Chapter 8 - BUILDING BRIDGES AND LIGHTING A FEW MATCHES

For the next few weeks, things seemed to settle into a pattern for Snowpiercer's newest roommates. Which, according to Layton, was exactly what they needed. Normalcy. A routine.

And for the most part, they had three separate ones, depending on the time of day.

They had their morning routine, which was basically getting ready to face whatever the day brought.

They each had their own separate afternoon routines, as they rarely saw each other during the day.

And then their evening routine, which changed over the weeks as circumstances offered up new opportunities, but eventually settled into a semi-regular schedule of events.

However, it was the morning routine that always seemed to lacked a certain amount of consistency. One of the things Layton loved about the cabin was the shower. It wasn't the usual refrigerator sized, barely room to turn around shower most cabins had. It was a REAL shower. Plenty of room, with tile, shelves, and a shower head with several settings. The problem was the warm water. The tank where the water was heated only held enough for one shower at a time, and took about thirty minutes to heat up again. So they tried to respect each other's time using it in the morning. But basically, in the morning, if they both wanted to shower, whoever got up first got first call. And the other had to wait thirty minutes or put off showering until night.

For this very reason, Layton found himself being more and more of an early riser. Otherwise he stood a good chance of being late to whatever he had going on that day. But no matter how early he tried to get up, Melanie always seemed to beat him to the bathroom in the morning and claim the shower first.

"What exactly do you do in there?" Layton asked one morning, still laying in the bed waiting for her to finish as Melanie came out drying her hair with a towel.

Melanie kept her stare on him as she walked around the bed. "That's a bit of a personal question." She replied flatly.

"No it's not." Layton replied, still holding open the book he was reading. "It's a request for information. I mean, I can take a shower in under fifteen minutes."

"Since when?"

Layton frowned at her. "Not when I'm enjoying it, lady. But with you...it's the periods of utter silence I can't figure out. I hear the water turn on, then the water shut off, and then it's complete and utter silence. What exactly do women do in a shower that takes SO long and is SO quiet?" He held up his book. "I'm five chapters in before you get out!"

"Then get up earlier or read slower." She suggested. "And you lack of a skin care routine is not my concern."

Layton gave her a incredulous look. "Skin care?"

"You profess you were married. Go asked your wife. I'm just a roommate."

Layton frowned at the suggestion. "At this point I half expect you to drive another train out of there one morning. Since building one is the only explanation I have right now."

Melanie answered him with a slightly smug look. "I'll sound the whistle first so I don't surprise you too much."

Layton frowned at her again slightly as he lay back in the bed, turning his attention back to his book as he waited for the water to heat up.

The one thing he did like about their arrangement was it seemed to be doing exactly what he had hoped it would do; softening her just a little towards him overall. She wasn't always as stiff around him anymore. Sometimes she even came close to being almost playful. Like the one morning they both woke up at the exact same moment. A rarity since they almost never went to bed at the same time. Either he stayed up late reading over reports from his 'governors', or she would come in completely exhausted at some insane hour because the engine had 'been behaving badly'.

"Spank it next time and send it to bed without dinner." He suggested once when she came in around three in the morning with that as the excuse.

But that particular morning they both open their eyes at exactly the same time. Staring at each other across the bed, they both seemed to have the exact same thought and suddenly bolted out of the bed. He swore he would have won the race since she had the longer distance to transverse. But he got caught in one of the covers and she managed to beat him to the bathroom by a split second.

Turning around, she happily stuck her tongue out at him before shutting the door in his face.

Layton tried to think of some way to defend his loss.

"You only won because of a blanket!" He yelled through the door.

The door suddenly slid open and a small, wet hand towel landed smack in his face as the door slid shut again.

"Thank you." He answered her action. "Since that's the closest I'll get to warm water for the next thirty minutes."

And although they both did show they were trying to make the arrangement work, it still had it's ups and downs. Mostly it manifested in that she was definitely not used to living with someone. Certain habits of his just seemed to grind her the wrong way. Like the fact he hated taking care of what he termed 'garbage detail', which consisted of taking any trash they had to the compost car once a week.

"Is it really that hard?" She asked. "All I'm asking for you to do is take out the garbage."

Layton gave her a somewhat sarcastic smile. "I can take it out with a .357. Would that suffice?"

The comment earned him a deep scowl in return. But they finally agreed to split the garage detail on alternating weeks.

There was also the fact that he saw no need for both of them to individually wash dishes after eating since they both used plates, and therefore, had to wash them.

"So why can't the last person who eats do the dishes?" He asked.

"Because that's usually me." She replied.

Layton laughed at the comment. "You?" He stated. "You don't even eat!"

"Of course I eat." Was her defense. "But I'm usually the last one to come in at night."

