In The Arms Of My Angel

Chapter 90 - In Memorium
For the past two weeks he'd been working on the screened off portion of land in their back garden. He knew Franky knew he was up to something where the compost bins used to be, but only once had she asked him what. As soon as he'd told her he wanted it to be a surprise, she hadn't said another word nor had she protested when he'd asked her to go to a room where she couldn't see deliveries arriving. He knew she'd seen nothing because he'd stored it all behind the screens and now it was almost finished. Just a few more plants to go in.
Deciding to take a break for a few minutes, he reached into the cooler he had in the area, popped open a can and sat down on the aged Cotswold Stone bench he'd installed and spent a few moments looking at the hand-carved plaque he'd just finished installing
In Loving Memory of our special little boy
Flavian Roberto Buhler
Born Asleep
'An Angel Never Dies'
He had to admit the stonemason had done a wonderful job with the black piece of granite, carefully inlaying each letter with silver leaf as any master craftsman would. At the head of the plaque he'd placed the new sleeping boy on an orb ornament, his eyes widening when he recalled how heavy that was and how hard it had been to move it on his own. Still, that and the whole area had given him such a good workout over the past fourteen days, there had been no need for him to go for a run or spend time down in the basement gym.
Urs raised his head a little, then laughed at himself as he looked at the Mulberry Tree that he'd planted behind the plaque, thinking perhaps he should have ordered something smaller or accepted Gabriel's help to get it into the hole at the very least. He hadn't really ever realised how stubborn he could be, most of the work he'd done himself, including setting the large white stone blocks that encircled the area into the ground. This he'd divided into three equal sections, the plaque occupied one of these, surrounded by light grey slate chippings that seemed to twinkle when wet, the bench sat at the lower end of the plaque. The Mulberry tree and remaining planting would fill the other two, with the exception of a small highly polished stainless steel cascade water feature that lit up at night. He didn't want anything too ornate, that would ditract from what the area was about to his way of thinking.
Returning to his task, he knelt down again and started placing the remaining plants, a few Forget Me Nots running up the stone he'd used to create the partitions would compliment the dwarf conifers, lavender and roses he'd spent the morning planting into position. A thick layer of bark chippings around everything after he'd given them a good watering in and he was done.
Tools and equipment packet away he stood admiring his work, deciding that it was worth the whole day and half he'd spent removing the six inch pad of concrete with a jackhammer. He laughed to himself, remembering that loading the rubbish into the skip had been the only thing he'd allowed Carlos, Sebastien and David to help with. Not once had they complained about the hard work on such unseasonably hot days. Carlos loading one of two wheelbarrows and loading up the second while Sebastien trundled them down to David, who stood at the skip. The two of them working together to unload the broken up concrete. That relay system he'd come up with had worked really well. Sebastien had been right, it would probably have taken him twice as long to clear the area by himself, perhaps even more.
Satisfied, he left the area and made his way back to the house for a shower. He didn't want to show Franky while still dressed in dirty clothes, he had a feeling that he would need to hold her tight again. He removed his muddy workboots at the back door and smiled as he entered the kitchen to find Saskia busy making a Dutch apple cake. Something she was good at and made once a month because the children loved it.
"Finished?" She queried, barely glancing at him.
"Ja. Where's Franky?" He replied, washing his hands at the kitchen sink.
"Having a nap upstairs. The children too."
"Even Frank?"
"Even Frank." Saskia nodded, giggling a little, knowing the eldest child very rarely needed to sleep in the afternoon, most days he was on the go from the moment he got up until one or other of his parents put him to bed.
Urs huffed out a breath then left Saskia to her baking and made his way upstairs. In their room he found Franky curled up, fast asleep on the bed, his pillow held tight in her arms. Jordi lay in his Moses basket also asleep, snoring softly. All was peace in the house, for now at least anyway.
He entered the en-suite, stripped off his soiled clothes and dropped them into a pile near the basket in one corner. He still found it slightly funny that Franky insisted on washing workwear separately from everyday clothing. As he entered the shower, he laughed recalling the small argument they'd had about that. Him asking what it really mattered, they were all getting washed anyway. Franky replying that it was how she'd been raised and asking if he could at least learn to adapt to it. It hadn't taken long for him to do so, but still found it slightly weird.
Freshened up, Urs dried himself off, wrapped the towel around his hips and re-entered the bedroom. Franky was still asleep, though she looked like she was beginning to stir as he opened his wardrobe and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. He was almost dressed by the time he heard Franky moving and turned to face her.
"You've finished then?" She asked after stretching out.
"Ja. You ready to see what I've been up to?" Urs asked, hearing a door open across the landing, knowing that their first born was awake and exactly where he was heading.
"Once I've been to the bathroom."
Urs stood waiting patiently for Franky, listening to Jordi continue to snore until she came out of the en-suite.
"Leave him there. Saskia has the monitor." He instructed gently but firmly when Franky went to pick their youngest up.
Franky nodded then took the hand he offered her and held it tightly as they made their way back downstairs. They entered the kitchen to find Frank sitting in front of the cooker, watching the cake cook. Both of them laughing at the cute habit he'd picked up since Saskia had joined them and knowing there would be nothing left of the cake by tomorrow. With his arm wrapped around Franky's waist, he guided her out of the door, across the decking, down the steps and towards the path that led to the area he'd been working on.
"I want to come too." Frank's voice stopped them in their tracks and both turned to face him.
"What did I say yesterday, Frank?" Urs asked, squatting in front of the excited little boy.
"Mami gets to see first, then everyone else." Frank pouted.
"That's right. It's not long to wait is it?"
"No Papi. I go back inside then?"
Urs nodded, watched Frank go back inside the house then stood upright and resumed his position at Franky's side. Once they reached the screening, he instructed her to close her eyes and placed one hand lightly over them before he guided her through the screening. He took a deep breath and removed his hand.
"Open your eyes, angel." He instructed, his voice barely above a whisper.
Franky took a deep breath then did as he'd asked, her eyes flying wide and her hands instantly covering her mouth as soon as she did so. The last time he'd seen her hands make that motion had been the day they'd received the news about Flavian. Those had been grieving sobs, but these appeared to be happy ones as did the tears streaming down her face.
"Oh Urs" Franky sighed, turning into his arms and unable to say anything for several minutes. "It's.......absolutely........beautiful." She sniffed between sobs, sitting on the bench and taking in every detail. "Just.......perfect. I.........never..........expected.........anything........like.......this."
"Not quite finished yet." Urs swallowed hard, kneeling beside the plaque and pressing a hidden button, watching the tiny flame appear at the top. "How about we keep it going for the rest of today and then only light it for special ocassions, when we're having parties for the children, Christmas, his birthday? That sort of thing." He asked, looking at Franky who had been rendered speechles and simply sat nodding her head quickly, smiling, tears still flowing.
Sniffing because he hadn't expected this reaction, Urs took a seat beside Franky and wrapped his arms around her. A huge sigh escaping when she rested her head on his chest and returned the hug. He didn't know how long they remained that way, watching the flame dance in the gentle breeze that seemed to have sprung from nowhere but, by the time Franky had calmed herself, Frank was at the screening, informing that Saskia was wanting to make a start on dinner and asking if he could see before they sat down to eat.
Urs stood and headed back to the house with Frank, but soon returned with all of the children, placing a happily gurgling Jordi into his mother's arms and smiling when she moved him to her shoulder. He then turned to watch the children and smiled when Frank sat at the bottom of the plaque, slowly reading what was written.
Not one member of the family left the area until tea was ready. After the meal and the children were settled for the night, Urs and Franky headed to the memorial garden again where they remained until long after the sun had gone down.
Before curling up with a still emotional Franky in bed that night, Urs set his alarm for 8:30am, knowing that awakening that early would give him plenty of time to remove the screening and finally allow everyone else to see what he'd done in memory of their son.
Turn the page.
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Chapter 91 - Stupid Drivers
He could still feel heavy rain pouring around him as he came to, pain shooting up both arms when he tried to move and use them to adjust his position, the left one hurting much worse than the right. Thinking that the left was more than likely broken, Urs bit hard on his bottom lip and tried to ignore the protestations of his right arm made as he used it to turn himself over.
Glistening with sweat and panting hard, he looked up, saw that the sun was beginning to set and two small embankments hid him from passing traffic.
"Just great." He huffed, realising that Miranda's latest acquisition, 'Mercurial', had thrown him off his back and he'd ended up in the drainage ditch that ran along the road he'd been taking back to the stables.
He couldn't blame the four year old Dappled Grey stallion for being so scared that he'd bucked and reared until he'd disposed of his rider. No, the young thugs in the Mercedes were to blame for Urs being in his current position. He cursed outloud in every language he knew as he remembered the car speeding past them, coming very close to the horse's legs as they sped off up the road. How he'd managed to get the animal to calm down after that he didn't know.
They'd just begun walking again when the car came back, obviously having done a U-turn and it had happened again. 'Mercurial' had panicked instantly, whirling around, bucking, rearing, whinnying in fear and refusing to calm a second time. It seemed like an eternity had passed when Urs felt himself flying through the air to land on the ground.
He didn't have a clue how much time had passed since then, partly because he'd passed out shortly after landing and he wasn't wearing his watch. He huffed again and thought that perhaps it was no more than an hour. Then he mentally cursed himself because he hadn't thought to make a mental note of the car's registration number. Something suddenly registered in his brain and he realised that the ditch wasn't dry, he was lying in at least an inch of muddy, very smelly water.
"Urgh!" He groaned outloud then closed his eyes for a few seconds.
He knew he couldn't stay where he was, he'd only been awake for a few minutes but was already beginning to feel the cold. He had to get out of there, somehow. Cradling his left arm against his chest, he tried to stand, using his right to push against the soft ground and immediately roared in agony. Feeling lightheaded, he stopped and took several deep breaths until the feeling ebbed.
Twice more he tried before the pain became too much to bear and he decided to start shouting for help instead, hoping that someone else was either walking or riding close by. He knew cars wouldn't hear him, but held on to the hope someone was near.
Just after the fourteenth shout, he thought he heard the sound of hooves not too far away. He shouted once more, thinking that perhaps his mount had come back from wherever he'd bolted off too.
"Urs! Where are you?" Came a familiar voice.
Thinking he was hearing things, he didn't reply immediately but simply shook his head then yelled again.
"Where are you honey?" Franky returned, her voice sounding much closer than it had a few seconds before.
"In the ditch!"
A moment or two later, he saw her sliding into the ditch and watched her carefully make her way towards him.
"Careful angel. I think I've broken my left arm and sprained my right." Urs informed, attempting a smile once she'd wiped his face clean.
"What happened?" Franky asked, removing the long, waterproof riding coat she wore and placing it over him.
Urs sighed, told her the story then listened to her call for an ambulance first before she called David to let him know she'd found him and to ask him to let everyone else know.
"How did you know I was in trouble?"
"Mercurial turned up back at the stables in right state and Pearl called me to see if you'd had some sort of accident. When I hadn't heard anything after an hour, I decided to come looking for you and the guys decided to help. Miranda already had 'Dancer' tacked and ready to go by the time I arrived. She pointed us all in the direction you'd taken, but when we reached 'Five Points', I knew we had to go separate ways. I chose your favourite route, the guys and Pearl took the other four."
"Good job.....I have.....one.....then huh?!" Urs asked through chattering teeth, shaking his head when he saw tears welling in Franky's eyes.
"Yeah. You still want rip that reporter's head off though, don't you?"
Urs nodded, his eyes narrowing at the mention of the man who'd written an article for the local newspaper stating that Franky had given an Oscar winning performance at Flavian's funeral. He'd wanted to go and smash his face in as soon as he'd seen the picture of him struggling to keep Franky upright never mind reading the article that accompanied it only for her to stop him storming out of the house, upset but calmly stating the man was always writing nasty stories about someone or other, she wasn't the first and she wouldn't be the last. Touching his face, tears brimming in her eyes while she asked for his help to open the condolence cards and gifts Simon had had sent over from Syco HQ. Both of them crying as they read the messages, the whole process taking several hours because they had to take several breaks to get some measure of control of their still raw emotions.
He had no idea how so many people had found out, he hadn't posted anything on the OF and there hadn't been any announcement in the local paper, never mind nationals. The only article he knew of was the one that had made him angry and he thought the news had got around by word of mouth. Some of the cards had been placed in photograph album they'd planned to use as Flavian grew. The rest had been carefully glued into blue scrapbooks then placed in a white box tied with a with a blue bow that bore his name and would be placed in Franky's office. The gifts they'd placed in a huge glass cabinet that stood Franky's office, along with the rest of their children's birth and baptism gifts
Franky had been proved right about the reporter a few days later when another article had appeared, this time the man accusing another local of cheating on his wife without any evidence, other than faked photographs to back it up, the man concerned able to prove he was elsewhere with his wife and family. She seemed satisfied the following week when the man he'd accused of cheating had taken over the newspaper and fired John Whitely, together with the editor. Himself and Franky agreeing that they hoped the newspaper they rarely read would improve now Carlton Bowen and his family were in charge.
"Don't you go passing out on me." She replied, smiling, sniffing and touching his face when he began to feel lightheaded.
"Trying......not to. So cold."
"I know. And the rain isn't helping. Erm.......Frank told me joke today."
"Oh. Not a rude one....like he did a......few days ago?"
"No. Why do Gorillas have big nostrils?"
"Go on." Urs asked after a few moments unclear thought.
"Because they have big fingers." Franky replied, using her right index finger to indicate Frank's current bad habit of picking his nose.
Urs grunted a quick laugh then broke down into a fit of giggles with Franky. They were both still laughing when the emergency services turned up closely followed by David, Carlos and Sebastien.
"What are you doing riding?" Urs questioned Franky once he'd been checked over and prepared for being removed from the ditch, once again strapped to a backboard. "You know you're not supposed to be doing any vigorous exercise for while yet."
"I know. Don't worry. I didn't go any faster than a trot, 'Dancer' seemed to realise something was wrong, didn't pull like he normally does and I used the mounting block." Franky shrugged, her hair and clothing now soaking wet and her body beginning to shake.
"Okay. I believe you. You're not going in the ambulance with me you know?"
"Oh yes I am."
"No you're not!" Urs replied firmly, raising his voice a little then shouting for David and giving him instructions to take Franky home so that she could shower and change before going to the hospital.
"You do know she'll complain all the way, don't you?" David replied, grinning at Franky who stuck her tongue out at his teasing.
Urs laughed once more then turned to Franky as he was lifted into the air, wanting to speak to her a final time before he was placed in the ambulance.
"Look. The last thing I need is you coming down with a bad cold and having to call Mami back over to help with the children, you know how tired she was by the time she went home."
"Sorry." Franky replied, hanging her head in shame at her thoughtlessness and allowing a few tears to escape.
"Hey! I didn't mean it like that. You've done nothing to be ashamed of, I know it still hurts, but we're talking and we're getting there."
For the first time he could ever recall, Franky didn't make an audible reply other than to let out a quick sob as she closed her eyes and nodded quickly, each of them knowing what was being referred to.
A few moments later, Urs found himself back at road level and let Franky kiss him before he was placed in the waiting ambulance. It seemed to take forever to arrive at the hospital. He didn't have long to wait and Franky arrived a few moments after he'd been told that his left arm was broken near the elbow, requiring Urs to wear a cast for six to eight weeks. The right elbow had been partially dislocated and would need to be kept in a splint for two to three weeks once it was put back in the right position.
"Of course you know what this means?" Urs asked Franky once the cast and splint were in place, thinking he sounded a little drunk and remembering the Morphine he'd been given.
"What?"
"One you're going to have to shave me."
"Like I didn't know that already." Franky returned, tutting and flicking her chin in the air. "Amongst other things, like helping you get dressed and feeding you I should imagine."
"Hmmn." Urs nodded, knowing he had a silly grin on his face while he indicated for Franky to move closer and waiting until her face was close to his. "Two, you're going to have to be on top."
"Urs Buhler! Honestly! You are so bad. It's a good job you're still under the influence of Morphine."
Urs giggled briefly when he saw how red Franky's face had flushed then settled back into the pillows to sleep off the effects of the medication. He didn't know exactly how much time had elapsed when he woke but knew it was night and smiled when he saw Franky sleeping close beside him. She woke on hearing him move and a few moments later Urs was discharged and allowed to go home.
"You coming to Sicily with me then?" Urs asked of Franky once they were settled in bed and they'd discussed the events of the day.
"Oh yeah! You're there to photograph the new album cover next week aren't you?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay. I'll go with you, despite the fact it means I'll have to cancel the plans I made to go and see Gustave again."
"Sorry. I promise we will get to see him soon."
"I know, there's no need to apologise." Franky shook her head once she'd raised it from the pillow to look at him. "What you need is more important than what I wa......would like. Good night Ice."
"Good night Fire." Urs nodded, returning the smile Franky gave him as they pulled back from a kiss.
Feeling guitly that she would have to cancel her plans to visit her distant cousin for the third time in succession but knowing what he needed had and would always come above anything she had planned, Urs sighed, then watched Franky drift off to sleep, resolving to call Gustave himself and explain the situation, knowing the man would be disappointed but also knowing he would understand.
