Check out me and my inspiration. Any obvious bobble will be because I'm not used to my iPhone yet and it keeps catching me out but I'm moving this along.

Emails between John and Madeline start off slow, focussing on her course and the books that she needs to find for her dissertation. Some of the more obscure, or expensive, texts he finds copies of and has sent to the store. Even though the books are for her John knows that she will object to the amount of money that he appears to be spending on her. So he gently informs her in one email, that takes three attempts to write and nearly two days to send, that the books are to be returned to him when she is ready and not before. For a couple of days he worries that she will give them back to his brothers when one or other of them next goes to the coffee shop but her reply assures him that it could be months until she can return them to him.

Part of John hopes that the only time those books come to the island will be with her.

As they get used to trading emails details about their daily lives start to slip in as well and John finds himself gaining a better understanding of this woman who has captured his eye. Madeline has no idea what she will do with this degree once she has completed it, although writing text books and research seems fairly likely, and she knows that there is a distinct possibility that she will never move past this and into something better with more regular hours. John tells her about some of the research that he is doing while stuck on the space station, not that he can tell her where he is, and a few stories about his past with his brothers.

Madeline is close to her brother, he knows, but it is something that has lessened as the years have gone by. William has a wife and children of his own and he is nearly seven years older that Maddie, her parents little surprise. Since Adrian William has also taken rather too close an interest in Madeline's love life, although John agrees that she needs to have someone looking out for her in that respect, and he thinks that there might be a little bit of resentment on her part towards her brother. Instead he assures her that it is perfectly normal for older brothers to be over protective and reminds her that he has two to back up that theory.

When her next email arrives it is his turn to make the weekly supply run and rather than replying almost straight away as he usually would he leaves it a couple of days. Madeline's face when he walks into Travellers makes something warm race through him. It is an expression of pure delight, her eyes lighting up with absolute joy at seeing him in front of her, and though John sits at his usual table Madeline is quick to find a reason to come and join him if only for a few minutes.

"Take your break," Sarah mutters to her after Madeline has greeted him. "Hey, Blondie," she says to John and he inclines his head with a wry smile. There is no malice in Sarah's tone, the nickname one that shows he has been accepted by Maddie's friends more than anything else. She waits until Madeline has hurried off to get a cup of coffee before leaning in close. "She's still single, you know, do us all a favour and ask her to dinner."

The words are exactly the kind of encouragement that he needs and John is quick to place a call to his father to ensure that he can be spared for the night. Fortunately his father does not ask any questions, though John suspects that he can guess the reasons for the change of plans, and John is quickly able to end that call and make one to a local hotel. Madeline returns before he can make dinner reservations but there is a suspicious gleam to her eyes that tells him she has heard him making the hotel reservation.

"Hot date?" She asks him.

"Maybe," he replies not missing the flicker of hurt and disappointment in her eyes. "I haven't actually asked her yet," he admits.

"What if she says no?" Madeline is leaning forward now, apparently unable to hide her interest.

"I'm hoping she won't," his smile is a little rueful. "What time do you finish today?"

"Four thirty, why do you ask?" John would be a fool to miss the flash of hope in her eyes.

"So if I were to swing by your place at, say, six? Would that give you enough time to get ready for dinner?" This is something that he learnt from both Virgil and Scott and from the way Maddie grins at him it still seems to work.

"Better say seven," she counters. "It takes about twenty minutes to get to mine from here and I wouldn't want to keep you waiting." They exchange numbers after that and Maddie gives him her address so that he can pick her up later.

The rest of John's day involves checking into his hotel, making dinner reservations and then finding something a little bit nicer to wear. He knows that Maddie probably would not mind but given that he has taken the trouble to find a nice place for them to eat it would be a shame to let that down by going in his jeans. The rest of the afternoon is spent wondering where they will take this from here. If this evening is successful, and this date a good one, John has to wonder how he and Madeline can proceed.

After all, things for John will never be as simple as for Scott, Virgil and Gordon. Even Alan could have it easy if he were just to do the smart thing and admit how he feels to Tin Tin. His long absences when aboard Five and the secretive nature of his job will demand that any woman he gets involved with trusts him so wholely and completely that she will be happy to not see him for weeks at a time.

At least Maddie already knows that he will sometimes be away for long periods.

Artemis