FIC Rules of Affection

[shanachie_quill]

Title: Rules of Affection
Characters: Henry Foss/Cee Macleod, Will Zimmerman, Kate Freelander, Helen Magnus, Declan McRae, Erika, Big Guy
Fandom: Sanctuary
Spoilers Animus, Hero II
Summary: Cee and Henry try to work things out after a misunderstanding causes some hard feelings with a little help from their friends.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Adorable-ness
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me; Cee mostly does.
Author's Note: Written for whogeek  from her prompt of “cuddle fic!” It was supposed to involve Will, Henry, and Kate…but it kinda morphed. I twisted the episode of “Animus” slightly to fit into my world. Some things you need to know before reading this: Cee was beaten when her clan found out about her being pregnant with Henry’s child and dumped on the doorstep of the Sanctuary. She was raised in what is essentially a cult environment and therefore does and does not think for herself. Within her pack (which she now sees the Sanctuary crew as) she bows to the rules and regulations of the pack; outside of them, she can and will act more autonomously.


“Oh, um, yeah. I’ll be over…there.” Will realized with a start that he was a third wheel and pointed to where Cee was speaking with some of the other HAPs, helping the London Sanctuary organize the change of guard. He wasn’t positive exactly when the shifter had arrived in England, but when Declan had stormed in with reinforcements, Cee had been with him. It wasn’t really a surprise considering what had been going on.

“Thanks,” Henry murmured. He turned back to Erika, wanting to fidget, wanting to back away from her. She smelled off, he couldn’t explain it any other way. “So what are you going to do now?” he asked. “You’re free. What’s your…first…?”

She grabbed his shirt, pulling him close, and mashing her lips against his. “Well, that’s an…interesting…start…” he stuttered when she released him. “I’m flattered, Erika, really, I am, but um…” He glanced over to where Cee stood with Will, a look of pain on her face. “I’m involved with someone. Really involved with someone.”

“Lycans by nature are polynogamous,” she replied.

“I’m…not a Lycan,” he answered and when she seemed about to protest, he corrected, “All right. Biologically I might be one, but I wasn’t raised as one and I’m not poly-whatever. We’ve both got enough issues without tossing another person into the mix.”

“Yet you came looking for us,” she pointed out.

“I needed…I still need answers. About a lot of things,” he said. He glanced at Cee again, who’d stopped what she was doing and was watching them. “I wasn’t lying when I told you that I have no idea who my parents are. I’d just…I’d like to know these things. Before…”

“Lycans are biologically incompatible with other species,” Erika started. “You can’t expect to…”

Henry wasn’t sure how Erika hadn’t smelled Cee’s pregnancy or seen how very pregnant she was, but he certainly wasn’t going to tell the other woman that she was already carrying his child. “Whether we are or not, I still want to know certain things.”

“Aunt Lillian took genetic samples from you,” Erika reminded him. “I’d be happy to compare them to the database we have and see if I can locate your parents. And then contact you.”

“As long as that’s all you’re doing. I’m not looking for anything other than information from you. If you need anything, you can contact Declan at the London Sanctuary,” Henry replied. He held out his hand. “It was nice to meet you.”

When Henry turned away from Erika, Cee had moved on to something else; her attention clearly not on him. She was so obviously ignoring him that it was painful. She turned to Will, showing him something before hurrying from the room. Will caught Henry’s eye, shaking his head when the other man started to move after her. “I wouldn’t…” he said as Henry met him. “She’s a bit upset right now.”

“Because I didn’t tell her what was going on?” Henry questioned, accepting the tablet Will showed towards him.

“I’d say more likely because of the lip lock you just shared with the hottie HAP,” Will replied.

“One, they go by Lycan. Two, she kissed me.” Henry glanced at the information. “I think Declan and his people can finish up here. This place is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Since Cee is mad at me, would you see if she’s ready to go? I’d like to head home.”

