palacechristian (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
palacechristian) wrote2005-02-10 01:48 pm
palacechristian) wrote2005-02-10 01:48 pm
Entry tags:
Christian, Johnny, Liam, Harry, (NPC) Robert Sean Leonard, and the Meadowbanks Crew. Goodbyes.
[Featuring/referencing OCs: Sara Carlisle, Linus Eckhert, Adrian Forrester, Charlie Larson, Halloran (Hal) McCarran, Calhoun (Cal) Shorter, Ben Tattersall, Lisa Bianchi]
Johnny looked up at the clock over the sideboard. Damn. They'd finished lunch a few minutes ago -- Christian, Harry, Liam, Adrian, Charlie and Johnny himself -- and were sitting around talking over the last of their drinks. Harry finished the bottle of orange juice which had always been waiting for him and Johnny hid a grin. Lisa had sized him up the day he arrived and had quietly ensured he'd take what she'd prescribed with no fuss, after discovering his fondness for OJ.
She was up with Ben right now, since Liam was here to have a last meal with his guests and say goodbye, and Sara was logged into school. He'd been hoping she'd make it down, hoping that after giving Harry the kitten she'd overcome her shyness enough to come say goodbye to him, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
Samuel entered and announced that the car was ready and all the gentlemen's things were loaded. They could leave whenever was convenient.
Harry nodded at Samuel and got up from his chair. "I'd better go get her then." He'd left the kitten in his room during lunch, since Liam, as it turned out, frowned upon having her at the table during the meal. Strange that. He smiled and clapped Liam on the shoulder. "Thanks for taking me on, mate, even if it wasn't your idea. I'll have to come out some time when I'm actually able to be of use, yeah?"
Liam smiled and said, "Whenever you like, Harry. And bring your better half next time -- he can help fend off admirers."
Harry laughed. "Orlando can take care of himself, but that one I don't trust as far as Johnny can throw him," he added, cutting the wink to Adrian.
Adrian huffed out a big disappointed sigh and turned puppy-eyes on Harry, but he couldn't stifle a grin.
Christian watched as Harry left, Johnny following him out into the hall and the others departing on masse, leaving him and Liam alone. He smiled as he got up and walked to the end of the table where Liam stood, thinking that perhaps the residents were being given lessons in diplomacy along with those in table manners. He stopped and gave Liam a fond look, head tipped to one side. "Wasn't long enough," he said softly. "Never is."
"No. It never is." Liam pulled him into an embrace. "Duty's a bitch of a mistress, but there you go -- we've always kept her and always will, no matter the holes she tears in our lives."
Sliding his hands about Liam's waist, Christian pressed his lips to Liam's, shivering a little in reaction to the contact. With obvious reluctance he pulled back, a wry tilt to his lips. "A bitch with a timetable," he said. "Time to go." Touching his fingers to the back of Liam's hand, he stepped away and his smile grew. "Come see us again," he entreated. "Soon as you can, eh?"
"Aye, as soon as I can. Likely not for a few months yet, but when I can get away for a bit I'll come for a visit." He released Christian after a last hug and they walked out to the hall together.
*
Harry hauled the slightly dusty kitten out from under the bed and smiled at Johnny. "Found her. No more excuse not to leave I suppose."
"No, I guess not." Johnny sighed and scuffed with one foot at a leaf woven into the rug beside the bed. "I wish you could stay, but I know you want to get back to Orlando."
Harry grinned. "He's home in a day or so -- can't bloody wait to see him again. Been far too long. But hey -- I finally made it out here, so that's a good thing, right? And you'll be home again before you know it -- it's only six hours away. And next time I'll send a car, since you hated the train so much."
Johnny blushed and shrugged. "It's not that bad, once I settled in to reading and stuff. I don't think you'd like it, though; you're kind of bouncy and the seats would drive you nuts."
"I'm bouncy?" Harry looked mildly appalled. "Oh dear Christ, he's contagious. I knew it!" he groaned, giving Johnny a tight hug and a fierce kiss against the temple. "C'mon, Tiger, his Royal Rangerness has a schedule to keep."
Johnny hugged Harry back but didn't let go right away. "Harry? Thanks for everything. For caring enough to get mad and... stuff."
"You're welcome. And next time I do something stupid, you get first shot, okay?" Harry said gently, ruffling Johnny's hair.
