11:30

Five -- Chris

"I will get it, Pet." That was a relief.    I made sure I was hidden and listened to see if I could figure out who it was. "Yes. Wait here." And then the door closed and I was very curious.

"Sir?"

"It's just Ollie; he needs to borrow an umbrella."

He had shut the door in Ollie's face. I wrapped myself in a blanket and ran to the door, throwing it open. He was soaked and Hope looked miserable. "Get in here! Let me get you a towel."

He smiled gratefully. Thanks, it's cold. Master would kill me if I walked the rest the way home in this. So sorry to intrude but---" he grabbed my arm and I turned back towards him. "You're wearing a collar! A collar!"

"We're just playing, no worries."

He looked really confused but he dropped my arm just as Scott came back with an umbrella. "Thank you Sir Greg. I'll return it promptly."

I wasn't going to send them back out in this weather. "No, come in. I'll give you a towel and some dry clothes at least." If he got sick because of me, I would feel horrible. "I'm sorry if it affects dinner, Sir but it's not polite to send him back out right now." I hoped he would accept that explanation.

"I haven't put anything in the oven yet so dinner can be delayed. Ollie, I apologize if I was rude." And then he was gone, shaking his head and muttering something about all the water on the floor.

I handed Ollie a towel and squatted down and started rubbing as much of the water off Hope as I could. Then I wiped up the floor. "Okay Ollie, strip. I'll be right back with some dry clothes."

"Just a shirt would be fine, my pants aren't that wet. Thanks Chris." Once he was dry and snuggled into a hoodie, he held his arms out. "I've missed you."

He was a hugger, had been since he'd told me about his diagnosis and I hadn't freaked out. I loved it about him and gave him a long, tight one. "You too."

"So happy about the house. For you.  Both of you but mostly you" he mumbled into the back of my head.

"Are you planning on showing him where the Den is?" Greg asked. I jumped back. "Not that I have any idea what the two of you would find to do in there."

Was he implying? No, no way. "It was just a friendly hug Sir."  I had to fight back a laugh.  How could he think we were, well, anything more than friends?

"But you're not leaving, you just got home. I assume you will make time to see each other during the day at some point this week."

As if I couldn't hug anybody I wanted. That wasn't in the contract.  At all.  I mean it's not like we were DATING and that was the only stuff he didn't want to see or know about.  Seriously, who the hell did he think he-- oh. Maybe he just didn't get it. We had talked about him giving me hugs when I left but not when I got back. I stared at him and tried to read his face but it's not an easy thing to do.

"My fault Sir Greg, I initiated it" Ollie offered.

"No, I'm allowed to hug people. Aren't I?" I asked, looking back towards Greg.

"Of course you are I just don't understand why you're doing so right now. Never mind, I'll go back into the kitchen."

He turned and took a step but stopped when I spoke up. "You hug your mother when you see her."  It was the same thing; why didn't he think so?  Or had he not put it together quite yet?

"Only after long periods of time apart. Although it was more often right after my father passed which was very confusing. She demanded them more frequently then."

Ah, that made sense.  I finally felt like we were on the same page.  "Well, long is a relative term Sir."

"I suppose so but there has to be some sort of line. Can you imagine me hugging you every time I laid eyes on you? We would never get anything else done."

I heard Ollie clear his throat, I knew where his mind had gone.  I just shrugged. It didn't sound bad to me. "I'm not sure I would mind. But I get what you mean Sir, I guess my line is closer to a day or two than a month."

"Am I supposed to hug you when you return from a work trip? Should I have hugged you earlier?" he asked. His arms were crossed in front of him and his voice was firm, like always, but he wasn't angry. He was confused.

"That's your decision Sir but I certainly would enjoy them. It's nice to know you've been missed and that people are glad to see you again."

"Yes I understand that but I thought that was the purpose of hugging you when you left. I told you that I would think of you when you're gone and I did so. Why do I need to confirm it when you return?"

Ollie had backed towards the door when our conversation started but he had relaxed a lot and was watching our every move. He looked towards me, wondering what I was going to say next.

"Because Sir, as you know, I'm a forgetful boy. It's your choice though, I'm just saying it that wouldn't be wrong if you did it."

"Very well. The rain seems to have stopped, this might be a good time to go, Ollie."