance, naked,her face flushed, breathing rapid, one hand reaching out to touch him.

“You are so beautiful,” she squeaked out between wet lips.

He found his voice and roared at her, grabbing her grasping hand off his body in an iron grip and shoving her away.

“GET OUT!!”

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIX

Maggie was humming as she hustled down the hall to their suite, duty done, just a question of hooking up the converter and plugging the Puter in to keep it charged, the only thing that stood between her and the gorgeous man she hungered for. There was something so appealing about him when he looked at her from under his half lowered lashes, something that made her body actually feel a ZING!! Sometimes she watched him when he wasn’t aware of her study, the animal like, graceful way he moved, the quick smile, the intense gaze when he was listening to what someone had to say. He was innately gracious, reminding her sometimes of a combination of Inga and Nikolai, which of course was to be expected…though Franz didn’t really have ‘IT’…Franz was a big lumbering, friendly ox…Urs was a panther.

She laughed at herself…such a fanciful train of thought…there was no doubt about it…she had been without the attention of her loving ‘panther’ for too long.

It was the complete absence of sound that reached her first when she entered the suite, and the foreign feeling of it. They had never tiptoed around when Niki slept…on the advice of Mami they had accustomed the little boy to normal household sounds and now he slept through nearly anything.

She walked into the Lounge area and glanced around, spotting Urs standing with one hand braced against the door frame to the second bedroom, his body rigid with anger.

Just inside the door a security guard she recognized from the traveling crew stood with his arms folded watching Ilse who was jamming her belongings into an open suitcase, weeping quietly.

“Urs?”

He whirled around, his face still a mask of loathing that made her gasp before he realized who it was and shook his head at the question he could see in her eyes.

“Ilse is leaving. We will talk about it later.”

The statement was final, no discussion allowed, but she had to ask.

“Niki?”

“Fine, Luv…he’s sleeping.”

She crossed to one of the dining area chairs, pulled it out and sat, stiffly watching the silent tableau.

Urs had donned his clothing of jeans and tee shirt without drying after his shower and now both the jeans and the shirt were streaked with soaked up water from his wet skin and dripping hair. He held something in his free hand, what looked like a cheque and the hand against the door frame was clenched, white knuckled to match the rigid stance of his body, his back muscles rippling with the effort to keep his barely controlled anger in check.

Ilse had been crying for a while, her eyes were streaked with red, her nose and cheeks flaming and tears had dripped onto the front of her cotton shirt. She appeared to have dressed, in the same jeans and shirt as in the morning, but hastily, the buttons slightly skewed, no bra, but then she didn’t really need one. Her hands shook as she tried to do the zipper up on her luggage, struggling, but neither man offered to help her, merely waited in silence until she managed and extended the handle, put on her jacket, slung her large carryall over her shoulder and looked at the floor in front of Urs’ feet.

“I’m ready,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Urs pushed himself off the door frame and spoke to Howie, the security guard, handing him the cheque and some American money.

“Stay with her…Steve got her on a flight…she can pick up the E ticket in the terminal…since you’re official security they’ll clear you through to the gate. Just as she gets on the plane give her this paycheque and wait by the gate to be sure she actually takes off. The cash is for the cab there and back. I appreciate this, Howie.”

“No problem, man…glad to help.”

The big man took Ilse by the upper arm and nodded at Maggie as they left the suite. Urs checked on Niki again, then exited the bedroom with the Monitor in his hand, closing it softly and flexing his knotted shoulder muscles.

“Can you tell me know?”

“You aren’t going to like it…we should maybe wait until you can’t chase after her and hurt her.”

She just stared at him and he came over to move her off the chair and sit her on his lap, not a very dry perch but she wasn’t prepared to complain at the moment.

As thoroughly and succinctly as possible he explained, tightening his grip on her waist when she stiffened with outrage at his cold description of seeing the Nanny naked in the shower door. She swore through clenched teeth, just loud enough to hear and seemed about to leap to her feet, but he held her in place.

“I paid her to the end of the month and got her a ticket home to Luzern and that’s the end of it. Next time we get someone a bit more mature or maybe gay…”

“Wouldn’t work…all of you guys have a fairly large contingent of gay fans. Being gay doesn’t mean they have lousy taste in music you know.” Her words were clipped, angry and he was glad that her anger was not at him.

He leaned his head against hers and smiled a bit, his anger beginning to dissipate.

“I’m sorry, Liebe…I was so insistent that I rushed you into this.”

“And I wanted some alone time with you so much that I ignored the warning signs. Ilse talked about you constantly, I think even had your picture in her wallet…she closed it too fast for me to be sure. I doubt that she would have worked out.”

She was handling it well, he thought, as she rose and hooked up her computer but he knew her fertile mind was working overtime. At last the question he had dreaded came, just as he walked up behind her. She turned and looked up at him.

“Did she actually touch you?”

He sighed.

“Yes, for about 10 seconds, until I could pry her loose.”

“Where?”

He told her and watched the anger infuse those lovely green eyes, saw her fists clench, her shoulders stiffen, could have sworn that her teeth grew longer, sharper, more lethal.

Risking bodily injury, he folded her into his arms and soothed her in the only way he was sure would work.

**

“So what are you going to do without a Nanny?” Seb asked when they met up later for dinner.

Urs had Niki on his lap, happily playing with his keys, though in Papa Buhler’s opinion, it was sacrilegious to chew on the Harley Davidson key chain even if you were teething.

“Do without…lots of people don’t have Nannies and we’ll just have to cope for now. There’s a hotel service if we need to go out in the evening for a while, like for that event in Chicago, but for the most part we aren’t really into the club scene anyway.”

They hadn’t gone into any great detail about the incident with their friends, just told them that Ilse didn’t work out and had gone home. David gave Urs a funny look, sure that there was more to it than that but shelved the questions he had until a better time.

“Let’s not waste any more time talking about this,” Maggie said. “I need to see some pictures of that house I’ve heard so much about. You do have some, don’t you?”

Petra laughed and nodded.

“Don’t get him started. He’s been carting around a whole album of pics and 3 videos ever since the deal was finalized. We do need to have you and Urs come visit after we move in and give us some advice on the conservatory, though. The old owners kind of lost interest and everything is either dying or over grown…we don’t know much about plant life.”

“I want a hammock chair, like the one you have in the school,” David said with a grin.

“Then it’s Urs you really need…he can probably tell you the Latin name of everything, the genus and sub species, all that stuff that I don’t understand…I only know pretty, edible and poisonous, and only because my own Botany Professor taught me,” Maggie said with a proud pat on Urs arm.

“Actually we’re thinking of taking in the Botanical Gardens tomorrow…they even have a children’s play area,” Urs said as he tucked into his salad. “Tonight, we just thought we would make an early night of it,” he continued, hoping that was enough of a hint to forestall any company dropping by.

Niki seemed fascinated, watching Urs eating his dinner and finally Maggie had to rescue him when the little boy kept trying to snag food off his father’s plate. She pulled a bib, small spoon and jar of some kind of mushy food out of her voluminous bag and calmly set the little fellow in the chair the waiter had brought to the table, spooning what she said was strained squash into the cavern known as Niki’s mouth in a never ending stream. Next came raspberries in an equally unrecognizable format, then a cookie shaped like a hippo and the boy was content to soak it in drool and grin at his audience, wearing a great deal of it in the process.

“He’s not tidy but he does know how to play to an audience,” Urs commented as he finished his meal in peace and sat back to watch Niki giggle and mash the gooey hippo on to the table.

With the superior skill of a two year old, Paul watched the performance with giggles, conveniently forgetting that only a few months before he had been at the same stage of development. He wielded his spork to feed himself mashed potatoes, finely chopped beef and baby carrots that he thought tasted better if held in chubby fingers to nibble, just like the small slices of ripe Georgia peaches that comprised his dessert. His only concession to youth was the plastic drinking glass that Pet poured his milk in to end the meal.

Back in the room Maggie looked up from changing Niki into bed clothes when she heard Urs laughing.

“I was just thinking about how things change. Two years ago none of us would have so blithely accepted watching the kids destroying that elegant table setting. We would have looked at others with families and snickered, complacent with our unattached lives. And yet the faces around the table tonight were happier than I’ve ever seen any of us. I know I don’t regret the choice to grow up and have a family but it didn’t really register that the other guys feel the same. Carlito says that he and Gerry have leapt to the top of the list at the adoption agency and even Seb had a kind of goofy look when he was watching the kids. Sometimes change is a good thing, even when it kind of creeps up on you.”

He came over to take Niki, all clean and dried, smelling fresh and new as his eyes got heavy and he snuggled against his Papa. Urs leaned down to Maggie and kissed her rosy lips gently.

“I’m so happy that I found you, Luv.”

“Me too,” she said and wrapped her arm around his waist as they took their son in to bed.

**

They compromised on what to do about Niki when the concert date came up on the second. They had gone to the Botanical Gardens on the first and had a wonderful time wandering through the displays, letting Niki down from the carrier to play in the Children’s area, then joining David, Petra and Paul in their suite for a video night after the boys both fell asleep.

Urs was anxious for Maggie to see the BS/IlDivo concert for the first time and knew she wanted to so he arranged for one of the ILDivo crew to sit with the sleeping boy, in his Papa’s dressing room. Brian was happy to do it, since he had irritated his rotator cuff and wasn’t operating at full strength…this would give him something useful to do and allow him to finish the last 40 pages in the book he was reading.

The tour was a bit dressier than the usual Il Divo tours and the girls all looked like debutantes, all dressed in gowns or sparkly pant suits.

Maggie, looking elegant in a shimmering white silk gown, was standing talking to Urs when Ms. Striesand came by with her entourage. She stopped and smiled her famous lopsided twitch of the lips, appraising the young woman with the handsome tenor.

“So you’re the one …I can see why our Swiss tenor can put such passion in the love songs.”

Urs had warned Maggie that Barbra didn’t tolerate ass kissers and assumed her most gracious but pleasant attitude, holding her hand out for a firm handshake.

“Ms. Striesand, this is Maggie, Lady Margaret-Rose Buhler,” Urs said quietly but with evident pride.

“Well I figured that…you never look at the Bimbos around here the way you look at her…where’s the boy?”

“Sleeping in Urs’ dressing room…he’s not disturbed by noise or music…we made sure of that right from the start,” Maggie said with a smile.

“I’ve heard some good things about that school you sponsor in London…I’m going to be touring there in the near future…I’d like to drop by, if that’s all right.”

Maggie felt her heart do a flip-flop but showed nothing on the surface. To have someone of Ms. Striesand’s stature show an interest in the school was an unbelievable honor.

“Thank you…I’m sure that if you have time, the kids would love to have you come by…it would mean a great deal to them…and to me.”

Someone called out for the Diva, needing her onstage and she grimaced.

“Yeah, Yeah…You should keep this one, Swiss boy…she doesn’t fluster easily…I like that. Nice to meetcha, Maggie. Enjoy the show.”

With that and a swirl of voluminous dark gown, she was gone, the epitome of the Barbra whose reputation was known around the world, still showing her rough roots but a class act that none could equal.

“Wow!!...she’s like a force of nature,” Maggie said, relaxing now and watching the diva disappear.

Soon after, she joined Pet, Geena and Gerry out front to enjoy the concert.

**

This tour was a pleasure, affording the divos and their wives plenty of time to explore the places they visited. They spent nearly 3 days in Atlantic City, David and Urs taking turns babysitting so the other could try their luck in the Casinos. As usual the house was the big winner, though none of the couples had a gambling problem and for the most merely enjoyed watching the pain of the other players who were consistently losing.

Maggie’s cycle came right on time again, not a surprise since they had been separated for a month, so the four days of free time in Atlantic City and the first Chicago concert were snuggle only days.

The second Chicago concert was time for romance again and Herr Romantic pulled out all the stops with flowers, a candlelight dinner, music, actual dancing on the glassed in balcony and a rose petal strewn bed. Maggie came to him in the dim light of candles in the bedroom, fresh from the shower, her scent just a hint on the still air of the room, dressed for seduction in a filmy white negligee over black stockings and pure white lace lingerie that brought out her tan and made her black hair nearly luminous.

He undressed her slowly, treasuring each newly exposed area of warm, smooth flesh with his hooded eyes, wet lips and trembling hands, their minds and bodies attuned, needing no words except those which could not be held back.

The give and take was smooth, seamless, choreographed by emotion rather than intellect, by need and understanding, each giving and taking, demanding and accepting, in a slow worship of love that at last consumed them in flames.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVEN

Chicago in November is not the place to spend your free time when the warmth of San Jose beckons so the entire troupe headed immediately for California. They had from the 9th to the 13th to play before the concert on the 13th and, though it was winter even here in sunny Calfornia, it wasn’t cold or snowing and they were determined to make the most of their time.

Unfortunately for Urs and Maggie, Niki’s next batch of teeth decided to make an attempt to erupt and he was miserable. Only the frozen teething rings that Pet had suggested she try helped Niki, and Maggie get through the days…the nights were something else entirely.

Urs coped with it as well or better than most fathers, pacing the floor at night with the fretting child, rocking him to sleep, fetching the frozen treats, letting Maggie catch a bit of sleep when he could.

Strangely the strain brought them closer together instead of fraying nerves and making them regret their decision to have children. They laughed about it whenever they had time to snuggle or make love, claiming to their sympathetic friends that what the three of them were going through made them appreciate the quiet moments all that much more.

Niki had fallen into exhausted sleep at nearly dawn and Urs carried Maggie back to their room to lay on their bed. She rested her head on his chest and played with the curly hairs that went in every direction.

“Urs, I think I should take him home. We can go to see Dr. H when we get back to Irgendwo and see if there’s anything she can do to ease the discomfort he’s in. And it can’t be good for you to have to pace the floor all night, not with concerts coming up.”

He sighed, knowing she was right but not happy about being away from them.

“I won’t get home until likely the 24th…the concerts are over on the 20th, then the new CD comes out on the 23rd and there will be a flurry of appearances in London. The 24th will be the earliest.”

“Just in time to start getting ready for Christmas and New Years Eve.”

He sighed again.

“And the new tour starting on the 16th in Kuala Lumpur. Baby, I don’t know if I can do it anymore.”

“Funny, I never tagged you as a quitter, Urs Toni Buhler. Once you’ve had some home time and inhaled that lovely Swiss air, you’ll get your second wind. It isn’t forever, Urs…and you aren’t alone…we can do this.”

He was silent for a few minutes and she shifted so that her upper body rested on her elbows as she looked in his eyes.

“Alright, we don’t need the money so that isn’t part of the equation…lets say you quit and become a gentleman farmer, maybe teaching at the local Academy and keeping me pregnant, popping out another baby every year. In twenty years, we’ll have a house full of children, the camps running well a couple of times per year…and what will be going on in your head. What will you be thinking?”

There was quiet in the room as she waited while he thought about it.

“Damn, you’re good…I’ll be thinking that I should have stuck with it, taken the Il Divo experience as far as it would go, fed off the successes and learned from it, then built another career from that experience when the time was right…I need to be on that stage, to give what I can to every performance, to live this passion that makes me who I am….what I do isn’t work, it’s my passion, second only to what I feel for you and Niki….it just scares me that I might lose both if I sacrifice one for the other.”

She smiled into his dark eyes and nodded her head.

“I thought there was more to it than just disliking the touring and separations. Urs we’ve managed some very trying times already and nothing has dimmed the love that we have or made our relationship weaker…it’s made us stronger, like that old saying… ‘what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger’. We’re an old hand at this long distance stuff now and experts at having babies. And I’m so proud of you for what you’ve accomplished. And Herr Buhler…” She inched forward and teased his mouth with hers. “No matter what you decide, you can’t get rid of me…I’m in it for the long haul.”

