The Los Angeles International Airport was as busy as it ever had been. People rushed about getting from one place to another as quickly as possible – or they lounged around waiting areas, reading magazines and newspapers or sleeping in the uncomfortable molded plastic chairs that were bolted just a little to closely to each other.

With his eight-year-old daughter Prudence by the hand and his two sons immediately behind him, Professor Harold Everett led the way to the British Airways gate and gestured at an empty line of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. Sixteen-year-old Hal plopped into the chair nearest the plate glass windows that overlooked the runway and embarkation ramps. His eleven-year-old brother Butch slumped into the chair next to his brother and stretched forward to see past his brother to the activity outside.

“Dad, are we sure she’ll be on this flight?” Prudence asked for the tenth time since they’d found the British Airways terminal. She sat down on the opposite side of her father, who’d found a seat next to Butch.

“That’s what her letter said,” Everett replied, just as he had each of the other times. “See there?” He pointed at the status board behind the attendant’s counter. “There’s her flight number now – right on top, where it says ‘On Time.’ She’ll be here in…” He tipped his right hand to peek at his wristwatch. “…fifteen minutes or so.”

“Will she come through the same door like she went out?” Butch pointed at the closed swinging doors behind the ticket agent’s counter.

“I think so,” Everett answered with a little less certainty this time. “A lot will depend on where she goes through Customs – in New York a while ago, or whether she has to do it here.” He glanced from one of his children’s faces to the next, finding on each the same sense of expectation and impatience. It wasn’t surprising – he was no less anxious for Nanny to come back to them than his kids were. The minutes before the stated arrival time seemed to creep by at slower than a snail’s pace.

It had been a very long six weeks without her. After over three years of constant attendance on his family, Nanny had received a letter from her mother that told of her father’s sudden illness. There had been no question in Professor Everett’s mind – her place was with her family until her father recovered – and he’d made all the arrangements for her through the university travel agency, giving her the same kinds of discounts that were normally accorded family members. And so she’d gone back to England – delivered to this same airport by four very worried and unhappy Everett family members who, if they were honest with each other, weren’t sure if she’d ever be coming back to them.

The next six weeks had been somber, unhappy ones. Nanny had cooked ahead and frozen a good many meals, so there was a constant reminder that there was someone missing from their number two or three times a day. Eventually that knowledge had driven them apart in distinct and destructive ways. He had sought refuge in his study until late at night, barely aware of what his children were up to. Hal had retreated into his science projects for his high school chemistry club and, as often as not, his homework and become as nearly uncommunicative as his father. Butch had taken to bouncing his basketball off the rim of the hoop mounted on the front of the garage and taunting his brother mercilessly. He had been the child who had let his temper get the best of him most often, and he and his father had had many heated encounters that ended usually when Prudence would come upon them squared off against each other and burst into tears. The little girl had done her level best to take care of some of the chores that Nanny normally did over the course of the day – dishes, light cleaning – although with a woebegone face that told everybody how much she was hurting with her surrogate mother’s prolonged absence.

Professor Everett had been reminded of the first few weeks after his wife had passed away, when the family was essentially left staring at each other and wondering how they were going to get along without her to play buffer, lover, wife, mother, doctor, housekeeper, confidante, and all the other roles she had held in her family’s life. In the end, they hadn’t been able to do without her – or without a substitute.

A stream of housekeepers had worked for the family for the next couple of years – and each had abandoned ship when the demands of the family itself became more than they were willing to handle for a mere salary. When Nanny had joined the household at a point in time when things were reaching crisis proportions, however, she had so naturally and easily slipped into the majority of those vacant roles that the Everetts had forgotten quickly what it had been like to do without. HE had forgotten what it had been like to do without. In a very real sense, losing Nanny – even if only for a short while – had been like losing his wife all over again. It was a lesson he was determined not to forget, and an experience he had no intention of ever going through again..

“British Airways Flight 1836 from New York, now arriving at Gate 12,” came the clipped and accented tones over the loudspeaker, and the group rose as if of one mind.