"Sure, thanks." Johnny kissed Harry on the cheek, then took a last look around the room. "Samuel got everything, then?"
"Yep. Everything but the little princess. Time to go." Harry gestured to Johnny to go ahead and followed him out of the room, strangely reluctant to go now, having enjoyed most of the week more than he'd expected, considering his mood when he'd been unceremoniously dumped at the door. But not reluctant enough to not be in that car in the next 2.5 minutes.
*
When Johnny and Harry (with kitten) appeared back downstairs, Liam walked with Harry out onto the porch, giving the kids a bit of privacy to say their goodbyes. He reached out and rubbed the top of the kitten's head with one careful finger. "You catch lots of mice, now. Make us proud." He glanced over at her new daddy with a sideways smile. "It was good having you, Harry. Even if the invitation was a bit peremptory, I hope you had a good time."
"I did have a good time, all the other nonsense aside," Harry said, the incongruity of a man like Liam speaking to a kitten like that making him smile. "Seeing Johnny is always great, and it did me good to see Adrian and Charlie the way they are now... although Adrian -- you're going to have fun with that one. What'll you do when he runs out of new people to fuck?"
Liam chuckled at that. "Send him to Palace, of course. Where better? We've a few things to work on, but once he's through it all he'll make a fortune. Maybe you'll introduce him around, hmm?"
"I do not want to know how close I came to coming into my room and finding him naked and curled up under the covers. Thank goodness for stab wounds and recovery periods... and whatever Johnny had to do to keep him out of there the past few days. I'll have to send him back a gift basket... probably nothing but lube!" Harry snorted. "Yeah, send him on to Palace, once his head is in gear enough to be in the industry in a healthy way. I'm sure he'll do well."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "I'll make sure he understands what 'exclusive' means before you next run into each other. I'll admit I didn't expect it to have any urgency, so it's penciled in for later in the curriculum."
"No big deal, Liam. Even if you haven't gotten to there, I'm pretty sure you've covered the 'no means no' portion of the textbook. If he'd asked, I'd have told him. Johnny took it fine when it was him." Harry squinted, looking off into the distance. "You expecting anyone today?"
Liam turned and looked, then frowned. "No, I wasn't."
*
Christian watched Harry and Liam walk out the front door, Harry still waxing lyrical about that cat, before turning to face Johnny. He pulled a face. "I hate this bit," he told him, drawing him into his arms. "Arriving is great, leaving sucks."
Johnny did his best to melt into Christian's body before murmuring, "I know. I hate this part. I wish we could just stand here for a while."
A sad-sounding chuckle escaped as he kissed Johnny's hair. "Do that and I'd never leave," he said. "Hell, if I didn't have an appointment to go to the second we get back, I wouldn't be going now! Still." He slid a finger under Johnny's chin and tipped his face up. "Missing you," he said softly, pressing his lips to his lover's.
Johnny tilted his head slightly and parted his lips when Christian's tongue came probing, feeling, tasting, memorizing what it was like to be this close, for real, in the flesh. Mindsex was great but it wasn't the same, was always just a bit blurred, like a dream. This was real -- hot and wet and spicy-scented.
A sound from outside dragged a reluctant Christian back to reality. He raked his fingers through his hair, surprised to find them unsteady, trembling a little and moving to disguise the fact by sticking his hands in his pockets. He rocked on his heels. "Best go, eh?" he said. Following his own advice, he turned and walked slowly out onto the porch to join Liam and Harry.
*
Robert tapped his fingers against the edge of the briefcase, the long car ride having done nothing to take the edge off his nerves. Things were going so well, and now.... He was not looking forward to explaining this to Liam.
The car came to a halt, and he blinked in the bright sunlight, surprised to see another car in the driveway, a fairly unusual occurrence, as he'd yet to see another visitor on any of his trips out. He recognized Liam instantly, the man beside him seeming familiar, but unable to put a name to the face. He forced a smile and walked up onto the porch. "Afternoon, Liam."
"Robert." This wasn't a scheduled meeting and Robert hadn't called ahead, which meant this wasn't likely to be a happy visit. "Harry, this is Robert Leonard, a Crown attorney. Robert, Harry Sinclair."
Robert reached out and shook Harry's hand firmly.
"And we've a prince running... there." He looked around and spotted Christian and Johnny coming out the front door.