He had no chance to answer as she latched on to his mouth, tasting, nibbling, invading, kissing him until he became dizzy with emotion and his body ached with need. Tonight she was in control, taking what she needed, giving more than she took, giving such pleasure that he was certain his heart would stop beating, wanton in her demands as she allowed him to participate, joining him in ecstasy as they once more flew beyond the bonds of reality.

**

Niki was a bit better the next day but they decided that it wasn’t over yet and the decision they had made for Maggie to go home was the right one.

She booked a flight for the 15th of November. That would give Urs travel time to get to Phoenix and settle in before the concert on the 16th.

The concert on the 13th in San Jose was another outstanding success. Maggie had stayed at the suite this time with Niki who had fretted a bit, ready to start another bad session in the next day or so she thought. After the show Urs hurried back to the hotel and found her asleep on the sofa in the Lounge, the Monitor by her side.

Though there were no sounds from the little boy, he checked on him anyway, closed the door softly and returned to lift her onto his lap and cuddle her while he wound down from the performance.

“I tried to stay awake…Sorry…when he crashed I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I did dream about you though.”

He laughed at her and kissed her brow.

“A good dream, I hope.”

“Beautiful…Spring and our bulbs blooming and we’re walking in the field, Niki was older, looked just like you and was playing with other children and Cosmo….you were singing, something I’ve never heard before, explaining the score of an opera to me…I think you wrote it…it was lovely.”

He rested his head on the back of the sofa, stroking her back lightly as she lay against him.

“Ms. Striesand says she hopes Niki is feeling better soon.”

“She doesn’t miss much, does she? And that was very kind of her.”
“She mentioned about the school again…I think she really means to drop by if she has time.”

“I’m going to spend a day in London, at least, if Niki is doing alright. There are some papers to sign and I can go by the school and see how things are going…I don’t think I’ll mention Ms. Striesand though unless the visit is confirmed. It would be too disappointing to them.”

They were quiet for a few minutes then Maggie stirred enough to ask if he had eaten.

“Shared a pizza with the guys… all I’m hungry for right now is a cuddle with my girl…and if time and Niki’s teeth permit, a steamy shower in the morning.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said as he picked her up and headed into the bedroom.

**

The fourteenth was an off day and as if he knew what was about to happen Niki had a good day, only crying for his frozen teething ring once, late in the afternoon. They went out to explore the city and get some fresh air, found a park and played on the swings, accidentally came across a shop that sold motorcycle accessories and went in to browse. Niki scored his first Harley tee shirt which of course meant that Mami and Papa had to have matching ones. Urs found a belt buckle he had never seen before and was easily persuaded into purchasing it.

They went for ice cream after the Harley shop, both for the treat and in hopes that it would help ease the throbbing poor little NIki had in his gums. Urs fed him, offering because he wouldn’t get to do it for a while, doing a very neat job after all the practice he had racked up lately. They wiped off with some Handi wipes from Maggie’s carryall and strolled, not eager yet to return.

“Petra and David have offered to keep Niki over night tonight, if you like, so we can have some alone time….did you want to go out?” he asked her as Niki started to fall asleep in his carrier, his sweet face nestled against Urs chest.

“I’d rather have a quiet dinner with you, maybe a dance or two if you’re feeling adventurous. I’m not in the mood to share you, not on our last night for a few weeks.”

“Good, ‘cause I don’t want to be shared tonight. I’ve already ordered dinner, I thought Gazpacho, Tapas and a nice red…we can have it in front of that fake fireplace in the Lounge and pretend we’re home.”

His hand was on her neck and he pulled her closer to kiss her, almost letting himself loose but pulling back with a sigh and looking down at her still closed eyes as she savored the tingle still on her lips.

“Thank you, my little Love.” He said softly and caressed his hand over her cheek.

“For…?” she asked, opening her eyes.

“You never asked if I had done anything to warrant Ilse’s actions…you know, if I had come on to her.”

She looked surprised and then smiled.

“It never occurred to me. I trust you, Urs. You never lie to me, you always tell me the truth even when it’s not easy and when you make a promise, you keep it. Our lifestyle works because we trust each other.”

They walked a bit further towards the Hotel and she looked over to him with a wry smile.

“I will admit though that if that Bitch ever sees me on the sidewalk in town, she better cross the street.”

He laughed so hard Niki woke up and laughed too.

**

“David, I’m fine…I’m not going and that’s the end of it.”

He looked at Pet with his puppy dog eyes and she did the head shake-eye roll thing, then stomped off to the next room to tidy up after Paul.

He flexed his shoulders and thought that maybe he should talk to urs. His Swiss friend had more or less memorized the childbirth books while Maggie was pregnant…David didn’t have Urs eidetic memory or the patience todo that. All he knew was that Maggie hadn’t been allowed to travel during her 3rd trimester and Pet would be at 7 months on November 20th. Were they pushing it by having her accompanying him on this part of the Tour?

On the other hand she looked amazing. Because of her height and healthy eating habits, she carried her pregnancy well, most of the weight gain in her bosom and belly, showing a nicely rounded bump that fit beautifully under the roomy cotton shirts she favored.

There was a glow about her that Geena said was due to hormones, one that he found made her even more beautiful to him than before. Just thinking of her made him react and he adjusted himself, knowing that right now she was angry with him and wouldn’t be receptive. Anyway they had promised to babysit and since it was almost bedtime for the boys, Urs and Maggie would be here soon with Niki. Maybe he could get a few minutes alone with Urs and ask for advice.

**

Urs, Maggie and Niki arrived and the girls disappeared into the bedroom with the boys to get them ready for bed. Urs could tell at a glance that David was itching to talk about something and followed his lead out onto the small balcony and waited while he shut the door part way.

“If you’re going to say you cheated on Petra and want me to alibi you get ready for a pounding…I don’t like that sort of thing and Pet doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.”

“What? Who said I cheated on Pet?...It’s a bloody lie…I would never…AHA!!! Damn you, you Swiss Bas**rd! You’re trying to wind me up aren’t you?”

“Not trying, Davey…succeeding!! You make it so easy,” Urs said with his eyes all crinkled as he laughed.

“This is serious, Urs…Petra will be 7 months along when the tour is over and I’ve been trying to convince her she should go home. She’s so moody and stubborn and when I tell her to take it easy or to go home and rest she won’t do it. How did you get Maggie to do it?”

Urs looked at the serious expression on his friend’s face and tried to keep his laughter controlled.

“First of all, Maggie is her own person…I didn’t GET her to go…we discussed it and got medical advice…they don’t advise flying after the 7th month. Pet’s a sensible woman who has been through this before. Talk WITH her, not AT her and see if things go better. Anyway, you don’t need marriage advice from me. I make lots of mistakes but we sort them out, together.”

Urs looked at his friend, watching him as David inspected his feet in great detail, absorbing what had been said. Of all the guys, he felt closest to David, had from the start, but then it was difficult not to really like the big friendly American. This was a moment when he couldn’t be reticent about his personal life, not if opening up would help David over a rough patch.

“When Maggie was pregnant it seemed important that she know how much I love her. As her body got bigger and what she mistakenly thought of as less appealing to me, I made sure to let her know how she turned me on, even more than when she was slender. There was just something about knowing that inside her bump, in that body I adored, was a baby we had created with our love… when she wasn’t around I took a lot of very cold showers, believe me, everytime I thought about her and when she was, I couldn’t get enough of her.”

Now it was David’s turn to watch while Urs looked off at the lights in the buildings across the street, completely lost in his memories.

“Sometimes on stage I was so uncomfortable that I was afraid it would show to the audience. I told her, often…trust me, my little wife had no doubt about how much I loved and wanted her. Maybe Pet is feeling a bit insecure, I don’t know. Maybe she just needs to feel alluring to you, even though she’s getting quite the bump. If it helps any, I could take Paul for a night so you two could have a romantic night together, you know, the candles and flowers and stuff. We could do it on the day off we’ll have in Vegas.”

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, then David sighed and stood up.

“You got something planned for tonight?”

Urs looked up at him and smiled as he got to his feet

“Ja…and David…this conversation never happened, right?”

David laughed and threw his arm around Urs’ shoulders, both of them heading back in to the Lounge.

“What conversation? Thanks Bro.”

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHT…IT BEGINS

Urs set the stage perfectly for a romantic evening with his lady while she was busy in the bedroom changing into the robe she found spread out on the foot of the bed. How he had managed to sneak the lovely cream silk gown in without her seeing she didn’t know, probably at the same time that the roses spread through the suite had magically appeared. The gown was soft and alluring, very low cut over her bosom and flowing over the rest of her body in a not quite transparent curtain. She brushed her hair until it shone then returned to the Lounge to find that he had lit dozens of candles on nearly every flat surface in the room and was playing a favorite compilation CD on the built in stereo.

Dinner had arrived on a silver and glass cart, the domed silver covers on the food begging to be lifted to reveal the contents, red wine had been opened and 2 glasses poured and Herr Romance waited for her on the balcony, his tee shirt gone and the moonlight making shadows over the dips and curves of his sculpted chest and arms.

Her timing was perfect…the music had just started another track and he came towards her to sweep her into his arms and dance with her, their bodies tight and moving as one across the floor to the slow love song.

The feeling of being so attuned, so bonded together, dancing barefoot in the flickering candle light was incredible, so sensual that Maggie was ready NOW to be possessed by this man she loved beyond anything else in life but he bent her back and kissed the swell of her bosom tenderly then spun her away from him and tugged on her hand to lead her to their dinner.

He passed her a glass of the red wine and served her the cold Gazpacho soup, helping himself to a bowl as well as they sat on the floor by the coffee table, much like they did in front of the real fireplace at home.

They talked about the New Years Eve party, planning a few changes from the one they had hosted last year.

“Can we have fireworks?”

“Good idea, Liebe. When you get home give Marc a call…he always handles the fireworks for our national holiday in August. He should be able to tell you who he gets to organize it. The sleighs I think we should do again…almost everyone used them and it was such a relief not to have to worry about anyone drinking and driving.”

They began selecting from the trays of Tapas, sharing their favorites, feeding each other the bite sized morsels. There was a momentary digression when Maggie lost a bit of olive tapenade and Urs got overly enthusiastic about recovering it from her cleavage…with his tongue. She found herself laying back on the carpet with him looming over her, trailing kisses over her chest, up the length of her neck and teasing the corner of her mouth.

“You are so beautiful, my most precious treasure,” he murmured as he caressed her lips with his and flicked his tongue across the plump surface until she opened to ask him in.

As if choreographed to suit their passion the music kept pace with them, slow and soft, strings and soft piano of Beethoven, the stirring rhythm of Mozart with the crescendos that swept the senses then eased back to the melody once more, the finale of Beethoven’s Pathetique, soothing, stirring, perfect.

Now there was only talk of love, remembered moments, shared pleasures, promises renewed, bonds strengthened, senses re-awakened and they loved again, gently, a cementing of souls in a ritual as old as man and woman.

**

Urs was unwilling to send them off alone for some reason. He insisited on taking them to the airport and waiting until the last minute with them before kissing both his son and his wife at the security check point and watching them walk further into the terminal.

He had the urge to call out to Maggie just before she disappeared, to tell her not to go, but he resisted the impulse as selfish. Of course he wanted to be with them, but he knew how hard it had been for Niki to adjust to touring while he didn’t feel well and he could see the toll it had taken on Maggie…the tiny bit of makeup that she wore, thinking it would hide the dark circles under her eyes…he knew every inch of her so well…it didn’t fool him, not for a second.

He turned away and returned to the hotel, rattled around in the suite restlessly, then changed to his sweats and went to the gym for a punishing workout until it was time to go back to the airport for his flight to Phoenix.

**

The experience of flying was getting to be old stuff for Niki now, but Maggie managed to keep him amused as they sped across the continent, landing briefly in New York then off again for another 6 hours to London. Babies don’t willingly do time changes so she kept him on the current schedule, using the food and drink she had brought through customs for him and adjusting his car seat/carrier so he could go to sleep. Only once did she have to dig out one of the teething rings from the thermal container and it quickly soothed his gums enough for him to sleep peacefully.

She searched through her carry on for the book she had planned to read and found the little velvet box that Urs had tucked inside without her knowledge. The sight of it made her laugh as she wondered if he had yet found the card and present she had left for him. Probably not since it was in with his concert gear and he wouldn’t be opening that until tomorrow. She wondered if, for the rest of the tour, he would wear the sterling Harley belt buckle that she had asked the jeweler in Willisau to make. The Swiss chocolate of course he would find when he packed his rolling bag … it would likely be well hidden from the others when he arrived in Phoenix.

The red velvet box opened easily and revealed an ornate silver locket and chain, engraved on the back, ‘Ich liebe sie’. Inside was a photo of Urs and Niki, a candid shot that David had taken of them face to face, both laughing. Tears sprang to her eyes but she smiled and dropped the chain around her neck to let the locket reside inside her blouse, near her heart. She forgot about the book and lay back to rest, one hand on the carrier where their son slept.

**

It was so wonderful to see Peter waiting for her at the airport. He marveled over Niki, showed her pictures of his own brood when she asked and they left the window down so they could chat on the way to the suite in Chelsea. Simon had thoughtfully arranged for Peter to pick her up and to be at her disposal while she was in London and once again she mentally thanked her dear godfather.

“Is he in London, Peter?” she asked.

“No, Lady Margaret…there was some sort of problem and he had to go to the estate. He should be back tomorrow and I was to tell you that if you stay over he would love to see you.”

“It depends on Baby Buhler here….he’s teething and his mood swings are very erratic.”

“Ah, yes…how well I know what that is like.”

They discussed methods of coping and Maggie filed the information away in case of need.

Peter helped take inside all the peripheral things that traveling with a baby entails and Maggie put Niki, still sleeping, in the Master suite, not really anxious to be alone tonight. It was past 1 in the a.m. and she knew that Niki would waken in a couple of hours, so she changed and lay on top of the covers on the big empty bed, thinking of what she would like to do in the city in the daylight, IF, Niki was feeling alright. At the very least she wanted to visit the school, that was a given. She fell asleep thinking about Urs, her hand on the locket that she hadn’t yet taken off.

**

Urs was up at his usual early morning hour, showered and down stairs for breakfast long before the others had surfaced. He had finished breakfast and a scan of the local newspaper, was on his second coffee when David, Pet and Paul came in and joined him.

“Maggie make it home alright?”

He smiled at Paul who was making motions towards the single piece of toast left on the table and pleading ‘Toas’, Please, OOs’.
It reminded him so much of Yvie and he grinned at the little fellow as he passed the toast over.

“I didn’t want to call her in case Niki was sleeping…she’ll call me when she gets a chance. If he’s fretting she may have her hands full.”

“Did she leave you chocolate this time? I know she usually does,” David asked with his eyes very eager.

“If she did, and I’m not saying she did, she said nothing about sharing, so back off, Yank.”

“Oh you two…David you can afford to buy your own…sometimes I think you boys will never grow up.” Petra laughed at the pair of them.

They seemed to have weathered some crisis and this morning acted like newly wed, holding hands under the table, sharing smiles and endearing glances…Urs smiled as he thought that maybe his friend had taken his advice after all.

“What time is sound check today, has Steve said?”

“I saw him for about 30 seconds when I first came in…he said 15h30…that’s 3:30 to you Yankees. And he wants to go straight to Vegas on the red eye after the concert tonight, so we have to take our stuff to the venue with us.”

They were still eating and talking when the others arrived for breakfast and spent a leisurely time chatting. Just another typical concert day.

**

Before sound check there was time to kill and Urs spent a few minutes of it calling the suite. He left a message for Maggie to get when she returned, though he couldn’t quite figure out where she would be…with the time difference it would be around 23h…maybe she had decided to stay at the school, just for the company…well it was much too late to call there.

He packed up his rolling bag, ate another piece of chocolate and lay back on the sofa to read his magazine, remembered that he hadn’t filled in all the crossword and searched for a pen, then settled down to while the time away before the stress of sound check and the concert.

