Battle Goddess, One of Three

Jeff

Patrick grinned as he watched Ceara skillfully wield her crutches as she made her way towards him.

Jeff looked at Patrick and then at Ceara. "So this is the chick you've been telling me about."

Patrick just kept grinning. "Yep."

"Mo Chroi!" Ceara yelled happily as she saw him, "It's over!" She wore a grin that almost split her face in two, she was so ecstatic. She got close enough to him that she could toss her crutches in the nearby chair and fall into his arms.

Patrick caught her and hugged her tightly. "Jeff, this is my amazingly accomplished fiancee. Ceara, this is my dumb brother Jeff."

Jeff reached out to shake her hand. "Nice to finally meet you. Sorry I was late. traffic held me up."

Ceara shook his hand firmly. "Nice to finally meet you. No worries. These things can go for hours. I'm just glad you could come." She poked Patrick lightly, "This one missed you."

"That's because he doesn't have a laser sight." Jeff answered.

Patrick mock glared.

Ceara giggled, "Why didn't you say then? I have one at home that I flitched off of one of the boys back at the ranch." She grinned at Jeff.

Jeff grinned back. "I like this one."

Patrick made a face at Jeff. "I have dibs."

"Oh really?" Jeff smirked.

Patrick straightened, arms still around and supporting Ceara. "Parking lot?"

"You don't care if I mess up that pretty face in front of your woman?"

Ceara grinned, "Oh this should be fun to see." She made a face, "If I didn't still have the casts on, I'd ask if you wanted to go a round with me. I always love sparring with Marines." She grinned, "Besides my money is on him."

Jeff snickered. "Make it a date for the next time I visit then?"

Patrick kissed her, ignoring his brother. "To the parking lot we go." He grabbed her crutches.

Ceara giggled, "Oh yes. It's a date." She got her crutches from Patrick and started off toward the parking lot. "Coming, boys?"

Jeff smacked his brother on the back of the head as they followed Ceara out to the parking lot.

"You look beautiful." Patrick told her when he caught up to her.

She shot him a beaming smile, "Thank you. I"m finished!" She was almost bouncing up and down with glee.

Patrick grinned happily. "I know." Maybe now he'd be able to sleep at night without her puking when she got a case of the nerves. Or the times when he would doze nearby to retrieve coffee, food, or flung textbooks. "You're out."

Jeff laughed. "Something my baby brother couldn't do in what was it, six years?"

Patrick flipped Jeff off.

Ceara shook her head, "It's not his path, silly, can't do something that isn't in his path." She smiled at him, "Besides I kinda like the way he is now. Good in the house, in the kitchen, and other places. He's been invaluable to me these past three weeks."

Patrick beamed at her.

Jeff made a gagging noise. "I'm the older brother, it's supposed to be my younger siblings teasing me while I make the sappy commentary."

Patrick smirked. "But for that you'd have to be able to stay with a girl on shore long enough to introduce her to us."

"Well look at that. Just as we reach the parking lot." Jeff took a swing at Patrick.

Ceara turned and rested against the hood of her loaner car, smiling and cheering for her man.

Patrick ducked. "Hey!"

Jeff smirked. "You're getting slow."

"I don't have people chucking things at my head before breakfast anymore." Patrick jabbed at Jeff's side. "Or marine training."

"Excuses, excuses." Jeff punched Patrick in the chest but missed the solar plexus.

Patrick hung back. He had an advantage in reach that would vanish if this went to wrestling because he definitely did not have the advantage in weight. "I can get animals that weigh seven times as much as I do to do what I want." He drove a punch to his brother's gut.

Jeff grunted and grabbed Patrick's arm, spinning him off balance. Patrick went down on his hands and knees but grabbed Jeff's leg when Jeff kicked him.

Ceara whooped loudly right up until she heard the shocked exclamation from behind her. "Ceara Nerys Whitfield!" She closed her eyes briefly, praying to Danu for patience. Her gran came up behind her and one arm hugged her, being careful to avoid the crutches. "What's all this now?" Her Gran asked, "Is that Patrick? Oh my, and that must be his brother. Men never change." Ceara snickered, leaning back into her gran for a minute."You had me scared for a minute there, Gran, I thought you were Mom." Ceara confessed. "Well, that's what I've come to warn you about, dearest love, they are here and they do want to see...Go Patrick! ....to see you." Her gran told her, "I came to warn you." "Drat, thanks Gran, I appreciate the warning." Ceara replied.

Patrick pulled Jeff down while Jeff kicked at his face. One kick hit Patrick in the face, bloodying his lip, and he let go. Jeff pounced forward and got Patrick in a choke hold.

"Here they are now!" Her gran spoke half cheerily. "Dustin, Becky! So nice that you found us." Ceara took a deep breath, "Mom, Dad," She nodded to them. Her mother shook herself once, "Mother, it's Rebecca. I don't know how many times I have to keep telling you that." Dustin merely looked past his daughter and snorted once, "Security is a shambles around here. Letting spectacles like this happen." He gestured to the fight.

