And now for one I've been looking forward to for a very long time. :3

Unlike the 2015 AU, this takes place in 1992. Warnings for alcohol and a brief reference to childbirth.


Day 28: Teachers

"So, what're you thinkin', Franz? Another round?"

"I hardly think that's wise, Jim." Franz Hopper looked down into the remains of his second pint, which at this point was little more than a few pockets of froth around the bottom of the glass, hardly enough for a swallow if he could ever get it to his lips. "I have class to teach in the morning. We both do."

"C'mon, lighten up some!" Jim slapped Franz across the back of his sweater, perhaps rather harder than he'd meant. As strict as he was with his students during the day, he got surprisingly relaxed and talkative after his second beer. "It's a momentous occasion! Th'new baby wasn't about to wait for a Saturday."

"Barely six hours old and Elisabeth Delmas is already being difficult." Franz let a chuckle escape. "One more round. That's it."

"That's the spirit - hey, two more of the same," Jim called out to the bartender, who nodded and turned toward the taps. They watched in silence as he poured the pints: a Guinness for Jim and a Pilsener for Franz. He set them down in front of the wrong places, but they tipped him generously anyway, and reached across the bark to take and lift their own drinks.

"To Elisabeth," Franz said. "May she grow up healthy and strong."

"To Elisabeth," Jim echoed. They clinked their glasses together and drank deeply, though Jim's was almost half-empty by the time he pulled away.

"Should we invite Jean-Pierre next time?" he said. "He's gonna need the break…"

"I'm sure he'd appreciate the sentiment," Franz said. "But I haven't known Jean-Pierre to drink more than a glass of wine with meals."

"Yeah, see, any other day that'd be a joke." Jim laughed. "Nope, nope, he's got his own things to do."

"So do we, may I remind you," Franz said.

"Yeah, you've said it a million times," Jim said. "Gotta teach the kids their molecules and levers and fulcrums…"

"Actually, right now we're covering the function and manufacture of fiber optics," Franz said. "At least with the eighth graders. With the seventh, we're on cellular structures, and geological classifications with the sixth."

"Yeah, that's..." Jim grumbled into his pint. "Them's the stuff I don't remember anything about anymore."

"That's quite alright. I think I know as much about sports as you do about science."

"I know more than you think." Jim leaned as far back as he could without tipping the bar seat over. "Not as much as you, of course. We're very different men, Hopper. Very different, different men. But right here, we're just the same, you and I." He tapped the bar. "Just two old bachelors drinking the night away."

Franz was silent for a very, very long time. Jim didn't try to break the silence, confused as he was; he'd taken another full drink out of his pint before Franz spoke again. "I'm not a bachelor, Jim."

"You're not?" He took a quick look down at Franz's hand; he'd never seen a wedding band there and he still didn't now.

"Yes." Franz didn't look up. "I'm sure I am."

"I've never seen her," Jim said. "Or heard you talk about her, or anything. Where is she?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen her."

Jim suddenly looked very uncomfortable, at least as far as Franz could tell. He set his glass down on the table, and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "Did she, ah… did she leave?"

"She's missing." He pushed the glass out of his sight, and drummed his fingers against the table.

"That's…" Jim looked out across the bar, gritting his teeth. "Well, Hopper, that's… that's horrible. All these years and I never knew-"

"I don't like to bring it up," Franz said. "It only leads to questions I don't want to answer."

Jim nodded, without giving any indication that he was going to speak again. They sat in silence for several minutes before his lip twitched. "Did you, er, have any kids?"

"No." Franz didn't have to hesitate at his answer. He'd never had any intention of telling Jim about Aelita, not as long as he lived. But a lie that everyone believed was still a lie. He wondered what Aelita was doing, at that moment. She knew where he was, and she knew he'd be back late. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence, and she'd told him herself that she wasn't afraid of being home alone in the dark. But he still worried, of course. And while the security systems could register any unwanted intruders, the pager in his pocket had been silent all evening. "We wanted to. But we couldn't."

"Right, right." Jim rested both of his elbows on the bar, casting furtive glances at his drinking partner. "Well, I'm… sorry," he said. "I hope you, er, I hope they find her-"

"I'm glad for Jean-Pierre," Franz went on, cutting Jim off before he could show any more sympathy. "He'll make a good father. Elisabeth is very lucky."

Jim gave Franz a confused look, but quickly caught on to what he was trying to do - he needed to change the subject and fast. "He'll raise a mini-version of himself, is what he'll do," he said, looking back at his pint - which he just then discovered was empty. "Hm… what'd you say to one more round?"

"I say that if we have another round, you'll have to be the one to explain to my students why I'm vomiting in the lab sinks," Franz said.

"They're only about five years out from that themselves, you know."

"I know." Franz set his payment on the counter, and unstuck himself from the plastic seat. "Come on. We've got a long day ahead of us."


- Carth