Blacktail Deer Plateau All I ask of you

Although he saw her every day, several times a day, Peregrine hadn't really spent time with Hawkeye in the nearly six weeks since the birth of their daughters. He accepted this as part of parenthood; they were both so busy raising the girls and helping rear Pied's pups as well that there simply wasn't time to focus on their relationship.

Yet Peregrine felt that, if they didn't make time at some point, and soon, they would never be able to sustain their mate-ship over time. They would become nothing but co-parents; there would be no romance and theirs would be nothing but a friendship or, maybe even worse, a business partnership.

This morning, long before the pups roused, Peregrine stirred and saw that Hawkeye was gone from the den. Seizing the opportunity to catch her alone, he stepped out of the den, stretched in the cool pre-dawn darkness, then set off into the woods. He would track down his wife and hopefully get her alone, all to himself, for the first time in what felt like forever, even if just for a few sweet moments.