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The flight home was uncomfortable for more than one reason. Cee was far enough along in her pregnancy that sitting in one place for long hours was not something she found pleasant. Normally Henry would distract her, but every time he attempted to speak to her, she turned away from him, refusing to acknowledge him. Will tried to engage her, but she was obviously determined to hold onto her annoyance since she ignored him too. By the time the three of them arrived back at their home, all of them were cranky, tired, and overly short-tempered.

Henry made a beeline for the elevator as soon as they crossed the threshold, obviously headed for his lab, while Cee gratefully surrendered her bag to Big Guy and headed for the stairs. Will sighed as he tried to figure out which of them to go after. “Is there a problem?” Big Guy rumbled.

“More of a miscommunication I think,” Will answered. “And Cee is hurt. And not willing to listen at the moment. I should go talk to her.” He started to go towards the stairs.

“Magnus would like to see you in the office,” Big Guy’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

Will stopped, hanging his head, and sighing before saying, “Of course. I’ll head there first.”

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Finding Magnus alone in her office was the first stroke of luck he’d had since leaving on the trip with Henry. After filling her in on what had happened and the steps Declan was taking, he turned to leave. “And how are Cecilia and Henry?” she asked just as he reached the door.

“How do you do that?” he questioned. “I mean really? I’m the one with the doctorate in psychology yet you always seem to know when we’re out of sync and who it is.”

“One hundred years of interaction with people and Abnormals,” Magnus reminded him. “Did Henry find what he needed?”

“Yes and no. And Cee is currently upset with him.” Will re-took his seat, prepared to get into a long conversation with her if need be.

“Oh? Did something else happen?”

“Why did she come to England?” Will asked instead of answering her question.

“What has Cecilia told you about her life before the beating? Before she was brought to us?” Magnus returned.

Will closed his eyes, recalling the sessions he’d had with the shifter. “Not much. She spends a lot of time pacing the room or she did. It’s become rather difficult lately. With the…” He waved his hand, attempting to indicate her gravid state.

“Cecilia’s upbringing was radically different from all of yours. She was raised to look at someone else for all of her cues on how to act, for all of her feelings, for everything. As a child she most likely couldn’t eat, sleep, even go to the bathroom without permission until she proved where she fell in the hierarchy.”

“So what are you saying?”

“She has a pack mentality. To her, Henry and I are the alphas. Possibly everyone here is alpha to her in her mind. No decisions we make are wrong. Even if they are. And in the pack, if Henry, as her mate, decides to take another lover, she would not be able to say anything against it. Once he made that decision, she would have to prove herself alpha to that woman or that man.”

“So when Erika kissed him…” Will realized.

“Cecilia probably saw it as he’d already picked another mate and was making it known.”

Will sighed, running a hand through his unruly hair. “Now what?”

“Now somehow we figure out how to fix this and convince Cecilia that her new pack values her and not just the child she is breeding.”

For a few moments Will sat in his chair, staring at the fire crackling merrily behind the screen. Then he pushed himself to his feet. “I…might…have an idea,” he said slowly. “Good night, Magnus.”

“Good night, Will,” she answered absently, having turned her attention to some files when he had faded into silence since she trusted her protégé to figure things out.

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Cee backed into Kate, trying to get out of the room when she spied Henry and Will already there. Wrapping her arm around her belly, she shook her head, mumbling, “No. No. No. I’ll be good. I’ll be really good. The Alphas can do what they want. Don’t take my baby away.”

Kate wrapped her arm around Cee’s shoulders, hugging the smaller woman to her. “Shh,” she replied. “We know you’re good. No one’s gonna take your baby.” While she spoke, she guided Cee over to the bed. “You are gonna be the best mommy ever.”

Will left Henry by the window, trusting that the HAP would stay put while they tried to reassure the nervous Shifter first. “Cee, I know this is hard for you to understand, but we’re not going to just throw you out if you protest something I do or Kate or Henry or even Magnus.”

She looked at him, not sure she should trust him. “I can’t question the Alphas,” she murmured.

Will sighed. “Okay. Let’s try it this way,” he started. “Who are the Alphas?”