**

Maggie woke to a typical dull winter London day and a whimpering baby. Here in the UK it was very early, scarcely past 6a.m. but she felt lucky that Niki had slept so late. She scurried to the Lav, then washed her hands and splashed water on her tired face before going to her son with a smile.

“Aha…surprised you didn’t I?…you’ve become used to seeing your Papa’s face first thing in the morning. C’mon big boy, let’s get you dry and find you some breakfast.”

She picked him up, getting face pats from little hands as she lay him on the bed beside her carry all and held his wiggling body with one hand while she got wipes and fresh diapers out of the bag. He was like a wriggling little eel anymore, absolutely not safe to leave unattended on anything but the floor, and then only for a few seconds since he had become very mobile, rolling or occassionaly crab walking on his hands and knees.

In between spoonfuls of cereal and fruit, she sipped on an orange juisce from a Tetra Pack they had left in the suite and thought about the time difference between here and Urs in…let’s see he would still be in Phoenix, she thought. Where-ever it was, she thought that it would still be night there, in fact he likely wouldn’t even be back from the concert…or was that tonight? Urs was the one adept at figuring out the differences in time…his lists where always easy to follow and she hadn’t really made an effort to figure out how to do it easily.

She laughed at herself for being so dependant on his superior logic skills and Niki laughed as well, spraying the current spoonful of cereal over her hand, something they both thought of as funny as well.

By 9a.m. they were both bathed and dressed, ready to go out. Maggie called the office and made an appointment to see the advisors in the afternoon to sign some documents and collect the quarterly statement that she would read later and save for Urs to see.

Then she called the school to let Cookie know she was coming and listened to the laughing and squealing of the happy woman as the news was relayed on the house grapevine and the noise escalated in the background. It felt good to be so welcome in their lives and she could hardly wait to show off her son…who would hopefully not have a gum attack, not today.

She opted to walk to the school with Niki in the carrier, to walk off the kinks of travel and get what little fresh air they had in the grey city. London had been her home for so long that she was tolerant of the inadequacies…it had been the first real home she had when she reached maturity and independence, the place she and Jessie had come to know as well as some people knew their small hometowns.

There was a pang of grief still when she thought of Jessie and she shoved it aside, not wanting to think of the unselfish way her friend had died, preferring to remember the years of love they had shared, the silly things, the endearing ones.

She wiped a tear from her cheek and whispered ‘Namarrie, Mellon’, {Farewell, Friend in the elvish Jessie had understood so well} and walked on down the windy street to the school.

**

“That’s her…see, look in the photo…the really long black hair…and she come out of that building where he said she had a flat.”

“This one has a kid…he didn’t say nothing about no kid.”

“The long haired geek isn’t with her…maybe he isn’t back yet…makes it easier for us… she’s little, shouldn’t be too hard.”

They watched until she was nearly out of sight, then the driver started the engine and drove carefully along the street until they saw her stop in a flower shop. They parked while she was inside, saw her come out and go a bit further, then step inside the gate of a tall building with a copper plate announcing that it was a Residential Music School.

“A school…that means little squaling kids…I don’t like kids much.”

“Och, kids are easy…back hand one and the rest fall into line. We better call the boss and see what he wants though.”

Laurenz had spent his exile wisely, researching the school Maggie was involved in, delving through the mysteries of the Internet and getting information on her, on the school, everything he could find out that would make his plans come to fruition.

He explained how the school was set up, the number of people his crew could expect to find inside and the average ages. He knew now that Maggie was wealthy and wondered idly if, after he had regained control of his wife and son, he could perhaps make some real money out of holding her…she must be worth something…but now the emphasis must be on getting the information he needed…the whereabouts of his traitorous wife…He smiled as he thought of the pleasure he would have in extracting that information out of Urs, or perhaps even the woman…yes, that would be a bonus.

Tersely he gave his instructions and closed his mobile. They were professionals and well paid. They would know how to go about the snatch better than he could tell them from 200 K away.

**

Maggie was enveloped in people when she entered the school. All the kids who were in residence today had come to the entry, plus Cookie and Joan. Brian had gone into Base, apparently to do some work on a project that had received an ‘All hands’ code. Joan took Niki from the carrier, carefully talking to him so he wouldn’t ‘make strange’ but the little fellow was so used to being handled by their huge Buhler clan that one more admirer was easy for him to accept.

They moved into the kitchen, shedding carrier and coats, everyone talking at once, the room filled with laughter and comments: what a good looking little fellow the baby was, so like his father, how much some of the younger students had grown, upcoming concerts that the school was preparing for, the reports it seemed everyone had read about the Tour. Only Joan and Cookie noticed how drawn Maggie was but neither was concerned…they knew about teething babies and how it was almost as hard on the parents as the child.

Cookie offered the tray of goodies that she had pulled out for just this treat and dispatched one of the boys to the cooler for jugs of chocolate milk and juice as she poured mugs of coffee for herself, Joan and Maggie. Three of the girls had Niki on the floor playing gleefully with an assortment of toys and pots. In the cheerful hubbub, only Cookie noticed the ringing of the doorbell and she dispatched Angus, one of the teen boys to the door with the comment… ’Probably the mail’.

Moments later the laughter died in trickles as first a few, then the others froze in place, their eyes following Cookie’s as she paled and stood, one hand flying to cover her mouth as she saw the 3 men, one holding the bleeding boy by the neck as they entered the Kitchen.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-NINE….THE SNATCH

He tried the phone at the suite one more time and got the answering machine again. They were in the concourse of McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, heading for the transport. Urs barreled through the crowds, ignoring the calls from anxious fans, letting his brothers deal with them. For some reason he was becoming desperate to hear Maggie’s voice, to just know that she and Niki were alright.

He closed the mobile with a snap and replaced it in his pocket. Had he miscalculated on the time difference? Quickly he redid the math again, for the umpteenth time and came up with the same answer as before….It should be around noon in London, even with jet lag she wouldn’t still be sleeping and though Niki might be, it was more likely that they had finished lunch not long ago and were playing or visiting.

He threw himself into the transport and glared at the laptop as he set it beside him on the seat. As soon as he got in the suite he would try calling Millie…she always knew where Maggie was, well almost always, providing of course Maggie had logged on….no wait…Ever since the scare with the watcher in the woods they had had a GPS tracker on her, embedded in her carryall bags, even in her evening purses…Perhaps it was a little extreme to ask Millie to locate her this way but he was going slightly mad with the need to know.

He sighed and willed the transport to fill up and hurry to the hotel…he had avoided inflicting his foul mood on the fans but would have to endure the time the others spent, signing, getting photos taken, being professionals.

‘That’s the trick, Buhler…be professional…have some patience…’ Somehow he found his patience in very short supply at the moment.

**

Maggie turned slowly to see what had turned everyone facing the doorway silent, somehow sensing that it was trouble of major proportions, her sixth sense screaming one word in her head…. ‘Laurenz!’

She took in the tableau instantly, the three grim men, all large, the beefy type of seedy thugs that Laurenz preferred, the semi conscious teen with blood dripping freely from a head wound in his matted blonde hair. Her natural impulse was to look towards Niki, to reach him and run but she took a deep breath and kept her eyes on the men as they advanced a little further into the room.

The one in front swept his eyes over the room, coming to rest on her and staying as he surveyed her defensive stance. She had slipped off the stool at the counter and braced herself, a slight figure in jeans and a fitted cotton blouse, her hair braided in one long plait, every fiber of her trim body defiant and ready for battle.

His lips curved in an evil smile that held no mirth.

“You’re to come with us,” he said and reached his hand out, palm up, fingers curling in a ‘come here’ motion.

Maggie winced as the memory of that other attack came back to her and a piercing pain shot through the barely visible scar on her leg.

“Who are you?” she said with all the calm she could muster.

“Don’t matter…he wants to talk to you…come along now, there’s a good girl.”

There was a flurry of movement as 2 of the older boys flung themselves at the men…Maggie groaned as the ill fated attempt was met with laughter, James falling to the floor with a vicious chop to his throat that left him gasping for air, Tim staggering back away from his target, his wrist clearly snapped and at a decidedly odd angle as he tried not to cry from pain and frustration.

The man holding Angus flung him to the floor in a heap and reached in his heavy jacket for a weapon, a matte Glock with noise suppressor, she registered automatically, the specs running through her head, totally useless information at this point in time but at least making her feel better that all of her training hadn’t abandoned her.

“And if I don’t come with you?”

“Don’t be difficult, girlie….you there, in the pink sweater…yes you…pick up that kid and come here.”

Maggie watched in horror, unable to do anything while Natalie picked up Niki and tentatively approached the, up to now, only unarmed man.

He bent and pulled up his pant leg to slide a wicked looking knife out of his boot. Maggie felt her blood turn to ice…Mein gott but she hated knives…and to have one so close to Niki and Natalie…

“Alright!!… I get the message.”

Her eyes sought and held Joan’s for an instant, sending a message that she prayed the woman got…’take care of my son…call for help’.

She stepped towards the 3 men.

“Go with my friends here…there’s a van outside…get in and I’ll follow along as soon as they have you secured. And you, little miss, you follow me into the hall with the kid…the rest of you don’t move, not an inch.”

In the hall Maggie grabbed for her jacket and carryall but they were taken from her and pitched down the length of the carpet, the contents spewing out of the bag and trampled under the heavy boots of the men as they hustled her to the door. She could hear the rough voice behind her in the Kitchen delivering an ultimatum of some kind, but her fear that they would hurt her son or anyone else was so over whelming that she couldn’t understand what he was saying.

She was prodded by one of the Glocks in her lower back, took the chance to glance back over her shoulder and saw Natalie, shaking with fear but walking ahead of the third man, carrying Niki who was now crying at being held so tightly and sensed the fear in the house.

The van was right outside the gate and the side door open. She stepped inside and was pushed to the floor, her watch was slipped off and a plastic tether fixed tightly around her wrists and secured to a ring bolted into the floor. Looking up she saw Natalie and Niki in the doorway. He saw her and wiggled around to get his chubby little arms up and out to her, begging his Mami to come for him. The big man brusquiely pushed the girl and baby back in the house and slammed the door. Even as he leapt into the open passenger door, the van began to move, the side door slid closed and they were off.

**

Urs had Paul staying over tonight, not an inconcvenience since he had no intention of leaving his suite until he heard something, anything.

Immediatly when he got inside he had hooked up his laptop and sent out a query to Millie. The result was not what he wanted.

“Ceol has not signed on since early the morning of the 15th. The GPS showed her arriving in London just after midnight on the 16th but has been disabled since 10h17 London time, November 16th. Is there anything further I can do for you, Tristan?”

“No…yes…tell her to call me the minute she gets my message.”

He sat quietly, trying to logically come up with an answer to the mystery. It was now almost the 18th here in the U.S. Why would Maggie disable the GPS? Nothing made any sense to him. He walked out onto the balcony, looking at the night sky, trying to force under control the feeling of dread that was creeping over him.

Once more he checked the time difference…it would be after noon on the 18th in London. He went back inside and took up his mobile to make some calls again.

**

The water they had forced her to drink had been drugged, she was sure of that when she came to her senses on the cold hard floor of the van with the third one of the men beside her, leaning against the back of the drivers seat and dozing. The big man, the one who had held a knife to Natalie’s neck, was coming into the back, knife in hand and she watched him carefully with her drug hazed eyes, determined, now that there was no one they could retaliate on, to put up a fight if he intended to hurt her… or worse.

Instead he reached down and cut the plastic tie that held her in place and replaced the knife in his boot.

“Strip…to the skin, no jewelry, nothing…and put this on.”

“I don’t think so…” she began but his hand shot out and hit her in the face, an open-handed slap that drove her against the wall of the van. She tasted the coppery bite of blood in her mouth as she got back to a semi crouched position.

“Do it, or I’ll have my friend here do it for you. Don’t flatter yourself, girlie…you’re just a job and the boss said that nothing you had on stays with you…I don’t think he trusts you.”

He laughed and waited, watching with a small smile as she turned her back and took everything off, pulling on the very large, man’s blue cotton work shirt over her chilled skin and doing up the buttons before she turned around again.

The locket with the picture of Urs and Niki was in her hand and she clicked it open, looking at the photo one last time, looked up into the big man’s eyes and saw no relenting in them, closed the locket and handed it over.

He had passed her clothing to his helper, who was now awake and stuffing everything in a large plastic bag, jeans, shirt, lingerie, trainers and socks, her watch, the locket, even the elastic tie from her plait which he yanked out of her hair. He held his hand out for the tiny silver studs she wore in her ear-lobes and she took them out, dropping them in the bag as well, watched while he took her rings and dropped them in a pocket, then she sat back down,

on the floor again in a huddle with the roomy shirt pulled down over her bare legs.

She sat quietly, giving the impression that she would be no trouble, not willing to expend energy now when it would be futile. Instead she studied the men who had taken her prisoner.

The big man with the knife was obviously in charge, possibly even a bit more intelligent than the other two. As with the two subordinates he was easily 6 feet tall but broad, short necked like someone who worked out frequently with heavy weights. All wore the same thing: dark pants of some denim like material, pea jackets and turtle necked black sweaters, the knit caps over greasy hair that were called watch caps by some.

They seemed to all be armed with Glocks, even the leader, she thought she had glimpsed the bulge of a shoulder holster when he climbed over the seat to come in the back.

She craned her neck a bit, trying to see out of the only windows, those in the front. They were out of the city, she could see that but didn’t recognize any of the landmarks and wasn’t allowed much time as the man who sat against the passenger seat reached a booted foot over to kick her.

“Siddown, no peekin’ or I’ll tie up up agin.”

“Why did you drug me?”

The big man glanced back over his shoulder with a grin.

“Easier…lots of traffic.…couldn’t risk having you raise a ruckus when there was someone to hear, now could we?”

He seemed disposed to talk so she risked another question.

“Where are you taking me?”

He laughed.

“Oh you’ll like this place…now be a good girl and SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I’LL HAVE YOU GAGGED!”

She was shaken by the abrupt way he was able to change from smiling to enraged and shrunk back against the wall of the van, biding her time.

Not long after, she felt the movement slowing and braced herself mentally, wondering if she could leap for the door and get out before they could stop her. She looked up, straight into the leering face of the third man who had pulled out his Glock and had it aimed, only inches from her body.

“We don’t have to get you there in one piece, just alive…you ain’t got a prayer, girl.”

There were sounds of distant voices outside, the bag with her belongings was passed out the window to someone, then the van eased forward, bumped over something then drove forward again and came to a stop, the motor at last turned off.

She could smell salt air and a slightly fishy scent, diesel fuel…were they at the coast? The floor rumbled with vibrations as a heavy motor engaged and after a few moments there was the sensation of motion which increased as the engine noise did. Soon she could feel the side to side and back and forth motion of the open water as they put to sea.

‘Urs…Urs I need you…find me, get me away from these men,” she prayed, trying to focus her mind on an image of his dear face, trying to hold her fear at bay and not succumb to the helplessness that knotted her stomach and made her feel weak.

**

“Don’t be foolish now…except for these young would-be heroes no one has done anything stupid so don’t start now. No police, no calling her husband or he’ll have to hurt the girl…He wants a week to talk to the lady, then you can let the husband know and give him a message: You took my wife, I’m taking yours…how does it feel to know she’s suffering while you go on with your useless life?.... Now everyone sit on the floor and stay there, no moving, no talking!”

They all sat but the minute he backed out of the door with Natalie and Niki in tow, Joan was soundlessly on her feet and slipping through the kitchen to grab her mobile off the counter and key in the preprogrammed number for Brian. She slid into the pantry, crouched low to avoid any signs of movement and when he answered on the first ring, tersely told him what was happening.

They heard the front door slam and Natalie pelting down the hall, both she and Niki screaming with fear and anger, weeping as they entered the kitchen and collided with Cookie as she lumbered to her feet and rushed to meet them.