Christian noticed the young man who'd joined Harry and Liam on the porch, even before Liam spoke. He put on a smile and strolled over to stand beside Liam.
"Your Highness, this is Mr. Robert Leonard, a Crown attorney assigned to work with my kids to prep for the trials. Robert, this is his Royal Highness, Crown Prince Christian."
"A pleasure Mr. Leonard." Christian gave the man a polite smile and offered his hand.
Robert froze for a moment as Liam introduced Christian. Recovering, at least outwardly, he took Christian's proffered hand, shaking it maybe a touch too energetically, hoping he didn't look too nervous. "Likewise, your Highness," he said, nodding his head deferentially, then looking up at Liam. "I'm sorry I didn't call in advance."
"I assume the matter is urgent." Liam waited. Robert would know that everyone here was involved with the case, and if whatever had brought him so unexpectedly was something personal having to do with one of the kids then they could wait a few moments until Harry and Christian had left.
Robert nodded, the look of frustration returning. "It is. We need to talk, Liam. There's a development with the Carstairs case, and it's not good."
Liam nodded to Robert, then glanced over at Christian. "How much of a hurry are you in?"
Christian looked at Harry and told Liam, "We'll make time." He folded his arms and waited, definitely showing signs of unhappiness at this development and anxious to hear the details.
*
Robert's statement had slammed into Johnny like a spike to the head. What could possibly have happened that would be "not good?" They had evidence, they had witnesses, they'd caught him in the middle of... of everything!
A flutter of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he looked around toward the door. Sara was hovering just inside, looking out at the group on the porch, her expression twisted with urgent indecision. She saw him looking at her and waved, then beckoned.
Damn, not now!
When he turned back, all four of the older men were looking at him. Liam glanced up at Sara, then said "Johnny, could you go check on Sara, please?"
Johnny was about to protest, but he knew that look and he turned away without even trying. He jogged through the door and into the hall and snapped out, "What?" Sara cringed, shrinking away, and he was instantly ashamed. "I'm sorry!" He lowered his voice and held out his hands, palm-up, almost an embrace but not touching her. "I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you, I promise. I shouldn't have yelled like that. What is it? Tell me, please?"
After several minutes of coaxing, Sara finally uncurled enough to touch his shoulder and give him a hesitant smile. She took a quick look out the door where the four men were still discussing whatever'd brought Robert all the way out here. Their voices were urgent and occasionally angry, but Johnny couldn't hear them well enough to understand what they were saying. He felt a stab of impatience but forced it down and turned back to Sara.
She bit her lip, then leaned close and whispered, "Are you going?"
"What? No. No, I'm staying." Moving very slowly, he put one arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. "Is that what you were worried about?"
Sara looked down and nodded.
"No, I was just saying goodbye when Robert showed up." Sara gave him a questioning look and he shrugged. "I don't know. Something to do with the case but he hadn't said what."
She nodded, then reached into her pocket and pulled something out, pressing it into his hand. "For Harry," she whispered.
Johnny looked down and saw it was a little yellow cat, crocheted, with a pink ribbon around its neck. It was cute, and slightly larger than the kitten. He couldn't help smiling. "For the baby?"
Sara nodded.
"You could give it to him yourself. Come out and say goodbye? I know he'd like that."
Sara shook her head and took a step back, looking down at her shoes.
Johnny let her go, dropping his arm, and said, "It's all right. I'll tell him goodbye for you."
She gave him a smile and a nod, then turned and hurried back upstairs.
Johnny headed immediately back toward the door, but the group was breaking up, Liam and Robert moving past Johnny into the hall headed toward Liam's office while Christian and Harry headed toward the car. Johnny hesitated only a moment before jogging after Christian and Harry. Just as he caught up with them he heard Christian mutter, "--my dead body," and saw Harry nod in grim agreement.
"What? What happened?" He looked from one to the other, hoping someone would say something, but they both just looked angry.
Christian said, "You'll have to ask Liam to explain it. We need to leave -- I'm going to be late as it is."
Dammit! Johnny snuck in a quick kiss on the cheek as Christian slid into the back of the car, then grabbed Harry for a moment. "Wait, here." He handed him the toy cat and said, "It's from Sara, for the baby. She says goodbye."