Cee looked down, although he wasn’t sure what exactly she was looking at since her belly was in the way of her hands. “Magnus. And you. Henry is mine.”

That was pretty much what Will had figured but it was nice to hear her articulate it. He reached up, resting a hand on the back of Cee’s neck, not at all surprised when she leaned into it. “Henry went to England because he thought he might find some information on his family, his parents,” Will explained. “He wasn’t trying to replace you.”

“Henry can do as he wishes. If he wants to take another cliathaich, that’s his choice,” Cee replied quietly.

Will looked at Henry in confusion. He’d picked up a few words since Cee used them in every day conversation, but that was a new one for him. Henry sighed in response to her words. “I don’t want another cliathaich, Cee,” he told her from his place by the window. “I didn’t go to England to replace you or to find someone else, or to find someone to raise the baby.” Crossing the room, he knelt down in front of her, moving so he was in her line of sight. “Remember? Girls don’t do this to me.”

“You kissed her!” Cee protested.

“She kissed me,” Henry corrected. “And last week? When Kate kissed me? That was just her trying to distract me…which then she stunned me…completely not her trying to do anything other than not get captured.”

Kate nudged Cee from where she sat on the other side of the pregnant Shifter. “I know it’s not an excuse, but I wasn’t exactly in control of myself last week. But if I was? I wouldn’t have kissed your boy. First off, I don’t poach on my friends’ territories with guys. Second of all, your boy? Sooo not my type. He’s too much of a geek.”

Henry rolled his eyes at her. “And me being a geek saves your ass on occasion.”

Cee allowed a small smile to creep out at their by-play and Will nudged her. “See? No one wants to take Henry away from you.”

Henry reached up, sliding his fingers into the red hair that had grown longer than her former punk style since she’d come to live at the Sanctuary. “I promised you when you woke up and you told me why you were here that I would protect you, that I would never physically hurt you. That you would never have to be afraid of me. I’m sorry that I let my need to find information about my parents get ahead of my good sense.”

She leaned into his touch, drawing comfort from it, and allowing him to pull her towards him. Leaning her forehead against his, she closed her eyes as he rested his other hand against her rounded belly for a moment. “I don’t begrudge you wanting to know about your parents,” she whispered to him. “Especially with the baby coming.”

“Not at the cost of hurting you,” he told her. “Or hurting us or the baby.”

“You’re the Alpha,” she said more strongly. “You make the decisions.”

Henry shook his head. “Not with us, Cee. Not when it comes to our family.” He made a motion encompassing the other two sitting with them and then the Sanctuary. “The Sanctuary and Magnus and Will and Kate might be our Sìol-Treubh, but you are my anam-charaid and we are partners, not Alpha and Beta.”

She shook her head, trying to pull away from him. “Henry, it doesn’t…”

Will nudged her. “Cee, he can still be your Alpha, but you can have your own opinion. And voice it to him without fear that he’s going to beat you for it. Or take away your baby.” He looked at Henry. “Is that agreeable?”

She took a deep breath. “I can. I can do that.”

“You never had an issue with telling me your opinion before,” Henry said. “And I don’t want to lose that. I miss the mouthy girl who did my mod.”

Tracing the inside of his wrist, she leaned forward, letting him brace her so she didn’t fall off the bed. Pressing her lips against his, she waited for a moment, then opened her mouth and tentatively touched her tongue to his lips. He immediately opened for her letting her in. She pulled back before it could get too heated, smiling softly at him. “Hi.”

“Hey,” he returned, grinning up at her.

“Really, you guys? Seriously?” Kate asked.

Will rolled his eyes as they thankfully laughed in response. “Smooth, Kate.”

“What? That was like completely dorky,” she replied. “All right, Zimmerman. What’s the rest of your plan?”

“Cee, is every touch or every snuggle within the clan sexual?” Will asked. She shook her head in confusion as Will slipped his arm back around her shoulders. “I think we all forgot that you’re used to casual touch. And so you’ve started misinterpreting the touches you are seeing and getting.” He looked across at Kate and down at Henry. “So I was thinking we could all sleep in here tonight.”