Urs fell asleep that night, reminding himself to check the group's schedule and thanking God for bringing such a selfless and amazing woman into his life.
Turn the page.
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Chapter 92 - Our Long Journey Begins
Instead of riding his motorbike around to the garage, Urs pulled it to a sharp stop outside the front doors of his and Franky's home. He left the helmet hooked on the handlebars then angrilly made his way inside and upstairs for a shower. He paused as he entered the bedroom, surprised to see that the tickets he'd angrilly ripped up earlier that morning still lay where he'd let them fall. He picked every scrap up, deposited them in the bin in the en-suite then made his way to the window that overlooked the back garden when he heard a raucous noise coming from that direction.
He looked down and smiled briefly when he saw that Franky and Saskia had occupied the children with planting something that was fast growing or rather were trying to. The older children were having great fun throwing small handfuls of compost at each other while Ciara was trying to eat what her tiny fist held. He huffed a quick laugh, knowing that each of them was going to be in need of a bath by the time they'd finished. He wasn't sure how long it had taken for the seeds to be planted and watered, but when it was all done, Franky glanced up to where he stood then turned her attention to tidying up.
Sighing, he turned away and headed back from whence he'd came. He knew he was going to be in trouble for riding his bike with a plaster cast still on his arm, though he didn't really care about that as he slipped the waterproof cover over it. What concerned him more than anything was the argument he and Franky had had that morning. He had thought she would have been over the moon to receive tickets that would take her, the children and Saskia to the Dordogne for a two week visit with Gustave. Instead she'd huffed out a breath of disappointment and before she could say why he'd ripped the tickets up and stormed out of the house.
Shower finished, he dried himself of, dressed and was just heading downstairs as Saskia came up, looking a little less happy than she normally did.
"Something wrong Saskia?" He asked taking a very dirty Ciara from her.
"I erm......I think I upset Franky this morning, after you'd gone out." She replied, nervously.
"How?"
"By showing her an article in one of those stupid magazine's I read. Wait there, I'll go and fetch it." She nodded then dashed to her room before Urs could stop her.
She returned a few seconds later, flicking through the pages until she found the right one, handing over the magazine and taking Ciara so that she could bathe her.
Urs scanned the page Saskia had indicated and couldn't see anything until he reached the bottom right-hand corner where piece entitled 'Cheaters Exposed' appeared with a small photograph. Urs looked at the photograph first and wondered how Roberta had reacted to the birthstone and diamond ring Franky had helped Marcel select while they were in Sicily. Recalling Franky's description of the white gold mounted stone and the sixteen tiny diamonds that surrounded it, he imagined she had loved it. He smiled then turned his attention to what had been written.
'With her gorgeous husband working only a few miles, our photographer was shocked to see Franky Buhler enter a Sicilian jewellery store on the arm of another man. The pair were seen chatting comfortably as they approached the store. Once inside, they were seated and two trays of rings were brought out. It took Mrs Buhler less than five minutes to choose a ring believed to be worth approximately £25,000. Both parties left the store with huge smiles on their faces and exchanged kisses on the cheek before they hailed a taxi and sped off. One only hopes the man she professes to love had the foresight to sign a pre-nup. Another supposedly happy couple headed for a bitter battle in the divorce court by the looks of things.'
"Idiots!" Urs yelled then laughed.
He returned the magazine to Saskia's room, laying it on the bed then made for the nursery where he found her re-dressing a much cleaner Ciara. He laughed when he saw how wet she was herself, told her not to worry about the article then took his youngest daughter from her and headed downstairs with her so that Saskia could get cleaned up herself.
He found the rest of his family in the lounge, watching their favourite educational tv programme while devouring milk and cookies.
"Saskia thinks she's upset you by showing you that article." He informed, handing Ciara to a still angry looking Franky. "I know she hasn't. I know it's my fault you're upset. I just can't figure out what I've done wrong."
"Oh really?" Franky huffed and refused to say anything else until Saskia came down to take care of the children.
Urs knew one thing she tried never to do was argue with him in front of the children and he never pushed her to do so. Instead they remained respectful with each other but didn't really say much until the children were otherwise occupied or in bed.
Saskia appeared a few moments later, Franky reassured her that it wasn't the article that had upset her, in fact she had found it rather funny, particularly since Marcel's face had appeared in so many magazine's always with Roberta by his side and yet the photographer had failed to recognise him. With Saskia smiling again the couple headed out of the house and made their way to the top of the garden.
"You didn't have to do that this morning." Franky huffed once they were seated in the arbour. "It wasn't that I didn't appreciate your thoughtfulness, but what really ticked me off was when you said you wouldn't be going with us, preferring instead to stay here, fix the damage to my gardening shed and a do a few other jobs I haven't got around to. It's not like they urgently need doing and you promised we would go and visit Gustave. Then what do you do when I look at you? You tear the tickets up, storm out of the house and head off on your bike. Do I need to remind you that you will be off promoting the album in just over a month or that you're still not fully healed and that one of the brakes is sticking on that infernal machine? I had a tough enough time in Sicily, what with that wardrobe assistant trying to push me out of the way and hurting you in the process without you adding to it, thank you very much!"
Urs sat and thought for a moment or two, looking around the garden as he did so. Franky was right, whatever needed doing in and around the house wasn't that urgent he couldn't leave them for a while. Did it really matter that a small piece of felt had been torn off the roof of the gardening shed? No, it wasn't that bad, no bigger than the size of a DVD case. True, his left arm wasn't completely healed and he thought he would have been stopped by the police if they had seen the cast. It was also true the rear brake was sticking a little and he knew the problem should be sorted before riding it again. Gott, what could have happened if he'd had an accident? Promoting 'Solo Por Vei' wouldn't have been fun with a broken leg he nodded, recalling the injury Kurt had suffered when his bike had developed the same problem and he'd braked a little too hard. What if he'd slipped or fallen off the shed? What other damage could he have done to himself?
He glanced at Franky knowing how patient and careful she'd been with him while in Sicily, helping him change suits once he'd rather rudely told Jamila her help wasn't wanted or required. Holding his right arm against his chest, glistening with sweat, his head spinning and Franky making him sit down before he passed out. Jamila having grabbed the wrist, trying to pull him away from Franky because they were running a couple of minutes behind Jamila's schedule. Him thinking she'd dislocated it again until the group's doctor had checked it over, confirmed it was still in position and telling him to wear the brace for an extra couple of days, agreeing to let him take it off for the photographs to be taken. Posing to hide the cast had been hard enough, never mind adding the brace into the mix.
And yes, he had promised they would all visit Gustave after Sicily. The promise made not just to Franky but also to the man himself and Urs could barely wait to see how Xavier's old room looked now it was finally restored or how the gardens had progressed since their one and only visit. He knew it would do them all good to get away for a few days, especially from the few well meaning locals who'd told Franky and himself that time would heal their wounded hearts and they needed to get on with life. He knew those were the last things either of them needed to hear, especially since Franky had realised how badly he'd been affected by Flavian's death after finding him sitting on the bench near his memorial, crying and apologising once again for lashing out him when that hadn't been the thing that had brought him to tears at all. No, he knew she hadn't meant do to that. No, he'd cried like a baby that night because he'd finally realised the enormity of what they'd lost. Now, here they were a few weeks laters, trying to reconstruct their shattered lives and emotions and he'd planned to send Franky away from him when what they really needed as a couple and a family was to spend time together
"I'm sorry angel. I really am an idiot sometimes aren't I?" He sighed, understanding now why Franky had looked at him so angrilly. "We need to be together to find a way forward don't we?"
"Yes, you are idiot sometimes." Franky nodded sharply, wiping her eyes and allowing him to wrap his right arm around her waist. "Pero tú eres mi idiota. Gracias a Dios que es sólo una vez en una luna azul. I love you now more than I ever did Urs. Yes we do need to find a way forward together, we can't do it on our own. It's long road ahead of us and we've only just started the journey really. I....I want to get back to how we were before, I want that more than anything. I know we might not get all of that back and we're both going to make mistakes along the way. We're going to say and do things we don't really mean, no matter how hard we try not to. But if any couple can get close to what they had before, it's us, Urs. I honestly believe that honey. I really, really do. Neither of us is that selfish that we'll allow this overwhelming experience to tear us apart, are we?"
"Nein, we're not. I want that back too and I know we can do it. We are stronger together than we ever could be apart. I love you more than ever too Franky." Urs replied, swallowing the lump that had risen to his throat, holding her tight to him, both of them crying quietly for a few moments. " Have you heard anything from Marcel? He's bound to have seen that article?" He asked as they seperated and linked their fingers together, not fully translating every word Franky had said to him in Spanish but happy to see that her loving look had returned.
"Yes and he thought it was absolutely hysterical. I could even hear Roberta laughing in the background. She absolutely adores the ring and thanked me for helping Marcel choose it."
"Well you always have had impeccible taste. If only those reporters could have seen what we got up to that night." Urs reminded, giving Franky a flirty grin and watching her blush.
"Urs!"
"What? You know I love it when you're on top, moaning my name."
"Oh just go and cancel those tickets in case someone else needs them." Franky instructed giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Okay angel." Urs nodded, laughing as he stood and headed back into the house, thankful that the two of them had got over this latest bump in their relationship still together but knowing there would be a few more down the road before the deep, abiding love they had for each other got them back on an even keel.
He made for Franky's office, cancelled the seats he had reserved then booked new seats for everyone. They didn't fly out to France until the day after his original plans, but did have a wonderful time at the Chaffee estate. Himself and Franky sleeping in her Great-Grandfather's bedroom and spending the rest of their two week visit enjoying the beauty of the gardens and the surrounding villages. Both of them surprised by Gustave sending just the two of them to the same restaurant where they'd dined on their first and only visit, though this time their transport was one of Gustave's cars rather than a hire car.
Turn the page
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Chapter 93 - The Cover Story
Hands shoved deep into his jeans pockets and a scowl on his face, Urs rode the lift to the tenth floor of the Syco building. It soon announced its arrival and he gingerly stepped out, still unable to believe he was injured again but grateful it was hidden. He knew for a fact that if the rest of the guys saw the large bruise on his left butt cheek questions would be asked and they'd know instantly that he was lying if he gave them the same story he gave Gabriel when he'd spotted him limping.
"Slipped on some spilled oil. They're not going to believe that for one second." He huffed, approaching the office they were to going to use to view the mock up covers for 'Solo Por Vei' CD. He already had an idea which one he would choose and hoped it had turned out well, no visible sign of the cast.
He decided that he would remain standing, look quickly and hope David, Carlos and Sebastien would agree as he stepped into the office to find he was first to arrive. He'd really liked the shot of the four of them slightly leaning over the balcony at the Beneventano Palace when he'd seen it on the screen of Mitchell's camera. Truth be told, he liked most of them but that was his absolute favourite. Franky loved that particular one too, especially since he was smiling for a change. Not the full smile he gave fans at concerts or the special one he reserved only for Franky, but just enough to indicate that he was happy.
Spying the refreshments table, he strode towards it, grabbed a bottle of water and a handful of grapes, then moved to stand at the window. His eyes raised and he cursed outloud when he saw thunderous grey clouds were still moving overhead and it was pouring with rain. He hadn't been able to ride his Harley into London due to the weather as well as the fact his injury protested at being asked to support the weight of such a bike. However, that wasn't the main thing that had put him in slightly bad mood. Franky had locked all the bike keys away in her safe, arguing that she didn't want him to have an accident and that she'd seen him trying to bear the weight and had heard him cursing in Swiss-German at the pain it caused. Him yelling back at her to stop treating him like a child and huffing. Her raising her voice, firmly instructing him to stop behaving like one.
"You really are an idiot sometimes, Buhler." He sighed, shaking his head as he looked across to the car park, knowing the MGB Roadster was in there and he'd only just been able to endure operating the clutch.
Hearing the door open, he moved away from the window, bid Mitchell good morning and watched him set out the proofs. He hadn't realised how many pictures had been taken and by the time Syco's head photographer had finished, the large conference table was almost covered.
"Got this printed for you." Mitchell smiled, handing him a A4 sized envelope.
"What is it?"
"Try opening it and find out."
Urs tutted but did as requested. A smile crossing his face when he saw a black and white photograph of Franky leaning on the same balcony Il Divo had used a few moments later. It was obvious that she hadn't known Mitchell was taking the photograph because he would have remembered her telling him off for doing so, reminding him that this was about work, not about taking snaps of her.
"She's even more beautiful when you catch her unawares, isn't she?" Mitchell asked, looking at his work with an admiring smile.
"Ja, she is. Thanks."
"No worries. I could do it in colour if you want, but I think she looks great in black and white."
"No it's fine. I didn't particularly like the colour of that dress." Urs shook his head and tucked the photograph away. "We've got plenty of colour ones of her wearing it anyway. From that quick sightseeing trip we had."
"Oh okay." Mitchell nodded just as the door opened and the rest of the guys walked in.
"Hey, how's the butt this morning?"
"What?!" Urs yelled, trying not to show his anger at the words that had come out of David's mouth.
"Easy mon ami." Sebastien instructed, looking at him confused. "He only asked how your derriere is?"
"It's fine. Why do you ask?"
"Because Barbara-Jean saw you limping yesterday and asked Franky why?" Carlos informed, picking up one of the photos and shaking his head. "You must have hit the garage floor really hard, si?"
"Ja, I did." Urs nodded, breathing out a long deep breath when he realised that Franky hadn't told the truth of how he'd sustained his injury.
"You have had it checked out haven't you?"
"Of course I have, Seb. And for once Franky didn't need to push me to do so. The ice packs are really helping."
"Bonne." Sebastien nodded and smiled.
The group then turned to looking at the pictures and broke into a fit of giggles when they spotted one that showed David with his eyes crossed, Carlos yawning and Sebastien looking like he was about to sneeze. Their laughter soon attracted Mitchell's attention and he came over to see what all the fuss was about.
"Ooops! My bad, I thought I'd deleted that one." He shook his head as he picked the photograph up and put it through the shredder that stood nearby.
Composures regained the group returned to looking at the pictures and Urs smiled as he watched David pick his favourite up.
"I think the fans are going to go wild for this one." He grinned, showing Sebastien and Carlos who nodded their agreement. "Finally, the Uberlord doesn't look like he's ready to kill someone and he's happy to be with us."
"Ja, ja, ja, Yanky Boy. Very funny. Have you been talking to Franky?"
"No." David shook his head. "I just remember some of the fans's reactions to past CD covers on the OF. Why?"
"She said something similar just before we flew to Sicily. Asked me not to scowl for once." Urs shrugged. "She really liked that one as soon as she saw it."
"Oh! So that's why she was singing 'Smile Darn Ya, Smile' on the jet?"
"Uh-huh." Urs nodded in response to David's question then shook his head when Carlos and Sebastien started singing the song with the giggling American "Ja, ja. Very funny guys."
The other three Divos continued to giggle as they showed Mitchell their choice. Together they left the room and made their way down to the ground floor in the lift, talking excitedly about the promotional tour that would begin in the UK the following week and the rest of the world the week after that. They went their seperate ways after leaving the Syco building, each having different things they wanted to do, though Urs could have sworn he heard them humming that song again as they parted. He laughed, shook his head and headed for the car park.
Once Urs had retrieved his car, he sought out a flower shop where he purchased a hand tied bouquet of twenty-four white roses in a white ceramic vase. With his purchase carefully placed in the car, he drove home and entered the house to find Franky in her office, sorting through the family photographs that had been taken recently. He didn't need to make a sound for her to realise he was there and he smiled when she turned her head round to face him.
"What have you got there?" She asked, nodding towards the hand that held the envelope Mitchell had given him.
"Just something I want to get framed." Urs shrugged, handing her the envelope and watching her eyes widen when she saw the picture. "And it's going in the lounge once I have Frau Buhler. Do you hear me?"
"I hear you." Franky huffed in reply, then shook her head at him. "And the flowers? What are they for?"
"Because I love you and to say I'm sorry for behaving like a jerk when I've been told not to ride my bike for a few days and to thank you for covering for me with the guys regarding the bruise."
"They're beautiful. Thank you." Franky nodded, setting the vase on her desk then turning to face him. "Did you really think I would tell them that Kurt came into our bedroom while we were making love and gave you a good old thwack with that light saber David bought him because he thought you were hurting me? Honestly Urs!"
"I know. I'm a big dumb, dummyhead sometimes." Urs replied, pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately.
"Sometimes." Franky nodded, smiling and moving away from him to retrieve a plastic bag which she handed to him. "I bought you a little gift."
Slightly confused because the gift wasn't wrapped with Franky's usual care and attention, Urs opened the bag and rolled his head on his shoulders when he pulled out a lockable door handle.
"You can put that on our bedroom door tomorrow, like I've been asking you to since Frank was a toddler. That, or we go into town and pay a little visit to that new.......shop. Unless of course you want it to happen again."
"Nein, I don't." Urs smirked, knowing that she was referring the new 'adults only' shop and why. "Careful now, I just might put in you in the car and take you there myself."
"Yeah right! That'll be the day."
"You are soooooooo bad Franky Buhler." Urs laughed and shook his head along with Franky, the pair of them spending a few moments giggling. "You don't think he would do you? Not after you explained to him?"