Harry's serious expression softened and he smiled at Johnny. "You tell Mouse I say thanks and that we'll take good care of the kitten. And that next time, she doesn't get away without an in-person goodbye. You take care of yourself, Tiger." Harry pressed a kiss to his forehead before climbing in next to Christian. Johnny shut the door and stood back, then watched the car glide off. And just like that, they were gone.
Johnny looked up at the clock over the sideboard. Damn. They'd finished lunch a few minutes ago -- Christian, Harry, Liam, Adrian, Charlie and Johnny himself -- and were sitting around talking over the last of their drinks. Harry finished the bottle of orange juice which had always been waiting for him and Johnny hid a grin. Lisa had sized him up the day he arrived and had quietly ensured he'd take what she'd prescribed with no fuss, after discovering his fondness for OJ.
She was up with Ben right now, since Liam was here to have a last meal with his guests and say goodbye, and Sara was logged into school. He'd been hoping she'd make it down, hoping that after giving Harry the kitten she'd overcome her shyness enough to come say goodbye to him, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
Samuel entered and announced that the car was ready and all the gentlemen's things were loaded. They could leave whenever was convenient.
Harry nodded at Samuel and got up from his chair. "I'd better go get her then." He'd left the kitten in his room during lunch, since Liam, as it turned out, frowned upon having her at the table during the meal. Strange that. He smiled and clapped Liam on the shoulder. "Thanks for taking me on, mate, even if it wasn't your idea. I'll have to come out some time when I'm actually able to be of use, yeah?"
Liam smiled and said, "Whenever you like, Harry. And bring your better half next time -- he can help fend off admirers."
Harry laughed. "Orlando can take care of himself, but that one I don't trust as far as Johnny can throw him," he added, cutting the wink to Adrian.
Adrian huffed out a big disappointed sigh and turned puppy-eyes on Harry, but he couldn't stifle a grin.
Christian watched as Harry left, Johnny following him out into the hall and the others departing on masse, leaving him and Liam alone. He smiled as he got up and walked to the end of the table where Liam stood, thinking that perhaps the residents were being given lessons in diplomacy along with those in table manners. He stopped and gave Liam a fond look, head tipped to one side. "Wasn't long enough," he said softly. "Never is."
"No. It never is." Liam pulled him into an embrace. "Duty's a bitch of a mistress, but there you go -- we've always kept her and always will, no matter the holes she tears in our lives."
Sliding his hands about Liam's waist, Christian pressed his lips to Liam's, shivering a little in reaction to the contact. With obvious reluctance he pulled back, a wry tilt to his lips. "A bitch with a timetable," he said. "Time to go." Touching his fingers to the back of Liam's hand, he stepped away and his smile grew. "Come see us again," he entreated. "Soon as you can, eh?"
"Aye, as soon as I can. Likely not for a few months yet, but when I can get away for a bit I'll come for a visit." He released Christian after a last hug and they walked out to the hall together.
Harry hauled the slightly dusty kitten out from under the bed and smiled at Johnny. "Found her. No more excuse not to leave I suppose."
"No, I guess not." Johnny sighed and scuffed with one foot at a leaf woven into the rug beside the bed. "I wish you could stay, but I know you want to get back to Orlando."
Harry grinned. "He's home in a day or so -- can't bloody wait to see him again. Been far too long. But hey -- I finally made it out here, so that's a good thing, right? And you'll be home again before you know it -- it's only six hours away. And next time I'll send a car, since you hated the train so much."
Johnny blushed and shrugged. "It's not that bad, once I settled in to reading and stuff. I don't think you'd like it, though; you're kind of bouncy and the seats would drive you nuts."
"I'm bouncy?" Harry looked mildly appalled. "Oh dear Christ, he's contagious. I knew it!" he groaned, giving Johnny a tight hug and a fierce kiss against the temple. "C'mon, Tiger, his Royal Rangerness has a schedule to keep."
Johnny hugged Harry back but didn't let go right away. "Harry? Thanks for everything. For caring enough to get mad and... stuff."
"You're welcome. And next time I do something stupid, you get first shot, okay?" Harry said gently, ruffling Johnny's hair.
"Sure, thanks." Johnny kissed Harry on the cheek, then took a last look around the room. "Samuel got everything, then?"
