Sunlight played gently over Alejandra Albright's face, taking her from deep slumber to sleepy consciousness in the space of a few heartbeats. She cracked her eyes open slowly, and found herself looking up into the intertwined branches and leaves of the covered nest-bed that a sentient tree had formed for her and her husband last night. They had asked Billy–the aforementioned tree–for privacy because…

Well.

A soft smile played across Alejandra's lips as she stretched out. Her husband grunted and shifted with the motion, pressing his muscled back against her side as sleep tried to flee from him as well. They were both naked as the day they were born, both because the nest-bed was surprisingly warm and comfortable, and also because they'd seen no reason to get dressed after the activities of the previous evening.

I just boinked my husband for the first time in two years, and it was in the middle of a monster-infested fantasy world while a sentient tree stood guard over us to keep giant killer bugs from getting in and attacking us.

If that wasn't one for the record books, it was at least a contender, she was quite certain.

It had been a day of firsts yesterday, hadn't it. She had thought, when she and her family washed up on the shores of this strange island, that it was going to take work to survive. Then when the giant crab had attacked them, she had come to an understanding that 'work' was going to take on an entirely different meaning.

And yesterday had still caught her by surprise.

Strange magical abilities powered by floating coins, giant hive-minded bugs that could shift form and had almost overwhelmed them all, and then a taciturn talking sword, and finally a sentient tree that one minute sounded like a powerful protector and the next minute like a shy twelve year-old boy. Then the appearance of Harry the Green Wooly Mammoth, the trek back to the wreck of the Mrs. Dilligaf, the heart-to-heart with Olivia's friend Dinah…

Watching her children engage in battle with a trio of the giant crabs that had almost killed her and Matty when they'd first arrived here.

And the pride in her chest when the kids had taken the crustaceans apart, like a squad of seasoned veterans tearing through raw recruits on the training field.

And finally, finally, a night with her husband. For the first time in years.

It had been an awkward, clumsy coupling at first. They were both out of practice, they were both tired, and they both were very much aware of how the last time they had tried this had ended with Alejandra nearly breaking Matty's ribs after getting hit by one of her more violent PTSD flashbacks. She had come out of it with blood on her knuckles and her husband's hands around her wrists as he fought to keep her from killing him.

But there had been no violence. Only gentleness, tentative and touching. Poor Matty had tried to last, but they were both out of practice, and he had looked so sad when he'd popped off early that she had had to laugh, and that had led to a second round that had been much more fun… Even if neither one of them had reached what the romance novels might call a 'satisfying conclusion' at the end of it.

But that hadn't been the point of it. Not really. It had been a reconnection. A needed reconnection. And a promise of things to come.

"Mwrfle?" Matty grunted and shifted beside her, the skin-on-skin contact of his back against her side sending a warm flutter through her belly. Much as she had tried to deny it, she had missed this.

"You awake, my little egg timer?" she asked him with a teasing lilt to her voice.

"Yeah, yeah, 'm awake. 'M awa… Your little what?" His head came up off of the startlingly comfortable leafy pillow and he shifted to his side, his blue eyes opened wide as his synapses started firing off.

"Well," she grinned and dug her elbow playfully into his ribs, "it was only a couple minutes before you ran out and I had to flip you over, no?"

Matty blink-blinked at her, reminding her of Hoolio, the little owl that Olivia had either adopted or dragooned into service, she still wasn't entirely clear on their dynamic.

"Allie," he said slowly, and the deep rumble of his chest against her side sent shivers up her spine, "did you just call me–"

"A three minute man? Yes, yes I did," she grinned wider and stuck her tongue out at him.

Then she let out a different noise as his head came forward and his lips closed over hers.

"I should make you eat those words," he rumbled into her ear after the kiss was done.

"Yes you should," she said, still playful. "But not now. We have too much to do today, and the children will be waiting for us."

Matty let out a disappointed groan but still scooted away from her. "I hate that you're right," he grumbled as he sat up and shook his blonde head.