Patrick desperately tapped on Jeff's shoulder. Jeff held for a little longer before releasing Patrick.

Patrick gasped for air as he stood and tried to straighten his clothes. "Ceara?" he felt worried at the look on her face. Ceara turned to him, grabbing his shirt and tugging him close, almost attacking his lips with hers. Dimly she heard her grandmother chuckling and the shocked gasps from both of her parents. Jeff gave a low whistle. She broke off the kiss when the need for oxygen became apparent, "I love you," she whispered in Gaelic, "and I'm so sorry." She then turned to her parents, "Mom, Dad, this is Patrick Garrett, my fiance." There was a moment of stunned silence before the shouting began. Her Gran shouted the rest of them all down. "He's got my blessing and your father's blessing, Dustin Elijah! So does she! Ya'll just shut your mouths and DEAL." She continued in a softer voice, "Now we are here to celebrate Ceara's incredible achievement, especially in light of that horrible accident. Now Patrick and Ceara are planning a summer wedding and they'll give us all the information we need at the proper times. But today is for Ceara, so you all will behave or I will turn each and every one of you over my knee and give you what for." She stared at the two parents.

Patrick gingerly held Ceara's good hand in his. "Nice to meet you." He said politely. Dustin merely nodded at him as Rebecca just looked past him. Ceara's gran smiled at him, "Good boy. How are you, dearest Patrick? Is this your brother?" She gestured politely at Jeff.

"Yes, ma'am. This is Perceval Garrett." Patrick said, reverting to how he and his brother introduced themselves to the old folks at family reunions.

Jeff glared at Patrick. "But I like to be called Jeff. My middle name is Geoffrey. Ricky knows that."
Ceara snickered, "Can't imagine why," she remarked with a smile, " I like Jeff." Her gran just laughed, "My name is Misty, but you can call me Gran if you like. I'm Ceara's grandmother. Pleased to meet you. Those are her parents, Dustin and Becky." She looked at everyone, " Now that we've all been introduced, shall we all go to lunch? It's my treat."

Patrick was unaware of just how much of Gwynn was in his body language as he answered. "Thank you. I'd love to join you."

Jeff gave Patrick a strange look. "Yeah. Me too. I don't know anywhere to eat around here."

"No party without me there, I'm in, Gran, besides I want to discuss some stuff with you." Ceara replied. Her parents merely sighed and nodded their assent. Her gran smiled widely, " Excellent, Cheesecake Factory, anyone?"

"For lunch?" Jeff asked.

"They have more than cheesecake, dummy." Patrick told him. "It sounds good to me if it sounds good to Ceara. It's her day."

"Oh yes," Ceara closed her eyes briefly in bliss, "oh yes, Cheesecake Factory is perfect." She leaned against Patrick. "And afterwards I want them to go away and I want to shag you six ways from Sunday," she murmured in Gaelic for Patrick's ears only. "Make up for all of the frustration and sleepless nights."

Patrick snugged an arm around her. "If your tummy is up to it." He murmured back in the same language. It wasn't just for her benefit. The idea of being in the middle of sex when she next needed to vomit was not a pleasant one.

"Oh it should be." She told him. "Want to drive with me and Gran, cowboy? You and Jeff?"

Patrick looked over at Jeff who nodded. "Yes we would. Who wouldn't want to be in a close confined space moving at high speeds with you? Only an idiot." Patrick kissed her, not as wildly as she had kissed him before but just as heartfelt. Ceara kissed him back greedily. Her gran looked on in amusement as she gave her son and daughter in law directions. "We'll take my car, it's big enough and Jeff can tell me wild stories of your misspent youth while you two snuggle in the back seat." her gran remarked wryly. "Standard car rules apply."

Patrick moved around the car to help Ceara get in.

Jeff grinned charmingly at Ceara's grandmother and talked as they got in the. "Well, Gran this one time when I was twelve and he was nine he thought that-"

"Not that one." Patrick said firmly. Ceara almost choked on a giggle, "Thank you lover." She grinned at Patrick. She'd try and get that story out of him later on. Obviously it was one of the good ones. Gran checked to make sure everyone was in the car before starting the car and driving off.

"Ok, so our little sister, Prissy, was in Girl Scouts. But she didn't like to go to the meetings. One of the girls there was a real snot. So she decided that she could send Patrick in her place.But first she had to make him look like her. Well, five hours later the "wig" is a mess of hot glue and yellow yarn. So she decides that she needs to look more like Ricky. Sorry, Patrick. Patrick cuts off her hair and they try to make a wig out of that. Mom gets home finds the camo paint everywhere and throws a fit. Ricky and Prissy run off and hide in the barn. And I skipped a couple parts."

"That's ok." Patrick said from where he was cuddling with Ceara.

