26th December 2013 Thursday

Day 360

5 days to go!

Happy Boxing day! And that feeling you get when you spend a lazy, warm day reading, ah it's just the best. A few empty slots here and there before the end of the year, but I'm confident I can fill it with stuff you guys will like.

Disclaimer: Despite not owning the show, over the course of this year I have come to own Winston Junior, Max and Sammy. My God, so much has changed.

Tung paced back and forth in the control room, giving the people staring at him rhythmic headaches.

"Tung, seriously man, you don't need to worry about anything," Zap tried to comfort in a lazy voice. "Bream's still here, isn't she?"

"But what if she isn't?" the tracker mumbled shyly, tapping his hands together nervously. He nodded his head in Dex's direction. "What do you think?"

The leader sighed as he glanced between the worried frog boy and the laid back pilot. "Look, it's true, she's still with you after all this time, and yes, maybe you need to do something more if you're worried she's losing interest, but that could mean anything; nice formal dinner, taking her out on the town. Not what you're thinking."

Tung glanced between Zap and Dex. "Do the girls talk about me at all?"

The older two exchanged looks, before turning forced gazes on to the walls opposite them.

"The girls…talk about everything," Zap began, his tone instilling fear in to the cowering boy. "But from what I've heard from Jenny, Bream seems to be happy here."

"Likewise from Jane," answered Dex with a smile. "See, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Would your wives have stayed if you didn't propose to them?"

"Yep," Zap answered with confidence, leaning back in his seat. "Jenny is the engineer here. We would've been happy not marrying but if we didn't, Max would have beaten us to it."

He chuckled to himself, but stopped at the sight of Dex's unamused stare. Tung nodded in his leader's direction. "Dex?"

"Well," he placed a hand on the back of his neck. "I'm not sure what we would've done if we didn't. We were ready for that step and we took it together, plus we were eager to start a family-"

He stopped upon spying the sad, drooping expression of Tung.

"But, I guess what we're both saying is-"

"Stay in the neutral zone, man," the pilot interrupted, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, unlike you, I have a kid, and responsibilities. My advice is don't take the next step if you don't think you can handle the step after that. And the step after what you're thinking is kids. Are you ready to be a dad?"

He left with a smirk on his face at the stunned frog boy, who turned pleadingly to the leader when he scoffed in derision.

"Don't listen to him," he said with a wave of his hand. He leant forward on his chair, the same way a parent would to a child. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Zap; take yourself to the next level, and then work yourself out from there. I only say that, if you're absolutely sure about a proposal to Bream, then do it, but I feel that maybe there could be a more simple step beforehand that will convince her you are worth sticking around for."

He whispered in Tung's ear, indistinct but comprehensible enough for the tracker to hear. His eyes widened behind his red goggles as Dex stood up, both of them sharing a knowing smile.

"That's brilliant, Dex," he beamed proudly up at his boss. "The perfect step I'm willing to take."

R&R!