“That’s Nanny’s plane, isn’t it?” Hal’s hazel eyes touched his father nervously.

“You know it’s her plane, Dweeb,” Butch mocked his brother and nudged him with a shoulder. Hal growled and nudged back a little less gently, more than willing to get into a shoving match to help alleviate the frustration of the wait.

“Boys!” Everett chided with a deep frown. “Now is not the time. We’re not here to scare Nanny into turning right around and going back to England!” He heard a sniffle next to him and then sighed in exasperation. “And I don’t think she’s going to want to come home to your crying at the drop of a hat,” he scolded his daughter.

“There’s her plane!” Butch called, pointing, and the three moved to stand at the plate glass and watch as the huge 747 taxied slowly and carefully into the space designated, jet engines swelling to an almost ear-shattering scream and then dying away. They then watched with wide eyes as the walkway slowly extended itself out until its end covered the hatchway in the side of the airliner.

“Let’s wait for her over here, shall we,” Everett suggested, pointing to where a number of obviously impatient and happy people were beginning to gather near the double swinging doors. He felt Prudence insert her hand into his and cling, and he put a hand on his older son’s shoulder and steered them all into joining the group.

Soon the double doors were thrown open, and weary travelers began to trickle through. The people around them reacted in spurts, as first one awaited loved one after another emerged to be called over into embraces and hearty welcomes. “Where is she, Dad?” Prudence asked finally in a very small, worried voice.

“She didn’t call to say she’d missed the plane,” Everett assured his daughter in what he hoped was a convincing tone. “She’ll come, just be patient.”

Finally, just when even the elder Everett was beginning to grow antsy, he caught sight of a very familiar dark purple cap and cape. “There she is, kids!” he pointed.

“Nanny!” Prudence screamed and ripped her hand from her father’s keeping and hurtled herself across the remaining space and into the arms of the diminutive woman who’d dropped her bag as she saw the child coming. “You came back,” the girl whimpered, hanging tightly to Nanny’s neck.

“Of course I did, darling,” Nanny soothed and consoled the girl even as she knew the rest of the family was gathering around. She kissed Prudence on the cheek. “Now, dry your tears and let me say hello to your father and brothers.” Obediently, Prudence released her chokehold on Nanny’s neck, wiping at her face with the back of her hand, so that the diminutive woman could straighten up again and face the trio that waited.

“I think you’ve both grown an inch since I left,” she stated with a healthy smile as first one and then the other boy leaned in shyly for a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. “I missed you all so much!”

“Did you, Nanny? Really?” Butch asked, his voice filled with an almost tearful disbelief.

Nanny nodded firmly. “I most definitely did.”

“Daddy, aren’t you going to say hello to Nanny?” Prudence asked, pulling now on her father’s hand.

Harold Everett caught his breath in surprise as baby blue eyes came up to meet his gaze. God, but she was lovely – even prettier than he remembered. “Welcome home, Nanny,” he managed finally in a soft voice. “You were missed – very much.”

“Thank you, Professor. It’s good to be home,” Nanny replied, unable to pull her eyes from his until Prudence wrapped her hands tightly around her waist and squeezed hard.

“And you aren’t going to go away ever again,” the little girl stated with fiery determination.

Hal moved in and reached for her valise. “Can I carry your bag to the car?” he asked even as he hefted it.

“Did you bring anything else with you?” Butch asked, looking around. “Where’s the baggage claim place?”

“No, no,” she told him, “I didn’t bring back anything with me I didn’t have when I started out – except for a few trinkets for you three that fit into my bag nicely.” Then she bent and put her lips close to Prudence’s ear. “And I’m not going to be going anywhere for a while – including home with you – if you remain wrapped around me like that. I wouldn’t want to squash you flat or step on you…”

Prudence inserted her hand in Nanny’s after slowly unwrapping herself from around the woman. Nanny glanced back up into the Professor’s face in breezy triumph. “I believe I’m maneuverable once more, Professor. Let’s go home.”

“Yeah!” the boys cheered in unison.