There was a few minutes of bedlam and the kitchen erupted in crying and shouts of anger, people rushed to the three injured boys and finally Cookie let out a yell that made everyone draw in a deep breath and cease the noise, even Niki, who looked at her with his almond eyes heavy with tears and his little mouth quivering.

“QUIET!! Now all this wailing isn’t getting anything done…Camille, take the baby into the music room and calm him down…Maggie says he likes music, sing to him…..all you little ones, go with Camile but no crying…it will make the baby sad and we don’t want that do we?…take the juice and cookies with you. Now, help is on the way…Patrick go to the front windows and watch for Brian and the medics…they should be here soon. Thomas, take a clean tea towel and put some pressure on Angus’ wound to stop the bleeding…Audra and Pearl…Tim and James shouldn’t move…keep them still…everyone else off to the dining room and try to comfort each other quietly…and Joan…there’s a bottle of brandy in the cupboard under the sink…my heart needs to be kickstarted.”

She sank onto a handy kitchen chair and hung her head between her knees, her brief moment of leadership fading to a dizzy feeling as the shock of what had transpired sunk in.

‘Dear God! How can we tell that sweet man what has happened to his wife?…..And how can we not?’

Joan pressed an aromatic glass of liquid into her trembling hands and Cookie looked up to see a similar one just being lowered from her friend’s mouth, empty. She followed suit, welcoming the warmth of the brandy and readying herself mentally for what needed to be done.

**

The school had filled with grim faced men and women and quiet, efficient medical teams who gently tended to the injured boys. Brian arrived and assured himself that Joan was shaken but alright, then took charge, sending a team in to talk with the kids in the dining room, casually calming them while gleaning little tidbits of information about the invaders. Another team was sent into the neighbourhood to question shopkeepers or strollers who may have seen the vehicle that Maggie was taken in, each little piece of information passed on to Base and then to Simon who had been informed even though he was far away in New York. The message that had been left for Urs was relayed to Simon and he made the decision that for the time being the news of Maggie’s kidnapping had to be kept silent, from the media, from Team Ceol, most especially from Urs…there must be no risk of causing Maggie any more trauma than what she would already be feeling.

Simon procured a flight to London by sheer force of will…and a considerable outlay of American dollars…. and winged towards Base and the intensive search that was underway. Their main hope at the moment was that Maggie had her bag with her and could be located through the GPS…that hope was dashed as he received word that the bag and locator was on the floor of the hall, the tiny button smashed beyond use…now if she could just activate her watch…it was their last hope.

He tried to rest but visions of Maggie kept intruding, her happy face as she talked about her life, the joy that was so often evident in her eyes ever since she had met his Swiss tenor…he wondered just how badly Urs would hurt him when he found out that he hadn’t been told what happened.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TEN

By the time the concert in Las Vegas was over the other guys knew that something was not right with their friend.

Urs was moody, not just quiet as he used to be before Maggie, but drawn in on himself, not eating or sleeping properly as evidenced by his shadowed eyes and the fact that no one had seen him do more than ingest toast and coffee, lots of coffee.

He had left so many messages on the machine in the suite that it wasn’t able to accept anymore, called the school on two occasions and had very brief conversations with someone who just said that Maggie wasn’t there and hung up. That in itself had the alarm bells ringing since he knew that the adult voice which answered wasn’t one he recognized and the kids had always been taught to be courteous on the phone.

They were off to Los Angeles now for the last concert of the tour and he vowed that the minute it was over he was getting on a plane and solving this mystery.

He settled back in the seat for the short flight, annoyed with himself for feeling so apprehensive. If there had been anything seriously wrong, he would have been contacted, by the school, the hospital or authorities if there had been an accident. He knew that Maggie always carried ID, that he was listed as the principle person to be called in the event of injury…there just seemed no sensible explanation and as the time passed he was becoming not only worried but a touch angry that she could be so careless as to not keep in touch.

He shook his head…no that wasn’t like Maggie…she was so caring, so loving…it wasn’t in her nature to blithely cause him unrest….so now he was back at square one…not understanding and feeling fear rising to the surface again.

Someone sat in the empty seat beside him and he looked up with a frown to see David sitting sideways in the seat, looking serious and concerned.

“Urs, did you and Maggie fight before she left for the UK? Man the change in you is chilling and getting worse…do you need someone to talk to?”

Urs sighed and thought about what Maggie was fond of quoting… ’A burden shared is a burden halved’.

“We never fight, Yank…we sometimes have very loud, short and heated discussions but we never fight…and we didn’t before she left. It’s just…I haven’t heard from her since she got on the flight on the 15th, not a call, an IM, an e.mail…nothing…I’ve tried calling her or catching her on the Puter with no luck….Millie says she hasn’t logged on since she left the U.S. and that the GPS was disabled on the 16th. I’ve even called the school and was told by some stranger that she wasn’t there. I keep waffling from being pissed off to insane with worry.”

“Wow!! That is so not like Maggie to leave you hanging like this…what about calling Base…would she have gone on a mission and not told you? I know it’s a long shot since she shouldn’t be going in the field while Niki is so little, but it can’t hurt to try….”

“Tried it…I got to talk to Ian and he said he hasn’t seen Maggie since before Niki was born.”

David, the Team Ceol Master Planner, leaned back in his seat and thought hard about the problem, looking for answers and not finding much that would be helpful.

“I don’t have any really good suggestions, Man. If there was a problem, CASPAR would have contacted you or at the very least the rest of the Team. Pet would have told me if someone decided to shut the guys out, so she doesn’t know anything either. All I can suggest is to try to stay calm…we’ll be back in the UK late on the 21st…you weren’t thinking of ditching the last concert and heading out now were you?”

Urs smiled and admitted he had considered it.

“Maggie would hang me by my ba….well, she would be royally ticked off if I did that, you know how she is about keeping promises and commitments…I think that’s why I can’t figure out what in Hell is going on. Thanks David…hopefully it will turn out to be something simple and we can laugh about it after…I do feel better for sharing though…Tomorrow is the last concert, I’ll keep phoning and get on the plane, go home and find her and I’m sure she’ll be amazed that I was so worried.”

David didn’t look convinced but he put a comforting hand on Urs shoulder for a sympathetic squeeze before returning to Petra and Paul.

**

After he woke from an exhausted sleep in the hotel room he paced, tried Millie again, paced some more, answered calls on his mobile, tersely, when they weren’t the call he wanted, and late in the long day strode to the door to quiet an insistent summons that he hadn’t wanted to answer.

Petra and David were in the hall, a silver room service cart in front of the tall man and Petra pushed past Urs, ignoring his claim that he really didn’t want company and glaring at him.

“Too bad, because you’ve got us…and you’re eating, even if you gag on the food…you need to keep your strength up, Swiss boy. And don’t give me any back talk. David, run over him if he won’t get out of your way.”

Urs smiled faintly and stepped to one side while David mouthed ‘Sorry’ and wheeled the cart in to the small dining area.

She began pulling items off the cart and setting them on the table with David’s help, their dinner as well as his and when it was done looked at him and waited.

“Well a gentleman would seat me at the table…have you lost your manners as well as your mind?”

The first real laugh in days escaped Urs as he took his hands out of his pockets and seated her at the table with a small bow and a friendly kiss on the cheek.

The men sat down and David opened the bottle of red wine that had been sent with dinner. Petra raised her glass in a toast and a short list of rules.

“We will not talk about worries or problems until we’ve finished dinner, no exceptions….To absent friends!!”

The steak was huge and perfect, blood rare, just the way he liked it, accompanied by tiny potatoes that had been browned in the oven and rolled in herbs, perfect slightly crunchy carrots, mushroom caps stuffed with something that looked like crab and cream cheese…he ate every last morsel and tasted nothing, eating because Pet was right…he needed the red meat for energy but he didn’t have to enjoy it.

Somehow the bottle of red had multiplied, the rest of the vineyard magically appearing in a never ending profusion that emptied quickly as they sat in the midst of their misery and talked about memories, about what could have happened, about feelings and longings and finally, about nothing but nonsense as the level of wine became much stronger than the level of conciosuness and they succumbed, one after the other.

Urs woke around 4 in the morning with an urgent need for the Loo and when he returned saw his friends sharing one of the roomy chairs in the Lounge, both out for the count in a room that was littered with the evidence of their long evening of over-indulgence …empty wine bottles everywhere.

He did an about face and threw his fuzzy body on the bed, out again until mid morning.

**

It was the cold that woke her this time. Wherever this place was it was damp and cold, not as bad as in London but she was not very well dressed, hungry and frightened though she tried not to let her fear take control.

There was one small window in the place where she had been thrown upon arrival, her eyes blindfolded and hands tied in front of her as she was led from the van over a gravel walkway, across an expanse of damp, long grass and into a building, down 4 steps and into a room that she eventually measured by pacing off the length and width….10 feet square and with a ceiling that looked to be about 7 foot high.

When she struggled up from the heap she had been thrown in, she felt rough hands as the big man yanked her blindfold off, succeeding in pulling out a small hank of hair in the process. He cut her ties again, then gripped her chin in his meaty hand and spoke to her, spraying her face with saliva as he enunciated his words.

“You are to keep quiet…any yelling or crying and one of us will be sent down to beat you. There is water to drink and to clean yourself…use it…and a loo, so you see we aren’t nearly as bad as you think. He will come to talk to you soon…co-operate and this will all be over quickly.”

She had stayed immobile in the center of the room when he left, her eyes closed, listening to the tumblers engage in the lock of the heavy door, her heart sinking when she heard the heavy bar that was also dropped into place across the thick wood. The lock she could manage, the bar was impossible.

The window had been next…also a dead end, thick metal bars welded into a metal frame.

There was a pallet on the floor and she sat on it surveying her surroundings: sink and toilet, side by side, none too clean and the piping rusty but the water coming out of the tap was clear and odorless. Nothing else was in the room…no blankets, no chair, pillow, drinking glass, no soap, the only amenity being 2 rolls of rather gray, rough toilet tissue.

She had been here 2 full days now and not one person had come in the room…she measured the time by the fading and strengthening of light outside the small window and by the gnawing hunger in her stomach that she tried to assuage with water.

Laurenz was playing a psychological game with her, she understood this and wondered when he had learned the tactic. Well it wouldn’t work…she would play his game and win…she would draw on the certainty that filled her that somehow Urs would find her and take her home. It was just a question of time and focusing on the memories they had created, memories strong enough to help her through anything that was thrown at her. She lay back on the pallet on the floor again, day dreaming about Irgendwo and walking in the fields with her husband and their son.

**

It was night time again when she heard the noise of the bar being moved. She sat up on the pallet in the dim light of the room and listened while the door was unlocked, a bit confused since she could hear what sounded like a woman crying softly.

The door opened and the big man entered, carrying a lantern. Behind him was another, shorter man, better dressed, a pleasant smile on his face but Maggie knew instinctively that this was Laurnez.

One of the others, the driver she thought, came in the room, pushing a short, dumpy older woman in front of him. She had been crying and Maggie could see why. Her face had been battered, her cotton dress was ripped and what was left of her stockings hung in tatters above shoeless feet.

“I thought it was time you met your hostess, Lady Margaret,” Laurnez said with a sneering laugh.

“Audra Tindsley, this little piece of fluff is to be your guest for the next few days. I trust you will keep her entertained.”

The woman didn’t answer, just whimpered, waiting for more abuse, her frightened eyes looking furtively at Maggie and then away.

“I don’t suppose you would care to volunteer the location of my wife and son?” he said staring at Maggie, his eyes glowing with a manic light, hands twitching as he waited for her answer.

“I don’t know where she is now.”

His face suffused with rage and he stepped towards her but she held her ground, refusing to show the fear that was making her stomach quiver.

Audra clutched at him, apparently fearing that he was about to beat on Maggie now and he back handed her sending her sprawling.

The violence aroused him, Maggie could see that as he grabbed Audra by the hair and dragged her up to her knees, using his free hand to work the zip on his trousers and free himself.

“Leave her alone,” she screamed, lunging across the small room, claws out but colliding with one of the men. He flung her back against the wall and stood nearby, on guard while Laurenz laughed and continued.

She dropped her eyes, unable to watch what followed but the sounds of Audra being forced to blow Laurenz couldn’t be drowned out as he coached her, demanding that she use her hands, suck harder, fasterand the guards made comments about her performance. She felt her stomach roiling with what she was forced to listen to, what the other woman was forced to do. She gagged and tried to throw up in the toilet but there was nothing to expel except water.

When he was finished, the three men laughed at her as they got ready to leave the room, dragging the softly weeping Audra with them.

At the doorway Laurenz paused and stared at Maggie again.

“Your turn tomorrow, unless your memory improves.”

“Stick that in my mouth, you pig and I’ll bite it off,” she said firmly, staring back at him with loathing.

He reeled back in surprise, for a second dropping his hand down to protect himself, then he snarled and banged the door shut, leaving her in darkness again.

**

“Why, yes, Urs…I saw Maggie just a few days ago, on the 16th I believe…she came by on the way to the school. What an adorable little boy you two have and he looks so much like you…those eyes and that lovely smile!!”

“Thank you Ms. Fergus. We think we’ll keep him, he’s kind of grown on us now. I need to get hold of Joan and have somehow lost her cell phone number…I know they put the phone on the machine at night and wondered if you would have her cell number so I can call her later. I’m nearly late for sound check or I could try the school number now.” He held his breath hoping that the kind woman wouldn’t use Swiss logic to figure out the holes in his excuse.

“Of course dear…let me get it for you….here it is…” and she repeated the number to him. He wrote it down carefully, repeating it back to be sure and after another minute of aimless chat disconnected.

Once more he calculated the time difference and planned when would be best to catch Joan off guard. Just before going on stage seemed best and he put the carefully folded paper with the number in his pocket to take with him to the venue.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-ELEVEN

She wasn’t sure what day it was when she woke in the dampness this time. Perhaps she should have done like prisoners in the movies and scratched a line on the wall for each day that she survived.

Her stomach was beyond hunger now, shriveled and aching with emptiness and she thought that it had been 4 or maybe even 5 days…no problem…with adequate water a person could live a long time without food.

Laurenz had come back every day, without the woman now and with increasing exasperation each time she said she didn’t know where Yvie and Hans were. The second day he received her answer with a nod and gestured to the big man who dragged her to her feet and began beating on her with his ham like fists, knocking her down, kicking her in the back or side when she lay curled protectively on the floor. She saw Laurenz watching, saw him licking his lips and pushing her attacker away, felt him fall on her, ripping the cotton shirt as he clawed at it, screamed as she felt the vicious invasion as he thrust into her, a dry painful rape and mercifully she lost herself in the oblivion of unconciousness.

She stopped answering on the third day, just focused on her memories, quietly enduring what was done to her, not feeling the pain anymore, zombie like when they cut off her long messy plait that she had tied with a strip of cloth from her torn shirt, only slipping back into the hell where she was kept, on the day when the woman came and gave her a bowl of some kind of soup and a slice of bread.

They didn’t talk, partly because Maggie didn’t trust her, felt that she had been sent by Laurenz as another ploy to get answers from her and partly because there was nothing to say. They couldn’t help each other, could only exchange knowing looks of sympathy and get on with trying to stay alive.

The soup and bread continued, every day, late in the afternoon, brought silently, consumed silently, both going back to what ever they had to occupy their time until the next beating .

Maggie lived in her own world, talking silently to her son, to Urs, sleeping whenever she could, dreaming of home, of the man she loved, the man she still believed would rescue her, putting in time, staying alive until he came.

**

Urs was nervous…he knew that if he was wrong and everyone at the school was innocent of trying to hide something from him, he would owe Joan and Brian big time for waking them at 4 in the morning. It had seemed like a good plan when he thought of it, wake them up and while they were still befuddled with sleep try to get some answers. Now when the phone was actually ringing, he had second thoughts.

“Hello?”

“Joan…It’s Urs…I’m trying to reach Maggie…I have to talk to her.”