"No, but Jordi is nowhere near old enough to understand yet......is he?"
"Nein. All right. I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning." Urs nodded, pulling he back into his arms and pressing his forehead to hers "Now. I want you to go and take a nice long bath and get ready to go out tonight. Because, my angel, I have a table booked at the Alan Ducasse at The Dorchester."
"What?!" Franky gulped, knowing that that was one of the most expensive places to eat in London.
"Don't look at me like that. No arguing. I don't care that it's around £110 a head to eat there. You deserve it and so do I after what we've been through the past few months." Urs shook his head. "And if you can sit in The Palace Hotel with a broken leg, I can sure as hell sit in The Dorchester with a bruised butt. Okay?"
"Okay. But Brandie isn't going to be happy if she ever finds out."
"Well I know you're not going to tell her and neither will I."
Franky laughed then left to do what her husband had asked of her. He used the bathroom almost an hour later and together they left the house to enjoy a wonderful meal at the famous restaurant. They didn't return until almost 3:00am and when they did so nothing but the sound of gentle snoring greeted them as they checked on the children, Frank and Kurt making that sound.
Just over a month later, Urs sat at his laptop in Franky's office reading the reactions to 'Solo Por Vei'. Smiling when he saw the ethusiastic responses to the cover and beaming even wider after calculating that almost one thousand fans were overjoyed to see him smiling at last.
"Not bad for the first day." He nodded as he shut the laptop down and sat waiting patiently for Franky to finish the garage accounts.
It didn't take her long, and once she'd settled the children for the night they cuddled up together in the lounge to watch the classic film 'Casablanca', Franky having never seen it and sniffing back tears as the end credits rolled. While Urs himself sat looking towards the glass photo frame that stood prominently on the four door break fronted Mahogany and Yew sideboard that had once belonged to Franky's maternal Grandmother.
Turn the page.
_______________

at the ready.


Chapter 94 - Someone Who Understands.
Urs sighed heavily, removing his seatbelt once the jet had levelled out, his eyes focused on a troubled looking Sebastien, his brain wondering what was wrong as he watched the French man close his eyes and swallow hard.
He knew there weren't any problems between him and Emma, was sure of that because he'd heard Sebastien's side of the telephone conversation the previous evening. Excited to be going home after spening almost a month in American promoting their latest work and blushing bright red at Emma's teasing.
A smile crossed his face as he remembered the fun they'd all had recording the album, all fifteen songs, one original written by Sebastien, all four of them working together tweaking the lyrics and barely arguing about who was going to sing which part. Just over a week ago it had been released and it had flown out of the shops so quickly leaving them all stunned when Simon had called to tell them that more copies had had to be made. Fans showing up at the promotional shows saying that they thought this was their best work to date.
Now something had seemingly hit Sebastien hard and he'd gone very quiet. Even the tan he'd managed to get didn't appear to be there, his face instead pale and drawn. Sorrow in his eyes.
"What do you think's wrong with him?" He heard Carlos questioning as he took a seat beside him.
"I don't know." Urs shook his head. "I'll see if I can find out." He shrugged then stood and made his way over to the seat next to Sebastien. "Everything all right, Seb?"
"Fine." He replied, not opening his eyes to look at Urs but nodding lightly.
"Want to talk about it?"
"I said everything is fine. There's nothing to talk about Urs."
"Doesn't look like it from where I'm sitting. Carlos and David are worried about you too."
"It's nothing. Nothing that the three of you should be worried about anyway, especially you considering what happened a few weeks ago."
"Maybe not, but Franky and I are dealing with that, the counselling has really helped us both and we're so much better now. You've seen her yourself, you know I'm not lying. You were there for me to talk to through all of that, let me be there for you." Urs pleaded, resting a comforting hand on Jordi's godfather's forearm and squeezing a little.
"Non. I can deal with it myself. Franky had her stitches out yet?"
"They were dissolvable ones Seb and stop trying to change the subject." Urs huffed a quick laugh, recalling the back and forth argument the two of them had about which one was going to be sterilised.
That argument had gone of for a couple of days after her six week check up. Franky saying that it should be her because she didn't want him walking around like John Wayne. Him saying that he was perfectly prepared to undergo a vasectomy because she'd been under aneasthetic enough times already. Her batting back that he should ask Sebastien how much pain he'd really been in after his operation. Him finally giving in after having that conversation, realising just how much that would hurt, especially since Kurt seemed to enjoy leaping into his lap at every opportunity and doing some research online, paying particular attention to what needed to be done and the fact it would be carried out under local anasthetic.
"Desole, I forgot." Sebastien's loud sniff brought Urs back from his reverie and his eyes flew open to look at him. "Do you think she'll talk to me about it, if I ask her? I want to understand what she's going to go through and work out what I can do to help."
"You've lost me." Urs shook his head looking at Sebastien completely bemused by what he'd just said. "Who talk to you about what? Help who with what?"
"Franky, about Maman."
"Something wrong with her?"
"Uh-huh." Sebastien nodded quickly, sniffing loudly again. "She.......She thinks she has breast cancer Urs. She called me last night to tell me she's going in for more tests tomorrow."
"Shit! Does Emma know?"
"Oui. She took the ferry over this morning. I don't want to upset Franky by bringing those memories up, I just need to talk to someone.......someone that understands, someone that can prepare me for the worst.......someone I...... trust."
"You should have said something sooner Seb." Urs shook his head then raised it to see that Carlos and David had made their way over to stand behind Sebastien's seat. "I can call her if you want me to."
"I know. Desole. I just thought that you'd both been through enough. Didn't want to bother you with my worries." Sebastien coughed, raising his head to look at David and Carlos, nodding and attempting a smile when he felt the comforting hands on his shoulders.
"Idiot." Urs shook his head and smiled softly before he moved back to his original seat and pulled out his new mobile, thankful that he was now able to use it during a flight while he waited for Franky to answer.
"Frank stop doing that or it's the naughty step for you young man." He heard Franky's warning come down the line. "Hi honey. I was just getting ready to come and meet you."
"I know. What's Frank up to?"
"Smacking Serena again because she took his Superman doll out of his room."
"Put him on." Urs commanded firmly, his eyes narrowing a little.
"Hello Papi." Frank's nervous voice came down the line.
"What have Mami and I told you about smacking your sisters or any little girl for that matter?"
"That I shouldn't do it. But she took my toy without asking."
"I don't care. That doesn't give you the right to smack her and you touch her things without asking. Don't hit her ever ag....."
"Why? You slapped Mami when she wouldn't touch Jordi. I saw you do it. If you can hit ladies, why I can't hit girls?"
"Mein Gott!" Urs huffed quietly, his eyes closed knowing what his eldest son had seen. "I should never have done that Frank. Both of us were very upset and didn't really realise that we were hurting each other. Do you understand?"
"Yes Papi. I think so. About Flavian?"
"That's right. Now don't ever hit your sister or any little girl again or you'll have me to deal with."
"I won't. Sorry Papi." Frank sniffed before he handed the handset back to Franky.
"Okay. He's apologising to her. What's your problem?"
"Forget coming to meet me at the airport. I'll grab a taxi. Seb needs someone to talk to." Urs sighed before launching into repeating what he'd been told. "He doesn't want to upset you, but needs to understand what she's going to go through if that's what it proves to be. Preferably you."
"Oh God. Erm............Okay."
"Get the kids ready to go out. I'll take them to the zoo or something with Saskia."
"I will. Does Emma know?"
"Ja. She took the ferry over early this morning. I'm sorry to put this on you angel."
"No. It's all right. He's got to talk to someone who's been there and done it. Erm.......How did the promos go? I really haven't had the chance to see any appearances. Kids have been too interested in 'Slow Mo Jo' rather than listening to Papi singing in a language they don't understand."
"It doesn't matter. Our appearances will be on the OF or YouTube. You can always catch up. We were great. They really like the new album." Urs returned, laughing and shaking his head recalling the few times he'd sat and watched the newest sensation with his children.
A programme about all the mischief and adventures a snail named Jo got into. A slightly louder laugh escape when he remembered the one episode he'd seen, listening to the older children giggling while they watched said snail rolling down very muddy plank of wood and the disoriented look they'd seen on his face once he'd reached the bottom, his mother scolding him for getting his shiny shell dirty because the family had been due to go out to a party and he would need another bath.
"Reminds me of someone." Urs muttered still laughing at the images inside his head.
"Sorry?"
"Nothing angel. Got to go. We're about to land."
"I'll see you in about an hour then? Love you."
"Yeah. Love you too." Urs nodded, closed his mobile then moved back over to sit beside Sebastien, strapping himself in securely while he told him that Franky had agreed to talk to him and he would leave the two of them alone to do so.
"You didn't have to do that." Sebastien shook his head and dragged his hands hard down his tired face.
"I know. I wanted to."
Almost an hour later the taxi pulled up outside Urs and Franky's home where Urs was quickly assaulted by Frank, Kurt and Serena, all three of them hugging his neck tight and desparate to go on their trip. They settled quickly once he'd instructed them to do so and turned their attention to Sebastien while Urs said hello to Franky. His eyes widening when he saw how much Jordi had grown over the past couple of weeks. Ciara held securely in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. Currently the quietest of them all, expressing her delight of having her father back home simply by the look in her eyes.
"Zoos."
"In a minute. Papi needs the bathroom." Urs nodded, slipping her to the floor and running upstairs to attend to his needs.
"Is Uncle Seb coming with us?" He heard Kurt questioning as he left the master bedroom. "He was so funny last time, when we went to see the Chumpandknees."
"Chimpanzees." Urs corrected with a laugh and headshake in response to his son's question. "No. Not this time. Just me and Saskia."
With the children ready to go, Urs made his way back downstairs with the four eldest and Saskia. With everyone settled in the people carrier, Urs kissed Franky firmly then climbed into the driver's seat. His head rolling on his neck when he heard a familiar tune coming from three voices behind him, though his eyes widened slightly when he heard how tuneful Kurt was in comparison to his siblings.
After spending an enjoyable afternoon at the zoo but feeling a little jetlagged, Urs allowed Saskia to drive back. They arrived just in time to see Sebastien leaving, obviously having cried at some point but looking a little more relaxed than he had when he arrived.
"Merci mon ami." Sebastien smiled, pulling back from the rather tight hug he'd given Urs.
"What for? I didn't do anything special."
"Oui you did. You married Franky. I feel well prepared to deal with whatever is to come. I'll call when I know how Maman's doing."
"Okay." Urs nodded, watched Sebastien make himself comfortable in a taxi and waved him off before he entered the house. "Something smells good!" He shouted from lounge, knowing that Franky was in the kitchen and moving in that direction.
"Zürcher Eintopf." Franky informed with a sniff, feeling Urs's arms wrap around her waist from behind, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Dessert?"
"Apfelküchlein with vanilla sauce."
Urs sighed hearing Franky sniff again and quickly turned her round to face him.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to talk to Seb."
"There's no need to be sorry, Urs. It's done me good as well as him. Really honey, it does me good to remember how strong my mother was and how proud I am that she raised me to be just as strong as she was. I just wish she was still around to see what she and my Dad created together. That's all." Franky smiled and gave him a very firm kiss.
"Oh mein Gott! Out Seri, they're doing the kissyface thing again. Gross!" The two of them heard Frank's voice exclaiming from the doorway to the lounge, making them both giggle as they broke apart.
"Any plans for this evening?" Franky asked, a suggestive smile on her face.
"Long HOT bath." Urs returned with a similar look and a blinky wink.
A loud laugh escaped when he saw how red Franky's face went, she coughed and returned her attention to their evening meal, muttering something that sounded like he was in trouble.
"Gott I hope so."
"You're terrible."
"That's why you married me."
"Oh go away otherwise dinner is going to be ruined." Franky laughed, pushing him out of the kitchen and closing the door on his face.
Suddenly realising that he hadn't seen anything of Sylvie, Urs re-entered the kitchen and asked Franky where she was.
"On a date with Trent, if you call it a date. His parents have taken the two of them out for dinner."
"Trent? I thought his name was Daniel or something similar."
"That ended a couple of weeks ago. When she caught him kissing another girl. Didn't you read the email I sent you?"
"Oh yeah. So what's Trent like?"
"Haven't seen much of him. Seems all right. He's polite enough, but....."
"But what?"
"Saskia caught him looking through Sylvie's jewellery the other day. I haven't said anything to Sylvie about it yet, but I have put her case in the safe. Needs to be kept an eye on whenever he's here I think."
"I'll do that now I'm home. You've got enough on your plate already." Urs nodded, dropping down from the work surface where he'd placed himself after giving her cheek a quick kiss.
Frowning slightly, Urs made his way back into the lounge and spent the next few moments telling the children where he'd been. Watching Frank's face light up when he mentioned New York and nodding when he asked if they could go to Macy's again if they had time during the next tour.
Hearing the front door slam shut, Urs turned his head in that direction and smiled when Sylvie ran over to give him a welcome home hug. He saw that she was upset and asked her why.
"Trent and his mother." Sylvie huffed. "They think I should give up my dreams of becoming a concert pianist. They said I'm intelligent enough to do something better than that. They suggested a lawyer. I'm not going to do it Papi, it's my life not theirs. You and Mami never do anything but encourage me, no matter what I say I want to do."
"Nor should you give up. So?"
"So I've dumped Trent. Think I'm going to have a break from boys and a long one. Like you said, I'm too young to be taking relationships that seriously at the moment anyway. I have plenty of time don't I?"
"Ja. Are you hungry? Mami's made our favourite."
"No. I'm going to practice."
Urs nodded and smiled as he watched Sylvie head to the music room, leaving the door open so that he could hear her playing. The smile broadening considerably when 'Liebstraum' filled the air. He relaxed back, startled slightly when Kurt plopped into his lap but allowed him to remain there, listening to him humming along to the tune until Franky shouted that dinner was ready.
Appetites satisfied, children bathed and tucked up in bed, Urs and Franky cuddled up on the couch until Saskia had left the house to meet up with some new friends she'd made. Franky stood first, took hold of his hand and led him upstairs to the en-suite once he was upright. Already slightly aroused, he watched her light several candles and begin to fill the tub as he stepped forward to help remove her clothes, only to feel her gently pushing his hands away.
"You can look but not touch......for while anyway." Franky informed, seductively unfastening the buttons on her short sleeved t-shirt, revealing the lacy bra she wore underneath and the matching knickers underneath the white boardy shorts once they were off.
Urs whined on seeing her like that, his pulse racing and his blood rushing to stregthen his erection. Still she wouldn't allow him to touch her as she stepped towards him, her hands finding their way under his t-shirt, carressing his torso, slowly pushing it upwards and off. He didn't know how, but somehow he managed to keep his hands off her and his breath hitched as Franky moved behind him, her hands quickly undoing his belt and jeans.
He closed his eyes lightly, his breathing already ragged, using every ounce of self control he possessed to stop himself turning around and pulling her into his arms. Somehow he managed to remain standing, despite the fact his entire body was shaking in anticipation, his mind wondering what she was going to do next. He didn't have to wait long for an answer to that unverbalised question and he whined once more when he felt Franky's lips lightly kissing his shoulders, her tounge flicking against the sensitive spot at the nape of his neck. He shuddered again, feeling her press herself against him, knowing without having to look that she'd removed the rest of her clothing and moaning her name quietly as she nibbled on his ear.
Feeling Franky move away from him after spending several moments being touched and kissed that way, Urs opened his eyes and swallowed hard, watching her turn off the taps and slowly lower herself into the Peppermint scented water before inviting him to settle himself between her legs. They'd bathed together so many times, but this was something new and Urs was loving it. He sat where she'd requested, rested back against her, the two of them quickly becoming involved in sensuously carressing each other's bodies in the depths of the oily water, Franky's hands finding their way to his inner thighs while her teeth nipped across his shoulders, his body arching away from her slightly, groaning her name again.
Thankful that the tub was big enough for them to be able to do it, the couple switched positions without having to leave it and were soon touching each other again. Urs biting hard on his bottom lip while he sucked on Franky's earlobes, the palms of his hands turning slow circles over her already hard pink buds before moving down to tease her womanhood. A soft smile gracing his face when he felt her clenching around the two fingers he used to slowly bring her to orgasm and hearing her whine his name quietly.
Though he was more than happy to take her to heaven again in the bath, Urs was slightly surprised when he heard the water begin to drain and for a second or two thought the bath had come to an end. He looked at Franky as she stepped out then quickly followed after her when he nodding towards the bedroom without bothering to dry off. The bedding was already pulled back and Urs was soon hovering above Franky, his hips moving slowly against hers, his mouth engaged with hers in very passionate French kissing. Urs wasn't sure how much longer he could stop himself from coming. He took several deep breaths as Franky flipped him onto his back and straddled him. His eyes widened considerably as she lowered herself onto his aching shaft, taking just the tip inside and moving her hips in slow circles Hiis hands carressing her breasts, gently tweaking her nipples until she'd come twice more.
Finally, she lowered herself all the way down his length, slowly moving up and down, their mouths locked together again. The heat building and building until Urs couldn't control himself any longer, exploding with a long, slow moan of Franky's name, her growling his as she squeezed him dry and fell on top of him, both of them happily exhausted and remaining locked together until they'd recovered their breathing.
