"This guy must really be something special..." JJ remarked as she entered the kitchen, watching Emily whistle to herself as she made toast and chopped fruit for her breakfast. "You seem...happy."
Emily stopped suddenly, standing frozen. "I didn't know you were standing there," she mumbled.
JJ just smirked, shrugged.
"What?" she harrumphed.
"Nothing. I'm just glad to see you happy again. I was worried," she murmured. She watched as Emily's face seemed to fall. "You know you're allowed to be happy, even if he's not here, right?" she whispered.
A beat.
"I know..." she said slowly.
JJ sighed, crossed the kitchen to take the knife from Emily's hand where it had stilled. "It's what he would want."
She nodded slowly. "But..."
"Moving forward doesn't have to mean moving on..." Setting the knife aside, she wrapped Emily in a hug.
Returning the embrace, Emily asked, "What am I going to do now?"
Rubbing her back, she said, "You find happiness. Maybe even love one day. You have your baby and teach them about strength and resilience and what it means to remember someone always. You...live." She shrugged, because what else was there to say?
Another pause.
"I meant about my pen pal."
"Oh." JJ laughed. "Well, you want to thank him for the treasure hunt thing, right?" A nod. "What if you did something to mark the things you've shared?"
A thoughtful expression crossed Emily's face.
Dear Pilgrim;
I've put a lot of thought into how I can best thank you for the wonderful day you gave me...
I don't know that I could ever plan something quite so thoughtful and elaborate, even at my best. But I did manage to pull a little something together...
It might be a little cheesy, but I'm hoping you'll enjoy it anyway.
To find out what it is, head to the little greenhouse where they grow the poinsettias. You'll know what you see it...
~ Silver Belle
Derek showed up to the greenhouse, unsure what exactly to expect, but eager to find out all the same. When he pushed the door open, he immediately felt the sweltering heat of the confined glass enclosure.
He followed the path through the rows of flower pots until something caught his eye among the red petals. He paused, reached among the flowers and plucked out an ornament.
It was a little carved and painted pair of ice skates.
He let out a little chuckle, clutching the ornament. "Why, Silver Belle, you clever little thing..."
A little further exploring lead him to also find:
A little gingerbread man, commemorating the (failed) baking contest.
A nutcracker, in memory of the ballet.
A colourful Christmas bauble with the words Now I have a machine gun – Ho Ho Ho painted on the outside, from Die Hard.
A little cross-stitch of the words So It Goes, from their shared love of Slaughterhouse Five.
And a feather quill to mark the way they'd met.
It wasn't until he reached the exit, grinning like a fool, when he found the final ornament, like a signature, hanging on the doorknob: a pair of silver bells fastened together with a red ribbon emblazoned with the words Dear Pilgrim.
"You're so cute, you know..." Fran remarked, watching as Derek mulled over the perfect placement of his new ornaments. When she'd told him the story of what his pen pal had done, she'd just smiled softly, all the while knowing in her heart that there was more between the two than perhaps either of them wanted to let on...
"Hmm?" He glanced over his shoulder at her, still holding delicately to the pair of silver bells as if afraid he might shatter them were he not careful.
She shrugged as if she hadn't said anything. There was no hiding that smirk, though...
He turned to properly affix her with a raised brow a no-nonsense expression. "Now, Mama, I know you've got something to say, so just spit it out already..."
She held up her hands in self-defence. "It's just that... Well, you never show this much interest in the other decorations."
"What are you implying?" It was clear that he already knew exactly what it was she was deliberately not saying, but wanted to force her to say it aloud before he'd admit to anything.
"You're falling for this girl," she said matter-of-factly like she were simply stating a widely known truth.
He stammered for a moment. "I'm not falling for anyone," he insisted.
She gave him a look that she'd perfected over the years – the one that said 'do I look like a fool?'.
He huffed, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Frankly, Mama, I don't see how..."
She smirked in triumph. "I can see it in your eyes, you know? It's the same look your father used to get when he'd look at me..."
"Well, Mama, for your information, I'm pretty sure she just wants to be friends – she recently had her heart broken."
Fran shook her head knowingly. "Just because she has a few walls up, doesn't mean you can't break them down..." she said sagely. "And I know you, Derek, you're the kind of man who never backs down from something that's important to him."
"And what if she meets me and doesn't like me?" he challenged.
She just rolled her eyes. "Just be your normal charming self and she won't be able to resist you. I've always said you could charm the skin of a snake when you want to..."
He just chuckled. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
"Finish hanging your ornaments," she commanded gently. "While we're young, son."
"You could be less smug, Mama..."
"I think I'm allowed to be a little smug," she insisted. "I was right, afterall."
He raised a brow. "About what?"
"When I told you to sign up for this pen pal thing, I knew it would be good for you. You work too hard, you never have time to meet someone with your busy schedule. I think this time off may have been the best thing that ever happened to you."