“I…I’m sorry she can’t come to the phone right now.”

He heard a groan and knew that she had said the first thing that came to mind even though it didn’t make sense.

“What do you mean she can’t come to the phone right now? I’ve been trying to get her for days at the apartment but all I get is the machine. She left 5 days ago to take Niki home because he’s teething and the tour was too hard on him and I haven’t heard a word since.”

Joan stammered and began to cry, not at all sure how to continue. The next voice Urs heard was Brian.

“Urs you better call Simon. We were told not to tell you, and the guys that took Maggie said that if we called the authorities or told you earlier than a week he would hurt her. Niki is here, he’s fine. Call Simon,.…and Urs don’t do anything rash…they said he had people watching you and he wanted a week to ask Maggie some questions before you knew…said it would make you feel guilty about carrying on your life while she was suffering.”

Seb came in the dressing room, mumbling something about not being able to find his tie. He stopped when Urs’ anger registered and the icy stare penetrated his search for a lost accessory.

Urs glanced at his watch…Simon should be through the taping of that damn American Idol show. He punched in 5 on his pre-set list and listened to the phone ringing on the other end, ignoring Seb’s concerned questions.

Seb retreated from the room and a few minutes later came back with David and Carlos, all three quiet as Urs finished his call with Simon and sank onto the nearest chair, his face ashen and hands white knuckled as the phone dropped to the carpet and he gripped the arms of the chair.

“He took Maggie…they went to the school and threatened the children, hurt a couple of the boys that tried to intercede… he said I was responsible for taking his woman away from him, so he was taking mine.”

**

All around him he could hear the bustle as the crew got ready for the performance. He was dressed to go on stage, hair, makeup, his suit impeccable though he had no memory of being attended too. His mind was across the huge expanse of the Atlantic, trying to imagine where Maggie was being held, not able to deal with what was happening to her, reliving every conversation he had ever had with Laurenz, searching for clues as to his hiding place.

He should have done this more thoroughly after the attack the first time, should have found him and killed him then. This was his fault…if he hadn’t been so weak, hadn’t let the madman blackmail him in the first place, none of this would ever have happened.

He shook him self out of the pit of self pity he was wallowing in, determined to do something, anything constructive.

Of course he hadn’t been at fault, hadn’t been able to control the situation. But he wished now that he hadn’t become so complacent, so sure that there was no more danger. Perhaps then…

He rose from the chair he had collapsed in and paced the room again, needing to move, to think clearly but his vow kept coming back to haunt him….”I’ll take care of you, you are my love, my life…..”

The door opened and a head appeared briefly, pulling back out of sight when his icy, tormented gaze met the startled messenger’s eyes.

“Uh…sorry Urs…5 minutes…”

“Thanks, Gene…I’ll be right there.”

He took one last look in the mirror to check his appearance, wanting desperately to strike out at something, someone…He turned away and concentrated on deep breathing, trying to calm himself, to reach that pre-concert stage where he felt the anticipation of another sold out concert, another audience that would fill his very soul with the pleasure he found in singing, in bringing his talent to the world.

His mind filled with Maggie’s smiling face, with the pride and love he saw there each time he joined his brothers in song. One last concert and then he could return to the UK. He would find her, no matter how long it took or what was necessary. He would find her and kill Laurenz so they could get on with their lives.

He took one more deep breath, opened the dressing room door and stepped out. He could see Carlos and David watching for him, Gerry, Petra and Geena off to one side with Seb saying something earnestly to them and turning to stare at him with an encouraging little smile. His steps felt leaden as he approached them and received their nods and a pat on the shoulder.

“Ready?” Carlos asked softly.

He could see that he wasn’t alone in this suffering nor in the determination to carry on, to do what Maggie would expect of them. They were professionals and the show must go on. He pulled the wedding band out of his inner pocket and looked at it with moist eyes, smiled and raised it to his lips for a kiss, then slipped it on his finger, done with hiding, leaving the token of their commitment to each other where it belonged, in plain sight on his finger.

“Let’s do this,” he said and somehow, from his years of training, offered a good imitation of a smile as he led them onto the stage.

**

The girls disappeared from the venue, returning to the hotel to pack for everyone and to be ready to leave immediately after the concert. After doing their own things and their partners, they went to Urs suite and packed for him, almost breaking down when they took the photo of Maggie and Niki from the bedside table.

It was a somber group that filed onto the chartered flight only 45 minutes after the end of their part of the concert. David had explained to Ms Streisand that there was a problem and they had to leave and she had sent her well wishes without any prying questions…he assumed that it was pretty obvious to her that something very serious was happening…one look at the pain in the eyes of their Swiss tenor would be enough for any sensitive person and the fact that he was very nearly in tears during Regressa A Mi was telling even to the audience. Rumors would abound in the Forum after that performance.

They found seats and settled in for the flight, Urs choosing to sit alone though they refused to leave him that way and took turns joining him for brief periods,

David was sitting with him when he talked to Simon again …no real news. A number of people had noticed the white van but paid no attention since there was often a van at the school to transport musical equipment to a venue. One lady had been passing by and noticed 3 rough looking men that she thought were out of place and said that later, she looked back from the corner and saw Maggie, who she knew well, getting into the side door with two of them, no coat or handbag, dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt only. Of course no one had taken the plate number.

There had already been an ‘all hands’ alert out regarding Laurenz since word had leaked through Interpol that Laurenz was suspected of leaving Europe and it was possible had returned to the U.K.

He was pleased to hear thatYvette had been moved…at the first alert, agents in Toronto had been notified and when Frank heard, he had spirited her, with Hans of course, off somewhere, telling no one where they were going.

“I keep thinking about how I would like to take Simon by the throat and choke the life out of him for not telling me and then the next minute, I’m talking to him and I can hear the pain in his voice. This isn’t just a mission for him, or just another kidnapping…it’s personal for him too and he’s really suffering. He made what he thought was the right decision, not to tell me and I guess it was the right one. If Laurenz had someone watching me, he would have learned that I knew and God knows what he would have done to Maggie…God knows what he’s doing anyway.”

David sat for a moment then leaned forward with his hands clsped between his knees.

“So the bottom line at the moment is we have to wait until something happens. They could be holed up anywhere. Do you think Maggie will tell him?”

Urs looked about ready to crumble as he thought of his answer and poor David regretted the impulse that had made him ask.

“No…she’s trying to stay alive, waiting for me to come and get her…she’ll die before he gets what he wants out of her.”

He said it so quietly and with such despair that David almost missed what was said.

They were quiet again for a couple of minutes, then David rose and gripped Urs shoulder, about to go back to his own seat.

“Then we’ll just have to find out where she is and help you get her back.”

**

Base was a beehive of activity when they all walked in. Peter had met them, had taken Paul to the school and was delivering their luggage to their respective homes while they went straight to the office to see exactly what was happening.

All the incoming reports seemed to be negative. No-one had seen anything useful, even the remotest rumors had been checked out and there were just no leads.

Simon was there, looking haggard, as if he hadn’t slept for days. He braced himself when he saw Urs walk in, ready for, at the very least a verbal assault…his jaw literally dropped when Urs gave him a comforting bear hug, then stepped back with his hands sunk in his jeans pockets and asked if there was any news.

“Nothing…it’s like the bastard just sucked her into a vacuum and disappeared. He must plan on contacting you, demanding that you turn yourself over to him or meet with his goons or something… that would explain the time line, the demand to wait a week.”

Simon’s mobile rang and he answered it, his eyes going to Urs face as he spoke softly then disconnected.

“Peter…he took Paul to Joan then when he dropped off your luggage the guards on security had a package for you…delivered by taxi…he was smart enough to note the cab number. It’s a florist box…been there since this afternoon. Peter’s bringing it here.”

For a split second the noise in the busy room stilled as everyone thought about what the florist box could contain. Urs had paled and David nearly put a hand out to brace him as he thought Urs knees might fail him.

Urs flexed his shoulders, loosening the stiffened muscles and looked around the room, relieved to hear the talking on phones and computers start up again.

“Is the coffee here still the same swill?” he asked and Simon smiled a bit.

“It’s consistenly bad, as always, but it helps. Come on, you lot…I’m buying…we have about 25 minutes to kill before Peter gets here.”

Twenty-three minutes later Peter strode into the room and came immediately to the little lounge area at the end of the operations center. He carried the box in front of him, delicately as if it would shatter if he jostled it.

“It’s been scanned for explosives, Sir,” he said as he put it on the hastily cleared table in front of Urs.

It didn’t look out of the ordinary, just a long white florist box with a red ribbon tied in a large fluffy bow, no sticker to signify where it had come from, nothing except the knowledge that it had been left for Urs by some anonymous person.

He took a deep breath and removed the ribbon by sliding it off the end and letting it fall to the floor. Gently he removed the lid and discarded that as well when he saw the swath of white tissue paper inside. Another deep breath and he parted the paper and moaned.

Stretched from top to bottom of the box was a long black plait that he knew without a doubt was Maggie’s…a slender red ribbon had been used to tie the plait, top and bottom and her rings hung from the top one, below the hacked off, uneven cut that had shorn those lovely strands of her hair.

Laying on top of the plait was a folded piece of paper and he opened it with hands that shook violently, read the message inside and turned so pale, so frozen in place, unable to breathe, that Simon took the card from his nerveless fingers and read it out to the group.

“Next time it will be a hand……I’ll be calling you.”

**

Nils stomped into the house, carrying a black plastic bag and tossed it to his girlfriend as he sank into a chair at the kitchen table.

“Thought you might could use some of the stuff in here. I got it on the docks a few days ago and forgot it was in the truck.”

She uncapped a beer and set it in front of him.

“What’s this then? Somebodies garbage?”

She opened the top of the bag and peeked in. Clothes, shoes, some pretty blue lingerie caught her eye and she dumped the contents on the kitchen floor to sort through it. Something silver flashed in the glow from the naked bulb overhead and she fished a silver chain and locket out of the jumble, opened the locket and looked at the picture, admiring the handsome man and the baby, handed it to Nils and asked him if he could figure out how to take the picture out.

“Whoever dumped all this stuff must have been really ticked off with her man to throw it away…oh and look she even threw her watch in.”

She tried the watch on her wrist, pushing buttons to try and move the cover that was over the face.

“It don’t work…maybe it’s broken.”

“Give it here…you are such a dumb bitch! Look you just have to push this little button here and it opens…See? It’s kind of like a teeny little computer…how cool is that?”

They played with the watch and created hope in a busy room, across the miles in London.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWELVE….A STEP CLOSER

“THE WATCH IS ACTIVATED!!!”

The shout came from one of the people monitoring the computers and everywhere people shot to their feet or stared at the woman, waiting for something more, hopefully a location.

Simon and Urs were first to reach her side, leaping across the room and standing breathless watching the tiny dot on the map.

“Where is that?”

“Near Bournemouth, Sir…I shot a BOLO to our agents in the area…they will triangulate and let us know precisely in a moment.{BOLO…Be On Look Out}

Even as they watched the dot flickered out, then back on again, doing this several times in frustrating succession.

“How many agents do we have in that area?” David asked softly, his fertile mind already in planning mode.

“Only 3 in the vicinity, Sir.”

Less than ten minutes later a window opened in the screen, an insert of the map on the main screen that zeroed in on a location, lines from several other dots coalescing until they became one and an address appeared on the screen.

The operator quickly typed the address in on a window she had opened and sent a query, receiving an answer in seconds.

“Rental property…a small cottage managed by an estate agent…”

Simon drew back and began issuing orders.

“Two agents to keep concealed surveillance on the cottage, the other to contact the estate agent for information about the people leasing the place. Mother, to your station please, contact local police and warn them of an operation about to take place…Team Ceol, Brian, Ian…draw arms, radios and meet me on the helipad in 10 minutes.” He looked at Urs and had a fleeting thought that the Swiss man might not be happy with what he was about to say…but then he was Swiss and logical, maybe he would understand.

“Urs…you and I are too emotionally involved to be an effective leader on this mission. David is Team Leader.”

Urs stiffened then nodded, in complete agreement and strangely relieved.

David accepted the responsibility without hesitation, squaring his shoulders and quietly taking charge.

“You all know what to do…get your gear...”

**

They had been in earlier, Laurenz and the big man, dragging the woman with them. He was angry when they came in, screaming something about hoping that she had enjoyed the meal the woman had brought her earlier because it was the last one she would get.

She wasn’t sure what had happened…the soup and a small sandwich had been a welcome change from the skimpy meals she had eaten the past few days…was Audra acting on her own when she actually slid a piece of cheese between two slices of bread and brought them to her? Was that act of humanity what had incensed him?

It was obvious that the poor woman had been battered again, and recently. She was almost unable to stand without aid, bleeding freely from a swollen mouth and reacting with severe pain when the big man punched her repeatedly in the stomach on Laurenz orders.

Audra was flung to the floor, unconscious and Laurenz turned his attention to Maggie.

“I sent him a little present…he should have it by now. Tomorrow or the next day I’ll go to the mainland and send him an e.mail…if he tells me what I need to know, then all your troubles will be over.”

“You’re going to let me go?”

He laughed, an evil sound that made her shiver.

“No…but your troubles will be over….I’ll ship him your body as a thank you gift.”

Once more they left, this time leaving Audra behind.

As soon as the door was locked and the bar in place, Maggie wet the rag from her torn shirt that she had been using to wash her face and went to the woman, bathing her face carefully, hoping the cool water would soothe the torn flesh and bruising.

Audra moaned as she came back from the peace of oblivion and clutched at Maggie.

“He’s going to kill you, no matter what you do or say. Stall for time…your only hope is if help comes. He’s afraid of your husband, won’t risk a face to face with him…but if he gets the answers he wants he may send his men to kill him… if they can.”

“They would find it quite a bit more difficult than kidnapping a woman from a school full of children.”

“He was so charming when we met…I was on holiday in Nice and he swept me off my feet. When I came home…he called and asked to visit…. said he couldn’t stand to be separated from me…. Only a few days after he arrived…. they appeared one day and then it started…… I couldn’t believe that he was the same man.”

There was a froth on her lips as she talked, tinged with blood and her voice was becoming increasingly thick. She clutched at the front of Maggie’s shirt, feebly, as if her last bit of strength was failing.

“Where are we, Audra?”

She was gasping for breath now, choking on the blood that was flowing up her throat from somewhere deep inside.

“Channel Islands…Alderney…”

She gagged and her back arched as she tried to take in air, bright red blood trickled between her lips and her eyes glazed…her body went limp and she was gone.

**

It was late in the day when the heli landed at a little hamlet near Bournemouth, the hazy light of a winter day just fading to the west. They had received an almost constant stream of news during the flight and David had made plans, contingent of course on any last minute changes brought about by the two inhabitants of the cottage.

The place had been scanned, reports duly noted of two people inside, one they knew from the Estate Agent was Nils Frohmann, 26, a casual laborer on the docks, the other, presumably his girlfriend, her name unknown.

The local police force, which consisted of 3 officers in a Bournemouth substation, had been waiting at the heli-pad with transport, their involvement in the mission to just be as drivers.

By the time they traveled to the cottage, surrounded it and got ready to move in, darkness had fallen. With precision they crept closer, a couple of the local agents hanging back to stop anyone coming on foot down the street, Team Ceol with the addition of Simon, Brian and Ian was actually going to enter the house.

Brian and Ian used the ram on the front door and burst in, followed quickly by the others, all clad in black, head to toe, faces painted with camoflague streaks and knit caps hiding their hair…it wouldn’t do to have Il Divo recognized, at least not at this stage of the game. The scans had shown a disappointing fact…Maggie was not being held here.

The place was just as shabby inside as out and far from well maintained. Dishes were stacked in the sink and on the counter, a waste receptacle near the stove was over flowing and tiny fruit flies hovered above the blackened banana peelings that hung from under the pile of debris. The kitchen table held a huge ashtray that held several days worth of butts and ashes, flanked by empty beer bottles and an empty pizza box.

