Prompt: Elizabeth and Henry bump into Russell and his wife one weekend at a farmer's market, and hilarity ensues when they see each other outside of work as "normal people."
AN: I didn't know exactly what you wanted with this, so here is my attempt. It is my first time writing Fanfiction, so please be kind. Any constructive criticism is welcome. Have fun with this!
"We have apples, peaches, cucumbers, and spinach. What else do we need for the salad tonight?" asked Henry.
"Some grapes, oranges, and lettuce. I also saw some fresh bread that we should pick-up, and they had some salsa over there that looked really good", responded Elizabeth. It was one of those rare Saturdays when everyone was around. Henry didn't have papers to grade, Elizabeth had the day off, and all of the kids were home. The family had decided to spend the morning at the farmer's market, and then go home and play board games together. Of course, they couldn't spend a day as a family without a little bit of teasing.
"Are you really going vegan again?" asked Jason of Stevie.
"Yes, I have decided that that is the best option for me." responded Stevie.
"Why?"
"I care about the environment and being vegan helps the environment."
"Why?"
"You don't use animal products, which uses a lot of resources."
"Why?"
"Are you really going to act like a four-year old? Really?"
"It's just really fun to annoy you. And…if you just ignored me it would be less fun, but you don't, so I keep going"
"Do we want any tomatoes?" asked Henry, breaking up the arguing.
"Sure, but just a few," answered Elizabeth. Next to them they heard another couple discussing which tomatoes to buy.
"I think we need the large ones," said the husband
"Okay, but let's also get a few small ones for snacking," said the wife.
Elizabeth recognized the voice and turned around to see Russell and his wife standing right next to them. Elizabeth mentally kicked herself for not noticing them walk up. Finally, Elizabeth decided to step in. "Hi, Russell".
Russell immediately turned around and said, "Oh. Bess. I didn't see you there. Have you finished reading the report I sent you?"
"Yes, of course," replied Elizabeth. Not wanting to discuss work things, she quickly changed the subject. "Is this your wife?"
"Yes. Amanda, Bess. Bess, Amanda" said Russell, introducing them.
"Nice to meet you. This is my family, Henry, Stevie, Ali, and Jason," said Elizabeth, pointing them out in turn. "I didn't know you came here."
"Occasionally we do. It is a rarity, though."
"What about you guys?"
"It happens occasionally. Any big plans for our weekend off?" asked Elizabeth, referring to the fact that Conrad had banned them from coming in to the office that weekend, saying that they would have more than enough work to do later, and unless an emergency came up they were to spend time with their families.
"Actually, I do. We are going out to see a play this evening. It is supposed to be spectacular."
"I was not aware you were a theater person."
"There is a lot that we probably don't know about each other."
"That is probably true."
Shortly after that, Ali and Jason started fighting over which game they were going to play that evening and Elizabeth and Henry had to step in, to ensure that simple sibling arguing didn't escalate. But in the weeks following, Elizabeth and Russell started viewing each other more as human beings with lives outside of work, and that can sometimes make all the difference.