Just a quick one shot I came up with, hope you like it!

Boq knocked on the door to Nessarose's room and waited for a response. Every evening when she went to bed he would go and check on her to make sure she didn't want anything before spending some time alone, either reading or taking a night-time stroll through the gardens. Boq knew that Nessa would be fine. Her legs didn't stop her from being perfectly capable of getting herself to bed, but it had become a routine and somehow he felt better knowing that he had checked on her. Boq always told himself that in showing concern he was just doing his duty.

Upon hearing Nessa's voice calling him in he entered the room. He found her sitting in bed, propped up against the pillows with a book in her hands.

'I've just come to see that you're okay.'

'I'm fine thank you Boq.'

Boq turned to leave, but Nessa called him back.

'Boq…' He turned back to her, and she smiled up at him, beckoning to him to come closer.

Boq shook his head. 'You should get some sleep.' Again he went to leave the room.

'Just stay with me for a while. Please.'

'Okay.' Boq moved to sit on a chair by Nessa's bed. There was silence for a moment.

'Boq?'

'Yes?'

'Boq, let's pretend – just for a moment - that you're here because you want to be, not because you feel like you have to be.'

'Why would…'Boq began, but was interrupted.

'Let's pretend.'

'Aren't we a little too old for make believe?' Boq questioned. Nessa shook her head.

'Just imagine that, this morning, when you brought me breakfast, instead of leaving as quickly as you could, you sat and ate your breakfast with me.'

'What's the point of this?'

'Just imagine.'

'Okay, I'm imagining.'

'And then instead of going walking through the gardens by yourself and leaving me alone in the house you took me with you, so that we could look at all the trees and the flowers together. We had lunch outside. You were so sweet and made a picnic for us that we ate under the shade of one of those big trees. And we talked. We talked for hours about anything. It didn't matter what because we were together. Just you, me and the sounds of the birds and…it was beautiful. Then afterwards we went inside to the library because I had to read boring letters about the affairs of Munchkinland.'

Boq laughed at this.

'See,' Nessa continued, 'It doesn't sound so bad, does it?'

Boq shook his head. 'What happened next?'

'Well, when I'd finished all the official paperwork we went and made dinner together. We ate in the kitchen because the dining room only has the horrible big table where you sit at either end and have to shout to hear each other. Then we went and sat by the fire, curled up together on a chair reading books. It was so peaceful and cosy that I nearly fell asleep, which was when you brought me up here…'

Nessarose paused for a moment. In the time that she had been speaking Boq had moved from the chair and was now perched on the edge of the bed. Nessa reached out and gently placed a hand on Boq's back. He turned to face her and just sat for a moment staring into her eyes.

'Boq…' Nessa broke the silence, 'does that really sound so horrible? Could you not live like that? Or could you only live like that if it was someone else you were with, and not me.'

Boq did not reply, but simply turned so he was sitting properly on the bed, facing Nessa. 'Finish the story.' He spoke softly, almost whispering.

'Well, I suppose, after you brought me up here I got into bed and you sat down beside me, almost like…' Nessa faltered, 'almost like you are now. And you pulled me close to you and whispered my name; you called me Nessarose for almost the first time since Shiz. Then you kissed me – this most amazing kiss – and you held me in your arms, which was where I fell asleep, completely content and happier than I've ever been.'

Nessa smiled at Boq, but he could see in her eyes that this was a false smile.

'I'm sorry Boq,' Nessa felt suddenly embarrassed, 'it's just a game I play sometimes. I feel silly even telling you. I shouldn't have. It's just a story.'

Boq shook his head. 'It's not silly. It sounds…perfect.' Boq was suprised by the words that left his mouth, but he knew that they were right. He could imagine all these things happening, not with just anyone, but with Nessa. Impulsively, he reached for her hand. 'It doesn't have to be a story.'

Nessa looked at their entwined hands, and then back up at Boq. She went to lean in closer to him and, on noticing that he didn't flinch or recoil like he might have done in the past, rested her head on his shoulder. It was then, as she saw the tears hit Boq's shirt, that she realised she had begun to cry.

'Hey, it's okay', Boq whispered to her. He placed a kiss lightly on her forehead and wiped a tear from her cheek. 'Nessarose it's okay. Please don't cry.'

Nessa nodded her head against Boq's chest. 'I know. I'm being silly. But they're happy tears, not sad ones, and I…' Nessa was stopped by a sudden moment of realisation. She pulled away from him. 'You called me Nessarose.'

'Yes, yes I did.'

Boq leant forwards and kissed her softly on the forehead once more, then once on each tear stained cheek, then finally on her mouth, whispering her name between each kiss.

'Nessarose…Nessa…My Rose…I told you it doesn't have to be a story.'