The two occupants had been lounging on a ratty plaid sofa, watching an action movie on a small TV and sprang up in fear as they were surrounded by a crew of armed people, weapons aimed and voices harsh as they were ordered to get on the floor. One of them booted the heavily laden coffee table out of the way, sending empties and another full ashtray flying but at least clearing some stained floor space for them to get down. Some of them peeled off to check the 2 other rooms and called out ‘Clear!’ as they found no one else on the premises.

Nils was shaking with fear as he was cuffed then rolled over to sit facing his captors, his girlfriend semi hysterical until a weapon was nudged against her bosom and she was warned in a soft, French accented voice to keep still. She went mute and kept her eyes on the weapon the rest of the time that they were held.

Urs stepped forward, staring at the locket that the woman had dangling down the front of her tee shirt.

“Take it off!” he growled and had to reach out to restrain her when she began removing her shirt.

“The locket…take if off…and the watch.”

The picture was still inside, though there was evidence that someone had pried at the glass trying to remove it…. he nodded at David to confirm that it was Maggie’s, then dropped it in his pocket, handing the watch to Simon.

“This belongs to a friend of ours. We need to know how it came to be in your possession…NOW!!”

“I didn’t steal it,” Nils claimed, from habit going on the defensive.

“Fine…then where did you get it?”

“A few days ago…this bloke rolls his window down and hands me this bag, see, and says to dump it…I took a peek inside when he was gone and sees the clothes and thinks well, maybe Shirley can use some of them, she’s always bitching about not having this and that and I throws it in the back of the truck and then forgot about it…today I was looking for my lug wrench and there it was so I gives it to her…so you see I didn’t steal it….it was give to me.”

Urs crouched down beside Nils and talked softly to him, his voice gentle but so menacing that Nils blanched.

“Where did this happen? Who was the man? What was he driving? Where did he go? Did you see a woman with them? You’ve done well so far…keep it up and nothing bad will happen to either of you.”

“On the docks…I pick up a extra few hours helping to load the barges and the ferry. This people carrier come up and slowed, ready to go aboard the small barge and this guy hands the bag out the window and says’Get rid of this’, no please or thank you, like I was some kinda scum. I don’t know him, never seen him before, and I didn’t see no woman, but I seen the barge, lots of times. It’s little, a private one, does the run maybe 3-4 times a month. I can show you where it berths on this side, but it hasn’t been back since that day. They loaded the vehicle on and took off…I think the guy who was driving the people mover knew how to run the barge cause he did it real smooth like it was old stuff for him.”

Urs felt a frisson of excitement but kept cool and asked the important question.

“Where were they going?”

“The Channel Islands…Alderney.”

**

Maggie sat beside the dead woman for a while, her feelings mixed between grief that she now was without even this pale imitation of a friendly face and relief that the poor woman was now beyond pain. She didn’t understand how anyone could be fooled by the creature that pretended to be a man…the treacherous web that Audra had allowed herself to be ensnared in was so obvious to her…what kind of a lonely existence had this woman endured to have so blindly fallen for his phoney charms?

Well, now she was beyond being hurt or deceived anymore… perhaps there would be someone who would mourn her, when everything was at last revealed. But for now, maybe she could offer Maggie one last bit of hope to escape.

There had been plenty of time to plan, to think of a possible way of getting free, just no method to do so…not until now…Maybe!!

She steeled herself for what she had to do now…now that she knew of Laurenz plans for her in the next day or so it was imperative that she manage to get out of here, somehow, and for that she needed something to defend herself with. Slowly and methodically she checked out the few tattered clothes that Audra had on, praying that the woman had at least been fashionable enough in life to have decent under clothing. She almost cheered when her searching revealed a nice lacy bra, underwired, just what she needed.

The body showed multiple injuries when she gently removed the shirt and rolled it over a bit to undo the clasps of the bra. Handling her made Maggie’s stomach clench but she gritted her teeth and tried not to listen to the wheezing of expelled air as the corpse was moved and the lungs forced to release rancid gases.

Finally the bra was off and she raced to the toilet to dry heave, then returned to put the shirt back on and did up the two remaining buttons…showing what respect she could and setting the stage so they wouldn’t realize she was up to something, not until she was ready.

It took a while to work the plastic cap off one end of the wires from the bra, then even longer to rip the elastic with her teeth until it could be torn in strips. Wrapping one wire tightly around the other took forever and her fingers were raw by the time she had succeeded but now the length wasn’t as flimsy, though still curved. Carefully she made a hole in the far side of the pallet and pulled some of the stuffing out, folding it around the still capped ends of the wires and wrapped the elastic from the bra around it to make a clumsy handle, more a lump actually that would allow her to put pressure on the wire without ramming the end through her own hand. She worked the twined wires under the pipes for the tap and carefully straightened it, a bit at a time until she had a reasonably strong and straight piece. Now she was ready. It was just a question of getting one of them alone and if the visitor she had sensed this morning was any indication, perhaps she would get lucky.

**

Petra came back to them only 15 minutes after the request had been made. A private plane was waiting for them at the small airport in Bournemouth, Blue Island charters and the way had been cleared for the team to enter the independent Channel Island, Alderney. The local constabulary at St. Anne, the only real village on the island, and the customs officers, would be pretending that the team from CASPAR didn’t exist, especially since they would be arriving armed to the teeth.

The local constable, who had vowed to become an amnesiac the minute that the operation was over, had set up a base for them in the basement of his own home and was already working, trying to figure out where on the island Maggie could be held.

Nils and Shirley had been uncuffed, gruffly thanked for their help and told that they would be held in their home until the operation was over, at which time they would be rewarded with a generous sum of cash and relocation to a place of their choosing. They were also warned what would happen if they chose not to co-operate or talked about this adventure…ever!!!

Urs was trying to reach the calm cold place he had often let take him when he had to do a job for Laurenz. It was different now…he cared so much, was so involved in this mission, on a personal and private level. She was his…the love of his life, his soulmate, the part of his heart that without her presence would shrivel and die.

He followed the others onto the small yellow plane at the airport, buckled into a seat and waited to be thrown into the sky on his way to where Maggie was. He refused to think about what had happened to her while she was being held, or how much he hated Laurenz…it was just too over whelming. Instead he tried, with the sketchy information they had so far, to develop some kind of a plan…as far as they knew there were the four men, Laurenz and the three involved directly in the kidnapping…descriptions had been that they were all big, weightlifter types and armed, Glocks and possibly knives. A fleeting thought slipped in…Maggie detested knives, they made her have nightmares about the previous attack. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and considered what they should do against superior physical strength from armed men.

Surprise was likely their best weapon. Laurenz wouldn’t be expecting an all out assault, in fact wouldn’t know that they were this close, not yet.

He looked around at the others in the small aircraft. No-one was sleeping, in fact no-one was even talking, all absorbed in what was to come. He felt a surge of pride as he looked at these friends, comrades in arms on this terrible mission, so dear to him, so willing to put themselves out there for one of their own. If only by sheer force of the love they had, all for the others, they WOULD succeed.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTEEN….ENDGAME

They worked through the night, sorting the files of people who lived on the island, going over them again and again, discarding the ones that obviously would not be a good hideout for Laurenz and his team. They were exhausted, none of them having slept since leaving the U.S., surviving on coffee, nerves and desperation.

Time was running out. He knew that Urs was back in the U.K., must know that there was no doubt left about what had happened to Maggie…he knew Urs would be looking for him, searching everywhere he could think of, using the resources of whatever group it was he was with now, the one that had thwarted the attack before.

Around four a.m. Petra sent a hefty file to David, something she said had come from Interpol and that she felt might give some insight into Laurenz actions.

David took a laptop to one end of the the crowded den that they were using as a base and sat on the floor with his back against the wall, to skim throught the data, not sure if it would help but willing to grasp at any straws at the moment. He had come up dry with ideas and it annoyed hell out of him.

Fifteen minutes later he sprang to his feet and took the computer to the desk where Simon was working, Urs leaning over him, exhaustion and near defeat simply oozing from both of them.

“Guys, this is maybe something…Interpol sent a report…they’ve been tracking a string of seemingly unrelated disappearances and murders across Europe for the past year….all middle aged women, all unattached and well off…they go on holiday and are seen with a nice looking younger man, go home, the guy vanishes and shortly after, the women either turn up dead, their assets gone, or they vanish completely, presumed killed and disposed of. They don’t have any photos but the description matches Laurenz. What if someone from here met him while in Europe and he followed her back? What if he’s using her home as a base for what he’s doing now?”

Constable Kidd had been half dozing on a sofa near the door and perked up when he heard David explaining his theory.

“We could check the customs records of island movements, see who went off on hols and came back, against who has small barges on the Marine licences and the marital status on the census….it’s a small island with only a few people and there are lots of us… shouldn’t take long.”

They split into three teams and within an hour each had a list, all short, that they cross checked, coming up with 3 names that had been on each list.

“Hang on a moment…my wife knows everyone and all the gossip…let me wake her up and run these names past her,” the constable said with a wry smile and he sprinted up the stairs.

In only a few minutes he was back with a thin, sleepy woman in a tattered print robe and fuzzy pink slippers.

“Audra Tindsley…she’s got that flower patch outside of town, near the point, grows lavender, makes soap and oils from it and ships bales of dried to the mainland…does most of the work herself, ‘cept the cutting…..couple of months back she went to Nice, said she just needed a change and when she come back she was all giggly and talking about meeting this nice feller. We all thought it was just dreaming, you know, talking through her hat ‘cause there was no way on God’s green earth that Audra would ever land herself a nice looking young man. But she’s been strange since she got back. The crew went out to do the cutting of the lavender and she sent them away, even though it was ready…and twice that I know of she had some strangers take the barge out, stead of takin’ it herself, not even full of a delivery like usual, just that old white van of hers on it. And Jessie Peters’ boy said some strange men chased him away from the house when he went to see if the kittens had been born yet. Audra promised him a kitten, though what he wants with another one is beyond me, they already have those 2 big dogs, and…”

“Thank you, Cheri…you’ve been a big help…perhaps you should go back to bed now. We will try to be quiet.”

“No point to it now, morning is so close…I’ll make some fresh coffee…it’s beyond me how you can drink that instant stuff and not get ulcers, Jerry Kidd, I swear I don’t understand…” she disappeared up the stairs still talking and the group in the den looked at Constable Kidd in anticipation.

“It’s a flower farm, about 8 miles south, near the point, pretty remote…the house is near the bluffs, all craggy and a straight drop down about 200 feet to the water. Rolling land there, no trees for cover except a few that the wind has bent over. Two buildings…the house and a long, low drying shed for the flowers and where she makes her soap and distills the oils…there’s a winding road going down the bluffs a bit further on to the north to a deep cove with a private dock where she keeps her little barge. It’s a possibility.”

“Could you talk to the Peters boy quietly, get a description of these men he saw? And we need as much information about the house as we can get.” David was having trouble keeping the hope out of his voice and wondered how long he could keep Urs from rushing off to the farm and barreling into that house, guns blazing.

“No problem…I’ll catch him before he gets wide awake and not wanting to talk to the law…the Peters boys have a bit of a reputation. Building permits…should be something in the town files.”

Mrs. Kidd came back downstairs with coffee, the real thing this time and they all grabbed a mug, those on computers going immediately back to their work. Urs felt the walls closing in on him and took his outside, into the lush back yard of the little house.

It really was a beautiful place, this little Principality that was used by so many as a tax haven and a banking centre. The climate was much nicer than enjoyed on either of the neighboring coasts, something about the trade winds or the southerly flow, he wasn’t sure at the moment …he just remembered that there was little if any snow, the rainfall was moderate and the local industry of flower and herb growing was a year round occupation.

None of that made any difference to him at the moment. He was close, he could feel her presence, almost inhale the fear she felt and the trust she had that he would come for her.

‘Hang on, Luv…just hang on a little bit longer.’

By sunup they were ready. David outlined his plan to them and assigned positions. There was no discussion, something that he was thankful for. Everyone got ready to leave, lining up to receive a shot of vitamin B 12 from Geena for an energy boost…sleep was such a distant memory that they all hoped it would work and quickly.

Gerry had been assigned to the radio, to keep everyone in contact from the base in the den and relay information when needed. Brian and Ian were sent in one of the rental jeeps with a hastily drawn map to get as close as possible to the house without being seen and establish a lookout in the lavender bushes on a nearby hill. They both bore binoculars and long sniper rifles with stands, just in case.

All the others would go with Constable Kidd in his sleek police boat and approach the property from the sea, idling quietly up to the dock and deploying from there, Geena and Simon to stay with the constable on the boat as reserves and in case the men tried to get away on the barge, David, Seb, Carlos and Urs would go up the winding path to the house, seeking whatever concealment they could find until they were close. From there it was a question of playing it as needed, depending of course on guards and activity at the house. If necessary they would merely burst in and hope to take them by surprise.

They were ready. Grim faced and determined, they headed out on what they felt was the most important mission they had ever been on.

**

She was awake, waiting. Thin rays of sunlight entered through the small window, creeping across the floor, touching the body of the woman, passing on as she watched and waited. She heard the footsteps first, light, muffled as they had been yesterday when the man who had kicked her in the transport had come in to check on her, touching himself as he looked at what he thought was her sleeping form.

This was it, her last chance to get free, to get to somewhere that she could call Urs and let him know where she was.

She slipped a hand under the pallet to be sure it was there, her feeble weapon. It felt so small…but she drew in a calming breath and steeled herself…she could do this, she had to. Just before the door opened she pulled the remains of her shirt off one shoulder to show a bit more flesh, cringing inside at what she had to do but determined. Her strength was gone…she had to rely on cunning.

He came in and she feigned sleep at first, then stirred and looked up at him. The sight of his exposed member sickened her but she smiled and stretched a hand out, touching him, then laying back on the pallet and pulling the shirt up to expose her hips.

Not a word was spoken. He knelt, then dropped on top of her, fumbling with his clothing. She raised her hands and touched his face, a calculated move to let him grow accustomed to her touch, dropped one hand to the edge of the pallet as he began to move, cupping his head with her other hand, creating pressure, and with a swift, sure move inserted the sharp end of her makeshift weapon in the corner of his eye and rammed the sliver of wire through his eye and into his brain. He slumped against her instantly, no sounds, only a sigh as the air left his dying lungs and blood gushed out of his eye socket over her face and hand.

Gagging and nearly weeping she wiggled out from under him and stumbled to the unlocked door.

The rest of the house was quiet. She crept up the few steps and eased the outside door open, peeking out, expecting at any moment to hear one of the others shouting, but there was nothing. There was the faint scent of coffee brewing on the air, mingled with the aroma of the lavender in the fields…it lent a shot of adrenaline to her weak body as she thought that someone else was also awake.

She kept low, away from the windows, entered the field of lavender beyond the over-grown yard and tried to run, not sure where to go, but running as best she could on legs that had gone weak during her captivity, struggling through the thick bushes that whipped at her screaming muscles, heading…it didn’t matter where…just away, was all she could think of now. The dreaded sound of a voice yelling at her in anger came and spurred her on.

Her body was failing her but she pushed herself, thinking of Urs, of Niki, trying to imagine she was jogging with her strong Swiss lover beside her, moving blindly away from the voices behind her.

**

They were more than half way up the winding path cut into the cliffside when they heard Petra relaying a message from Brian.

“She’s out…out and trying to get away…but she’s weak, staggering, not really running…Brian and Ian are breaking cover, trying to get to her…”

Urs sprinted on ahead of the others, not winded as Seb and Carlos were, David following closely on his heels as he raced ahead.

“Two men, coming out of the house…they’ve seen her, chasing, going fast…too many rises in the land, Brian doesn’t have a shot…”

It was rolling land here, large and small hills, dips in between, all covered with lush growth, making it hard to run fast. They had crested the hill at the top of the roadway and saw the running men, briefly saw the tiny woman, barely clothed, putting on as much speed as she could but clearly weak, staggering and fading fast. She was running towards the rocks to the north, blindly trapping herself at the cliff edge but unaware in her panic.

