Mike & Karen Ch. 16

"Trust me, he wouldn't have it any other way," Karen assured her as she walked out into the hallway and went to inspect the other large bedroom, which had been used by Alexa, and before that, Alex. "He has an eye for details in planning that even I find boggling, and I'm thankful for it. People assume I'm the control freak, but he is the master planner. I'll defer to him any day of the week, just to watch that mind work. I love it."

"I am thinking, we have only one more trip up for teams Charlie and Delta, ja?" mused the Danish girl. "And you are thinking Jordan has everything set at the other end?"

"Knowing Jordan, he was ready before he was born," Karen assured her. "Everything gets packed in the buses, we let the moving companies come in and get the big stuff, we entertain and feed people while that happens, then Michael and I lock the front door one final time, and ..."

She stopped talking for a moment and bit her lip, looking at the ground and smiling. Her eyes stung. "Okay, maybe I'm a little more emotional than I let on."

"It is beautiful," Freja sighed, meaning it as she took Karen's hand against pressing it to her heart. "I am glad you are feeling these things. I would be worried if you were not. This is a big day."

"Yes, yes it is," Karen agreed, smiling. "Now let's get back to work before I pull you into a closet and kiss that expectant smirk off your face."

"I am really thinking that I need to develop for myself a poker face," Freja sighed in disappointment as she followed Karen into the hallway.

***

The movers emptied the living room first, allowing the owners to herd almost everyone into the now barren space, where they were fed from a variety of ordered-in foods, and entertained by Alex and Alexa while Mike and Karen supervised the movers. Everyone was laughing and clapping as the young couple played on guitar and bass, singing along with whatever song they performed.

"And while I'm not saying try to make a mess, guys, I'm saying don't freak out if you happen to spill a little," Alex told everyone in that easy DeBourne manner he'd inherited. "As long as we can identify your shirt colour and team, we're not too worried, there's professional cleaners coming in to take care of the place soon enough."

"Best to make a mess here rather than at the Manor, I bet, or Lady Prof assassinates us all to make sure she got the perp!" Heather quipped, drawing laughter from around the room. She finally felt truly at ease around Alex and Alexa, and she was enjoying herself. She really could move on and still wish them the best. It was a good feeling.

"Alex, I have a dumb question," one student said, sitting on the floor and putting up his hand to make sure he was seen. Old habits die hard. "Is that okay?"

"Only dumb question is the one you don't ask and never find out the answer to," Alex said, shrugging. "Or the one you ask twice because you weren't paying attention the first time. Learned that from my dad."

"O captain, my captain!" shouted a bunch of students before laughing. It seemed to be the standard response whenever Mike came up now.

"Well," the student began, a little unsure. "I imagine a lot of us would've helped anyway, but ... I kinda got on board because I wanna help you and your wife, y'know?"

Alex smiled and nodded while he took Alexa's hand. "We appreciate it, Cal. Thanks. I mean it."

"I guess, I ..." the student named Cal said, pausing as he tried to find the words. "Is it really gonna be okay for you guys? I mean, you're in for a long legal battle, and you're moving, and all this other stuff. I just don't want you guys all stressed out."

Several other students nodded and murmured their agreement. Alexa smiled beautifully and stepped forward slightly, looking at him. "We're gonna be fine, Cal, I promise. Worse came to worst, and if the laws didn't change, Alex and I would simply move to France or somewhere else where avunculate marriage is legal. I'm still an EU citizen, and we're both members of the Commonwealth, so we've got options. Thank you for your concern, though."

She moved through the knot of students and knelt in front of Cal before hugging him.

"Thank you ..." she said softly. Cal's eyes widened, but then he returned the hug. Alexa stood and then went back to join her husband, standing near the mantle and fireplace. "It's okay to ask questions, guys, really. To be honest, it's kind of a relief to talk after well over half a year of keeping it all bottled up as a secret, you know?"

"We can ask anything?" one girl queried.

"Well, not anything," Alexa replied, smirking. "If you ask how big his dick is, I'm not telling you."

The students all laughed, enjoying themselves and relieved to hear they could ask questions they wanted answers to.

"You two make the most amazing couple!" called out another girl. "I love seeing you walk around campus together, holding hands!"

