I've been dreading finding a word for X for this whole story. Xerophyte means 'a plant which requires very little water' so I hope I've kept within the spirit of that!

"Want a drink?"

Annie's voice from the kitchen pulled him from his thoughts and he nodded numbly. There was the soft sounds of her moving about; opening the freezer door to get ice, the clink as she filled the glass and the glug of scotch being poured. Then, she fell back on the sofa and handed him his drink, clutching her own glass of water in her hand.

"So," he began, "We should probably talk about this, right?"

The glass sat heavy in his hands and he leant forward to deposit it unceremoniously on the coffee table in front of him. She watched him carefully, fixing him with those big blue eyes that still made something inside him flutter, and folded her legs underneath herself. The effect made her seem smaller, closed off from him and he hated it. He wanted to reach out, cup a hand behind her knee and draw her in to his lap so he could hold her, feel her heart beating under his palms and ease out her thoughts with a kiss. Instead, he settled for mirroring her position on the couch, no mean feat at his height, and brushed her calf gently with his bare toes. A soft smile was his reward and then she was moving towards him, turning to press her back against his chest and pull his arms tight around her.

"What are you thinking?" she said softly, grip tightening on his wrists. Usually, he would reply with carefully measured words. Say everything while ensuring that everyone hears nothing. But instead he slipped his hands down to spread his palms across her abdomen, felt her gasp and dropped a kiss on the crown of her head.

"I imagine I'll be a bit grumpy for a few days…" he whispered finally, and felt her pull away from him. He relinquished, and she twisted round between his legs to look at him.

"You will?"

"Yeah, if we're giving my caffeine and I'm giving up scotch…"

There's a fleeting moment of confusion on her face before she flashed him a knowing grin and leant forward to kiss him.

"Jeff.. you don't have to-"

"Annie, my dad gave up on being a father as soon as things got tough, and my Mom was always there for me. I don't want to be a Dad who phones it in right from the start while you do all the work. I want to be there, for every scan and every class and every decision and it still won't be enough compared to what you're about to do. So at least let me be there for the sacrifices too."

Uncharacteristically lost for words, Annie watched him as he pushed himself up from the couch and padded to the kitchen sink. The ice clanged metal as he dumped the contents of his glass against the steel bowl to pour himself some water and raised it to his lips. Sobriety never tasted so good.