Chapter 15
Thankfully after the eventful flight everything else went smoothly. It was relatively simple to collect their luggage and get a taxi to their hotel. It was one of the largest in the resort with plenty of room for him and Skye as well as the kids. They’d been given a suite with bedrooms for Mel, Jemma and Leo. As Phil was still fairly young he’d been given a bed in their room. Having quickly checked out the room they bundled the kids up and headed out for some food. They didn’t want to have a late night as it had been a long day plus they still needed to contact Fury to inform him of their arrival.
Wandering down the main street of the resort Skye quickly spotted a small bar that looked family friendly called the HotSpot. Having ordered juice for the children and a beer for both of them Ward watched as Skye quickly logged her tablet online and sent a message to Fury. She’d be glad of the Internet, she was lost without being able to surf the web. They were unable to use phones at the moment in case they were traced. Skye had offered to have an untraceable, unhackable phone but Fury hadn’t wanted to risk it.
“So what do you want to do tomorrow? Beach or the pool?” Skye asked finally finishing up on her tablet.
Bouncing Phil on his knee while watching the older three attempt to play pool he considered it.
“How about we do both? We can do the beach in the morning. When it gets too hot we can come in for a lunch and a siesta. Then we can spend the afternoon by the pool. That way we can find what they like and don’t like.”
“Sounds good.”
“You’re just looking forward to the siesta.” He joked as he stood up and grabbed the pool cue before Jemma could take out a passing walker with it.
“We’ll I do like my sleep.”
“I’ve noticed!”
“Hey we’re not all like you Robot. Just because you run off batteries doesn’t mean we all do.”
“Jemma be careful. Serious will you ever get fed up of calling me a Robot?”
“ Will it ever stop annoying you?”
“Probably not.”
“Well then no. Leo please watch what you’re doing. Mel doesn’t want the cue up her nose.”
Ward eventually intervened when Leo managed to take out both Jemma and Mel with the cue. Deciding it was time to move on he paid for their drinks and they headed off to find food. They didn’t go far as it was very clear that the kids were tired. Having eaten while waiting for him and Skye to finish all of the kids had fallen asleep.
Placing Phil in his pushchair, Ward passed Jemma to Skye to carry while he picked up both Mel and Leo. Thankfully it wasn’t far to go. Having changed all of the kids without them waking and put them to bed they both considered having another drink. That was put on hold however, as when they both sat down on the bed for a few second rest they both fell asleep. Neither of them woke till next morning when Leo jumped on them, excited for the beach.
Having eventually gotten everyone to eat their breakfast by resorting to threats of not going anywhere it was then time for the part Ward was dreading. The sun cream. Getting any of them to stand still for two seconds was a problem so he wasn’t sure how he was going to manage to get them fully creamed. Thankfully they would only have to do it once a day as Skye had found a type of cream that was waterproof but only needed one application a day. The task was actually easier than he expected as they actually stood still once it had been explained what was happening. The only issue was with Mel and cream being put on her face. That was resolved when they found she would put it on herself.
With the kids sorted it was now his turn. Changing into the swimming trunks Skye had packed for him he made quick work of covering himself in cream, leaving only his back left to do.
“Grant can you do my back?” Skye called as she came back into the main room.
For a second all he could do was stare. She was wearing a simple blue bikini that emphasised all her curves. Blinking he nodded like an idiot, sure he couldn’t respond with words. Hands trembling slightly he covered her back in cream, trying not to visibly gulp when she undid the strap of her top so he could ensure that her whole back was covered.
“Thanks. You were incredible gentle. Robot’s a softie really. Do you need doing?”
He nodded again, his mouth having suddenly become extremely dry preventing speech. Her hand made quick work of his back, even though he had to stoop so she could reach the top. Once she’d done she gave him a quick once over.
“I have to say the glasses didn’t do you justice.” She muttered clearly not expecting him to be able to hear her.
“Glasses?” His voice increasing in octave without him meaning to. Damn he didn’t mean to show how interest he was but had she been checking him out?
“Oh the glasses on the bus. Fitz wanted to win a game of poker. I accidently caught a glimpse of you with them on. Now she we go kids.”
She had checked him out! He grinned after her retreating back before slowly picking up their beach bag and following her out of the room.