Everett gestured. “After you, ladies,” he stated with a smile and then let Nanny and Prudence lead the group from the waiting area and into the terminal. “We decided we’re taking you out to dinner as a welcome home gift,” he said loudly enough that his voice would carry forward. “The last thing you need to do after such a long flight is to cook and wash dishes.”

Nanny turned her head and smiled at him over her shoulder. “I appreciate that, Professor. I’m afraid it will be a day or so before I’m not functioning on British time.”

“Did you go anywhere – see anything interesting while you were there?” Hal asked curiously.

She shook her head. “Not until I was in London on my way to airport to come back here,” she replied. “I was pretty busy otherwise.”

“How’s your …?” Everett asked somberly.

“Father doing?” Nanny finished for him. “Much better, thank you! And he wanted me to tell you thank you for loaning me to him.”

Everett kept his eyes on the trim figure walking ahead of him with the blonde curls spilling out from beneath the rim of the cap she always wore and wondered if Mr. Figalilly knew just how much the family she’d left behind in America appreciated having her back again.

~~~~~~~~

Nanny bent over the cages and shook her head at the guinea pigs. “You know, Mike, it helps when you don’t take the lion’s share of the carrots all the time. You know that Myrtle loves them. No wonder she hasn’t been speaking to you for the last week.” She looked over at the other little ball of fur on the opposite side of the cage. “And you could consider that Mike loves them as much as you do and be willing to share. The both of you are being extremely foolish…”

“Giving them lectures again?” Professor Everett’s amused voice sounded behind her.

“It’s an on-going process, I fear,” she admitted, straightening and turning to face him. “I’d hoped things would have run a bit more smoothly while I was gone, but…”

“That would have been nice on a number of fronts,” Everett admitted ruefully. “You were missed dreadfully – and by more than just the non-human members of the family.”

“You and Butch are too much alike,” she stated, shaking her head at him. “And your tempers are exactly alike. Small wonder you argued so often.”

The Professor gaped for a moment and then closed his mouth. Neither he nor the boys had revealed to her what had happened in her absence, but somehow she always had a way of knowing things without the need to be told – and it was something he’d learned to accept over time even without ever being able to quite get used to it. “I hadn’t thought of it that way,” he said contritely, “but you’re probably right.” Somehow, it was almost comforting to be second-guessed again. Come to think of it, he’d missed THAT too.

“Are the children all in bed?”

“Hal’s still studying for his calculus exam – but the others would probably like to say goodnight to you before they nod off.” He gazed at her face. “And you look as if you could use a good night’s sleep too, frankly.”

“I am tired,” she admitted. “I didn’t sleep well on the flight from Heathrow. That means I’ve essentially been awake for two days straight.”

“Then maybe you should save the lectures on married bliss for guinea pigs for the morning, when you’re fresher,” the Professor suggested and stepped back so she could move past him. “I’m very glad to have you home again, you know,” he told her in a soft voice, “and not just because you do so much better with the kids than I do.”

“To tell the truth, I’m glad to be home too, Professor,” she said, her steps hesitating slightly. “It was the first time I’d gone back to England and not felt as much AT home as usual – if you know what I mean.” She refused to turn and look at him again – she was astonished at herself for having made the admission in the first place, much less make it to the Professor. “Even Cholmondeley was remarking that I’ve stayed here longer than I’ve stayed anywhere else since growing up and moving away from my parents, and he was a bit worried that I was forgetting who and what I am.”

“You saw him?” The Professor couldn’t help feeling a quick stab of jealousy at the thought that while he’d been alone, struggling with three desperately unhappy children and his own sense of loss, she’d been feted by her fiancé.

Now she did turn, with a twinkle in her eye. “Oh, come now, Professor. Cholmondeley quite literally was the boy next door – of course I saw him while I was home. We had dinner several times.” Her gaze grew soft. “He was very understanding when I told him that I still didn’t feel my job here was finished.”

“I don’t know that I’d be very understanding, were I in his shoes,” Everett mumbled under his breath.

“But that’s just it – you’re not in his shoes,” she answered anyway with an odd expression on her face.