"You hate it?" she laughed, truly laughed, and reached out to poke him in the side. "At least you found some relief last night," she continued with what she knew to be a devilish smirk. "I will have to wait longer still for my own, it seems. Such a shame," she finished with a theatrical sigh.

Then she winced, because her husband's face started to fall.

Are you stupid, to use such words at this time? She was rusty with her flirting. And now her words, said in jest, had hit a mark they had never been intended for. Matty opened his mouth to issue what she was sure was going to be another apology. She was faster. Her finger came up and pressed against his lips, and she let her expression soften into something warmer.

"Those words were foolish and I did not mean them, mi corazon," she said gently. "Last night was wonderful. It was exactly what I wished for it to be. And after two years apart, it will take us both time to find our rhythm again, si?"

The look of sadness slowly vanished, to be replaced by a warm look of his own. He nodded, his big hands reaching up to cup her own and draw it away from his lips.

"Si, mi amore," he murmured, and leaned in for another kiss.

It might have gone farther than that, despite her own words, except a few seconds into the kiss they were interrupted.

"Hey! You two lovebirds! Enough with the smooching, get out here, we've got breakfast going and then we've got stuff to talk about!"

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"Jeez Bel, you don't gotta be so rude about it!"

"It's like ten-thirty already! Time's wasting! Chop chop, you two!"

Matty groaned against her lips and pulled reluctantly away, his blue eyes locking onto hers and sending out a promise. "I'd forgotten about this part," he grumbled. "Have you seen my pants?"

"Si," she pointed to a corner of the nest-bed. "Over there. Have you seen my bra?"

"Oh is that what's poking me?" Matty fished under his bulk for a moment before retrieving the now-slightly-deformed garment. "We're gonna need to get some proper rooms set up," he continued as he handed it to her. "These beds are comfortable, but I'm longing for a good laundry hamper right now."

"And solid floors beneath my feet," she agreed as she started dressing. It was awkward in the nest, and they wound up bumping into each other more than once. In another time, that might have led back to other activities, but no, that time was past. They had, as their delightful children had informed them, stuff to do.

They finally emerged from the nest bed, the branches and leaves retracting as they went, fully clothed if slightly rumpled, to find their children already hard at work around the impromptu campsite.

Isabel, their eldest, was crouched by the campfire. A grate from the Dilligaf's oven had been placed over the open flame, and a pair of pans were sizzling away with water-mix buttermilk pancakes in one and a massive amount of eggs–the only thing that had kept without refrigeration this week–in the other. A part of Alejandra longed for bacon as well, but when they had found their stock in the Diligaf's out-of-power fridge it had been a decidedly unsafe shade of green.

Olivia was sitting on a log next to Toraline, the girl deep in conversation with the sword as Hoolio the owl sat on her shoulder and occasionally handed her a scroll pulled from the Somewhere.

A distant splashing, laughter, and trumpeting animal sounds announced that Lucas and possibly Dinah were both down at the river, either washing away the dirt and grime of the previous day, or just enjoying the cool water on a warm day.

"About friggin' time," Bel said as she started scooping carbohydrates and protein onto a couple of paper plates. "Here, c'mere and eat. We've already had ours. There's just water to drink, everything else's gone bad except the soda. And Luc and Dinah took that to the river 'cause he read somewhere that you could put stuff at the river bottom and it'd get colder. I think they're just screwing around now."

Alejandra and Matty accepted the plates of food with heartfelt thanks and plopped themselves down next to each other on a log. Soon they were shoveling food into their mouths. Alejandra bolted hers down in record time and then went back for more, knowing how much food could help with the shakes the day after a heavy combat patrol. She was honestly amazed she hadn't been hit with them yet. But they would come. They always did. And she and Matty would have to be on the lookout for the symptoms in their children as well.

"Okay," Bel said once they were halfway through their plates. "You awake now?"

"Si," Alejandra said around a mouthful of glorious protein. Then she frowned. There was something in Bel's voice. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing immediate," Bel said, leaning forward. "But I had an interesting talk with Toraline last night, after everyone else had gone to bed."