"You should see them when they are kissing," Freja called out, smirking at her best friend across the room. "Now that, it is amazing."

Alexa rolled her eyes and blushed while people laughed. Jeanie, troll that she was, began a chant calling for the two of them to kiss. Heather picked it up quickly, as did Freja. Before long, the nearly three dozen people in the living room were calling loudly for the pair to kiss. Alexa was about to protest and calm them down, when Alex took her by the wrist and pulled her into him, kissing her deeply. She stiffened for a split second, but then melted into his embrace, kissing him back lovingly.

The world had fallen away, and the cheering was completely ignored.

***

In the large double doorway, Karen was leaning against the frame and watching as her son kissed her little sister deeply, oblivious to the cheers and catcalls from the others in the room. Mike loomed just behind her, watching passively.

"One of these days, their theatrics are going to be even better than ours, aren't they?" Karen mused to him quietly, so that only he could hear her.

He nodded and put his massive hand gently on her shoulder, still watching. "The way it should be, Gordon. And the world will be better for it."

And I can't wait to see it ... she thought, smiling warmly. Everything was going to be just fine.

***

Kleinburg, 1998 ...

"It's lovely, my dear," Miranda said as she stood just outside the house, along with her daughter, her husband, her daughter's husband, and several members of the DeBourne clan and the Blackwell family. In her hands she held her newborn daughter, Alexandra, no more than a few weeks old. She smiled as she looked at the old Victorian house, nestled on a posh, comfortable street in the little township of Kleinburg, just north of the city proper. "You should be very proud."

"It is nice to think of a place to call my own," Karen agreed, nodding as she stood beside her spouse, who towered over everyone. "I'm looking forward to raising a family here."

"Have you decided on a name yet, Kar?" Orion DeBourne asked, standing near Jonathon, her father. Against all odds, the two men actually got along reasonably well, given their very different backgrounds and upbringings.

She smiled. "If it's a girl, Nova Indis Amberley."

"Ha!" barked Mike's younger brother Connor, a little too close to Jonathon's ear, making the older man squeeze his eyes shut for a moment and wince.

"We haven't decided on a boy's name, yet," Karen continued. "But we know his middle names will be Orion and Dayraven."

"Lovely choices, my dear," Miranda said cheerfully. "Ry deserves it, and the name Dayraven hasn't been used in your father's family for generations now, but he was a remarkable man by all accounts."

"I happen to think the middle name 'Jonathon' has a nice ring to it," grunted the Blackwell patriarch quietly.

"Oh, of course it does, muffin," Miranda teased, patting her husband's arm.

"Well, DeBourne?" Karen breathed, looking up at her husband. "It's your home, you do the honours."

"Absolutely not," the titan man laughed, shaking his shaggy golden mane of hair. "It's the foothold to my queen's realm, and she should unlock it."

He held out the key and Karen took it from him. Everyone watched as she inserted it in the front door lock and turned it. There was a pronounced 'click!' and then she opened the door, ready to lead everyone inside. Karen was about to take her step in, when Mike scooped her up in his powerful arms and carried her over the threshold. Everyone applauded as she squeaked and then giggled while he brought her inside. He put her down, her face flush with joy as she looked back at everyone.

"Ekaterina," Miranda said softly, getting her daughter's attention. She stepped up onto the landing and held out her arms, presenting Alexandra to her. Karen put her fingers over her mouth and her eyes were glassy. Only a few seconds passed before she took her baby sister from her mother, making Alexa the third person to enter the DeBourne household. The little girl cooed and giggled as Karen held her close, cuddling her.

I wish you never had to leave this house and be away from me, Alli ... the older girl thought, looking down at the blonde child with tears of love in her eyes.

"C'mon, everyone," Mike thundered, gesturing grandly and making the baby jump in Karen's arms and giggle again. Mike's voice had that effect on her. Karen could identify. "We've got a housewarming to get underway!"

People began filing in, led by Karen, while Mike ushered them inside. Nearly forty people passed through the door that day, from family members on both sides, to colleagues and favoured students at the university, and new neighbours. Everyone was welcome.

Once the last person had gone in, Mike turned and looked around at the street, his hands on his hips and nodding to himself in satisfaction. True, he hadn't built his wife's house, the way his father Orion had for his mother, Annette, but it was a lovely old Victorian home, full of character, and Karen had fallen in love with it instantly. How could he say no to that?