He raised his eyes up to meet hers, unable to hide his feelings. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to be,” he stated slowly and carefully. With this statement, he knew he was breaking all the rules between them – unwritten rules that had kept their relationship comfortably confined to one of employer and employee for over three years – but he didn’t care anymore. Six weeks without her in his life had been an eternity – certainly long enough to know that he’d broken his own rule in his heart long ago.

The way her blue eyes widened even more, he knew that he’d genuinely surprised her too – which didn’t happen often. Ah well, he thought, in for a penny, in for a pound, as she would say… “I was thinking that maybe you and I should review the… parameters… of your stay here. These last few weeks have shown me just how important you are to this family – to all of us. To me,” he added with feeling, making those wide eyes widen even more yet, “and I think you and I need to talk about what that means to the both of us as time goes by.”

“Professor…”

“And that’s another thing.” He stepped closer. “I have a first name – and when it’s just the two of us, speaking privately, I think I’d prefer you use it rather than my title. We don’t need to be so formal ALL the time… Phoebe.”

“Pro… Harold…” She was backing away from him until her hands hit the side of the back steps railing and she could move no further. “I don’t know if this is wise…”

She was stunningly beautiful in the moonlight, he decided – the way the dim light glinted off her spun-gold hair and sparkled in her eyes, the way her lips were slightly parted so she could breath a little faster than normal. “Wisdom has nothing to do with this,” he told her, taking a step that brought him close enough that he could almost feel the way her heart was pounding. Could she feel the way his was beating faster as well?

“This is simple, unadorned honesty – and it’s long past time for it. Like the kids, I want to make sure that we don’t lose you again – for any reason. You are… you’ve become…” He swallowed hard and threw caution to the wind – and reached out a very gentle hand to cup her face. “You’re a very important part of my world – one I don’t want to live without anymore.”

Why did that simple gesture have her heart suddenly beating so much faster in her chest? “This is wrong,” she whispered without conviction, her conscience doing war with her suddenly chaotic emotions.

“Why?” he demanded with soft force.

“Cholmondeley…” she replied, grasping at the one fact that both of them would recognize as embodying her other social obligations.

“…isn’t here,” he finished the statement for her bluntly as he stepped closer still, his voice low and warm. “I am. When you spoke earlier of being glad to be home, you were talking about your being home HERE – in Los Angeles…”

Her hands had come up protectively as he’d taken his final step, and now lay against his chest as if they could keep him away – and the heat from the palms of her hand warmed him. She swallowed hard, her eyes caught and held in his simmering gaze. “We shouldn’t…” she protested even less convincingly.

“On the contrary…” he countered gently, bending slightly even as his hand at her chin tipped her face up to his so that he could brush his lips against hers ever so fleetingly. “…we most definitely should,” he whispered as he trailed his kiss up to her cheek, amazed that she wasn’t straightening her arms and trying to push him away, and then back once more to rest his lips a little more firmly against hers. His other hand snaked about her waist and rested against the small of her back, making its presence known but not pulling her completely into his embrace yet.

She was torn. His kisses were gentle – like him – unassuming but insistent, and they were quietly destroying every last defense she’d ever constructed against the traitorous feelings she’d struggled to lock away deep inside her all this time. She knew she should resist – she was engaged to Cholmondeley after all – and yet… and yet…

Having her actually in his arms at last was an intoxicating experience, and he found that he just couldn’t resist giving vent to the feelings he’d been harboring for her – feelings that he’d denied but could ignore no longer. Her lips were so soft and supple against his, she was so soft and warm in his arms, just the way he’d always imagined she’d be... Without warning, he deepened the kiss in a way that he’d only allowed himself to dream of late at night, alone in the dark. His arm moved further around her waist and pulled her tightly against him while his other hand tangled in the hair at the back of her head.

She moaned softly as the embrace suddenly became vibrant with a passion she’d never dreamed of experiencing for herself, knowing she was utterly unable to resist him anymore than a moth could resist the call of a flame. How could he know that she’d always wanted to be kissed this way – held this way – loved this way? Hands that she’d placed to ward him away began slipping of their own accord to ring his neck and pull him closer still, and she felt the shock of the way her body reacted to the sensation of his body meeting and then pressing firmly against hers. Nerve endings she didn’t even know she possessed awoke suddenly and began to tingle deliciously with wanting more.