There was no need for words as the two of them curled up together. It took no more than looking into each others eyes and exchanging tender kisses to make them realise they still loved each other deeply, this most recent exchange having lasted longer than ever, so the clock that indicated it was approaching midnight informed and Urs knowing they'd come upstairs at just after 8:30pm.
"I love you Ice." Franky informed, kissing him hard on the lips as the phone began to ring, reaching it first and smiling once she recognised the voice at the other end. "Thank God for that." She sighed heavily as she hung up. "That was Seb, the biopsy revealed that lump was nothing more than a lipoma. A small, fatty growth. She's having it removed tomorrow. Seb's over the moon and so is Emma."
"I suppose they are. I don't think he could have coped with watching her go through what your mum went through, Franky. I really don't. Ja, he's stronger than he was when we were first put together but nein...........no way."
"Good job I gave him one of my grandmother's quotes before he left then, one Gabriel said to me when my mother was dying."
"You mean 'You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have'?" Urs asked as he and Franky pulled the sheet over their still hot bodies.
"That's the one. Just go to sleep." Franky shook her head and smiled, touching his tired face after listening to him apologise for not having the energy to make love to her again. "There's always tomorrow."
"Hmmmmn. Tomorrow." Was the last sound to escape from Urs's mouth as his eyes closed and remained that way.
His dreams this night filled with the memory of the way Franky had comforted and taken care of him and their mutual friends from the very first day.
Turn the page.
_________________

Chapter 95 - Play Fair
With his arms folded across his chest and his head shaking, Urs let out a heavy sigh as he watched David and Jefferson celebrating the little boy's remote control car race win. Both of them whooping with delight while the American spun Jefferson around. Urs huffing as he turned to see where Frank had gone and quickly spotting him sitting on the decking, looking dejected, twiddling with the remote control he'd become so adept at using since Christmas. He shook his head then made his way over to where Frank sat and took a seat beside him.
"I'm sorry I lost Papi." Frank sniffed, looking at Urs then quickly turning away again.
"There's no need to be sorry, Frank. I'm not disappointed in you."
"Then why do you look so angry?"
"I'm disappointed in Uncle David, not you. You know what we all agreed before the race."
"Yeah, Jefferson and me weren't supposed to have any help." Frank nodded then huffed out a breath. "Then Uncle David cheated, by helping Jeff keep control over his car. It wasn't a fair race, was it?"
"Nein, it wasn't. I'm sorry son, the race wasn't one of my better ideas."
"Why? Me and Jeff was having fun........until Uncle David spoiled it anyway. I'm going to see if Jeff wants another race."
Nodding, Urs stood and watched Frank run back to where Jefferson stood waiting, still with a smile on his face, though not the one he usually wore. His teeth were barely visible, his eyes weren't sparkling and his head was shaking as he watched his father walk past Frank.
"Better luck next time Buddy." David informed, reaching to ruffle Frank's curls and looking stunned when Frank dodged out of the way. "What's wrong with him?" He asked once he'd reached the decking.
"Probably got something to do with the typically American way you behaved during the race." Urs replied, turning away and heading inside to get refreshments for everyone, smiling when he looked out of the kitchen window to see the rest of the children playing nicely on the swing set he and Franky had installed a few weeks ago.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don't get to say things like that and walk away without an explanation, Urs." He heard David's rarely heard raised voice and whipped round to face him.
"That win at all costs attitude you have sometimes." Urs nodded sharply. "Jefferson was desperate to show you what he could do with the car, that's why I suggested a race. You agreed not to step in, but what do you do when he falls behind? You step up and help him. Then you celebrate like you've won the Indeanpolis 500. That's why Frank is upset with you, that and the fact you broke the agreement in the first place."
"I do not have that kind of attitude." David snapped back, indignant at the accusation.
"Ja you do. You've had it for years. Ever since we were put together. You were exactly the same when Seb beat your score on one of those Playstation games he's good at. Refused to go to bed until you'd beaten his score. Ten past five in the morning you finally hit the hay, knowing you had to be up by nine."
"Trust you not to forget that."
"Considering you fell asleep in the studio while we were recording the second album it was hard not to." Urs retorted, taking a deep breath. "Look David, that race wasn't about winning or losing, it was about Jeff and Frank wanting to show us both how good they've gotten with the controls. How they don't need our help any more. How they've developed some independance. You spoiled that for both of them, not just Frank. Winning isn't everything David and Jeff is at the right age to be learning that. He's not going to win all the time and needs to learn to be gracious in victory as well as defeat."
"Hey! You don't get to tell me how to raise my kids."
"Nein! Maybe I don't, but Lauren sure does, yet you've ignored her requests to leave Jeff alone with his car since he got it. Don't even try to deny it, I've seen you do it." Urs replied, picking up the tray of drinks and snacks he'd been preparing then heading back outside, leaving the American to mull over what had passed between them.
He smiled when the swingset crew came running as soon as they spotted them then handed out juice and cookies once they were settled at the picnic bench. Jordi making everyone cringe as he tucked into the chocolate chip cookie he'd dipped into the blackcurrant and apple juice. Urs looked to his left and smiled a little broader when he spotted Frank and Jefferson completely engrossed in making their respective cars perform some tricks. Jefferson giving a whooping Frank a pat on the back as his car stopped turning doughnuts, the pair of them high-fiving and running to the decking once Urs had called their names.
"You all right there Jeff?"
"Fine. Just wondering when Dad's going to let me grow up and let me do things on my own Uncle Urs? I'm not a baby anymore am I?" Jefferson shrugged, crunching on an ice cube as he finished speaking.
"Nein, you're not. But he's not like that all the time is he?"
"No. He doesn't help me with my homework unless I get really stuck and I do have chores. Why is Mum happy, even if I don't win all the time? Which is boring by the way Uncle Urs, it gives me no.........erm scopes.......to get gooder at things."
"Scope and better." Urs corrected with a quick laugh. "You don't think your Dad is proud of you?"
"Not all the time. No." Jefferson sniffed and shook his head. "Like when I came third at school sports day. I wished.........I wished......." He stopped, his eyes suddenly flying wide, excusing himself and running to the top of the garden.
Urs turned his head over his shoulder, saw David standing in the back doorway, the look on his face telling him that he'd heard what Jefferson had said as he ran up the garden after him. Lauren quickly assuming his place, shaking her head after looking at Franky.
"You all right Lauren?" Urs asked once she and Franky had stepped onto the decking.
"Fine Urs. It's just what David said to Jeff after the race the other day that has me mad at him." Lauren shook her head. "No wonder Jefferson said he wished you were his dad after that."
"What did he......David say?"
"That if Jefferson had practised more he would have won the race. Pufh!!!"
"Idiot." Urs shook his head. "There was hardly any distance between the first three anyway."
"I know. He still shouldn't have said that though. I wish he'd have reacted the way you did when Frank came fifth in his race. Anything would have been better than saying that."
"Ja, but I'm not perfect Lauren. You know that. I learned my lesson after taking Frank go-carting. He didn't like it one bit when I took over the controls after a minor crash, did he?"
"No, he didn't. But at least you let him take control again and told him how proud you were that he completed those three circuits with only two minor prangs. I've told David time and time again that winning is not that important, telling Jeff how proud he is of him means more than anything, but......Excuse me." Lauren sniffed, turned on her heel then ran back inside wiping her eyes.
"That's not the only thing bothering her is it?" Urs asked, his attention now back on Franky. "Did you manage to find out what the other problem is while she helped you get the rest of the superglue out of your hair?" He asked, happy to see that Franky didn't appear to have had a haircut, his eyes narrowing when he sniffed and smelled strawberries and chocolate, knowing that she had always used a lilac scented shampoo.
"Yeah I did." Franky nodded, then sighed. "She's upset because........ because Dale and Clarissa have been arguing a lot just lately. Clarissa's pregnant again, Dale's been accusing her of cheating because he's had a vasectomy without telling her, but he forgot about the three days before he had it done. Lauren gave Dale what for yesterday and now they're talking rather than shouting at each other. David's behaviour with regard to Jefferson, hasn't really helped lower her stress level that much either."
"So she's probably inside, doing those relaxation exercises?"
"I told her she'd better. I don't want any arguments at Frank's party. I suppose you want to see the cake?"
Urs nodded enthusiastically and glanced back up the garden as Franky took hold of his hand, happy to see that David and Jefferson were hugging. Once inside the kitchen, he removed the box he knew Lauren had turned up with. His eyes flew wide when he saw the Dirt Bike Track cake she'd made for Frank with two dirt bikers on it. One crossing the finishing line way ahead of the other, Frank's name and age written on the back of the jacket, the other a fair way behind bearing another name and number. 'Happy Birthday Frank' written in chocolate icing across the middle.
"You like?" He heard Lauren questioning as she entered the kitchen, looking much more relaxed than when she'd arrived.
"Of course. A fantastic job yet again, though I still don't understand why you don't start your own business Lauren." Urs nodded in reply.
"Because I'm not Franky. A business and family for me? Uh-uh! No way. I'm happy just making cakes for those I love Urs. I really am."
"I know. What's with the box?" Urs asked nodding to what Lauren held under her right arm, noticing that it wasn't wrapped with the care and attention to detail she usually put in to everyone's gifts.
"It's for David. I know he doesn't deserve it, considering the way he's been with Jefferson just lately." Lauren shrugged then smiled even broader. "You know what he's like though. Batteries in, don't bother with the instructions and away you go?"
"Ja."
"Well I thought he could have a little race with Jeff and Frank later." Lauren chuckled, finally revealing that the box held a remote control monster truck. "He's not going to stand a chance of winning though."
"Why?"
"Because I've fixed it so he can't win, to teach him a lesson."
Urs looked at Lauren puzzled for a second or two then lowered his head so that she could whisper in his ear how she'd fixed the vehicle. He burst out laughing before she'd even finished and nodded his approval. David appeared in the kitchen a few moments later with Jefferson by his side, both of them eager to help decorate the deck and garden for Frank's birthday once David had apologised to Frank for cheating and he'd accepted. Quickly setting to work once Franky had handed the decorations over, Urs happy to see that David was allowing Jefferson to tape 'Happy Birthday' banners up himself rather than doing it for him. The remainder of the children quickly turning up to help with setting out chairs, pumping up balloons, et cetra. By the time they finished an hour and a half later, the back garden looked wonderful and Franky took a picture just before guests started arriving.
Beaming with pride, Urs and Franky watched their eldest child greet his guests, classmates, other friends and 'Divo Cousins' all with the same smile and thank you for the gifts they gave. Both of them laughing when the only two girls he'd invited gave him a kiss on the cheek and his face turned bright red, thankful that he hadn't grumbled 'Gross' as he wiped said cheek with the back of his hand. The entire process being recorded as usual by David who came a little closer with the camera when Frank opened one present and looked confused when he saw the contents.
"Oh wow! Haven't seen these in years." Urs smiled, couching by Frank's side and lifting the frame that held the plastic pieces. "I know it doesn't look like a Triumph right now, but it will once you've glued all the pieces together."
"You going to help me.........right?" Frank queried, his eyes wide once he'd unfolded the assembly instructions and saw how many pieces the Airfix model contained.
"Ja, of course. It will give you something to do on a rainy day won't it."
"Hmmn. And Mami won't need to tell me off for playing with my car inside." Frank nodded, carefully repacking everything and thanking Emma and Sebastien again with a hug.
Once everybody had arrived, the party soon got into full swing though not before Frank had ran up to Flavian's memorial and turned the light on. Urs looking at a hard swallowing Franky, knowing how proud she was that all their children insisted on doing that on their birthdays as well. Both of them smiling at each other, knowing what would happen with a slice of cake later.
With the children settled and talking excitedly while they ate, the adults headed into the kitchen for coffee where Barbara-Jean immediately picked up on the fact that Franky's hair smelled different and asked her why.
"Serena got superglue in my......Oh crap!" Franky huffed looking at Urs, both of them knowing how upset Serena had been over the incident.
"How did she manage that?"
"She accidently broke one of my angels this morning and tried to fix it. She got superglue everywhere, bless her. I used the last of my nail varnish remover cleaning up the mess she'd made and her hands. I didn't have enough left to remove what she'd got in my hair and with the shops not being open at the time, I nipped over to Lauren's and she got the last little bit out for me. Made sure I washed it before I came home too." Franky informed, shrugging nonchalantly. "My own silly fault she got hold of it in the first place. I don't usually put that kind of thing in a kitchen drawer, still don't know how it ended up in there." She continued, giving Urs a very flirty look that made him cough because both of them knew exactly how the glue had ended up in the kitchen drawer.
He knew full well that's what she'd had in her hand a couple of days ago and that she'd somehow managed to slip it into the drawer either while he was kissing her or after they'd finished making love on the countertop. That much he was positive of. He didn't know why, but Franky always became a complete airhead for a while after they'd made love and always seemed to forget what she was doing before only to suddenly remember at some point later in the day. He couldn't blame her for forgetting about the glue, that particular quickie had happened very late at night, once the children were fast asleep and they'd made love twice more once they were in bed.
In what seemed like no time at all he shaken his head at Franky's teasing, coughed to compose himself and was singing 'Happy Birthday' to Frank along with everyone else. He watched with a smile on his face as Frank reluctantly but very carefully cut into the cake then lead his siblings up to Flavian's memorial with the first slice as always. All too soon most of the guests had left, wishing Frank Happy Birthday again, thanking him for inviting them and saying they'd had a great time before heading down the drive with one or both of their parents.
Only David, Lauren and their children stayed behind to help tidy up and once everything was back to normal, Lauren handed David what she'd bought for him. Everyone watched as he tore into the box, tossed the instruction book to one side and inserted the batteries. Grinning, he looked at Jefferson and Frank and the threesome were soon making their way fifty metres down the drive for a race. Lauren stood to one side and grunted a quick laugh as she dropped her hand for the race to begin.
Somehow, Lauren, Franky and Urs managed to stop themselves from laughing as David's vehicle slowly trundeled over the line behind Jefferson who finished a foot or two behind Frank. They didn't crack until David had picked his vehicle up, turned it over and had shaken his head after seeing that Lauren had flicked the switch that reduced the speed by half.
"You hang around Franky way too much Mrs Miller." He laughing informed, pulling Lauren into his arms then kissing her. "Okay, I've learned another lesson. I won't help him anymore unless he asks."
"Good." Lauren nodded. "About bloody time too."
With hugs and cheek kisses exchanged, the Millers left, leaving the Buhlers to head inside and get the children settled for the night.
"You trying to remember everything that happened today?" Urs heard Franky questioning once she'd put Jordi back in bed for the fifth time.
"Nein." Urs replied, reaching for the box that lay on the coffee table. "Just remembering doing one of these with Papi. How patient he was with me. Not saying a word. I knew, just by looking at him that I exasperated him with my attention to detail. I wanted to get it perfect, kept gluing pieces together and pulling them apart when they didn't quite match up properly. I didn't succeed, but he still said he was very proud of me for doing most of the work myself and looked forward to the day when he could see me do the same with my child. I was eight, but I still cried after hearing him say that he was proud of me. I wish I still had that little tank sometimes."
"What happened to it?"
"I left it too close to the fire in the lounge one day and it melted."
"Awww, shame. See Mami was right wasn't she? She said you would remember other good times that Papi didn't write down in those books."
"Ja, she did."
"And I know you'll have just as much patience with Frank when you help him build that. He's just like you in some ways, honey."
Urs nodded, kissed Franky then allowed her to lead him up to the bedroom for a change. The two of them quickly falling to sleep once they'd relived the events of the day, not wanting to make love because they'd had a busy day and had done so three times previous evening and twice since waking this morning.
It rained hard for three days solid the following week and Urs sat at the kitchen table, watching Frank assemble the Triumph Thunderbird, only helping with the handlebars and the licence plate decals. Proud that he managed to do most of the work himself, neither of them caring that it wasn't absolutely perfect. Frank had accomplished something with very little help and that was more important to Urs than anything as he watched him place the model on his bedroom windowsill.
Turn the page.

Chapter 96 - The Penitant
"Me take Papi." Urs heard Kurt pleading, after he'd retrieved the morning mail from the box at the end of the drive though he didn't lower his head to look at him as he normally did.
Instead his eyes remained focused on the medium-sized envelope he held, staring at the franked postage mark, wondering why on earth Anthony Strawson's solicitors would be writing to Franky. For a second or two he thought about opening the letter and reading the contents, but decided not to. He handed it to Kurt along with the other letters and watched him skip merrily back up the driveway, himself walking behind.
"It's not fair." Serena pouted on seeing her brother enter the lounge, heading for Franky's office. "It was by durn."
"Shut up Seri." Urs snapped, closing his eyes and taking deep breath after doing so.
Sighing, he made his way over to where Serena sat, playing with one of Franks's old toys and sat beside her. His eyes widened slightly when she pulled away from him as he moved to check her temperature. Knowing that she wasn't completely over the bout of flu she'd suffered from yet.
"I'm sorry Seri. You can fetch the mail with me tomorrow, providing you're feeling better."
"I feels bedder now."
"I know, but you're still very warm to touch. You know Mami won't let you go outside until you're well again."