"Yep. Everything but the little princess. Time to go." Harry gestured to Johnny to go ahead and followed him out of the room, strangely reluctant to go now, having enjoyed most of the week more than he'd expected, considering his mood when he'd been unceremoniously dumped at the door. But not reluctant enough to not be in that car in the next 2.5 minutes.
When Johnny and Harry (with kitten) appeared back downstairs, Liam walked with Harry out onto the porch, giving the kids a bit of privacy to say their goodbyes. He reached out and rubbed the top of the kitten's head with one careful finger. "You catch lots of mice, now. Make us proud." He glanced over at her new daddy with a sideways smile. "It was good having you, Harry. Even if the invitation was a bit peremptory, I hope you had a good time."
"I did have a good time, all the other nonsense aside," Harry said, the incongruity of a man like Liam speaking to a kitten like that making him smile. "Seeing Johnny is always great, and it did me good to see Adrian and Charlie the way they are now... although Adrian -- you're going to have fun with that one. What'll you do when he runs out of new people to fuck?"
Liam chuckled at that. "Send him to Palace, of course. Where better? We've a few things to work on, but once he's through it all he'll make a fortune. Maybe you'll introduce him around, hmm?"
"I do not want to know how close I came to coming into my room and finding him naked and curled up under the covers. Thank goodness for stab wounds and recovery periods... and whatever Johnny had to do to keep him out of there the past few days. I'll have to send him back a gift basket... probably nothing but lube!" Harry snorted. "Yeah, send him on to Palace, once his head is in gear enough to be in the industry in a healthy way. I'm sure he'll do well."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "I'll make sure he understands what 'exclusive' means before you next run into each other. I'll admit I didn't expect it to have any urgency, so it's penciled in for later in the curriculum."
"No big deal, Liam. Even if you haven't gotten to there, I'm pretty sure you've covered the 'no means no' portion of the textbook. If he'd asked, I'd have told him. Johnny took it fine when it was him." Harry squinted, looking off into the distance. "You expecting anyone today?"
Liam turned and looked, then frowned. "No, I wasn't."
Christian watched Harry and Liam walk out the front door, Harry still waxing lyrical about that cat, before turning to face Johnny. He pulled a face. "I hate this bit," he told him, drawing him into his arms. "Arriving is great, leaving sucks."
Johnny did his best to melt into Christian's body before murmuring, "I know. I hate this part. I wish we could just stand here for a while."
A sad-sounding chuckle escaped as he kissed Johnny's hair. "Do that and I'd never leave," he said. "Hell, if I didn't have an appointment to go to the second we get back, I wouldn't be going now! Still." He slid a finger under Johnny's chin and tipped his face up. "Missing you," he said softly, pressing his lips to his lover's.
Johnny tilted his head slightly and parted his lips when Christian's tongue came probing, feeling, tasting, memorizing what it was like to be this close, for real, in the flesh. Mindsex was great but it wasn't the same, was always just a bit blurred, like a dream. This was real -- hot and wet and spicy-scented.
A sound from outside dragged a reluctant Christian back to reality. He raked his fingers through his hair, surprised to find them unsteady, trembling a little and moving to disguise the fact by sticking his hands in his pockets. He rocked on his heels. "Best go, eh?" he said. Following his own advice, he turned and walked slowly out onto the porch to join Liam and Harry.
Robert tapped his fingers against the edge of the briefcase, the long car ride having done nothing to take the edge off his nerves. Things were going so well, and now.... He was not looking forward to explaining this to Liam.
The car came to a halt, and he blinked in the bright sunlight, surprised to see another car in the driveway, a fairly unusual occurrence, as he'd yet to see another visitor on any of his trips out. He recognized Liam instantly, the man beside him seeming familiar, but unable to put a name to the face. He forced a smile and walked up onto the porch. "Afternoon, Liam."
"Robert." This wasn't a scheduled meeting and Robert hadn't called ahead, which meant this wasn't likely to be a happy visit. "Harry, this is Robert Leonard, a Crown attorney. Robert, Harry Sinclair."
Robert reached out and shook Harry's hand firmly.
"And we've a prince running... there." He looked around and spotted Christian and Johnny coming out the front door.
Christian noticed the young man who'd joined Harry and Liam on the porch, even before Liam spoke. He put on a smile and strolled over to stand beside Liam.
"Your Highness, this is Mr. Robert Leonard, a Crown attorney assigned to work with my kids to prep for the trials. Robert, this is his Royal Highness, Crown Prince Christian."