Matty paused with a forkful of egg halfway to his mouth. "Well that sounds ominous."

"Might be." Bel sat down on a log kitty-corner to them and took a deep breath. "Something was bugging me all day yesterday, and I couldn't figure out what it was until right before bed. Do you remember when Tori was talking about a Sojourner's purpose, to conquer the world?"

Both Alejandra and Matty nodded. "I also remember putting the kibosh on it," her husband said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah no, that part's fine. But I think we all missed the next part. About how there's more than one System in this world. And," she added, her face serious, "how there's more than just one set of Sojourners."

That caused both of them to blink.

"More people from Earth?" Alejandra breathed. "Is that true?"

Bel shrugged. "I dunno for sure. Toraline was kinda unspecific, since she doesn't know exactly where Sojourners come from. But yeah, I think so. They could be here on the island, they could be on the other side of the world. I guess back in the day there were three systems that were always at war with each other, kinda thing. And the Sojourners were like generals or something. She can tell it better than I can. But it does mean we need to keep an eye out, we might not be the only Sojourners around these parts, and I don't know if they'll be friendly when we meet them."

Alejandra digested that information as she forced herself to finish eating. New friends? New enemies? Something altogether different?

"Good information to have," Matty said after a second, "but doesn't really affect us right now. Right?" he asked Alejandra.

"Si, I think you are correct," she said after chewing on it some more. "It is good to know, and something we can prepare for… But until we actually do meet them, we can do nothing except that."

"Yeah, that's what I figured too," Bel said, nodding. "But also figured you needed to hear it, just in case things do go pear-shaped."

"It is good information to have," Alejandra agreed. "Gracias, mija."

"De nada" Bel waved it off, then leaned back and breathed in deep. "So," she said after a second. "What's the plan for today?"

"Boons!" Olivia yelled without looking up from her scrolls, causing all three of them–and Hoolio–to jump in surprise. "I want my fireball staff! Do you know how hard it is to wait for you two to wake up while we have boons waiting to be claimed?"

"She's been a pain in the butt all morning," Bel murmured through a mouthful of eggs. "You'd think it was the Christmas right after that stupid doll was released a couple years ago."

"I heard that!" Liv yelled again, also without looking up.

"Okay, so that's on the list," Matty said as he chowed down on eggs. "But there's other things too. You kids got to try out your combat powers yesterday–"

"Which was a ball," Bel said with a fierce grin.

"Chew your food, mija," Alejandra said with a chuckle.

"But there's still all of our consul powers to test as well. And I especially want to try mine out, because I have a feeling they're going to be important soon."

"Which reminds me," Alejandra said then looked up into the boughs of the tree sheltering them. "Thank you for watching over us last night Billy. It was the best sleep we've had since we got here."

"You are most welcome, Consul," the tree said in its rustling voice. "It… Well. I told you, it feels good when people are safe. A couple enemies did try to get near, but I took care of them."

Both adults perked up at that, blinking. "Enemies?" Matty asked.

"Two of the creatures you call 'mosquitos'. I believe they were attempting to scout the area."

"And you took care of them…?" Alejandra asked leadingly.

"Their bodies now nourish my roots, Consul," the tree said proudly.

It should have sounded ridiculous, or even a bit scary… But they had fought those mosquitos. Nearly died to them. And if the tree had killed a couple and was now feasting on their corpses… Well good riddance then.

They finished the breakfast in contemplative silence, then handed the dishes back to Bel who put them in a stack of other dirties that would need to be washed. The other kids came back into the clearing about then, riding on Harry's back. The big six-limbed green wooly mammoth waggled his ears at them as he hove into view, with Luc sitting just behind his head and Dinah sitting a bit further back.

"Hi Mom! Hi Dad!" Luc waved at them. "You guys finished with breakfast? You got a plan for today?"

Alejandra felt herself smiling, and glanced over to see Matty doing the same.

"Well, back to the grindstone," he said, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

"Si, back to it." She clapped her hands and stood. "Alright, come close mijas, let's see what we can do about getting a plan for today."

And so began another day on the island.

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