Ceara reached up with one hand to massage the back of Patrick's neck. "So you've now met the Stepford show I call Mom and Dad. Still want to marry me?" She asked him in Gaelic.

"Absolutely." Patrick answered. "You're learning about the freakshow I come from, still want to marry me?"

Jeff snapped his fingers. "Oh right. Aunt Ruby was supposed to be baby sitting them but she fell asleep. And the camo paint was there because... Why was the camo paint there? Anyway, Mom's having a shouting match with Aunt Ruby while Prissy gets an idea to get out into the shed in the neighbors'. The neighbors had a still but they didn't know what that was. I think Ricky was hoping to see a rotting body or something. Something to pass the time until mom calmed down. Neighbors found'em and brought em back real quick."

Gran laughed, "Oh that was good, there was this one story when Ceara came to visit us and she was all but three..."

Ceara grinned, "You're mine." She said between kisses. "and I'm yours."

Patrick gripped the edge of his seat a little harder than strictly necessary. It wasn't that he was scared; he just liked to have a firm grip. The motion of the subway was something he was fairly used to and reasonably comfortable with. But holding the bench gave him something to do with his hands.

Ceara narrowly made it onto the metro, having run a little late because she'd showered at Bea's place. But she'd made it and now she was on her way to meet Patrick in Chinatown.
When he got where he got to his stop Patrick looked around for Ceara.
She got off the train and walked to where she told Patrick she'd be waiting for him.
Patrick waved as he walked over. "Hey, you look nice."
Ceara grinned at him, "So do you, handsome."
"Thanks." He said with a smile. "Where to from here?"

"Well there's a great dim sum bar two blocks from here if you're hungry or just walking around if you like. Chinatown is really good just to sightsee around." Ceara replied, linking one arm with his.

"Walk around and then check out the dim sum bar?" Patrick asked. Feeling her there next to him felt right but also familiar in a way that didn't lead to thoughts about sex. "Just walking around is nice."

"Okay," She smiled at him, "How was work today?" She asked as they started to walk.
"Smelly but fun. How was your day?" Patrick asked politely.
"Studied for a test, took the test, finished a paper, and then worked out at Bea's until it was time for me to come meet you." she replied as they walked past the huge arch in Chinatown.
"I never had much patience for those. Tests and papers I mean." Patrick made a face.

"Yeah, some of them can be pretty nasty. This one wasn't bad. It was more a report than an actual paper. We don't get them assigned often in Shop class. I got to do mine on the restoration of my zippy little roadster." Ceara's eyes lit up when she mentioned her car.
Patrick smiled more at her expression than what she was saying. "Well that you should be able to ace then."
She nodded enthusiastically, "My prof. is the same one that I asked for consultation on the restoration and he was very impressed by the progress I'd made and the research and thought I'd put into it."
"Yeah, sounds like you really earned that grade. What sort of suggestions did he make?" Patrick asked to keep the conversation going and because she was so cute when she got going on that car. Even if he didn't understand much of what she was saying.

Ceara launched into a description that involved a better engine block, some chrome polish and paint chip comparison before she guiltily flushed and looked up at him. "You've got no clue what half the techno-babble was, do you? I'm sorry, sometimes I get carried away."
"I don't mind." He swallowed the words "it's cute" as she might take offense to that. "You just look so into it that I don't want to interrupt." He substituted.

Ceara bit her bottom lip and shot him a half-smile. "Restoring the Roadster is half the fun. But enough about me, what's on your mind?"


"Let's see I get to work with horses all day long and sometimes I get to meet up with you on my off hours. Occasionally bills must be paid and groceries must be bought but everything else... It's good." He said sincerely.
Ceara poked him in the side, "Have you read anything good lately?"
"Yeah actually. I've been working at this book that's pretty weird. It's called Hounds of the Morrigan. It's about these two kids trying to destroy Olc-Glas." Patrick answered. "It's not a very hard book to read but I don't have a lot of time so it works well enough."
"Sounds fascinating. Who's it by?" Ceara murmured.
"Um, Pat something. O'Neill, O'Brien, O'Shea. Maybe." Patrick tried to remember. "Mostly I like the dogs."
"Hm. I'll have to look it up, it sounds interesting." I wonder if they vilified me...us like some books often have, she wondered.
"You should. It's not high literature or anything but it tells a good story." Patrick gave her a look. "You don't think I'm weird for reading kids' books do you?"
She shook her head, "I still love reading Phantastes and the Black Arrow. So no, I don't think you're weird for reading kid's books."
"Good. You're allowed to think I'm weird for other things." He teased.
"Oh? Well thank you for your kind consideration, dear sir." she replied back.

"Anytime, milady." He said with a straight face.
She looked up at him and then just burst out laughing.
Patrick tried to keep a straight face but wound up laughing with her.

After she stopped laughing, she started pointing out various awesome things about Chinatown and giving him the touristy spiel.
Patrick listened intently and asked questions about some of the things he saw, meaning to remember it all if they ever came back again.

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