"I knows. I not like beings ill."
"Me neither." Urs nodded. "Can I get a hug?"
Serena nodded, left the toy on the floor and moved into her father's arms, hugging him tight until Kurt came to play with her followed by a wide eyed Franky with a few sheets of paper in her right hand.
"Something wrong?" Urs asked, raising himself from the floor and taking a seat beside her on the couch.
Franky said nothing in reply, simply handed him what she held and nodded her head. Urs took the three small sheets, flicking to the last page to see who it was from, his eyes widening when he saw that it was from Anthony Strawson himself. Turning back to the first page, he swallowed hard and began to read what had been written in a hand that looked like a young child's handwriting.
"Franky, Francesca, Mrs Buhler.
I don't really know how to begin this letter, I don't have the right to address you by any of those names. I don't even know if you'll ever get to read this letter, since I've asked my solicitor not to send it to you until I'm dead and I'm thinking you'll probably tear it up once you know who it's from. I really hope you don't, but it's up to you so here goes nothing.
You see, unlike Jamie, I've come to understand that there is something psycologically wrong with me. The flip side of what they diagnosed her with to tell you the truth. I realised that a few days after what my uncle did to you and after Colt Kendrick had dislocated my arm for my involvement. I decided I needed help and asked to talk to a psychiatrist.
I've also spoken to someone who knew your father when we were kids, the prison chaplain to be precise. He told me how many times your father went to see him, seeking his advice, telling me how kind and gentle he was. I guess you know most, if not all of the stories. I wish I could have talked to the chaplain sooner. He's made me see what a good man he really was, the complete opposite of the bullying, tight-fisted, selfish man my mother always told me he was.
You're probably asking yourself why I did all the evil things I did. Truth is I've come to realise that I did it all in some misguided, deranged effort to make my mother love me as much as she did Jamie. Growing up, I promised myself I was not going to let a woman walk all over me like my mother did my father. I was determined to be stronger willed than he was. My paternal grandfather was always telling him to get backbone, to take what he wanted from a woman, especially when it came to sex. Now I understand why my grandmother was so scared of him.
I loved my mother, but I never seemed to be able to do anything right in her eyes. Jamie was always her favourite, me and my father meant next to nothing in comparison. She couldn't even be bothered to arrange father's funeral, left that all to me and complained at the expense. I know now that it was my mother who was the bully. She played the main part in making Jamie the way she was and me the way I am.
Sometimes I sit in my cell, wishing I'd never been born. God knows how I was anyway because I don't remember my parents talking to each other much never mind kissing. Believe me, there's is nothing like sitting alone in a jail cell for hour upon hour, day after day with nothing better to do than reflect to make you see what a mess your life is in. I've come to realise I've done nothing good with my own, despite the fact my teachers always told me I had a brain and could achieve great things if I applied myself. I even tried to get away once, made it as far as Manchester before my mother found me. I had been intending to join the Army, she talked me out of it by saying she needed me to protect Jamie from you, reminding me that family always came first.
I suppose you remember that rainy night when someone attacked you, intent on raping you. I'm ashamed to admit, that person was me. Back then I didn't know you and Jamie were related. She came home from work that day and told us that you'd stolen her boyfriend away from her. Mum raged because she thought Mark Holmes would have taken very good care of Jamie, herself as well I should imagine. God knows he was one of the richest men in town, well his father was. Anyway, mum told me I had to do something to make you pay, didn't call you by your name. It was always 'the other red-headed whore', just like she referred to your mother. Like the weak and pathetic man I am, I agreed. I got the beating of my life when I got home that night and told her I'd failed because you'd manged to fight me off. I never thought you would be so strong. I couldn't lie on my back for weeks and I still have the scars where the beltbuckle cut my skin. The only thing that helped me get through it all was..........was.........Cocaine.
Still, I didn't try to get away again and I ended up hurting another woman because Jamie wanted what Jamie wanted, I was too weak to say no and I'd taken way too much of that foul substance. I'd become what I swore I never would be. I don't know how that woman managed to find the courage to go on living after the way I maimed her. I still have nightmares about what I did and I deserve to have them for the rest of my life. It wouldn't be that hard to go back to my old habit in an attempt to help me forget those memories. I'm not going to because the memories would hit again as soon as I came down from the high.
I don't want you to think that I wrote this letter in some sort of attempt to get your sympathy or as some sort of plea for your forgiveness, because that's not my intent, I know you can never forgive me for what I did. I accept that. If that was my intent, I would have sent this letter as soon as I'd written it.
No. My psychiatrist recommended I do so in order to deal with my issues and now I've done so, I realise I have so many more to deal with. I've accepted that I am rightfully where I belong, that there's no excuse good enough for the terrible things I've done, no amount of apologising would make things right between myself and those I've hurt. Just like there was nothing I could ever have done to make my mother love me the way she did Jamie.
The one thing I am thankful for is that the fuc.....messed up family I belong to hasn't made another generation like them. That I will be eternally grateful for.
Enjoy the rest of your life, safe in the knowledge that I am no longer walking the planet.
Anthony Strawson."
"He's not the only one that's eternally grateful." Urs nodded after blowing out a long breath. "So now we know the truth."
"Yeah." Franky nodded, knocking a tear from her eye.
"Would you have written back saying you forgave him?"
"Perhaps. Too late now though. I'm glad he did what Jamie didn't though. Got the help he needed I mean."
"Hmmn. I guess" Urs nodded, handed the letter back and watched Franky push into the back pocket of her jeans. "So how come you've never mentioned this Mark Holmes before?"
"Because I didn't date him. He wasn't even interested in me but he was Abigail McFarland. The three of us did a first aid course together." Franky paused, laughing and shaking her head. "He was so painfully shy around her, his face was always red. I knew he'd been seeing Jamie, but he'd ended that weeks before the attack on me. I guess you could say I kind of played matchmaker between the him and Abigail."
"How?"
"Told them to meet me at a local pizza place then didn't show up. Not inside anyway. Like they would have noticed I was even there, playing gooseberry. They were married within three months and heading to live in Canada. Last I heard from Mark's dad a couple of weeks ago, Abigail had just given birth to her seventh child."
"Wow!" Urs gasped then his brow furrowed, thinking of who he'd seen Franky talking to over the past few weeks and quickly putting things together. "You mean Paul Holmes, the man who owns 'Los Locos'?"
"And a few other places besides." Franky nodded. "As a matter of fact he's opening a new place in the city. Sent us tickets for the opening night. And don't look at me like that!" She laughed when Urs frowned. "It's not a Salsa place, it's a winebar. He's taken over 'Vido's' and renamed it 'La Vigne Cachés'."
"Okay. We haven't been out in ages. We'll go." Urs nodded, taking Franky into his arms. "But we're going on a shopping trip first. To 'Angelique's'"
"No, Urs."
"Yes, Franky. There's a dress I would love to see you in, it would be perfect for the occasion."
"Oh all right. I'll take a look, but if I think it's too much money, I am not buying it."
"Duuh!" Urs exclaimed, heading towards the laundry room to inform Saskia that they were going into town.
Half an hour later, he was sitting in the waiting area inside 'Angelique's' while Franky tried the dress on. He laughed on hearing her voice exclaiming a rather loud 'Oh my God' from the dressing room and thought she was doing so because of the almost one thousand pound price tag. He soon changed his mind when she emerged in the strapless, full-length, black overlaid with silver lace, fish tail styled dress. He felt his own eyes widen and the smile spread across his face when he saw how beautiful she looked.
"Wow!"
"So this is going to be your new favourite?" She asked, twirling round in front of the mirror and seeing the same look on he'd worn when she'd allowed Sebastien to replace the one she wrecked after going to his rescue.
"It'll be easier to get off that's for sure."
"Urs!" Franky blushed and shook her head. "You're right though."
Urs watched her take another look in the mirror, gave Colette a headshake and let out a heavy sigh when he saw Franky chewing on her bottom lip. Without having to ask, he knew what she was thinking and wondered if she knew how exasperating he found her worrying about the price. Huffing out a breath he closed his eyes, bit his tongue and shook his head again.
"All right Mr Huffypants, since we both like it so much, I'll take it." He heard Franky stating as she gave him gentle slug on the shoulder and he snapped his eyes open.
"Good, because I've had it on reserve for you since Colette told me about it." He replied, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
With Franky changed back into the clothes she'd arrived in and the dress paid for, they returned home and got ready for their evening out once the children had been fed. Urs made it downstairs first, wearing the new dark grey Givenchy suit he'd brought a few weeks ago teamed with a black shirt, open at the neck. Franky appeared a few moments later, Saskia gasping and shaking her head in awe when she saw the dress.
They headed to Paul Holmes's new venture by taxi where they were greeted warmly by him and drank champagne whilst mingling with the other guests. Urs smiling broadly when several women told Franky how much they liked her dress, asking where she'd got it from and nodding when she told them. They both loved what Paul had had done to the ground floor level of the former nightclub, particularly the long bar with its dark wood top and comfortable bar stools. The cosy little booths capable of seating no more than two people also caught their attention, each decked out with a thicky cushioned cuddle chairs and a small, sophisticated tables. All of them illuminated by two simple tubular wall sconce lights.
Though no-one could imagine what had been done to the old cellar, everyone followed Paul down the stairs when he asked and were quickly seated in the candle-lit curved ceiling room. All of them shook their heads after looking around and were even more stunned when their host informed that their meal and drinks tonight would be on the house while smartly dressed waiters approached his guests.
Satisfied after eating roast chicken breast served with new potatoes, cherry tomato relish and salad followed by Belgian waffles with whipped cream and summer berry compote washed down with the Rose wine Urs had chosen, he laughed at the puzzled look their waiter gave Franky when she asked for their order slip. A look around told him that a couple of other ladies appeared to have asked the same of their waiters. With that tucked into her handbag, they thanked their host and returned home by taxi, walking up the drive hand-in-hand rather than have the car deliver them to the door.
They entered their silent home, made their way upstairs and checked on the children before heading to their room. Once behind their bedroom door, they took their time removing each other's clothes and made love just like they had the very first time. Snuggled up together under the covers once they had recovered, Urs looked at Franky and knew from nothing more than the look on her face that she would have forgiven Anthony Strawson everything he'd done to her, if only he'd had the guts to send the letter before being fatally stabbed in the riot at Alford Prison. He fell asleep a few moments after Franky, hoping that he could find it within himself to forgive Anthony some day but knowing he couldn't just yet.
Turn the page

Chapter 97 - She's My Fantasy
The limo was about a mile and a half away from The Staples Centre and Franky was still frowning as she had been since early this particular afternoon. Urs knew it wasn't because she was nervous about walking the red carpet by his side. She'd accompanied him to enough awards shows recently to know that much. She wasn't worried about her appearance either, the black and bright pink lace back evening gown looked stunning on her and, though he preferred her hair down, the French twist she'd put it up into only served to add to her beauty. He sighed, hooked her chin and gently turned her face away from the window.
"Hey. Chin up angel. We're almost there. I know this morning's events are still bothering you, but the police have their technicians working flat out to find whoever did that."
"I know. I'm sorry, honey." Franky replied, giving him a weak smile. "I am very upset about that, but that's not the main thing that's bothering me."
"What is then?"
"When I spoke to Paulina this afternoon, she didn't sound right. I'm wondering if Cyril is cheating again and she's gone back to the bottle."
"Did she sound drunk?"
"No. Just very low."
"Then maybe she's more upset about the break-in and it's aftermath, we're not her most famous clients. Maybe the same thing has happened to them and they're more an......upset than we are." Urs shrugged, giving her the look that requested a smile from her.
"Maybe. I'm sorry, honey. I shouldn't be thinking about that right now, nor that awful list. I should be thinking about you, the rest of the guys. I should be excited about you possibly winning another award." Franky replied, took a deep breath then set a huge smile on her face.
"That's better. And it's awards. Remember I told you this morning it wasn't just for the Best Classical Crossover Album?"
"Oh yeah. I forgot. Sorry."
"Stop apologising." Urs instructed before placing a quick kiss on Franky's lips. "With all that's happened today, I'm not that surprised you forgot."
Franky huffed a quick laugh, nodded then took a look forward and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. Any minute now they would be stepping out onto the red carpet to be greeted by a miriad of flashing camera lights and the possibility of microphones being shoved at them.
"Oh Frick!" She huffed then spent the next few moments taking deep breaths and gripping Urs's hand hard.
The limo moved up to where the red carpet met the kerb and the door was soon opened. David left first holding Lauren's hand, Sebastien and Emma followed them, his left hand rest comfortably on her bottom. Carlos and Barbara-Jean left next, his arm quickly slipping around her waist. Urs scooted out then looked at Franky as he offered his hand to help her out.
No matter how many times they'd done this, it still took a moment or two for the ladies to adjust to the constant flares of camera flashes. They spent a few moments posing then decided to head into the building. Urs had been hoping they wouldn't be stopped to be questioned. However, he wasn't so lucky and turned to face who'd gently touched his arm, nervously asked for a quick word before introducing herself as Mianah Talbot from a minor entertainment/celebrity magazine.
"How do you feel about being nominated for two Grammy's." She began, the microphone shaking a little.
"I was stunned to begin with, we all were." Urs smiled in reply, holding a trembling Franky close. "But to tell you the truth, we all worked very hard on the album. As with all our previous work, we wanted to push the boundaries. I don't want to sound conceited but I think we've pushed those boundaries more than ever and this latest album is worthy of the nomination. Whether we win or not, we all know it's our best work to date."
"With even better come?"
"I hope so, after next year's tour. We're already coming up with songs."
"Have this morning's events upset you in anyway?"
"Oh ja, they have, though I thought they'd been erm.......photoshopped to begin with. I was quite angry when Franky told me they weren't. Don't get me wrong, they're wonderful pictures."
"They certainly are. Franky looks stunning."
"She certainly does." Urs nodded in agreement then looked at Franky's red face. "What's really upset me is the fact that someone has stolen them and spoiled the surprise Franky had planned for me. That and the fact such private photographs are out there too."
"You must be very proud of Urs, Franky?" Mianah asked, moving the microphone towards Franky's mouth.
"Yes, I am and the rest of the guys as well. I know my opinion doesn't count for much but this nomination has been far too long in coming."
"So you think they deserve to win?"
"Absolutely, then again so do the other nominees."
"Very diplomatic of you." Mianah nodded, giggling a little. "Errrr.........What persuaded you to do such a sexy photoshoot?"
"Erm.........I'd rather not comment about that, tonight is about the gu........" Franky began only to stop when she felt Urs squeezing her waist and turned her head to look at him, his eyes telling her that it was fine with him for her to say something. "Erm.........it was Urs's idea really. No special reason. I was asked to do something similar once. Urs liked the idea so I asked friend to take them, they were meant to be for his eyes only. I'm not happy they're out there for everyone to see."
"The wedding photographs too I should imagine?"
"Ja." Urs sighed once the microphone was back in front of him. "Neither of us are happy about that, but what upsets us most is that they smashed the antique camera that appears in some of the photographs."
"The ones showing Franky laughing as she takes a picture of you and the rest of the guys outside the church?"
"Ja. It's been smashed beyond repair."
"Is anything being done about it?"
"The local police are trying, but whoever has done this is going through so many.........erm proxy servers they hadn't managed to locate the person responsible before we left the hotel. Hopefully, we'll hear something once this event has finished and the site will be shut down."
"And the list?"
"I think the least said about that, the better." Urs shrugged, recalling that he'd heard a couple of young men commenting that Franky deserved her fifth place position on the MILF.....disgusting list attached to the photograph site.
"I hope so too. Thanks for stopping and good luck." Mianah smiled then turned to see who was following behind.
Hand-in-hand, the couple made their way into the arena, met up with the rest of the group and smiled at the usher who showed them to their seats. Both of them grateful that the thief hadn't been able to get his hands on the discs that contained the children's portraits, that was safely locked away in Franky's office. Franky shook her head after telling Urs how much Paulina had cried for forgetting to erase those particular ones from the stolen external hard-drive. She'd meant to do so after printing them off and creating the back-up DVD, but had been so tired and so busy it had completely slipped her mind. She'd also said that if she got the hard-drive back she would make absolutely sure she would do so with the pictures of Franky posing on and around Urs's Harley wearing nothing more than a black and silver basque, matching briefs and pair of killer high-heeled black leather boots.
Once everyone was settled, they sat back to watch the show and really enjoyed the show, though there were a couple of categories that disappointed them. It didn't seem to take long to reach the category Il Divo had been nominated for and all four guys smiled and gave a little wave to the camera as they were announced as the winners. In what seemed like seconds they were all standing on the stage, smiling and giving their thank yous to fans, music critics and all those without whose tireless work the album wouldn't have sounded so good.
Twenty minutes later they had to head to the stage once more to accept one of the special awards. Urs stood, handed Franky the previous Grammy and shook his head along with Carlos, David and Sebastien as they climbed the steps to take hold of the MusiCares Person of the Year statue. Slightly smaller copies of each award would be handed over later so that each man could place them in their homes. The originals would be put on display in a special room at Syco HQ in London.
