Author's note: Thank you to Rasha007, NicoleR85, Luna von Rae, partygirl98, ZabuzasGirl, NotMarge, Totalstarwarsfan-girl332 and musicjunkie1996 (don't get ahead of me, dearie! ;-)) for the reviews! I can't believe how many people have been reviewing, following, and favoriting. It's amazing! Love you all!

I'm taking the advice of OopieLu and trying to give some supporting characters a little depth. The next two chapters- especially the one after this one- have more involvement from the other characters, though it's still Hank's POV. I won't lie- it didn't feel natural to write these, but I still gave it my best!

An Evening Out

A knock came to my laboratory door one morning, interrupting me in the middle of an experiment.

"Hey, Beast!" Sean's voice called.

"Yeah?"

He looked jittery when he entered, like he was full of nervous excitement. I eyed him curiously.

"What's up?"

"Do you and Zoey have plans tonight?" Sean asked tentatively.

It was a Friday, but that didn't matter so much anymore. NBC had cancelled Star Trek, to Zoey's devastation. The announcement had been made only a week or two before we got married.

I could still remember when she phoned to tell me- the hysteria in her voice, how panicked I became in response because I thought for a split second she was calling off the wedding. And then I realized she was freaking out over a television program.

But it wasn't just any television program, it was Zoey's absolute favorite. For a while watching Star Trek had been the highlight of her week when her father first passed away. So I sighed, knuckled down, and consoled her like a good fiance.

"Not that I know of," I told Sean now. "Why?"

"I was hoping that you guys could go out to dinner with Maeve and I tonight," he explained. "I-I'm going to ask her to marry me."

About time.

Maeve and Sean had been together for so long I could barely remember how many years it'd been. Almost four? It was almost a running joke now, whether he would ever finally propose.

"That's wonderful," I said honestly. "Congratulations. I'm sure she'll say 'yes.'"

He perked up. "You think so?"

I nodded. "Logically speaking, Maeve would've broken up with you by now if she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with you," I reasoned.

Not that I'm an expert on women or anything. Mystical creatures, all of them.

Sean winced. Had my attempt to comfort him fallen flat? Well, at least I tried. It made sense to me, at least.

"Thanks, I guess," he said, backing towards the exit. "Barbetta, six-thirty, ok? And you can ask Gwen to come if you want. Alex said he would come if she did."

"Will do," I told him, waving.

Once he was gone I called Zoey's office. Gwen, Zoey's best friend and secretary, answered on the second ring.

Zoey had told me that they'd known each other since kindergarten, though Zoey eventually skipped several grades. When Gwen completed a secretary program immediately after finishing high school, it felt like the right choice to hire her on. Gwen wasn't just her secretary, though. She was Zoey's closest confidant, the only one who knew that she was a mutant besides her godparents and those of us at the Institute. Together, they ran a tight ship at Dubois Enterprises.

"Dubois Enterprises, this is Gwen speaking," she greeted me politely. "How can I help you?"

"Hey, Gwen. It's Hank," I said.

Her formal demeanor immediately vanished. "Hi, Hank. Want to speak to the boss lady?"

"Please."

She transferred me over to Zoey's private line.

"Hello, Dr. McCoy," my wife's voice sang into the phone.

"Hi, Dr. McCoy," I replied, grinning like an idiot. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out with Maeve and Sean tonight."

"Sure, that sounds nice."

"Sean's proposing at dinner."

I heard something fall over, along with a shocked gasp. "No way!"

"Yeah."

Zoey hooted with laughter. "Am I terrible for my first thought being 'finally?'"

"Only if I am, too," I told her, as she giggled. "Gwen's invited too, though. Tell her Alex will be there if she wants to come."

"Ok, I'll let her know before I head out to my next meeting," Zoey promised. "How's your day going?"

"I've been running gels all morning. You were right- there seems to be a causative link with HCA's and cancer."

"That's fantastic!" she said. "I wish I could help you more. I like running gels, it's soothing."

I laughed. "Nerd," I accused affectionately. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied, making a kissing sound into the phone.

I'd never tell anyone, but I loved it when she did that.

Zoey and I arrived at the restaurant right after Sean and Maeve.

"Hi, guys!" Maeve called, waving enthusiastically when she spotted us out on the sidewalk in front.

It was hard not to like Maeve- she was always so bubbly and happy all the time. She was rather similar to her boyfriend that way.

Just not as goofy, and without the former stoner persona.

She ran over to us and hugged Zoey tightly. As she held my wife, I heard her whisper excitedly, using my super-sensitive hearing, "I think Sean's proposing to me tonight!"

"Yeah?" Zoey replied, giggling. "That's wonderful!"

"Just waiting on Alex and Gwen now?" I asked Sean, while the ladies pulled apart and started to chat at normal volume.

Sean nodded- he looked a little green under all the freckles. It reminded me of the day Erik pushed him off that satellite dish, so many years ago.