There was a front lawn, and a spacious backyard, with large trees that afforded them privacy ...

"We can raise our family here, Michael," she'd said, squeezing his hand unconsciously during their initial survey of the property when it was for sale. "And after that, oh, Michael, we could turn it into housing for students in need when it's done with us. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

It was a good life he was starting. No ... continuing. This was just the latest chapter of a great story they were writing together.

He turned and went inside, laughing as he heard the song 'Funny Funny' by Sweet playing.

***

Just outside a certain house in Kleinburg, the present ...

The last of the troops had been paraded out of the house and loaded onto the buses, with everyone laughing and talking gaily. Mike, Karen, Alex and Alexa held back, waiting just outside the front door. A thorough inspection had been done, making sure nothing was left behind. Everything had been accounted for in the moving trucks, the buses, or the small fleet of vans that friends like the Stevensons had brought. Only one vehicle remained in the driveway, Mike's enormous hybrid. All the others had already been taken to the Manor.

The two couples turned and looked back through the front door, with Karen and Alexa both sniffling slightly and trying to not leak. Alex put his arm around his wife, holding her close, while Mike stood behind Karen, his hands on her shoulders. She smiled and patted his massive hand gently. "I'm fine. Sometimes, tears are cleansing."

"This is just getting real for me," Alexa murmured, wiping at the corner of her eye. "I mean, you'll still own this place, but it ... it won't be your home anymore."

"It's okay, Alli," Mike said in his deep assuring voice. "It's still part of us, and we're still part of it. That'll never change. Its new, exciting chapter is beginning. Be happy for the old place."

"That's actually a really good way of looking at it," Alexa agreed, nodding as she sniffled. Nobody would believe her if she said it was the stiff late-January wind at work.

"Anthropomorphize your worries away," Alex said cheerfully. "C'mon, wife o' mine, we have buses to entertain. We'll see you guys over there?"

Karen nodded at her son, smiling and appreciating his resilience. "We'll be there when you get there, baby. See you soon."

Alex and Alexa each picked up their guitars and headed down the walkway toward the waiting buses full of chattering students. They stopped a shared a quick kiss, leading to cheers and catcalls from bus windows before they each boarded one of the long, yellow vehicles.

"Who knows the words to 'Rock Of Ages' by Def Leppard?" Alex called out as he got on board and the door closed behind him.

Mike and Karen watched as the buses loudly pulled away, followed by the small fleet of cars. She leaned into him, holding her husband tightly as she sighed. "You sure your family is okay with not being here for this, Michael? There were here when we moved in; there's a certain appropriateness to them being here at the end."

"Trust me, Gordon, they're fine," Mike assured her, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Connor would just be an emotional mess anyway; you know how he gets."

She giggled through a sniffle. "He and Josh both, in fact. Ronny was the tough one."

"What does that make me?" he queried, looking down at her, his eyebrow raised.

"Completely and dazzlingly mythical," Karen replied dreamily, looking up at him. "Kiss me on this doorstep one more time, Michael, before I lock up ..."

Mike gathered her in his arms and leaned down to kiss her. As was her habit and delight, Karen went up on her toes to kiss him back, and the moment was timeless for the two of them, all sad feelings forgotten. There was only their continuing story.

The kiss finally ended, and Karen sighed before turning to look once more through the open portal. With heavy heart, she closed the door and locked it, the sound almost clanging in her ears. She withdrew the key and stared silently at the door for several seconds before Mike gently tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her head and looked up.

"You know we're coming back tomorrow, right?" he said simply.

She sighed and shook her head, smiling. "You're perfectly awful, and I love you. Come, my lord. Let's go home ..."

They walked slowly, hand-in-hand, over to Mike's car, and he helped her into the vehicle. Once he'd started the motor and begun backing up, Karen smiled and waved to the old house, promising to see it again the following day.

Even old houses can have exciting new chapters.

A life worth looking forward to.