They stayed for the after-party and were grateful that no-one they spoke to mentioned the photographs or the list and arrived back at the hotel shortly after 2:00am. They'd just removed each clothes when the phone went and Urs answered it. With a smile on his face, he hung up and told Franky that the pictures should have disappeared from the internet by morning. The police had found out where the thief had been operating from, raided the place and stopped him uploading more of Paulina's work. The technician had even managed to shut the site down before the pictures the robber had passed of as his own work could be made downloadable at a price. The only bad news he had to pass on was that Paulina would not get her hard-drive back until her twenty-three year old former employee had been tried and hopefully convicted.
"I can live with that." Franky smiled, cuddling up to Urs and feeling that familiar nudge against her thigh.
"Me too, Sexy Mama." Urs nodded, flipping her onto her back and showing her the depths of his love, knowing that he would be the only man ever to do so.
Those other 'men' could live in their fantasies about making love to her, his was real.
Two weeks later, Urs casually flicked through a celebrity magazine in the hope of finding something interesting to read while he waited for a dental check-up only to pause when he saw a picture of himself and Franky. He almost didn't hear his name being called, so engrossed was he in looking at the 'Best Dressed List' from the Grammy's. Franky had made it into eighth place on that list, though he thought she should have come first. Always had, always would.
Turn the page.
________________

Chapter 98 - She Couldn't Always Help
For days, he'd thought Franky had been wrong about her suspicions regarding Paulina, but after visiting to her studio that had quickly altered. Her behaviour had done a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn and she'd even raised her voice at him when he hadn't got the pose he wanted quite right. He knew that wasn't normal, she was usually so vibrant and patient, no matter the subject she was working with.
He looked to the wall where he'd hung the photograph of Franky draped seductively over his Harley wearing a red PVC catsuit, unzipped to mid-cleavage, the Chaffee garnets around her neck and killer heeled shoes on her feet, thankful that no-one else in the world had a copy. The police and their computer technicians had worked miracles on removing Paulina's previous shots from the world wide web and the second set were even better.
Now here he stood, almost six weeks later in Franky's office, waiting for Paulina to arrive with his surprise for Franky. It would look perfect hung on the other side of their engagement photograph. Though he still wished Franky would change her mind and hang them on the stairway wall but had to admit they would have looked out of place, hanging amongst the artwork they'd spent so much time arranging up there.
He looked around the room and smiled when his eyes reached her desk. No matter how much paperwork she had scattered over the glass, she was always careful not to disturb the two frames she had there. One holding Flavian's photograph, the other, a family portrait, done by Paulina shortly after Jordi's baptism. The two month old boy fast asleep in his mother's arms, wearing the same blue and white satin romper suit, tailcoat and hat that Frank and Kurt had been baptised in, though he didn't fill it as well as those two had.
He frowned, remembering how angry he'd been with his sister when he'd called, asking her to bring the robe they'd all been baptised in over. He'd wanted Frank to wear it, but she'd borrowed it to a friend, didn't feel she could go asking for it back on the day of her father's funeral and told him, in no uncertain terms, that he should have called earlier rather than the evening before she was due to fly to England. Though unhappy, he'd understood and had gone out at almost the last minute with Franky to buy the suit and she'd carefully stored it away in the hope that one of their children would want the use of it, if they ever had children of their own.
His thoughts turned to the pictures all lovingly displayed atop the piano in the music/dance room and how he'd yelled at both Carlos and David when they'd broken the frame that held the picture of his maternal grandparents on their wedding day. Carlos had picked it up to get a closer look, David had come running into the room because he was late, bumped into the Spaniard as he stopped and the frame had fallen to the floor, breaking into unrepairable pieces. Sebastien had reacted quickly, firmly told him to calm down and accept their apologies. He'd done so after a moment or two and Franky had walked in just as he was accepting their offer to buy a new frame. She'd said nothing to either himself, Carlos or David, just looked at them and smiled at Sebastien as he handed the broken remains. He didn't have a clue where they'd got the replacement from and didn't care. The picture was back in it's rightful position and that was all that mattered.
Hearing the gate buzzer go, he left the office and pushed the button once he'd checked who had arrived. It wasn't the person he'd been expecting but he knew him well enough not to deny him admittance. He opened the front door and watched Paulina's assistant get out of the car and open the rear doors to retrieve the expected package. They greeted each other with a handshake then headed for the lounge where Chester laid his surprise.
"Paulina ill or something? I was expecting her not you."
"No....She's gone away for a few days. Taken Veronica with her."
"Oh! Cyril hasn't gone with them?"
"Hell no!" Chester snapped. "Sorry, I really shouldn't say anything more, but that man is a waste of flesh and bones. If he was on fire outside I'd pour petrol on him, simply for the way he treats her. I apologise again if that sounds extreme."
"Hmmn." Urs nodded then sighed. "So he is cheating again?"
"Oh yeah! Saw him myself this time and Paulina's at the Vodka again. I've tried talking to her, so have her family and friends. She just refuses to heed their advice and divorce the asshole. She'd been on the sauce the day she took that." Chester nodded towards the table where Franky's surprise lay. "I'm surprised she did such a good job. Mrs B not about?"
"Upstairs. Cleaning the bathroom. I'll just go and ask her to come down."
Urs moved to where the telephone stood and after pushing couple of buttons he was asking Franky to come down. She appeared at the bottom of the stairs a few moments later, pulling off a pair of rubber gloves and giving him a weak smile. He knew exactly why he'd received that smile, she'd spoken to Paulina the day before, attempting to make her see how unworthy of her love Cyril was only to be screamed at by the woman she considered a good friend. The blonde woman telling her to mind her own business, fuck off and leave her alone.
"I'm sorry." She sighed once Urs had kissed her cheek.
"It's all right, angel. I understand what you're going through. Ueli was exactly the same with me when I tried to help him."
"Yeah, I know and I'm glad he eventually kicked his habit and found love again. I just don't know what to do next to........Oh never mind that now. What did you want me for honey?"
"I have a little surprise for you."
Urs took hold of her hand, led her through to the lounge and indicated what lay on the coffee table. She gave him a brief look before she stepped forward then ripped through the brown paper, her eyes flying wide when she saw the photograph. There he sat, astride her Triumph Thunderbird, leaning across the petrol tank just like they'd seen Marlon Brandon do in photographs from 'The Wild One'. The only differences being that Urs wasn't wearing a cap, he had his leather jacket fully open revealing a tight-fitting white v-necked t-shirt and the picture was in colour, just like Franky's.
"Do you know this is just how I picture you whenever we're apart? It reminds me of the day we met."
"You like it then?"
"No. I love it. And I know exactly where I'd like to hang it." Franky replied, sniffing back tears and nodding towards her office.
"Thought you might." Urs smiled, pulled his wallet from his back pocket and handed what he owed to Chester before escorting him to the door and pushing the gate button again. "You want to hang it now?"
"Of course. Just like you did with the one of me."
Urs nodded and went to retrieve what he needed to hang the picture while Franky headed into the office with the frame held securely under her arm. Due to the fact it was very light, it didn't take him more than two minutes to put the picture in position and he took a moment to admire his handywork before turning to look at Franky.
"Looks wonderful."
"Ja, I think it does too."
"Did Chester say anything about Paulina? He looked upset."
"Ja, he did." Urs sighed then told her what had been said once he'd wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I'm sorry honey. I just wish there was something I could do or say to Cyril about what he's risking by having yet another affair. I can't think of anything that he would listen to. Same goes for Paulina. And I'm sorry that I haven't reacted with my usual enthusiasm over your surprise. I really, really do like it you know?"
"I know, angel. I don't need you to tell me with words. I only have to look at your eyes and I know the truth. Now stop apologising." Urs shook his head and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Like you said yesterday, you can't help those who don't want to be helped, no matter how hard you try. I know how much you care about your friends, close ones or otherwise. Sometimes they just can't see how much and I'm afraid you have to accept that Paulina may be one of those. I know it hurts you to hear me say that and I'm sorry I had to. I know you don't like to give up, but you've done enough in my opinion. I'm proud of you for trying to help her and I'm proud that you haven't let this matter affect the way you deal with our children. And I love you for the way you try to help. At least Paulina knows she can always come to you if she changes her mind, you'll just have to console yourself with that and stop.........before you make yourself ill."
"I know. You're right. Thank you. It's just so........so........so......har.....to see......what.....how much she's...." Franky began but couldn't continue, her arms flying around Urs waist, her face buried in his chest, crying hard for almost an hour, releasing all the pain she felt over what Paulina was doing to herself.
Eventually she stopped crying, spent a few more moments looking at the photographs then allowed Urs to lead her to the kitchen where he made her sit. He prepared her a simple tuna and cumcumber and watched her eat a full meal for the first time in days, secure in the knowledge that she would soon push this experience deep into her soul and he would see that wonderful smile lighting up her face again.
Turn the page.
________________

Chapter 99 - Playtime
"I don't understand you, Urs. You can go on stage bare-chested to sing in front of hundreds of people and you can dress-up for a friend's Halloween party, but you can't bear the thought of wearing a costume to entertain your own children for a few minutes!" He heard Franky yell and looked up from the clothing that lay, neatly folded on their bed. "I'll give you twenty minutes to change your mind. If you're not down by then, I'll call someone who doesn't mind being a bit silly once in a while."
"You mean David?" Urs huffed in response. "We can't do this anyway. Just in case you haven't noticed, it's pissing it down outside."
"Of course I've noticed. That's why Saskia and I have set everything up in the music room."
He heard the bedroom door slam and whipped his head round to see that Franky had left. He then turned his attention back to what she wanted him to wear and examined it piece by piece. Franky was already wearing her pirate costume and was probably helping Saskia get the children into theirs.
'Wouldn't be so bad as last time.' The inner voice he hadn't heard in months nudged. 'Or would you rather forget about that? Like I'd let you anyway.' It continued.
"Oh Gott don't remind me." Urs laughed, pulling his t-shirt over his head then dropping his jeans to the floor and beginning to dress as a pirate Captain . "Those pants were really tight." He shook his head, recalling the previous year's Halloween celebrations at David and Lauren's home and the costumes he and Franky had worn. Himself dressed as a Devil Lord, Franky as a Devil's Temptress. "Gott knows how I even got them fastened."
He continued to chuckle at the memory. David had appeared dressed as Frankenstein's Monster, Lauren as his bride. Sebastien and Emma had shown up as a gothic butler and a gothic countess. Carlos and Barbara-Jean arrived as a Werewolf and one of his victims. Though he'd been a little uncomfortable to begin with, he'd quickly relaxed and joined in the fun and games. He'd particularly enjoyed Lauren's little twist on Bobbing For Apples, setting apples in jelly rather than floating them in water. Getting them out hadn't been as easy as everyone thought it would be and the game provided lots of giggles. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn Sebastien had farted when he finally managed to retrieve an apple. It was just his bad luck to have grabbed an apple that sat near the edge of the jelly and the squidgy mess had made a loud 'pfffffffft' sound as he pulled it out.
"Good times." He laughed, finally dressed as Franky had asked him to be and taking a moment to look in the mirror. He didn't like the wig, but everything else looked fine and no-one else but his family was going to see it.
He'd already heard everyone else clattering down the stairs and left the bedroom a few moments after them. He walked into the music room to find all of the children and Franky dressed as pirates, Kurt taking the lead role since it had been his idea in the first place. He had to admit, he looked cute in the child sized 'Captain Jack Sparrow' outfit. A glance round the room told him that this would be recorded for prosperity since Saskia stood in one corner, camcorder at the ready.
"What's with all the balloons?" He asked Franky once he noticed the black and red ones scattered all over the floor.
"Thy'll see, if thy 'as a little patience." She replied before asking the children to gather around her. "T'was a terrible storm last night me hearties, the ship atossed by the waves, cannon balls arollin' all over the ship. Y'all know there be two cannons on this ship, one as fires red cannon balls t'other as fires black so they need sortin' out."
"Easy." Frank stated, nodding his head once.
"Thy thinks so do thee?" Franky smirked. "Thy don't be knowin' the rules yet. Thy cannot be usin' your 'ands matey. Thy cutlass, swords, hats and hooks is fine to be a usin', but no 'ands."
The family split into two teams, males against females and amid much giggling they spent almost fifteen minutes sweeping black balloons to one end of the room and red to the other using everything they could think of other than their hands. The boys beating the girls by a couple of minutes. Once the boys had ceased celebrating their victory, Franky led everyone into bursting their collection of balloons. The girls winning this time, bursting their last balloon when the boys still had three left.
Once the 'ship' was shipshape and tidy again, Urs was blindfolded and everyone else ran around, trying to avoid being caught. He missed catching hold of who he thought was Franky by mere millimetres and furrowed his brow when he heard Sylvie informing that he missed her. He spun around again, this time grabbing hold of Serena and switching places with her. With everyone who was old enough having had a turn at playing 'Blind Jake' the fun turned to a bit of acting.
Two captains becoming involved in a cutlass and sword battle that Kurt won, standing over his father, holding the tip of his cardboard sword at his heaving chest almost half an hour later, a panting Kurt was speaking, loud and clear.
"Thy punishment for accusin' I of stealin' the King's gold 'n' treasure when it t'were thee all along, is to row the seven seas until thy find land. Now into the dingy with thee." Kurt sneered, keeping the sword in position as Urs rose to his feet and giving him a quick poke in the stomach when he didn't move.
"I thank thee for thy mercy." Urs nodded, sitting down in the large cardboard box with Jordi, Frank and Serena, beginning to make rowing motions.
"And don't thee be ever darkening these 'ere shores again." Kurt yelled, his mother and remaining siblings jumping up and down and cheering around him.
Playtime over, Urs hugged each of the children and shook his head when they thanked him for joining in then watched them head upstairs with a giggling Saskia to get changed. He then grabbed hold of Franky and pulled her close to him.
"And just what does the Captain of my heart desire?" She asked playfully.
"Besides the usual you mean?" Urs coughed, shaking his head. "Firstly to apologise for......tossing my dummy earlier."
"No, I'm sorry for asking you to do something you're not entirely comfortable with."
"Nein, I'm sorry. There's no harm done."
"But you shouldn't let me push you into doing things you don't really want to do."
"Will you quit it? Look at us, debating who should be the sorriest. I'd already decided I was wrong and began to change long before you and the children came downstairs."
"Honestly?"
"Honestly." Urs shook his head then gave Franky a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm the one who should be sorry, not you. You're right, playtime is important for the children and if that involves dressing up every so often then so be it. I enjoyed myself and I am sorry, okay?"
"Okay. You're forgiven. Secondly?"
"I've been thinking about us throwing a party."
"Really?!"
"Ja, really. I owe David some payback. I know I really didn't like parties until I met you. You've taught me that it's good to have fun and cut loose once in while. I've really enjoyed today, despite my earlier doubts."
"You thinking of a fancy dress party?" Franky asked, her eyes flying wide when Urs nodded. "Well I never thought I would see this day. Okay, any specific theme?"
Urs grinned his Cheshire Cat smile, leaned forward to whisper in Franky's ear and pulled back to guage her reaction. She didn't seem as surprised as he thought she would but quickly nodded her agreement.
"I'll check my diary tomorrow, see when we can throw this little soiree."
Urs nodded, released hold and watched Franky heading towards the door that led to the lounge, chuckling to himself. He fought to regain control of himself when she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face him.
"Urs Buhler, you are terrible." She laughed, shaking her head.
"Hey! He had a good old laugh seeing me in those trousers, now I'm going to get me some payback when I see him wearing hose."
Together the couple headed upstairs to change out of the costumes and spend the rest of the day giggling over their plans, though none of the children understood what their parents found so funny when Urs started singing 'Oo-de-Lally' from a Disney film they all knew well.
Turn the page.
____________

Chapter 100 - Plans Go Awry
Urs quietly closed the door to his lakeside home, not wanting to wake Franky up just yet and hoping to kick himself out of the slightly bad mood he was in before she did. He wasn't happy that he and Franky had had to postpone their party and wouldn't be able to hold it for a long time. They had a friend's stag/hen night and wedding in Switzerland to attend in the Spring and then Il Divo were off on tour ten days after that. With Christmas fast approaching there simply wasn't the time for a party. He huffed out a breath and followed his early morning visitor into the lounge, knowing that he should be happy that the lake he'd almost drowned in as a child had frozen over enough to be able to skate on for the first time in years. He should also be happy that Franky had agreed to come up with a skating routine that would be played during the tour, though she flat out refused to skate the female role herself. And he should be happy that the rest of the guys had agreed to his idea of recording said video at that lake.
"Something wrong, Kelly?" He asked his new PA on seeing and hearing her huff loudly.
"We have a huge problem, Urs. Evelyn had an accident while she was out with Greg last night. She won't be able to do the video."
"WAS? How bad is she hurt?"
"Badly sprained ankle and two cracked ribs."
"Shit!" Urs yelled a little louder than he intended. "What else could go wrong?"
"The lake could thaw." Kelly replied, trying to lighten the mood.
"That's not funny. I hate my plans going awry, don't you know that?"
"I know. Franky warned me. Like the saying goes though, 'Crap Happens'.
"Ja, usually to the wrong people." Urs scoffed then took a seat next to Kelly and sat thinking for a moment. "Sorry. We could ask Franky to do it."
"She'd only say no again, like the last two times you and the rest of the guys have asked her. Plus, she's not blond."