This was exactly what she’d been afraid of – what had kept her awake on the long flights from London to New York and then from New York to Los Angeles. It wasn’t just the undeniable feeling of coming home that shouldn’t have been there in regards to Los Angeles when it hadn’t been even hinted at in regards to England and her hometown that had prevented her from resting. No, what had made her the most distressed was the very real possibility that her heart would rebel against all of her family’s arrangements once she was back here, back with children she loved as if they were her own - back in HIS company on a daily basis. She’d been home – to the place she’d always called ‘home’ before - and her heart was no longer content there.

For longer than she’d wanted to admit, she’d been inescapably attracted to Professor Everett – Harold – attracted by his gentility, his generosity, his caring, his sense of humor, and those gorgeous blue eyes that could hold so much emotion with so little effort. While she’d been in England, she’d had a chance to realize how much a part of her world she’d allowed him to become; and she’d decided she missed him at least as much as she missed the children. Even having Cholmondeley nearby and ever willing to fill the empty moments when her parents didn’t require her help hadn’t taken the edge from an odd longing for a life that was supposed to be temporary – and for a man that was never meant to be hers.

She could never have dreamed that all the Professor would have to do was touch her, kiss her, to turn the tide in the battle for her heart and call forth a passion from within her that had lain dormant all this time. Suddenly the determined dedication to the Figalilly lifestyle – never staying too long in one place and ever ready to honor arranged marriage obligations made for her decades ago – was taking a back seat to contemplating taking a risk and walking away from everything she’d been trained to do her whole life.

She could never have prepared herself for the rush of pleasure that was coursing through her veins as the result of his kisses, his embrace- or for how easily nerve endings and even her soul had been set afire and now traitorously clamored for more. She’d been kissed before – Cholmondeley planted busses on her cheeks and lips every time they were together – but passion had never been a part of their relationship, where suddenly it seemed as if it could be a great part of a relationship with the Profess… Har…

The kiss deepened yet again unexpectedly, and all those considerations simply faded in importance – all thinking ceased in an instant. Her world narrowed abruptly until all she could sense was the way his lips moved magically against hers, the taste of him, the way his arms were holding her tightly and yet stroking her at the same time, the way her body seemed to have been created solely to fit perfectly against his and sang out triumphantly to get closer still…

“Daddy,” Prudence’s voice sounded from the kitchen behind them, “is Nanny going to come up and say goodnight to us soon?”

Reluctantly, slowly, the Professor let the kiss end so that the woman in his arms could turn her face to the door and call back breathlessly, “Yes, darling – I’ll be there in a jiffy!” She then looked back at him with an unreadable expression on her face in the moonlight. “I… need to…” she whispered, unsure whether she really wanted the moment to end or not – and disappointed that the decision wasn’t fully hers to make.

“I know.” Hands that had held her so tightly to him loosened a little and moved to the back of her shoulders. “We’ll continue this conversation later – tomorrow – when you’re less tired.” He bent and brushed his lips against hers provocatively once more. “But I think it’s pretty obvious now that there’s plenty we need to talk about. We can’t ignore this – you know that as well as I do.”

She nodded, swallowing hard and reeling from the onslaught of feelings and sensations that were still overwhelming her. Belatedly she realized that her arms were still looped around his neck and that her body was still pressed against his – and only then did she realize how good, how natural, it felt to be with him in this way. Slowly she pulled her arms back until her hands were once more resting against his chest – no longer to protect herself but because she still needed to lean against him for a moment to catch her balance before she could reassert her independence.

Even as his hands on the back of her shoulders made her feel as if she were still in his embrace, her mind struggled to kick into gear – and the dilemma she faced surged within her once more. Everything about this moment – about this entire situation – was wrong in so many ways. But at that very moment, it didn’t matter. It felt so RIGHT to be held like this; and to be held in this manner by HIM. She should move – head for the back door and go upstairs to bid Prudence and Butch goodnight – but instead she was held in place, spellbound by everything that had just happened and by the continued gentle pressure of hands on her shoulders. What was more, she wasn’t sure she wanted to move away.