"You ok?" I kept my voice low, so Maeve couldn't hear. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. But what if she says-?"

"Jesus, Beast," Alex's voice called out from behind us. "You look like you're surrounded by a bunch of ginger midgets."

The three redheads in question (who, to be fair, were much shorter than I was) rounded on him angrily, ready to avenge the politically incorrect insult. He had a big teasing grin on his face as he reached us, with Gwen at his side.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Do you ever get tired of being an ass?"

There had never been anything romantic between them to my knowledge, but Gwen and Alex tended to fall in together whenever it came to social gatherings like this. An antagonistic friendship was much better than being a lonely fifth wheel to two happy couples, after all. And secretly I think they enjoyed taking digs at each other.

"Hey, I have my moments," Alex retorted. "Just ask Beast."

I grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"That was one time, and you said yourself that it was for your Camaro-" Gwen argued.

"Anyone hungry?" Zoey cut in brightly, before they really gathered up steam.

Sometimes it was just fun to watch Alex and Gwen snipe at each other, like a table tennis match. But at other times it was like being around two bickering toddlers.

"Yeah, let's go," Sean replied, still looking jittery.

The helpful hostess sat us in the garden outside, where a small fountain quietly bubbled away and lights twinkled from the topiary plants surrounding us. It was a sultry August evening, perfect for an outdoor dining experience. Very romantic.

"Oh. They have an orange chocolate mousse here," Maeve noted, after menus were handed out.

"Really?" Zoey asked, flipping to the back.

I snorted.

"Hey. What are you laughing at?"

"You," I replied, knowing that my adoration was evident in my expression and uncaring of that fact as I looked at her. "Straight for the dessert menu, like always."

Zoey giggled and leaned in to give me a kiss, while Alex made gagging sounds.

"Your mushiness is making me lose my appetite," he grouched, leaning back in his seat.

"Oh, hush!" Maeve scolded him, in a rare flash of temper. "They're happily married, leave them alone. I hope one day-"

But then she cut herself off, blushing furiously as she gave Sean a sideways glance.

It seemed like that was the cue he was looking for. He took a deep breath and slid out of his chair, down onto one knee. His hands were shaking and his face was pale white as he pulled out a ring box. It looked like he was trying to keep himself from completely falling to pieces. The rest of us perked up immediately, a sort of collective anticipation as we all awaited the outcome.

"Maeve-" Sean's voice came out as a squeak.

Ooph. Come on, Cassidy. You can do it.

"Will you-?"

Maeve let out a shriek of joy and then promptly burst into tears. She threw her arms around Sean's neck and started kissing all over his face.

"Yes!" she sobbed, saving him the trouble of actually finishing. "Yes! I thought you'd never ask!"

"Neither did the rest of us," Alex muttered.

Two loud thumps sounded from underneath the table, as both Zoey and Gwen hissed angrily at him.

"Ow! What the the hell? Did you both have to kick me?"

"Yes," they snapped in unison, while I desperately tried not to laugh.

And thankfully Maeve and Sean were too wrapped up in their own little bubble of joy to notice.

"I'm glad that worked out so well," Zoey said, snuggling against me as we laid in bed later that night. "Maeve deserves to be happy."

"And Sean, too," I agreed.

She was quiet for a long time- so long that I would've thought she'd fallen asleep if it weren't for the lack of snoring. My suspicions were confirmed when she suddenly let out a quiet chuckle.

"What's funny?" I asked, brushing my hand through her curls.

"I was just thinking- when you're miserable, you hate to see other people being happy," Zoey explained. "You want everyone to be as depressed as you are. But when you're happy..."

"You want everyone to feel that way, too," I finished.

"Mhmm."

Zoey giggled and shifted her body so she was looking me in the face, her chin on my chest.

"I wish happiness could spread like a contagious disease," Zoey announced. "Wouldn't it be great if you could sneeze on someone and make them catch it?"

"Ah yes, the happy flu," I mused, nodding sagely. "That would be biological warfare at its finest."

"You should start working on that one, Dr. McCoy," Zoey teased. "I mean, now that you've discovered a link between heterocyclic amines and cancer."

"Now that we've discovered a link between HCA's and cancer. You're the one that set up the protocol," I corrected. "So you're co-authoring, when the findings are ready to be published."

"Fine, if you're going to twist my arm about it," she conceded, making us both laugh.

After our chuckles died away Zoey snuggled against me so tightly it was like she was trying to perform some sort of reverse-mitosis. I wondered what was on her mind now.

"I feel so lucky to have you," she whispered suddenly. "Thank you."

Oh. Now I get it.

This would be her first scientific paper since her thesis, so Zoey was thanking me for being supportive. I nearly melted on the spot.

"You're welcome," I replied softly. "I'm lucky too, you know. What we have... It's more precious than gold. How many people can say that they not only professionally collaborate with their spouse, but enjoy it?"

"We are such huge nerds," Zoey muttered.

"Happy nerds," I agreed, pulling her in for a kiss.