**************************************
There was no worry about being overcrowded on the beach with sand stretching for miles. The sand was golden, which they hadn’t expected while they were on a volcanic island. Phil was entranced by the waves and was half way down the beach before either of them could stop him. Chasing after him Skye wasn’t quiet quick enough to stop him before he ended up in the water. Sighing she picked him up and carried him back to the others. Removing his shirt and top she handed him over to Ward who was going down to the shore with him, Leo and Mel.
Jemma lay out beside her on a towel reading a horrible science book they had brought for her. Skye watched the others with amusement as she lay listening to music. Ward was sat at the shoreline, his back to the ocean to protect Phil from the waves while he sat playing with the sand and laughing as water flooded around him. Mel was just in front of them doing handstands and cartwheels while Ward explained how she could stay up for longer. Leo was sat just above them, between Ward and Skye, seemingly attempting to construct the largest sandcastle known to man. He was muttering about structural support with the occasional input from Jemma.
After an hour Skye insisted that they all come and sit in the shade she’d created by putting up an umbrella. Leo didn’t want to leave him unfinished construction so they compromised by adding a hat. Jemma bored of her book started looking for stones to complete Leo’s sandcastle. Phil was using Ward as climbing frame as he lay on a towel. Mel was playing games on Skye’s iPod while Skye sat with Leo and helped by fetching water for him.
“Mum.” Leo moaned as he put the finishing touches to his sandcastles.
“Yes sweetie?” She replied as she dug in her bag searching for her camera.
“I’m hungry.”
“Ok. We’ll head back in a minute. Now do you want to stand by your sandcastle so I can get a picture?”
“Can we show it Uncle Tony when we get back?”
“Sure.”
Skye quickly snapped a couple of pictures including some showing the size of the sandcastle. It was pretty impressive; it was clear why he’d become an engineer. When the team got back to normal it was something she could show them with pride.
“Ok. Leo do you want to go find Jemma and tell your dad we’re going.”
She watched as he ran up to Jemma and began dragging her back over to the others, it wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind. Nor had she planned for Leo to jump on Ward nearly sending Phil flying. Oh well. It took them only a few minutes to pack up with Mel and Jemma helping by folding towels. Leo looked slightly unhappy to be leaving the beach but hunger was clearly winning out. They had a slow walk back to the hotel and headed into the restaurant, leaving a trail of sand behind them.
***************************************
Mel watched as Jemma and Leo played in the pool. They were chasing each other up and down while she sat on the edge of the pool. It looked like fun. Her baby brother was laughing in his ring giggling as Mum pulled him up and down the pool.
“Mel come play.” Leo yelled from the other end of the pool.
“Yeah Mel. We need to drown Leo.” Grinned Jemma.
“Hey!”
As she watched Jemma ducked under the water and pulled Leo’s feet so he slid under the water. Mel wished she could join them but she was happy just sitting on the side.
“Mel are you alright?” Dad was bobbing up and down just in front of her.
“Fine.” She muttered looking away from him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to get in?”
She nodded refusing to look at him.
“What is it?” He questioned moving so he was sitting beside her.
“I…I…I can’t swim.” She stammered refusing to look at him. She didn’t want to tell the others in case they made fun of her.
“That’s fine. I can teach you if you want. Or mum can.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If you want to learn.”
She couldn’t help but grin at him. She just wanted to be like the other kids.
“Do you see how mum moves her arms and legs? Can you copy that?”
She nodded in reply. She watched as Dad slipped into the water in front of her then held out his hands. The water was cool and refreshing. She tried not to panic too much when she found her feet couldn’t touch the floor. Dad kept his arms around her, adjusting her till she was almost lying in the water.
“Ok now move your arms and feet like you saw mum do. Don’t worry I got you.”
She tried moving her arms and feet finding it awkward at first. After a couple of attempts she quickly found her rhythm. Moving slowly she quickly realised that the movement were a bit like when she’d learned kickboxing. Your muscles quickly remembered what you were doing.
“Keeping going.” Dad was still beside her.
“It’s not really swimming if you’re holding me though is it?”
“Mel I let go a few minutes ago.” He laughed.
It was at that point she sunk, leading to dad pulling her up and sitting her on his hip.
“Ok. Let’s try that again but try not stop in the deep end this time.”
*********************************************