“All of us?” Cee asked. “Like a…cuddle party?”

“Only if that’s what you want,” Will answered. “You need to sleep and relax.”

Kate patted her stomach. “We’re all eager to meet this little one, but we do not want her coming early.”

Cee groaned as Henry hauled her up so they could start arranging the bed for sleeping. She leaned against him as she watched them arrange a nest, giggling as Kate hit Will with a pillow and he gave her an offended look. “Really?” he asked.

“I’d be happy if she decided to make her appearance,” Cee answered. “I’m tired of hauling her around in my mid-section.”

Henry helped her into the bed, then quickly stripped off his shirt before climbing up behind her and letting her arrange herself so she was comfortable. Kate flopped next to her, reaching out and, when Cee nodded, laying a hand on her distended belly. “So what are you going to name the mini-you?” she asked.

“The Alpha names the babies,” Cee replied, moving slightly as she tried to find a more comfortable position.

“Well that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about,” Will said from the other side of Kate, propping himself up so he could see Cee. “Magnus won’t insist on that prerogative and…”

“I wouldn’t name the baby anything you didn’t agree with,” Henry broke in.

“Shelia. Allison. Amy,” Kate suggested with a grin. When Cee just looked at her in confusion, she gave a one shouldered shrug. “What? We know it’s a girl. I’m just suggesting girl names.”

“Common names,” Henry replied. “She needs something a little…”

“It should be something that means something to both of you,” Will pointed out. “Something that holds a memory or something that fits her.”

Kate jumped as something moved beneath the hand she’d laid on Cee’s belly. “Was that…?”

Cee nodded. “The baby. She must like everyone being together. She just turned over.” She took Kate’s hand, pressing it against her side. “Here. Give her a second. She’ll kick again.”

Kate smiled as something gave what couldn’t be anything but a kick against her stomach. “Damn. That is one awesome roundhouse, little girl. Bet your mommy can’t wait until you’re not using her ribs for target practice.”

“Ribs, kidneys, spleen,” Cee commented.

“So there’s a reason Henry picked the spot behind you for sleeping?” Will asked.

“Yeah, sorry, Kate.” Cee looked sheepish.

“I can deal for one night,” Kate responded. “So baby names? Need more suggestions?”

Henry nuzzled the back of Cee’s neck. “What about something from the movie we watched the first night you were awake here? I think that would be fitting.”

Will grinned as he remembered what they had watched that night. “Oh that would be hysterical. Are you naming her after the prince? Or the princess?”

Kate hadn’t been home when Cee woke up and she looked confused. “What were they watching?”

“Beauty and the Beast,” Will replied. “The Disney version.”

“I don’t know if that is completely dorky or sweet as hell,” Kate said. “But since I’m currently in the middle of a cliché and snuggled in bed with three other people, I’m going with sweet as hell.” She lay her head down so it was even with Cee’s. “Okay what’s the name of the princess in that one? Cause you don’t want your daughter to have too weird a name.”

“Belle,” Cee answered. “It’s the French version of beauty.”

“Bella,” Henry said promptly. “Why not change it to Bella?”

“Isn’t that the vapid brainless twit from Twilight?” Will asked.

Kate twisted around to see him as Cee and Henry stared at him. “And you know that why?” Henry asked.

“I read…” Will pointed out. “A lot.” When the rest of them didn’t look convinced, he rolled his eyes. “Guys, come on. It’s a vampire book. I thought it might be research. I read one novel. Besides you’d have to live in a dungeon not to know who the characters are.”

“Still amused that you know who the main character is,” Henry replied.

“Not the point of this conversation,” Will grumbled. “Cee, any opinion on the name?”

“I like it,” she replied. “If Henry does.”

“Yeah,” Henry said. He moved his hand so it rested alongside Kate and Will’s hands already on her stomach. “Yeah, I think that’ll fit her perfectly.”



cliathaich mate
anam-charaid soul mate
Sìol-Treubh family