"Who says the woman has to be blond? I'm sure I could persuade her to do it if I explain the circumstances."
"Persuade who to do what?" Franky's voice suddenly filled the air and Urs turned to see her standing in the lounge, rubbing her face. "Oh! Sorry. Good morning, Kelly."
"Morning Franky."
"So?" Franky queried, looking at Urs to answer her question.
"You to skate in the video."
"You're joking right? I've told you no twice. That's why Evelyn is here."
"Nein, I'm not joking. I wouldn't ask you again, but we've just had some bad news. Evelyn can't do the video."
"Why? What's wrong with her?"
"Badly sprained ankle and two cracked ribs." Kelly repeated with a heavy sigh.
"How did she manage that?"
"Don't know, she wouldn't say when I popped into the hospital to see her. She just looked very embarrassed."
"Let me think about it while I have a shower." Franky nodded, turning on her heels and heading back whence she'd came until Urs's raised voice stopped her in her tracks.
"What's to think about, Franky?! You came up with the routine! You were there at the lake for rehearsals yesterday! Plus you'll get the chance to fullfil one of your dreams. Simon will go nuts if we cancel."
"Don't raise your voice at me, Urs. I know things haven't been going to plan just lately and you're getting frustrated. And I know how much Simon has invested in this, I don't need you to remind me. Just don't shout at me."
Urs grumbled something in Swiss-German and resumed the seat he'd left when he'd shouted at Franky. He hadn't meant for her to hear it, but she yelled back at him after hearing him call her 'Bloody stubborn'.
"I heard that! Carry on Urs and just see what happens."
He grumbled an apology then looked at Kelly who was smiling and shaking her head. His brow furrowed as he spoke to her.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing's funny. It's just that I'm amazed how well Franky reads you. My parents have been married almost thirty-five years and still can't read each other like that. God knows how they've lasted that long."
"Oh! She's pretty much been like that since the day we met. Kicked my butt more than once and always lets me know when she thinks I'm wrong or being too pushy."
"I heard about a couple of those ocassions. Any chance of a coffee. I'm parched."
"We don't really drink coffee when we're here. There's none in the house. Just Camomile Tea or hot chocolate."
"You drink Camomile Tea? Ewwww! Tried it once and swore never again after I threw up over my Grandmother. Hot chocolate will have to do, though I don't like that very much either."
"Perhaps you will the way I make it." Urs laughed as he stood and made his way to the kitchen.
He soon reappeared with three steaming mugs of hot chocolate on a tray, one of these he handed to Kelly, the other two were set down on the coffee table. One for himself, the other for Franky.
"Wow! This tastes great. What did you do to make it taste so good?" Kelly moaned after taking her first mouthful. "I could drink that all day."
"Nothing special. Just added some cream and sugar to the milk while it was warming up. Little trick of my mother's."
"It's fantastic. You'll have to show me exactly how at some point."
Urs smiled and nodded as he swallowed his first mouthful, but kept looking towards the groundfloor bedroom door, waiting for Franky to show her face. He checked his watch and quickly realised that they had plenty of time to get to the lake. Thankfully, the roads had been cleared of the almost two feet of snow that lay on the ground and it hadn't frozen over, even though it was colder in Willisau than he could remember it being in years. Cold enough to freeze the lake where he'd almost drowned as a child.
Franky re-appeared a few moments later, well wrapped up against the cold. He could tell she had multiple layers on already and she carried a thickly padded jacket in her right hand. She strode towards him, sat down on the coffee table after depositing the jacket on the empty couch and took a mouthful of hot chocolate before she spoke.
"Thank you." She nodded at Urs, holding up the cup and smiling nervously before she turned to Kelly. "Okay. If I'm going to do this, I don't want anyone outside the Il Divo machine to know it's me. Can you get hold of a wig?"
"That's an easy." Kelly snapped her fingers. "There's a couple in the make-up truck. David was messing about with them yesterday. One blond, the other chocolate brown, both romantically styled."
"I think the brown one would be better. Looking at Evelyn yesterday, she looked a little lost against the snow with that light blond hair of hers."
"I agree and so does Damon. He was planning on asking her to wear that exact wig for the recording."
"Okay. Is the costume going to fit me?"
"I think so. I mean it stretches a little, you're not that much bigger Evelyn, except in one department, so we won't need to enhance that area with 'chicken fillets'." Kelly replied and laughed along with Franky after indicating the chest area. "And it's full length so your brace won't be visible."
"There aren't any facial close-ups are there, so I don't have to worry about my eyes?" Franky nodded.
"No. So you'll do it?"
"Yeah, I'll do it. Just this once mind." Franky nodded, her hands suddenly beginning to shake as she watched Kelly stand and head out of the front door, her Blackberry firmly clamped against her right ear.
By the time she looked back, Urs had taken Kelly's seat and was holding her hands in his own, rubbing the backs with his thumbs in an attempt to calm her down.
"Why so nervous, angel? You know the ice is safe, you were out there yesterday and it's even colder today."
"I know. I don't know what it is with me and being recorded. If I know they're going to be there or if I see them, this is how I get. Always have done. Just one of my stupid quirks I guess. Why do you think my father and Lauren had to be so sneaky? The bigger they are, the worse my stomach churns and, in case you didn't notice yesterday, those buggers are huge."
"I noticed and I love you, quirks and all." Urs shook head then moved his hands to the back of Franky's head.
Gently, he pulled it forward so that her forehead was resting on his chest. He instructed her to close her eyes then began massaging the way she had for him so many times before. It didn't taken him long to hear her breathing slow and by the time she sat upright again, Kelly had come back inside.
Well wrapped up against the cold, the three of them made themselves comfortable in the SUV and chatted happily until they reached the closed location. Urs knew there were a few locals who weren't happy with what was happening, but they were in the minority and he wasn't going to let their snide comments bother him.
He gave Franky a kiss before she left the vehicle then escorted her to the make-up/wardrobe van and kissed her again as she crossed the threshold. She greeted Greg, the man she would now be performing with, warmly then closed the door. Urs made for the recording truck, stepping into find his brother's waiting to watch what would shortly be happening on the ice.
"Is she really going to do this?" David asked, offering a cup of coffee.
"Ja. I didn't think she was going to at first, but I did as soon as she came out of the shower. There wasn't a doubt in my mind."
Knowing that the skaters needed to warm-up first, the four men settled down talk, agreeing to add a couple of extra dates towards the end of the American leg, both in Houston, Texas. It seemed like hours had passed when their attention was drawn to the opening door and Damon stepped in.
Gathered around one small screen, four Divos watched intently as a Franky stepped onto the ice with Greg, all of them smiling when they saw her wearing the full length chiffon dress decorated with Sapphire and Topaz Swavorski crystals. They skated around the area a couple of times, praticing the two lifts that Franky had included in the routine then skated to middle. Looking as though they were in love, the couple raised their hands to each other's faces and began to move to 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' sung in French.
Recording only had to be cut twice, once when Greg didn't quite lift Franky in one fluid motion, the other when Franky seemed to forget that Carlos took the volume of the beginning of last verse up several notches and she tripped over her own feet.
The third take went off without a hitch and ended with Greg cradling Franky in his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck and her face pressed into his chest, while Greg span on the spot, eyes closed and his right cheek placed lightly against the top of Franky's head until Damon yelled 'cut'.
Leading the way, Urs left the recording truck and ran to the edge of the lake where he quickly pulled Franky into hug as his brothers came up behind him. Each man telling her she'd done a fantastic job and watching her blush when she spotted that several other members of the crew had tears in their eyes.
"Glad I persuaded you to do it?" He asked, helping her into a long, thickly padded coat.
"Oh hell yeah." Franky nodded. "But that doesn't mean you can go telling everyone it's me. I know you're very proud of what I can do, Urs. I just don't want you and the guys getting harrassed by people who think I'm taking advantage of you, hoping that something like this is going to make me famous. As long as you're happy with what I do, that's all I care about, all I ever will care about."
"I know. I just wish there was something that we could do to silence those sort of people for good."
"Ain't ever going to happen, Urs and you know it." Franky shook her head as his hands cupped her face. "What time's the flight home? I'm missing the children."
"Four." Urs sighed escorting her back to the make-up/wardrobe truck so that she could change back into what she'd arrived in.
Four days later, Il Divo sat in a screening room with the man who'd put the group together, hoping he would approve of the video they planned to play each time they sang the song in concert.
"Something wrong, Simon?" Urs asked on seeing an unfamiliar puzzled look on his face.
"No, it's fantastic. It's just......Well if I didn't know better, I would swear that woman was Franky."
Urs grunted a laugh and was quickly joined by Carlos, David and Sebastien in his giggles.
"Dios you're getting funny in your old age, Simon." Carlos informed, his composure much more regained than any of the other three. "How many times have we asked her to do something like that only for her to be turning us down?"
"I've lost count." Simon nodded, looking back to the screen again. "Anyway, got to go. See you guys in three weeks."
Il Divo wished the busy man goodbye as one, each of them knowing he had a flight to catch to the States and just managing to stop themselves falling into hysterics for a few seconds. Each of them thinking that if a man who knew Franky well couldn't be sure it was her up there, then what chance did fans have of recognising her?
"One in million, maybe." Urs nodded with a smile, watching his brothers do the same.
Turn the page.
___________________

Chapter 101 - Angel's Glow.
"Und was findent man amusante?" Urs heard a childhood friend questioning as the car they were riding in pulled up outside The Palace Hotel. "Die tatsache, dass Sandrine und ich sind schließlich heiraten oder etwas völlig anderes?"
"Etwas ganz anderes, Lukas." Urs returned, still laughing as he followed the tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed man out of the car and into the hotel's restaurant.
"Like what?" Lukas queried once the group of eight men were seated at a table.
"The first time I brought Franky here."
"Why? What happened?" Lukas's brother, Sven queried.
"Do you remember Peder Cottier?"
"Oh that prick?" Lukas huffed and rolled eyes backwards. "How the hell you two became friends I'll never know. What did you have in common with him? Big fat zero that's what."
"Except the guitar." Urs reminded.
"Pfft! He couldn't even stick to that. Learned a couple of tunes then gave up 'cos it didn't get him what he thought it would. Girls, easy to lay ones at that. That's all he was interested in you know, unlike you Urs."
"Took me a long time to figure that one out." Urs rolled his eyes backwards at Olli's teasing face. "Anyway, that's in the past, let's leave it there shall we?"
"Ja. You got yourself a diamond in Franky."
"I know." Urs nodded proudly.
"How are the two of you doing after.....you know?"
"We both have our moments. It's not something we will ever forget, not that we want to or should." Urs sighed, knowing that Valentin was referring to Flavian. "Enough. This is supposed to be a happy conversation."
"So tell us about the first time you brought Franky here." Lukas asked, grinning and raising his eyebrows in interest.
Urs laughed then launched into telling them the story, listening to all of them crack up laughing once he'd finished.
"Oh I wish I'd been there." Sven shook his laughing head and wiped the tears away.
Urs and the rest of the men continued talking jovially while eating the meal they'd arranged to have together before Lukas's wedding the next day. Urs enjoying himself catching up with what his childhood friends had been doing since he'd left Lucerne to join Il Divo. He'd never really had the time until now and he was glad they and their wives and girlfiends had accepted Franky so quickly. He wondered what they were currently doing, then remembered Sandrine saying that they were heading for another hotel, to eat and for some girly talk.
He felt a quick nudge against his shoulders, but didn't look round to see what had happened as one of the waiters apologised quickly. However, his brow did furrow as he listened to the group of women begin to talk.
"You do know who comes in here once in a while, when he's visiting his family?"
"Who?" A slightly quieter voice than the first queried.
"Only Urs Buhler of Il Divo." Voice one sighed dreamily.
"I heard a rumour that he brought that wife of his here before he married her and that they had huge bust up because she'd embarrassed him in some way." A third voice piped up.
"Mmmmn. Did you see that wedding photo he supposedly posted on the forum? How much do you think that dress cost? I heard well over twent-seven thousand pounds, almost double actually."
"Try dividing that last figure by four." Urs muttered, noticting that the men who accompanied him were listening to the women too.
"And those diamonds she wore to the opera. How much did she get him to fork out for those? Inherited my butt."
Urs shook his head and bit his tongue, recalling the interview he'd given to the same reporter from the magazine that had criticised Franky, explaining that the diamonds were antique and she'd inherited them. The woman apologising profusely after meeting Franky face-to-face following that interview.
"Hmmmn. And if her hair is really that colour then I'm the next Miss World. I'll bet you a pound to penny that it's a dye job and an expensive one. How much do you think he hands over for that every few weeks. Last time I had mine done it cost me sixty and that was a fairly cheap hairdressers."
"What about the boobs? Real or fake?"
"Definitely fake."
"Talking of which, Kay. How are yours feeling after surgery?"
"A lot less sore. Big improvement don't you think? You know when I'm in bed at night I imagine Urs playing with them. I bet he'd love that."
"Not a chance." Urs muttered after stifling a laugh. "I prefer the real thing."
"Why don't you leave her alone?" Quiet voice piped up, sounding vaguely familiar and pissed off. "You've not even met her yet and she does a lot of things for charity."
"Don't be so dim, Trista. Everyone knows that's just a front."
"You know what? You can think what you like, I've heard enough. I'm going back to the hotel to pack. I wish I'd never agreed to come here on holiday with you two."
"Fine. Bye." Voice one snapped sarcastically.
Urs stood on seeing a familiar figure heading towards the restaurant's exit and noticing how upset she seemed to be. He excused himself, then followed after her leaving his friends to listen to the rest of the conversation.
"Trista." He sighed, catching hold of her wrist and seeing that she was crying.
"Ur....I mean Mr Buhler." She startled, her eyes wide and mouth gaping.
"Urs is fine." He laughed and shook his head. "I heard your friends talking."
"Pfft! They're no friends of mine. I don't know why I agreed to come here with them. I don't really get on with them anyway. Carly is gay, the other, Kay is jealous of Franky despite the fact she has a wonderful boyfriend."
"Who are they?"
"Two junior solicitors that Mr Willoughby has just started training. Articled Clerks we call them."
"Oh. I see. So why did you come if you don't get on with them?"
"I needed the break. My mother is a bit of a control freak, very erm......overbearing. I haven't been on holiday in the seven years since my father died, haven't had a boyfriend in all that time either. I wasn't going to put another man through having her play gooseberry everywhere we went. So I've left her in the care of my sisters and brother after giving them a mouthful about leaving everything to me while they swanned off all over the world. Which reminds me, I really must thank Franky for persuading me to do that next time she's in the office. She was right, I wasn't being fair to myself and neither were they to me."
"She did mention something about that." Urs nodded, recalling how Franky had come home from the lawyer's office the day she'd gone in to pick up the cheque for what was left in Jamie's bank account with a damp patch on the right shoulder of her jacket.
Explaining that she'd walked out to find Trista on the phone in tears, able to hear another female voice berating her for neglecting to do something, certain she'd heard the words 'stupid, lazy and good for nothing'. Mike coming out of his office, asking what was wrong with his niece when he'd seen Franky hugging her and shaking his head once Trista had stuttered her way through telling him how worthless her mother made her feel and how desperately she needed a break. Mike agreeing to stand up for her against her siblings and mother once Franky had told him what little she'd heard.
"Are you really going home?"
"What else can I do? I don't want to go sight-seeing on my own. There's no-one here to keep me company. Those two aren't interested in that sort of thing."
"There might be." Urs smirked and raised his eyebrows, knowing that one of his dining companions hadn't taken his eyes off her the whole time she and the other two women were talking.
"Are you trying to play matchmaker here or something?"
"You could at least say hello couldn't you?"
"Franky's right, you are terrible." Trista laughed and shook her head, but took the arm he offered and walked back into the restaurant with him.
"Hold your head up. You've done nothing to be ashamed of." Urs instructed when he noticed Trista lowering her head as the two women she'd arrived with turned to look at her and snapped a couple of pictures on their mobile phones. "And don't worry, I'll explain everything to Franky." His head shook after taking a closer look at one woman, quickly figuring out that she was the one who'd been deriding Franky, despite the fact she had made an obvious attempt to look like her with the boob job and the hair colouring, which wasn't even close to Franky's colour.
"She's wearing coloured contacts too." Trista informed quietly making Urs laugh.
Trista smiled and kept her head held high as she was walked to the table, where Urs had been seated. Her face reddened slightly as she watched Sven stand to be introduced to her and a broad smile lit up her face as he took hold of her right hand and gently kissed the back of it.
"Are you in Lucerne for long?" Sven asked nervously.
"I've booked two weeks at the Kruez in Malters."
"Really? That's good." Sven nodded, glancing at Urs and seeing a smirk on his face before he turned to his brother. "This isn't really my thing. Mind if I leave?"
"Nein. But you behave yourself." Lukas grinned and nodded towards Trista.
"I'll be a perfect gentleman."
"Well that will make a change." Olli teased, making all the men laugh.
"Get out of here, but come home relatively sober, you do have an important job to do tomorrow."
"Can I bring Trista to the wedding reception?" Sven questioned quietly, giving his brother a quick hug.
"Of course. Can't see Sandrine complaining. Now get."