"A pleasure Mr. Leonard." Christian gave the man a polite smile and offered his hand.
Robert froze for a moment as Liam introduced Christian. Recovering, at least outwardly, he took Christian's proffered hand, shaking it maybe a touch too energetically, hoping he didn't look too nervous. "Likewise, your Highness," he said, nodding his head deferentially, then looking up at Liam. "I'm sorry I didn't call in advance."
"I assume the matter is urgent." Liam waited. Robert would know that everyone here was involved with the case, and if whatever had brought him so unexpectedly was something personal having to do with one of the kids then they could wait a few moments until Harry and Christian had left.
Robert nodded, the look of frustration returning. "It is. We need to talk, Liam. There's a development with the Carstairs case, and it's not good."
Liam nodded to Robert, then glanced over at Christian. "How much of a hurry are you in?"
Christian looked at Harry and told Liam, "We'll make time." He folded his arms and waited, definitely showing signs of unhappiness at this development and anxious to hear the details.
Robert's statement had slammed into Johnny like a spike to the head. What could possibly have happened that would be "not good?" They had evidence, they had witnesses, they'd caught him in the middle of... of everything!
A flutter of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he looked around toward the door. Sara was hovering just inside, looking out at the group on the porch, her expression twisted with urgent indecision. She saw him looking at her and waved, then beckoned.
Damn, not now!
When he turned back, all four of the older men were looking at him. Liam glanced up at Sara, then said "Johnny, could you go check on Sara, please?"
Johnny was about to protest, but he knew that look and he turned away without even trying. He jogged through the door and into the hall and snapped out, "What?" Sara cringed, shrinking away, and he was instantly ashamed. "I'm sorry!" He lowered his voice and held out his hands, palm-up, almost an embrace but not touching her. "I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you, I promise. I shouldn't have yelled like that. What is it? Tell me, please?"
After several minutes of coaxing, Sara finally uncurled enough to touch his shoulder and give him a hesitant smile. She took a quick look out the door where the four men were still discussing whatever'd brought Robert all the way out here. Their voices were urgent and occasionally angry, but Johnny couldn't hear them well enough to understand what they were saying. He felt a stab of impatience but forced it down and turned back to Sara.
She bit her lip, then leaned close and whispered, "Are you going?"
"What? No. No, I'm staying." Moving very slowly, he put one arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. "Is that what you were worried about?"
Sara looked down and nodded.
"No, I was just saying goodbye when Robert showed up." Sara gave him a questioning look and he shrugged. "I don't know. Something to do with the case but he hadn't said what."
She nodded, then reached into her pocket and pulled something out, pressing it into his hand. "For Harry," she whispered.
Johnny looked down and saw it was a little yellow cat, crocheted, with a pink ribbon around its neck. It was cute, and slightly larger than the kitten. He couldn't help smiling. "For the baby?"
Sara nodded.
"You could give it to him yourself. Come out and say goodbye? I know he'd like that."
Sara shook her head and took a step back, looking down at her shoes.
Johnny let her go, dropping his arm, and said, "It's all right. I'll tell him goodbye for you."
She gave him a smile and a nod, then turned and hurried back upstairs.
Johnny headed immediately back toward the door, but the group was breaking up, Liam and Robert moving past Johnny into the hall headed toward Liam's office while Christian and Harry headed toward the car. Johnny hesitated only a moment before jogging after Christian and Harry. Just as he caught up with them he heard Christian mutter, "--my dead body," and saw Harry nod in grim agreement.
"What? What happened?" He looked from one to the other, hoping someone would say something, but they both just looked angry.
Christian said, "You'll have to ask Liam to explain it. We need to leave -- I'm going to be late as it is."
Dammit! Johnny snuck in a quick kiss on the cheek as Christian slid into the back of the car, then grabbed Harry for a moment. "Wait, here." He handed him the toy cat and said, "It's from Sara, for the baby. She says goodbye."
Harry's serious expression softened and he smiled at Johnny. "You tell Mouse I say thanks and that we'll take good care of the kitten. And that next time, she doesn't get away without an in-person goodbye. You take care of yourself, Tiger." Harry pressed a kiss to his forehead before climbing in next to Christian. Johnny shut the door and stood back, then watched the car glide off. And just like that, they were gone.