Everett couldn’t resist bending and kissing her gently again and then deepening the kiss, thrilling to the way he could feel her respond to him almost immediately. It was becoming a serious internal battle to fight off the temptation to let go completely – to plunder her mouth until she was too weak to stand unassisted and then sweep her up in his arms to carry her off. It had been so long since he’d felt so fully alive and certain of what he wanted!

He’d courted several women in the years since his wife’s death, each of them a suitable and ‘proper’ candidate as potential spouse and stepmother to his children and certainly his academic equal - but it was glaringly apparent now that none had made him feel the way Nanny did in this moment. “I don’t ever want to let you go,” he murmured, his lips against her forehead and trailing down to nibble at an ear. “I’ve wanted this for so long… wanted YOU for so long…” he purred in a low and seductive tone into her ear and then let his kisses trail down onto the column of her neck when she moaned softly.

Vainly she struggled to rein in the wild passion he was arousing from deep within her, a task made more difficult from the fact that a surprisingly large and traitorous part of her didn’t want her to rein in anything at all. “Prudence and Butch are waiting for me,” she stammered breathlessly after she closed her eyes to engrave the sensation of his continuing embrace and caresses – of how his lips burned every place they lingered more than a moment – into her memory. This was madness – dangerous – all too wonderfully addictive! Desperately she added as his ministrations continued, “Harold, stop! I need to say goodnight before they come looking for me and see us like this…”

He raised his head and gazed deeply into her eyes. “You know, I don’t care if they did find us together like this – I’m not ashamed, and I’m not sorry this happened either,” he told her firmly, fingering back a golden tendril that had broken free from her usually perfect coif and then carefully smoothed her hair. His blue eyes peered earnestly into hers as if begging for understanding and acceptance. “And, to be honest, I don’t think the kids would mind finding us like this either – in fact, I’m sure they’d be thrilled to think that maybe I’m finally starting to do something constructive about making sure you never leave us – never leave ME - again. I’m only sorry it took so long for me to wake up.”

He could tell from the confusion growing in her gaze that he was losing her – that the power of the moment was rapidly losing its hold on her. Obviously, despite her willing participation in the embrace, she wasn’t quite as ready mentally for this development between them as he was. She was the one with a fiancé to consider after all – a man against whom, in terms of memory and promise, he was now in fierce competition. At stake were her heart and the right to love her without impediment – and this was a battle he intended to WIN. A strategic retreat, at this point, wouldn’t do much damage – especially if he made certain that moments like this began happening more often from now on.

“You’re right. I suppose I should tell you goodnight, and let you go up to tuck in Prudence and Butch,” he said reluctantly and stepped back as he released her, giving her at last an avenue of escape. “Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning – and we’ll talk about this some more.”

Carefully, Nanny slipped sideways around the end of the railing to the back steps, moving steadily until she was safely out of his reach. “Goodnight, Professor,” she said softly and then turned and bolted through the back door into the house before anything else could happen between them. She knew that if he was to reach out and touch her again – try to pull her into his arms and kiss her with that intoxicating passion of his once more – there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that not only would she be unable to refuse him, but that the chances were high that she’d return to his arms willingly. Only years of discipline and an iron will were keeping her marching toward the front of the house and a the stairs, her face turned resolutely away from the back of the house, rather than from throwing caution to the wind and walking back into the passion she now knew awaited her in his embrace.

She patted her hand at her collar as she walked through the house, hoping that by the time she’d mounted the stairs and stood outside Prudence’s bedroom door, she wouldn’t sound as if she’d just run a marathon or look as if she’d just been sunburned. As for sleeping that night – well, there was little chance of that now.

Previous <<>> Fan Fiction <<>> Next <<>> Feedback