The remaining seven men watched the couple leave and continued with their meal, ignoring the conversation coming from the table, instead going over the plans for the following day until Urs was tapped on the shoulder and he raised his head to see 'Miss Fake', as he'd labelled her, smiling at him seductively.
"Can we go somewhere for a chat?"
"Nein." Urs replied with an unsmiling headshake before he looked around her to see Franky and the other women making their way in, knowing all the men had agreed to the arrangement to eat dessert together.
"Autograph then?"
"After the way I've listened to you insult my wife tonight, I think not. You insult her, you insult me. So no, no autograph." Urs finished with a sharp nod then stood, gently pushed the woman to one side so that he could pull Franky into his arms and give her a very deep kiss.
"What's going on?" Franky asked breathlessly and confused, her brow furrowed, hearing the woman Urs had been talking to huff before she turned and walked away.
Urs re-took his seat, pulled Franky down into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist then told her everything he'd heard and seen.
"Oh. Trista was here? How is she? Where is she now?"
"She's fine. Sven took a shine to her so I hooked them up."
"Oh, so you're playing matchmaker now are you? I thought that was Seb's little sideline."
"Ja. It's quite good fun actually." Urs laughed, looking at the dessert trolley as it was pushed towards the table. "What are we having?"
Never one to pass up an opportunity to flirt with her husband, Franky leaned into his ear watching all the other women do much the same and whispered.
"The desserts all look very nice, but I'd rather have you."
Urs coughed and fidgetted uncomfortably, feeling his trousers tighten then moaned when Franky adjusted her position slightly.
"Careful now or I just might take you somewhere and finish what you've started."
"Is that a threat or a promise?"
"A promise if you carry on being naughty."
Franky laughed, her face flushing bright red, as she removed herself from Urs's lap and placed herself on the chair that had been brought to the table for her.
"We all got some funny looks because we decided not have dessert with our meal." She informed after Urs had ordered a Triple Chocolate Torte for both of them. "I'm sure I heard the maitre'd saying he'd never known anyone walk out of the Schweizerhoff without having dessert."
Their meal finished and paid for, each couple joined hands and left the restaurant area, Franky and Urs bringing up the rear, chatting happily only to stop short when her free hand was grabbed and she was snatched away from Urs.
"So! You got what you've always wanted." The man who held her snapped with his eyes closed.
"Hey! Get off her." Urs yelled, his arm flying around Franky's waist, pulling her back to him, his eyes burning with rage.
"Why don't you mind your own business?" The man yelled back in response, his eyes opening, raging at him but flying wide when he saw who he was holding in his grasp. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry. I-I-I-I-I thought you were my girlfriend. I was told she was in here."
"It's all right." Franky smiled and shook her head, her now released hand atop Urs's on her stomach, squeezing gently, an unspoken request to get him to calm down as she turned her face to meet his.
Urs nodded then took a deep breath and spoke to the man.
"Her name isn't Kay by any chance is it?"
"Yeah. Have you seen her?"
"More than seen her." Urs huffed, his eyes rolling backwards. "She left the restaurant when I refused to give an autograph or chat with her. I wasn't about to do either of those things after listening to her belittle my wife all evening."
"Don't blame you." The man shrugged then sighed out a breath. "Though she's not usually like that. She's a great girl really but she's done things to herself recently that I'm not keen on."
"You mean the boob job and dying her hair?"
"Yeah. She's got it into her head that I'm so infatuated with your wife that that's how I want her to look. Yeah I like Franky, love to see her skate 'cos she reminds me of my sister........." The man paused to sniff and swallow hard. "Anyway erm.......We had a huge argument about it and the next thing I know she's on a plane to Switzerland, it's taken me four days to track her down. I really need to talk to her. Do you have any idea where she went?"
"No sorry." Urs shrugged then looked at Franky who'd pulled out of his hold and was striding towards the ladies bathroom.
She emerged a few moments later, a teary-eyed Kay by her side and pointing to where Urs stood with the man. Urs heard Kay shout 'Christian' and watched with a smile on his face as she ran towards the man by his side, flying into his arms, saying she was sorry over and over again and kissing him hard.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, Urs made his way over to Franky who'd been joined by the rest of the group and were busy asking her what had happened since they'd been outside throughout the whole confrontation with Christian, only coming back in when they realised their friends were missing.
"I found her crying." Franky sighed. "Seems she's a little bit jealous of the fact Christian has a picture of me pinned to the notice board in his office, despite the fact that there's a huge one of her on his desk and another on his computer. I asked her if she'd got any of you pinned up in her office." She smiled at Urs. "It took her a while to admit there are a quite a few plastered around, none of Christian at all. Then I asked her why she'd done what she has to herself. Apparently she thought it was what Christian wanted, she had it done while he was in the States settling his uncle's estate. They argued about it when he came back and she ran off. Then I asked her how she would react if Christian had surgery to look like you?" She smiled, looking at Urs.
"And?"
"Well once she'd stopped looking at me like I was crazy, she said she would react the same way as he had. So I asked her to think who really had the right to be jealous and if she loved Christian. I think it's safe to say some of those pictures will be replaced when she gets back to England"
"All right, all right!" Kay's happy but somewhat loud yell suddenly filled the air and everyone turned in her direction to see her with her hands up, still with Christian's arms around her waist. "I'll take the lenses out."
The group watched her do it and smiled when she turned head, revealing the brightest blue eyes any of them had ever seen.
"Happy now?" She queried, her arms around Christian's neck.
"No." He replied, removing her hands and dropping to one knee once he'd pulled a cube-shaped box out of his pocket. "Kaylene Rosemay Field will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"
"Huh?!"
"I said will you.........."
"I heard you, I heard you." Kay shook her head. "Yes. Yes I will."
"About bloody time." Everyone heard an unfamiliar voice stating, each of them turning their heads in Carly's direction. "They've been together for nine years. I'll tell you what though, if their married life ends up anything like their relationship, it's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride. And don't worry about what you heard in there. All bravado. There's only one man she dreams of that way. I've heard her often enough to know it's only Christian she wants." She finished with a nod towards Urs then turned and headed out of the hotel.
Everyone took a brief look towards Christian and Kay, saw that they were heading to the bar wrapped in each other's arms and smiling. Once they'd disappeared, they left too. Stepping out of the hotel to find that it was raining heavily. Urs shooting Franky a look just before he snatched her into his arms and began to Waltz with her down the road, leaving their smiling friends walking behind them. Smiling and shaking their heads until they spied Sven and Trista on the other side of the road.
"What do you think they're thinking?" Franky asked breathlessly once she and Urs had seperated from a very passionate kiss, looking back to where the rest of the group stood open mouthed and wide-eyed.
Urs chuckled on seeing how Sven was behaving with Trista, his arm around her waist, hanging on her every word.
"That they never thought they would see him that happy again after what Asha did to him." He nodded, then told Franky how Sven had been ditched at the altar seven years previously and that he'd not had a girlfriend since.
"Wow! And I thought it took you a long time to get over a broken heart."
"Not funny Frau Buhler. Ja it took my heart some time to mend completely, but I know it's safe in your hands. That it will never be broken again because an angel holds my heart and keeps it safe, next to her own."
"Sometimes you say the mushiest things Herr Buhler."
"I was going for romantic." Urs pouted playfully.
"Yeah, I know. And you succeeded." Franky smiled, leaning in for another kiss, her brow furrowing when Urs took a step backwards holding her hands lightly in his. "Something wrong?"
A soft smile graced Urs's face, his head shook slowly as he looked her up and down. The light eminating through the window of the building they were standing in front of, giving her a golden aura. Bright beams of light shooting off in every direction. What he imagined an angel might look like if they ever showed themselves to mortals.
"No." He replied after minute or two's thought then started singing, a few lines from an Elvis song he'd heard when it had been playing at Carlos's home.
What happens to this heart of mine each time you hold my hand
Sometimes the things we love the most
We never understand
I never thought these eyes would see an angel's glow
What miracle brought you to me, I'll never know
What miracle brought you to me, I'll never know
"Nothing's wrong my angel, everything..........Everything is perfect." He sighed then pulled a sniffing Franky back into his arms and kissed her never to reveal what he'd seen to her, preferring instead to keep it as his own beautiful memory.
Turn the page
__________

Chapter 102 - You Don't Always Get What You Want
"Phew! I never thought we would get him in the car." Urs exclaimed as he and Franky stood outside Lukas and Sandrine's wedding reception venue watching Saskia drive the children off.
"Me neither. He's becoming a right handful, especially when you're not around. I hate to think what he's going to be like when you leave for the Oriental leg of the tour."
"I know. I will call as soon as I can though, you know that, angel."
"I know, honey. It just takes so long for him to settle down. I was beginning to think I should let him and Saskia go with you through the whole thing."
"Absolutely not! He has to learn I won't always be around, but I do love and miss him." Urs shook his head. "I'll have a word with him and set up some trips so we can spend some time as a family when we have the time."
"Might even be a good idea to have a couple where it's just you and one of them who go out together."
"That's what I was thinking. I'll get Kelly onto it when we get back." Urs nodded, leading Franky back inside the hotel so that they could spend some time together without having to worry about where Frank was or what he was up to. "What's so funny?" He asked as they headed for the dancefloor.
"Oh nothing. Just trying to imagine you pulling a prank on your teacher."
"I was only nine. Didn't take life very seriously back then and you should have seen the look on his face after he drank that lemon juice spiked water."
"Exactly how much did you put in?"
"What I'd squeezed from about a dozen lemons." Urs giggled, pulling Franky into his arms and swaying with her. "It was even funnier when Lukas got the blame, he always was the class clown."
"Did he ever get his own back?"
"Oh ja. Superglued me to my seat. I think you can guess what happened there."
"Went home with dirty a great hole in your trousers?"
"Would have done, if we hadn't had Leibesübungen erm.......physical education that day." Urs replied, giggling along with Franky until the music stopped and they decided to head for the bar together.
"I've been meaning to ask you something." Franky stated after swallowing sip of Rum and Coke. "Who's that woman in white?"
Urs looked to where Franky had nodded and saw a dark-haired woman wearing a very short, tight-fitting white dress watching him very closely and fluttering her eyelashes. He studied her face for a second or two but couldn't remember having seen her before.
"Careful Urs. That cat has claws and long ones, despite the fact she's married." He heard Olli stating as he turned back to Franky.
"Who is she?"
"Sandrine's cousin, Giona. Said she wasn't coming then turns up out of the blue. She hates not being the centre of attention. Guess that's why she's wearing what she is."
Urs nodded then shook his head and saw Olli doing much the same as he walked away to talk to Sven and Trisa now they'd finally sat down. He smiled and waved at the couple, then returned his attention to Franky, taking a moment to admire the blue-grey shift dress she'd chosen to wear for the ceremony and telling her again how beautiful she looked which earned him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Hand-in-hand the couple made their way back to their assigned table and began to relive the events of the day. Urs writing a congratulatory message as the book and pen reached him. Laughing at the look Franky shot him when he wrote her full name. He'd just passed it to another guest, when he noticed there seemed to be some sort of argument going on between Sandrine and Giona in the middle of the dancefloor. Giona nodding to where he and Franky sat, Sandrine vigorously shaking her head at the foot stomping woman.
Urs and Franky looked at each other when Giona screamed then turned their heads back to watch her walk away. They didn't pay any attention to where she went and thought nothing more about her until they stood to make for the dancefloor again.
She said nothing but gave Urs a very flirty look and somehow slipped her hand into the back pocket of his trousers as they passed each other. Urs stopped in his tracks, retrieved the note Giona had left behind and translated to English for Franky once he'd read it.
'Befreien Sie sich von ihr für ein paar Minuten. Ich werde es so wert Ihre Zeit. GIONA bekommit immer was sie will.'
Keeping his eyes on Giona, he headed back to the table, held the note between the index and middle finger of his right hand then set it alight using the flame from the one of the Champagne flute candle decorations. He saw her scowl then returned to Franky who'd moved over to Sandrine to ask if she was all right.
"I'm fine Franky, honest. The two of us have never gotten along that well anyway. I wasn't about to introduce her to Urs or any other married man for that matter, told her she should be happy with the man she has. That's why she screamed at me, I'm used to it, she's done it all her life."
Urs pulled Franky close to him, he smiled when she kissed his cheek and swayed with her once more, his forehead and nose pressed against her, looking at each just as lovingly as they had on thier own wedding day. Somehow, he knew what she was saying to him without making a sound. 'I told you didn't I? There are other Jamie's in the world'. They remained that way for the next three songs then decided it was time for them to leave since they had an early flight to catch the next morning.
With farewell hugs and kisses exchanged and a promise from them to stay in touch with Lukas and Sandrine, they headed out of the hotel and stepped onto the pavement to find Giona screaming in French at a man who had her Porche hooked up to a recovery vehicle.
"You can't take it away. It's mine." She yelled for the second time as Urs raised a hand to hail a taxi.
"Sorry lady. You haven't paid the last two installments. I'm just doing my job." The stocky man replied, hopping into the cab and quickly driving away.
Urs and Franky heard Giona scream again just as Urs was about to close the taxi door and give the driver their destination but before he could say anything the handle slipped from his grasp. Slightly stunned, he whipped his head round and saw that Giona was about to get in.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, rising from his seat and preventing her going any further.
"You can drop me off can't you? My hotel's only a hundred metres up the road." Giona replied, smiling sweetly and pointing to her left.
"Nein." Urs shook his head. "We're not going that way. Why don't you try walking. It's a nice warm night."
"Walk? I haven't walked anywhere in five years and if you haven't noticed, I'm wearing two inch heels. I can't walk that far." Giona huffed as she was gently pushed away from the car,
"Funny, I'm sure you've covered at least five times that distance today. My wife certainly has.......in three inch heels." Urs returned, before closing the door and settling into his seat as the car drove away. "That was rude wasn't it?"
"No ruder than what she's been asking for all day. She's been like a fly round honey when she's spotted a man who looks like he has money. Didn't seem to care that most of them were married."
Urs shook his head and wrapped an arm around Franky's waist as they moved off. He sighed, recalling Franky's words when he'd said they should divorce. She'd been right, whether she was with him or not, it seemed some woman or another was willing to try and take him away from her. It didn't happen very often but when it did, it made him angry.
Feeling Franky's fingers find their way up the back of his neck, he turned to face her, smiled and nodded then thanked her for calming him down once he'd relaxed. So relaxed was he that by the time the taxi pulled up outside the lakeside house, he was beginning to doze off. He paid the fair, headed inside with Franky, neither of them surprised to find Saskia still awake, reading one of her magazines.
"Did Frank go down all right?" Franky asked, slipping out of the heels she'd been wearing all day.
"He was fast asleep before we were even halfway home." Saskia laughed. "So much for not feeling even a little bit tired huh?"
Urs and Franky nodded and laughed, recalling how hard Frank had protested about leaving the wedding reception, saying he could 'go go' until it finished.
"Something wrong Saskia?" Urs asked on hearing the long sigh she let out after finishing reading the article she'd been engrossed in.
"Oh no. Just women like Giona Moray make me sick. Three months she's been married to Troy Spitz and now she's demanding half of his fortune in their divorce settlement. Why doesn't she try working for a living for a change? Four times married and three times divorced, embroiled in another. Pfft! I hope Troy doesn't give her a penny, it'll serve her right to come out of the marriage with nothing more than what she went into it with." She finished, slamming the magazine down on the table then headed upstairs after wishing her employers goodnight.
Though they very rarely read such magazines, Urs and Franky read the article Saskia had referred to, their eyes widening when they read that Giona and Troy had married after a whirlwind romance and their pre-nup was worded so that Giona would get nothing for herself if she cheated. The only time she would get any of Troy's money was if she had a child and it was his. Just three weeks after the wedding, Troy had found her in bed with his finanical adviser and had discovered that she'd had an abortion just days after they returned from honeymoon. He'd thrown her out of his mansion, cut her off without a penny and she now had next to nothing.
Hearing Frank whine from upstairs, Urs stood and said he would deal with him after instructing Franky to head for bed.
"I got poorly tumtum. Want Mami." Frank informed, rubbing his right fist against his eye and sniffing.
"Too much chocolate cake. I warned you didn't I?" Urs sighed, lifting Frank into his arms and taking him back to bed.
"I not want you. Want Mami." Frank sniffed once a warm flannel had been placed on his aching stomach.
"Tough! Mami's had a busy day and you know you don't always get what you want. Don't you?"
"Yes."
Urs stayed with a pouting Frank until he heard him snoring softly then kissed his forehead and headed back downstairs. He found the house already locked up and made it to the bedroom just in time to see Franky fall asleep, his pillow held tightly in her arms.
After removing his clothes, depositing them on the floor for a change, he gently tugged the pillow from Franky's grip and quickly joined her under the covers. It didn't bother him at all that they hadn't made love since the previous evening, they had had a busy day and he'd eaten far too much chocolate cake at the wedding. He huffed a quick laugh, wondering how far he would have to run to work off the three slices he'd eaten then quickly fell asleep, feeling proud that Franky hadn't embarrassed him by handling Giona with a screetched warning to stay away from him and hard slap across the face the way Astrid and Erika would have.
Turn the page.
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