A shot rang out and one of the men fell even as Urs cut at an angle across the hills trying to intercept the man who was closest to Maggie.

“Ian got a shot off…one man is down…”

“Carlos and Seb to the house…secure the other two…” David’s voice came over the radio but Urs wasn’t paying any attention to it.

Every fiber of his being was on the fleeting glimpse he caught of his wife and the big man who was closing fast on her…he had drawn his Glock but it was useless at this range, even if he had a clear shot.

Suddenly the distance between the man and Maggie closed as she realized that she had nowhere left to run…she stumbled and slowed at the edge of the cliff, looking behind her, then down at the drop to the sea several hundred feet below. The big man slowed and bent over, pulling a knife from his boot and advanced on her, cautiously. Urs lost sight of them as he leapt down another rise and up the next incline, putting on a burst of speed as he cleared the top and fairly flew down the last hundred yards towards the cliff edge.

Everything happened at once, in slow motion…he leapt for the man who held the knife by the tip, his arm drawn back ready to throw, Maggie threw herself backwards and floated in the air for a moment, the tattered shirt she wore billowing in the air around her bloodied and bruised body, her short cap of wild curls fluttered in the wind…..then she was gone, just as Urs’ body collided with the attacker….the knife transferred with ease into his musician’s long fingers, Urs’ forward momentum making it simple to carry the weapon forward, slashing it across an exposed throat…. he dropped the body and the Glock, ripping off his boots as he ran/hopped to the edge and jumped, feet first.

He could see her hit the water far below and submerge, then nothing as he fell, entered the water and began stroking for the surface, eyes open, looking for her. She wasn’t on the surface…he took a lung full of air and dove down, searching, saw her floating limply a few feet away and caught hold of her arm, kicking for the surface as he pulled her weightless body in to his.

There was no beach here, just sharp rock stabbing up into the air from the sea bed. He cupped her chin with his hand and began swimming in the light surf, feeling clumsy and heavy with the water that soaked into his bulky clothing, but he had her now and wasn’t about to let go, the sea would not have either of them, not today.

There was a tiny ledge of broken rock a few hundred yards further on, a jumble of driftwood and some flotsam cluttering it and he headed that way, glancing at Maggie’s still face when he could…she was breathing.

The thought that she was still alive filled him with a burst of adrenaline and he increased his efforts, felt his feet kicking against stone and a bit further was able to stand and gather her into his aching arms to carry her the rest of the way and collapse on the shards of stone.

She was pale and limp as he pulled her up against his heaving chest, felt tiny and boneless, featherlight and cold.

“Maggie…c’mon Liebe, wake up…you’re safe now…Please, Beloved, wake up…”

She coughed, spitting out some water and opened her eyes a bit, looking up at him, a tiny smile curving the corners of her mouth as she formed nearly inaudible words.

“You’re late, Swiss.”

He crushed her against his chest, allowing the emotions he had contained for so many tense hours to release a cascade of tears as he kissed her ear, her neck, the short wet hair, her cold pale face.

He knew there was trouble when he felt her stiffen in his arms and heard the moaning ‘ no!no! no!’ chant in his ear and felt her trembling as she tried to burrow into his body. He looked behind him and saw Laurenz, just stepping down off of the jumbled rocks, a Sig Sauer in his hand and a malicious grin on his face.

“Isn’t this touching? And how nice of you to come to me so easily, Buhler? I think your little wife was getting tired of servicing me, she actually killed one of my men to get away, the bitch!”

Urs stood slowly, placing Maggie behind him.

“Give it up, Laurenz…the others will hunt you down, no matter what you do to me.”

“I don’t think so…I saw the police boat before they had a chance to see me and ducked behind the boulders to come here. You see I’ve learned how to stay one step ahead while I’ve been waiting to get my wife back…there’s a nice little Zodiac under that driftwood and I’ll just go to the harbour…before they realize where I’ve gone, I’ll have Audra’s little sailboat out of the bay and be on my way again. Now, if you tell me where Yvette is I promise to let your wife live. I’ve enjoyed my time with her, so I’m feeling generous.”

Urs tensed his muscles waiting for what he was sure was coming. He didn’t believe that Laurnez wouldn’t kill Maggie after he had dealt with him…they were both dead…he would go down fighting.

“Remember how much I love you, Liebe,” he said softly and felt her hand touching his thigh as she tried to get to her feet.

“Go to hell, Laurenz!” he spat out and saw the Sig raising, lunged forward, trying to grab the weapon and gasped as Laurenz’ brow erupted in a gout of blood, brain and bone. On the rock behind the slowly collapsing body, Simon lowered his Glock and began to climb down the rocks to the little beach.

“Damn fool…he talked too much.”

Simon nudged the body with his foot and took the few steps to Maggie who had managed to get to her feet and was standing shaking violently, staring at the body of the man who had tortured her for the past days, she wasn’t sure how long.

It got crowded on the little slip of land…Geena arrived, clambering over the rocks and tried to get Maggie to sit so she could give her first aid, David, Brian and Ian peered over the edge and shortly after rappelled down to join them.

Maggie was sitting beside Urs on some driftwood, still staring almost catatonically at Laurenz and suddenly pushed Urs hands away, stood and took a few wobbly steps forward, then picked up the Glock that Simon had placed on a rock and, using both hands, aimed it at Laurenz, a tiny whimpering sound coming from her mouth.

Urs stood to go to her but Geena placed her hand on his arm and shook her head.

With a scream of rage and anguish Maggie emptied the Glock into Laurenz’ lower body, completely disintegrating his manhood…. She kept her finger squeezed on the trigger long after the weapon was merely clicking on empty chambers, only stopping when Urs put his hand over the warm weapon and spoke to her softly….she dropped the weapon and collapsed, caught by Urs before she hit the sharp rocks.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FOURTEEN….AFTERMATH


The official report named Constable Jerry Kidd as a hero, having single handedly defeated a vicious gang of known criminals wanted by Interpol. In the gun fight, 3 of the gang had been killed, the 4th had been wounded and removed from the Island. He would be tried in International court for the murder of the local citizen, Ms. Audra Tindsley.

No mention was made of the 2 helicopters that landed in the lavender fields in the early morning or the weary people that boarded. Nothing was said of Seb and Carlos searching the little house and finding the two bodies in the small room in the basement or of them catching a glimpse of Laurenz far down the path and warning Simon on the radio as they sped down hill after him…. Nothing of Laurenz having been outside at the vehicle looking for his cigarettes when he heard the shot that took down one of the men chasing Maggie…no mention of Laurenz sneaking down the path and seeing the police boat and wrongly thinking he had escaped notice.

There was a small mention in another unrelated paragraph about a young boy, out scavenging, who found a perfectly good Zodiac, under driftwood on a small strip of rocky beach and heads were nodded at the luck some of the beach scavengers had.

The helis had gone to a large, quiet estate in the UK and unloaded, medical attention was given, showers were taken by some and the weary team crashed at last. Well, at least most of them did.

Geena checked Maggie, appalled at her condition but hopeful. She had lost a lot of weight, was beyond skinny and approaching gaunt, but that could be alleviated with time and good food. The bruises would heal and she would get her strength back. The most worrying was a persistent cough and wheezing a bit when she breathed.

“She has pneumonia, Urs…Seb said there were no blankets or anything where she had been kept and it was very damp. I’ve given her something to fight it and had Seb elevate the head of the bed. If it gets worse she may need to be on oxygen for a while. And Urs…I tried to get her to talk about it but she wouldn’t… I’m pretty sure she’s been abused. I think it was likely very cleansing for her to blast him where she did…kind of a symbolic getting even. I agree with you that the best thing is to take her home, get a local nurse in if you don’t have enough help. And have Doctor Mandel check her over. She needs to be with you, to see Niki and know he’s all right. And she may need to see someone…abuse like that can have very devastating effects on a woman’s mind …Maggie might feel…soiled, not fit to be an intimate partner with you. Go carefully for a while.”

She gave Urs a hug and watched as he went in the room he was to share with Maggie tonight, her heart aching for the pain she saw in his face. He was beyond simply tired now, grey and drawn with fatigue and shock. She went down the hall to join her partner and lay on the bed, still fully clothed, needing to be near Seb who had sprawled across the duvet, face down, just stirring now to draw her into his arms and snuggle her against his chest. She cried for her friends and he held her, understanding and comforting as they fell into the dreamless sleep of exhaustion.

Urs managed to strip off down to his shorts, didn’t even consider a shower, though he wanted one but was afraid he might drown, he was so tired. He wasn’t sure about getting into the big bed with Maggie, not after what Geena had said but Maggie opened her eyes and saw him standing uncertainly beside the bed and flipped the covers up.

“I need to be close to you, but…..”

That was all the invitation he needed, though he had noticed the ‘but’ and chose to ignore it for now. He slid in to cradle her in his arms, nestling the way they always did. It was so comforting to have his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and she snuggled closer.

“That’s all I need too, Little Luv, just to know you are safe.”

“I love you, Urs.”

“And I love you, little wife. Rest now…tomorrow maybe we can pick up Niki and go home.”

He could feel her lips curl in a smile and then her breathing eased a bit, still wheezing slightly when she exhaled but soft and regular.

He tried to stay awake, to think about what he should do to help her cope with what she had endured but nothing made any sense. He closed his eyes and he fell asleep holding her against his chest, too tired to even cry.

**

It was nearly noon when the last of the team straggled out of their suites and wandered down to the kitchen for sustenance. Urs was there, waiting for a tray of food that Mrs. Mac was carefully putting together, liquids and some thin porridge for Maggie since she had consumed very little over the past days, an omelette and coffee for Urs.

“How is she this morning?”Gerry asked as she nodded and smiled her thanks at the coffee that Carlos poured for her.

“Jumpy, quiet, weak but trying to hide everything she feels….she wants a bath and I had to promise her one …I bribed her with food, though she said she isn’t sure what she can keep down.”

“I’ll come and check her out after her bath, Urs. She needs another shot for the pneumonia anyway.”

He nodded to Geena in agreement and took the tray upstairs, until he reached the door to the suite, looking as if the world was resting heavily on his shoulders. Before entering he squared his shoulders, put on a smile and hoped he could get away with it.

She had dozed off again, huddled under the warm covers in a little ball, in the fetal position again as she had been when their night of cuddling started…sleeping normally when he woke in the night to check on her, an encouraging sign that she felt safe at last while she could touch him next to her.

“C’mon lazy bones…food and then I’ll run a bath for you with enough bubbles to float you out of the room.”

She raised her head out from the covers and blinked in the bright light of the room.

“Don’t do that, Urs.”

He looked at her in surprise.

“You know what I’m talking about…don’t put on your professional face with me, that oh-so-cheerful smile and phony attitude. We’ve never assumed false faces with each other and now is not a good time to start.”

He sat the tray down and leaned over her in the bed, one hand on each side of her.

“I’m sorry. I should have known I couldn’t fool you. Now sit up a bit and eat…you need to build up your body again, slowly.”

He helped her to a sitting position with pillows behind her back and placed the tray across her lap, taking his plate and balancing it on his legs.

She ate in silence for a moment then looked up at him and smiled.

“It definitely isn’t Rosti but you wouldn’t believe how good this tastes,” indicating the porridge. “Urs what day is this? How long was I in that place?”

“Today’s the 23rd, Luv…you were there for just over 6 days.”

She ate some more and then he saw her shake her head.

“It seemed longer…it was hard to tell and I didn’t think about keeping track until the days were already mixed up in my mind.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Not yet.”

He smiled at her and reached out to clasp her hand.

“No hurry, love…I’ll be here when you want to talk.”

He knew she had finished all she could of the food when she leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes.

He took the tray and set it on the small table then started the bath running, tossing in a generous handful of bath salts.

She perked up when he came back and scooped her into his arms for the journey to the Lav.

“I can walk, Urs.”

“I know but I’ve been longing to hold you for days now, don’t deny me the pleasure.”

He set her on the stool in the bedroom and carefully took off the borrowed nightgown that Mrs.Mac had provided. She was painfully thin, ribs showing through thin bruised skin, her collar bones looking sharp with lack of flesh, old and new bruises to her face, back, thighs, lower legs….such a transformation in only a few days.

He removed his clothing and saw her avert her eyes, felt hurt when she flinched away from his hands when he reached out to her.

“Maggie, look at me, Luv. It’s me, Urs who loves you more than life. I would never hurt you, you know that. I know you’re hurting…when you hurt, I feel the pain….I need to take care you, my darling. Please let me.”

She stared in his eyes, a confusing look that seemed to beg for forgiveness and reached her arms up to him, her eyes still with pain in them but the fear gone. He lifted her into the tub and stepped in behind her, cradling her against his chest and letting the hot water soothe them both.

After a few minues of soaking, he gently washed her hair and her bruised back and rinsed it off. She reached for the cloth and washed from her brow to her toes, then started back up again, this time using the nail brush, almost angry with him when he voiced an opinion that it was too harsh for her skin. Her body tensed against Urs and she became frantic, scrubbing her skin nearly raw, especially the personal areas. He took her wrist in his hand and spoke softly to her.

“It’s not your fault, Luv. You did nothing wrong. Don’t punish yourself for something you had no control over.”

The water sloshed over the edge as he lay her back in the tub with her head on the little pillow that hung over the end, took the bathing sponge and washed her gently, with reverence, a pure and innocent bathing of her tortured soul as well as her body, nothing in the least sexual about it.

It was getting cool in the bath when he pulled the plug and helped her to her feet, lifting her out and into the shower.

“Time to let all this dirt go down the drain,” he said and she seemed to appreciate the double meaning of his words, leaning against him as the water poured over them and sluiced off the residue from the bath. She smiled against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Maggie…”

She looked up, felt her heart leap at the purity of the love she saw in his eyes as he bent over her raised face, water running in rivulets from his cheeks and making a trail down his chest to pool in her cleavage.

“I would have given anything to spare you from learning what animals some men can be and it breaks my heart that I didn’t have the power to stop what happened. But remember this, my darling.Only one man will ever make love WITH you, just me…nothing else is important because nothing else is done in love. To me, you are as pure and innocent as that night of the Princes Ball and I do love you, more every day…you hold my heart in your hands.”

He could see that she was having trouble getting the words out but she tried, even though her voice had an edge of panic to it.

“I understand the difference now between what we shared and what some men enjoy…and I thank God that you can still love me and let me love you.”

“You have done nothing wrong, Liebeling, NOTHING!!”

“I kept hearing you speaking to me, telling me to hang on, that you loved me.”

“Always!” he vowed and leaned down to kiss her, gently, promising the world, delivering hope, melting the cold she had wrapped around her heart to protect it. His lips pressed against hers, just the tip of his tongue touching her, tasting the sweetness as she opened her mouth and met his tongue hesitantly, gently dueling for space. He broke away first, not wanting to rush her and lifted her out of the enclosure, rubbing her briskly with a soft towel, relieved that he had managed to keep relatively in control.

“Now, lets see if we can turn this haircut into a real Faery Princess do,” he said with a grin as he pulled his shorts on and reached for the barber scissors in his shaving kit.

It only took a few careful snips and Maggie smiled as she saw how her curly mop had been fashioned into a stylish pixie cut.

“Another career possibility,” she joked as he took a hand mirror and showed her the back with a flourish.

There was a surprise waiting when Urs took her, carefully wrapped in a large dry towel, into the bedroom.

Simon sat on the floor with a floppy, well chewed, purple tiger in his hand and Niki in front of him, grinning his 2 toothed smile.

“Oh my god, Niki…how…what…?”

“You kept asking for your son…in the heli, while Geena was taking care of you, Urs said you did it off and on all night, too. So I had Joan bring him out with Peter in the limo…they brought your luggage from the suite too.”

