The Sequel. The Little Rose.

Chapter Twenty-Four. Herbal Tea, Gentlemen?

Sang fairly bounced down the footpath to Mr Mullany's front door, much the the amusement and delight of the boys following her.

"Cupcake has come so very far since we first met her, hasn't she North." Luke murmured, grinning as he watched Sang grab Silas' hand as she jumped up the steps and rang the bell.

"Yeah, bro, she really has." North's eyes gleamed. "She's everything that's good in this world in one hot little package. I just really hope she doesn't remember her last question to me last night."

Nathan looked over his shoulder questioning that comment "Why? What did Peanut come up with now."

North sighed and shook his head. "Sang baby asked me if I would teach her to ride a bike."

Nathan and Luke looked at each other and snorted with laughter. "You're kidding?" They asked together, before starting to laugh harder at the look on North's face.

"You two are such assholes. How do I get out of that without being the world's biggest prick who doesn't trust his girlfriend. Tell me that." He whisper yelled as they approached Sang and Silas greeting the Bee Keeper.

"You don't dude. You suck it up and teach her. Easy." Nathan whispered back.

"Yeah, North. Besides, who better than you. You'll take care of her and show her properly how to ride." Luke added smirking. Trust his Cupcake to throw North a curveball at the most unexpected time, he thought as he shook hands with the man who had helped his girl save her books.

Three hours later the boys had finally placed the last of the boxes into the back of North's truck and had finished drinking herbal tea and honey cake with old Mr. Mullany. They were secretly proud of themselves. Not for rescuing Sang's books. That was a no brainer to them. No. It was for enduring two cups of tea. Each.

"Fuck. That was worse than torture." Nathan exclaimed as they walked into their adjoining motel rooms.

Sang looked around innocently. "Did you strain a muscle Nathan?" she asked looking concerned.

"Um no, Peanut. I didn't mean that."

"Nathan meant the herbal tea." Luke interjected quickly sinking onto a bed and falling backwards. "Cupcake, it was the worst thing any of us have ever been forced to drink. You have to admit."

"I quite liked it." Silas grinned at Sang. "The cake was nice."

Sang giggled as she looked at the guys. "Mr. Mullany made that cake himself you know. From his own bees' honey. Especially for you. I didn't realise he liked to cook."

"Sang Baby, believe me I really wish he hadn't gone to so much effort for us." North exclaimed looking nauseated.

"I thought you liked healthy food." Sang remarked looking confused.

"I do Baby. But there's a world of difference between healthy and herbal teas. The stuff tasted like herbicide."

Sang giggled louder. "Never mind guys. We may have bigger problems than being poisoned by Mr Mullany. Didn't any of you notice anything on the way back here?"

"Um, no Aggele. I can't say I did. I was too busy looking for a barf bag in the glove compartment for North at the time. Why? What happened?"

"Nothing happened as such, Silas. I just noticed that my old house had a blind open upstairs. I think the owners must have asked someone to housesit for them while they are away."

Sang's eyes widened when Nathan and North started to curse. "Don't worry guys. It'll be fine. We have a plan. Remember." She announced happily as Luke chuckled and Silas grinned.

"We remember Peanut. I wait over the road out the front in case somebody comes along. Which is unlikely as the house is set back from the road and on the outskirts of town with houses set wide apart." Nathan recited immediately.

"North and I wait at the rear of the property while you and Luke gain entry. When that is done, and only when you contact us, do I meet you down in the cellar to help move the radio." Silas continued.

"I will create a diversion if necessary on Luke's word to go, should something go wrong." Nathan added smirking, as he pointed at a bag of fireworks. "We've got it all sorted. I just hope it goes according to plan, because I really want to use those fireworks for Silas' birthday barbecue not on a mission."

"I'll be watching from the rear while you lot make the extraction. Ready to get us all the fuck out of there as quickly as possible." North glared at them all and continued, "I will be supremely pissed if any one of you so much as breaks a finger nail, so be fucking careful okay!" He growled.

"We'll be fine North. Honestly." Sang said as she put down the electric drill she had been inspecting, and reached over to throw her arms around his broad shoulders. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to." She continued earnestly, as she looked at him with concern in her eyes.

"What!" Silas and Nathan burst out together. "No fucking way, Peanut. We didn't come all this way not to finish the job."

"It's a good plan Sang Baby. Everyone here is more than capable of performing their part perfectly." North paused briefly, "Including you" he admitted, before continuing "I just worry about my family that's all."

"Yeah Cupcake, and he's really good at it too." Luke grinned, knowing full well North wouldn't retaliate while Sang was cuddling him close.

"Okay. Well, we all have everything we need. The drill is working perfectly. There are various sized drill bits already in Luke's trouser pockets. All the head torches are ready to go. I really like them." Sang giggled as she picked one up from the bed and made it flash.

"We know Aggele" Silas chuckled as he grabbed it from her and tossed it back on the bed. "You'll flatten the batteries if you don't leave them alone though."

"Sorry, Silas." Sang giggled some more before looking at Nathan seriously. "Do you have a lighter in your pocket for tonight?" she asked, only to smile happily when Nathan picked up the trousers he was wearing that evening and showing her not one but two lighters stashed in a side pocket.

"All sorted, Peanut." Nathan shook his head. Talk about focus on details. She really was Academy through and through, he thought to himself.

"Well, I know you guys carry all sorts of gadgets, and we'll all be connected to each other with North controlling the comms, but it's good to be thorough isn't it?" She asked before turning to Luke quickly. "Actually, Luke, can we take a chisel and small hammer just in case? We might need it if they've altered that door in some way."

"Sure Sweetie. Whatever you think we'll need we can take. Come and have a snooze with me before dinner. We won't be able to start the job much before 2 am if there are housesitters."

"Good idea, Luke." North decided. "We'll all have a sleep now. If we have a late dinner we can park the car where we need it quietly, and walk back over through part of the forest at the back of the neighbourhood together."

"I'm glad you found time to disconnect the aerial and electricity before you moved, Aggele." Silas murmured "This would have been so much more difficult to do if you hadn't."

"I'm just hoping they haven't filled the cellar with boxes of junk and heavy stuff we can't shift quietly." Sang grimaced. "Not to mention they may have actually found it."

"We'll find out soon enough Cupcake." Luke smiled softly. "Come on, let's snooze." he said pulling her away from North's clutches and dragging her to the other room for a nap.