***

Author's No-

*cue the record scratch*

"Hey, guys!" Jeanie chirped cheerfully as she popped up from behind the desk the reader was looking at. She wiped at the corner of her mouth with a finger and her breasts were plainly visible, her long, curly brown hair falling around her shoulders. "Sorry about breaking the Fourth Wall here, but we're gonna try a little bit of a different format today. Y'see, He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, otherwise known as The Author, thought that reading his notes as the end of every chapter might be gettin' a little ... I dunno, stale. And wh-"

*Jeanie pauses and makes a wry face at the readers* "What?"

*looks down and notices she's still topless*

"Oh, ffs, guys ..." she sighed as she reached under the large desk and found her T-shirt, slipping it over her head and down her torso. "They're just my tits, it's not like you haven't seen them before. Pretty sure the only fellas who have seen more of me or been deeper inside me are Alex and Professor Hulk ..."

Jeanie then rummaged around for something else beneath the table and then began wiggling, her hands out of sight and bumping up and down on her butt in the chair, as if she were putting panties on. "So like I was saying, before you got distracted by my funbags, the Big Kahuna was lookin' for a new way to keep things funky and fresh. And we characters here in the Alexaverse decided that --"

"Not all of us agreed, young lady," echoed a stern but feminine voice from offscreen.

Jeanie rolled her eyes. "Duly nutted, Lady Prof. Like I was saying, perhaps the best way would be if some of us, the actual characters, did a pinch-hit once in a while, going over some important things that happened, or even reading some fun reviews or PMs that Daddy's received from the readers."

She grinned at the audience. "And since it was kinda sorta all my idea to begin with, I got nominated to go first. I ... kinda forget most of what happened in this chapter, 'cuz, y'know, duhhhh..."

*she twirls her finger next to her temple and crosses her eyes*

"I'm not all the bright, y'know? I mean, yeah, I remember Lady Prof doin' the Cat Daddy dance during our little slumber party, but who wouldn't, right? And that woman can girl-fuck like nobody's business. When she mashed her cunt up against mine, I just about --"

"Jeanie!"

"Oh. Hah, sorry," Jeanie said hastily, blushing and coughing into her hand. "Got distracted myself. Uh, look, long-short, I'm takin' over today, and I'm gonna read some fan mail. Fortunately, we don't have to go old-school and read sacks of letters, we can just do it all right from my laptop here ..."

*Jeanie pulls out her laptop and hums a song to herself while she boots it up and signs in*

"Daddy gave me the password to his Lit account, so that I can just scan for reviews or check his PMs. He trusts me ..."

Jeanie then paused, frowning at the screen. She pushed a single key several times indignantly before blinking and then hanging her head and letting out a despairing sigh.

"Locked ... self ... out ..." she mumbled as she began typing again. "Too ... many ... incorrect ... password ... attempts."

She looked aghast and outraged. "Whaddya mean I'm locked out for an hour?! What's the horseshit?!"

The dizzy brunette squeezed her eyes shut for several seconds, composing herself before looking up at the top of the screen. "Daddy? I did it again, and I'm locked out for an hour. Can you, y'know ... do the speedy-uppy thingy?"

*The screen frizzes and distorts for a moment before coming into focus again. We're treated to the sight of Jeanie kneeling on top of the desk, naked from the waist down, riding up and down on one of her favourite giant and horrifically shaped dildos from Bad Dragon. Her pussy is split wide and glistening as she pants shamelessly*

"Oh, fuck yeah!" she panted, one hand squeezing one of her tits through her tight tank top while the other was running through her damp mass of curly brown hair. "Gnnnnnn, fuck yesyesyes ... it feels so good when you hit right there, Grom! That curve tickles the back of my --"

*Her eyes flicked open and she notices the audience. There's a high-pitched squeal as she throws herself off the desk and behind, the dildo popping out of her pussy and flipping through the air before landing out of sight with a thud*

"Ows!"

"Sorry, Fre!" Jeanie called out hastily as she poked her head up from behind the desk. She turned and looked at the reader. "Jeebus, was it really an hour? Sorry, I kinda get carried away when Grom is bruising my brainstem, y'know?"

*She resumes her seat, making no attempt to put her panties back on. She tries to get her hair under control and just gives up*

"Well, Daddy got me back into his account, so now I'm gonna start in on reviews, okay? I'll do one positive and one negative from previous chapters, okay? These can be from the Alex And Alexa storyline, Mike And Karen, or even Freja And Jeanie, 'kay?"