Urs deposited her in the bed, pulling the covers up before slipping the towel off and Simon brought the laughing little boy over, his arms stretched out as he reached for his Mami.

The two men shared a quiet moment, wiping moisture from leaky eyes as mother and son hugged and kissed, Maggie’s streaming but smiling face was patted by little hands and the sturdy body danced up and down in delight to have his Mami back.

A thought suddenly occurred to Maggie and she looked at Urs in surprise.

“The 23rd… it’s Release Day…you need to make appearances!”

Simon laughed.

“It seems that all four of the Divos have the flu today and three of them have decided to be recovered enough to do the interviews, but tomorrow, not today. Alas, but poor Urs is still ill and can not attend, though he sends his apologies.”

“You have the flu?” she said with a little smile, looking at the still drawn face and tired eyes, but an otherwise handsome, fit man.

“So I’ve been told. At breakfast/lunch, whatever you want to call it, I was diagnosed and given a prescription of bed rest at home with my family….there was a consensus of opinion and after all this is a democracy, so I couldn’t argue.”

She laughed and settled Niki firmly next to her in the bed, coughing a bit and holding one hand on her chest as if it hurt.

“You do realize that you’re going to owe them, big time, for this?”

“Ja…David keeps score…it could get really interesting. Right now, you need to nap again…come here, little man, let your Mami rest. I’m going to take you down to the kitchen and introduce you to Mrs. Mac and her magic, never empty, cookie jar.”

He turned at the door and raised an eyebrow at Simon.

“Don’t tire her out…rest is the best medicine right now.”

He was gone too quickly to see Simon’s mock salute, but he did hear Maggie laugh then cough again.

First the cookie jar, then find Geena to ask if he should be worried about that cough.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTEEN

Geena wouldn’t allow Maggie to leave the estate yet, not after she had listened to Maggie’s chest. As a compromise to having everyone vist in couples, she allowed dinner to be served in the suite so they could all visit, but only after her patient had slept for two hours, with the little nasal buds delivering oxygen from a tank that had been brought from the nearby clinic….and she extracted a promise from all the concerned friends that they would keep the visit light and happy, leaving when Maggie began to tire.

There was a casual air about the meal, both of the little boys were there, Peter and Joan dropped in for a few moments before heading back to London with Brian and Ian and even Mrs. Mac and Seymour unbent enough to join them for dessert, though Seymour stood while he was in the room, finding it ‘improper’ to relax enough to sit.

Urs had helped Maggie dress in the only thing he could find that would do, a pair of grey tights, one of his white dress shirts with the sleeves rolled up, and a soft cashmere blanket over her knees. He was concerned about keeping her warm and the lingerie she had in her luggage was designed to raise HIS temperature, not hers. He fluffed up her cap of curls and declared that she looked ‘as good as chocolate’, high praise indeed.

Dinner was placed on a long table that Seymour had brought in and set up and everyone served themselves, using small polished teak tables from the music room that had been unfolded and spread around in front of easy chairs from the other rooms, all of this done so quietly while Maggie slept that she hadn’t stirred, not once.

At first, they didn’t talk at all during the meal about the desperate search for her, but when she had finished her soup and pudding and the others were indulging in dessert, while she fought Urs off as he tried to steal her little bit of chocolate mousse, she began asking questions about how they had found her.

When Simon told her about the rings in with her plait she raised her hand, thinking about how Urs had slipped them back on her finger, kissing her gently and how they had laughed after when he had to use tape to keep them on, her fingers had become so thin.

A subject they all avoided and she didn’t initiate, was what had been done to her, what she had endured during her days on the island. Everyone knew, or surmised…the beatings were evident….the starvation also…the rest she would either talk about or not, as she herself coped with the memory.

Urs had been quiet most of the night, joining in when asked a direct question but basically he spent his evening watching Maggie as she played with Niki, holding the baby when he fell asleep even though he could see that it drained her strength.

He could see that the memory of what had happened was still far too fresh for her, kept intruding even when they talked with their friends, a cloud of fear or sadness coming into her eyes, making her smile a bit forced, going away when she touched Niki or looked up and saw the concern on his face. Mein gott but he wanted to chase the fear away, to have her eyes shining with humor as they had before. He knew that the deepest wounds would take the longest to heal, the psychological damage had been the most traumatic…there would be no quick fix.

Finally he rose and offered to put the sleepy child to bed in the cot Seymour had provided from somewhere. She let the baby go, reluctantly, watching Urs change him and put him to bed, humming as he gently tended to their son, all while the conversation in the room went on around her.

He came back and sat on the arm of her chair with his arm across the back. She was flushed a bit and when he trailed his hand down her cheek he could feel that her temperature was too high. She looked up with sparkling eyes, from fever he thought, not from excitement and he glanced at Geena. Yes, she had noticed as well.

“Well, I think it’s time we got packed up for the trip tomorrow… and don’t forget…our Swiss friend here has the flu…he needs his rest.” She went to Maggie and kissed her hot cheek, whispering ‘I’ll be back in a while, Mags…have a nice cool wash off and hop into bed.’

Everyone said goodbye, told her how happy they were to have her home and left with cheerful waves and teases for Urs about his ‘illness’.

When the room was empty of all except Buhlers, Urs went to her and lifted her up for a proper kiss and hug.

“Your temp is up, Luv… how about a quick sponge bath, brush your teeth, a clean tee shirt, then into bed?”

Her breathing was ragged but she smiled and agreed, letting him carry her into the Loo and attend to her with loving strokes of a soft wash flannel. Her teeth she managed on her own but not as thoroughly as she would have at another time. She rinsed, leaning heavily on the counter and he picked her up again for the short trip to the bed.

“Urs, I’m sorry…I’m so much trouble for you. I…”

He put his long fingers over her mouth and leaned closer just as he heard Geena coming in the room.

“Shhhh…I’m here because I can not be anywhere else…my heart would never let me. You are no trouble, little Luv…you are mine, I love you and I’ll take care of you…. I have no life without you.”

He kissed her dry lips tenderly then stood and held her hand in both of his as Geena approached the bed.

“Geena needs to give you a shot…and I need to make a few phone calls, which is a good thing since needles make me nervous. Save me a space, Luv, I’ll be back.

Geena squeezed his arm as he passed her on his way to the door. He could hear her talking to Maggie as he closed the door and sprinted down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Up to now he had put off calling Mami and Papa or Heidi and Kosta. Time was up and he needed to let them know what had happened and what he would need from the family in the next few days, maybe weeks. They were not calls he looked forward to but they were necessary. He couldn’t arrive home with an ill wife and end up with half the family in shock at how thin and bruised she was, how terrible the events were that had taken place. They needed to have that out of the way when Geena allowed him to take Maggie home.

First things first…he grabbed a large coffee from the urn in the kitchen and parked at the counter, pulling out his mobile and keying in the number for the homestead.

“Urs…how nice to hear from you…we thought you would be coming home in a few days…have your plans changed?”

Papa sounded well and happy and Urs gritted his teeth, hating to be the one to deliver bad news.

“Papa…We’re at Simon’s estate in the UK, Maggie, Niki and I…something has happened that I need to tell you about….if Mami is there, you might want to put the phone on speaker…I don’t want to have to do this twice. Maggie and Niki joined me on the tour but Niki had problems with his teething and they left to come home, on the 15th…..”

He told them everything, bluntly, not holding back, pausing a couple of times only when the sobs he could hear coming from Switzerland nearly undid him, his throat aching from held back tears and shared grief.

There was silence for a minute when he finished then he heard Mami say something to Papa then Nikolai’s strained voice came back on the line.

“What can we do, Son?”

“Geena agrees with me that Maggie would be better off at home and she will let me take her by Air Ambulance if we have medical help, a nurse to give Maggie shots for the pneumonia, to check her chest, that sort of thing. She’ll be on oxygen for a few days at least, so no open fires, we have to be careful of that…and we need to have Dr. Mandel check her out. And she isn’t the same sweet woman we’re used to, not yet…She can’t handle being left alone, won’t say anything about it but she kind of goes into zombie mode whenever she wakes and finds no friendly faces around.”

“Leave it in our hands, Dear Heart,” Mami’s voice came to him now, just as he knew it would be…calm, determined, good in an emergency. “We will talk to Heidi and Dr. Mandel, everything will be arranged…just let us know when you are coming.”

He smiled at the thought of how comforting it was, even at his age, to have Mami taking charge.

“Mami, I also have some good news….Laurenz is dead…that means Yvette is free…she should be calling you in a day or so…maybe we can even get her home to visit for Christmas.”

So much for being calm…he heard her erupt into tears again, happy ones this time and a few minutes later they disconnected, leaving him with a smile on his face.

**

Once arrangements had been made, everything seemed to go on Fast Forward…the Divos had left for London, Simon was heading back to the US and Maggie, Urs and Niki were whisked by Air Ambulance off to Luzern. They transferred to an AA heli and landed in the front field at Irgendwo where Papa came out to collect Niki and Urs carried Maggie into the warm and welcoming house.

His cousin Helena had been hired to act as nurse companion for the next week. She was a private duty nurse, mid forties and with no young family to need her attention. Under her ministrations Maggie soon was recovering and as a side effect Urs recovered nicely from his ‘flu’, able to do some European interviews, though he was never gone from home more than a few hours, half a day at the most and when he was away, his place by Maggie’s side was assumed by family, Papa sitting with her quite a bit of the time, his big hand on Maggie’s, his friendly, loving smile making her drift into healing sleep.

Dr. Mandel had visited and, though he left with a confused look on his face he did announce that Maggie seemed in fair health, all things considered. General medicine wasn’t his field of course, but he laughed, saying that he thought he could remember the basics well enough to deal with scrapes, bruises and pneumonia.

The first week of December saw Maggie off meds and oxygen, declared fit for little household duties…she had gained some of her weight back, of course not her strength and that would be a while since strenuous workouts were off limits just yet.

The most troubling for Urs, and something he was determined to be patient about, was that Maggie seemed unable to relax and let herself express her love as she used to. They hugged, kissed and slept together in the same bed, even often showered together but she would tense and back off whenever their feelings began to escalate. Geena had warned him that this might happen so he ignored it, merely letting her know, often, that he loved her, not hiding the fact that she was still the only woman he wanted but was willing to wait as long a necessary.

On December third they went in to see Dr. Mandel at his office, at his request, and the curious look from his home visit was explained.

“I didn’t want to say anything when I examined you before, my dear, you seemed in enough stress. You are expecting a child once more.”

Maggie paled and went rigid in the chair next to Urs. He looked at her with concern, slowly realizing why she was so upset.

She wasn’t pregnant the second week of November when she had been with him in Chicago, when her cycle had been right on time…that meant that either they had conceived before the 15th when she left for the UK or…..when Laurenz assualted her.

“My dear, please don’t be troubled… I was suspicious when I visited you at the farm and used some of the samples I brought back to test of anemia and STD’s, in a test for pregnancy. You were just over 3 weeks along in your first trimester…the child is definitely that of your husband.”

She looked at the doctor, her eyes glistening with threatening tears.

“But…but my cycle…on the 5th…. I had my cycle, right on time….”

“And it was probably very light, surprisingly so and short…am I right? It is quite common to have one final, weak period after conceiving…I have actually had patients who continue right through to the 7th month.”

He saw the hope in her eyes but knew that she was not convinced.

“When you reach your 10th week, which will be about the 10th of January we will do a test, just for your peace of mind…It is called Amniosentisis and consists of drawing out a tiny portion of the Chorionic fluid that surrounds the uterus…I will then test it against the DNA sample I already have from you, Herr Buhler…it is something I like to do routinely, very safe and will not harm the baby in any way. It will provide definite proof of paternity. You had one last time, slightly different…you might remember having it, but much later, at I believe your chart shows, 19 weeks.”

He rose and came around the desk to perch on the edge and stare at the distraught couple as they sat holding hands. Herr Buhler was concerned for his wife, had accepted what had been said but the doctor could see that she was not thinking rationally and was near tears.

“Please bear in mind, Herr and Frau Buhler… my examination was on the 25th of November and the assaults from the 18th to the 22nd , I believe…if conception had taken place during the assault, I would not have been able to detect it yet. The child is born of your love, there is no doubt…for you to be this far in your gestation, conception had to have taken place on approximately November 3rd.”

Urs nodded, never taking his eyes off Maggie’s bowed head but agreeing with the doctor.

“Think about it, Liebe…if it had been Laurenz it couldn’t have been more than 7 days at the most before the examination. This is our baby you carry, a little brother or sister for Niki.”

She smiled tentatively, wanting to believe, wanting the thrill that had filled her heart that first time, when she found out via those little green windows that she carried Niki in her body.

“So, I’m how far…3 weeks did you say?”

“Just over four now, Frau Buhler and despite the poor treatment you received lately, very healthy, doing very well. Your pregnancy is possibly the reason you lost so much weight during your captivity…the baby will always take what it needs first and leave you the rest…they are selfish little devils at this stage.”

She smiled at his little joke and rose with Urs to leave. He gave her instructions to return in two weeks, just to keep an eye on her weight and they left the office.

**

Maggie was silent when they reached the street, still had said nothing when they were in the car and heading home. Urs concentrated on his driving, trying to think of some way to comfort her, to help her believe, as he did, that this baby was conceived from their love. He was so busy mentally that he missed her whispered words at first then glanced at her in panic when they registered.

“Stop the car, Urs.”

He veered off to the side, turned off the motor, unclipped his seat belt and half turned in his seat, about to ask if she was feeling ill. Her head was lowered, one hand inside her jacket, on her stomach and she looked up at him and smiled.

“We’re going to have a baby…God has given us another gift!!! Only thirteen more to go, Papa!” She grinned at him and he very nearly dissolved into tears, instead launched himself across the seat to unclip her seat belt and draw her into his arms. They laughed and embraced, sharing kisses and joy, another step taken on the bumpy road to recovery.

**

There had been a steady stream of family and friends dropping in since Maggie began to mend, each thoughtfully curtailing their visit to very brief sessions, usually accompanied by a treat of some kind or yet another plant for the conservatory or a bouquet of flowers. No hard questions were asked…this was merely the family way of showing that they cared, that she was loved and expected to recover so they could enjoy being with her again.

It helped, the subtle gestures, the re-affirming that she was one of them, was missed and loved unconditionally made her feel stronger daily, so much so that Cosmo, who had been driving Heidi crazy with his efforts to get in the house and be near his special person, was finally allowed near her again. The first day that she stepped out onto the terrace with Urs, bundled up against the chill, the big pup spotted her and actually abandoned Kitzi briefly to fly over the snow drifts and leap onto the terrace towards her, nearly doing a somersault when Urs sharply ordered him down so he wouldn’t bowl Maggie over. She knelt beside the quivering dog and was thoroughly licked and kissed with a huge, wet tongue before he was satisified and raced back to Kitzi as if bearing wonderful news.

The fawn had grown in the past month…most of her spots were gone or fading and she was more agile on her spindly legs now, giving Cosmo a good run as she played in the snow or foraged for the hay and dried grasses that Kosta half buried in the snow about the pasture, trying to accustom her to the need she would have in the wild to search for her food.

Pansy relented in her punishment of Maggie for being away for so long and allowed herself to be pet and brushed, curling up on the sofa with her whenever Urs convinced his stubborn wife that it was time to nap.

Today he had something else in mind…Romance.

He had thought long and hard about the way that Maggie would react to his kisses, only so far and then it was as if a wall came between them, as if the old desires she had for his touch had been forgotten…or as if she felt undeserving of expressing love as they had before.

He decided that it had to end, now, before celibacy became a habit or an issue between them. He would call upon the skills and patience he had used before the Prince’s Ball, creating a romantic mood, thawing the wall of ice she put between them until she thawed completely and was as filled with need as he was. One way or the other, whatever the problem was would be forced out in the open and dealt with.