"Then come home earlier. It would do you some good." Was his suggestion. "Stop being the sole person partying with the engine until 1AM. It needs to make some new friends."

Grudgingly he had lost that fight, and was consigned to washing his own dishes after that.

But the biggest arguments they had centered around their sleeping arrangements. Whereas Melanie contended she was the easiest person in the world to sleep with, Layton insisted she stole blankets, snored like a buzz saw, and slept like someone in a coma.

"I am not a blanket thief, I do NOT snore, and I do not sleep that heavily!" Melanie defended.

Layton gave her a solid stare. "Lady, I could put you in bed with a brick, and at three in the morning, if I nudged both of you, the brick would wake up first."

"You're exaggerating...as usual."

"Really?" Layton asked with a knowing smile. "What about the last 'brace'? Three nights ago? One in the morning?"

Melanie froze.

"Even Knox thought that one came close to derailing a few cars. Yet not only did you not hear the warning, the most you did was mumble something and roll over in the bed. Taking half the blankets with you, might I add."

"Fine." Melanie answered. "I'm a heavy sleeper. But at least I don't roll around all night, steal pillows, hog more than my half of the bed, and talk in my sleep."

After a brief pause, Layton's only answer to her list was, "I don't talk in my sleep."

Melanie returned his knowing smile. "Really? Then who's 'my oh-so-sweet sugar baby'?"

Layton paused. "My...pet."

"Pet what?"

"My...pet..." He thought about it longer than he should have. "...dog."

"Uh-huh."

But there were also things they did for each other that Layton felt were signs each of them was trying to show the other some small kindness, if not even trying to build some sort of friendship.

Like the time he had brought up how much he hated not having anything to sleep in other than his regular clothes. Usually, out of respect to her and the fact that, while warmer than the outer room, it was still less than pleasantly warm in the bedroom, he slept in whatever he wore that day. But one night he came back from a meeting that had run later than usual to find she had already gone to bed and was apparently sound asleep. Not wanting anything more than to get some sleep himself, Layton dropped the papers he had on the table and headed straight to the bedroom.

When he got there, laid out carefully on his side of the bed waiting for him, were a pair of thermals, which from the size alone, he knew weren't just a spare pair she had laying around.

In the morning he thanked her the only way he could think of. Since he knew well she wasn't much of one for gushing displays of gratitude, he instead went to the dining car and got her a bagel with cream cheese. Something he knew was a favorite of her's and left it for her with a cup of her favorite tea on the table with a brief note thanking her for the thermals.

But the next night he was presented with another opportunity he didn't hesitate to take.

He had already been at the cabin for a while when she came in, practically dragging herself in the room.

"Hard day at the office?" He asked. The comment was sort of an unspoken running joke between them whenever one of them came back from their day's work looking like they had had a rougher than usual day.

The question got him a slight scowl as she headed for the bedroom.

Suddenly he got an idea he wasn't about to pass up on as a way to build on their fragilely developing relationship.

"Wait a minute." He stated, getting up from the sofa.

Melanie sighed as she turned back to him. "Yes?"

"Aren't you eating anything?"

"I'm more interested in sleep than food, Mr. Layton." Came the tired reply.

Layton quickly directed her away from the bedroom hallway and back towards the table near the small kitchen they shared. "No wonder you're thinner than most people were in the Tail." He stated. "I never see you eat."

"You rarely see me!" She protested, but still allowed him to seat her in one of the chairs.

A finger was firmly pointed at her. "Sit." He stated.

She was about to get back up, but stopped herself as he quickly headed into the kitchen. Curiosity got the better of her as she settled into the chair and turned to see what he was up to.

Layton thanked his normally nosey nature for having peeked through her cabinets when he first came to live there. So he was already mildly familiar with what she had on hand.

Quickly pulling out several items, within a matter of minutes he had boiled a pan of pasta and served it up with a simple sauce full of spices poured over it.

Melanie let the scent fill her nose as she sniffed at the steam rising from the plate that he set in front of her before he sat down with his own plate across from her.

Carefully she dipped her fork into the mixture and tried a mouthful.

With an appreciative sound, she quickly dipped her fork in again for another taste.

"Not bad, huh?" Layton asked as she devoured the third forkful.

"This is actually delicious." She answered him.

"Thank my grandmother. She insisted no grandson of her's wasn't going to know how to cook."

"She did an excellent job with this plate." Melanie replied, clearing off the plate within just a few minutes.

"More?" Layton asked, pleased to see how much she enjoyed his simple offering.

Melanie gave him a cautious look.

"There's plenty." He added quickly, taking her plate as he went back to the kitchen.

A few seconds later another plate was placed in front of her as he took his own seat again.

Melanie gave the plate another appreciative, long sniff as she inhaled the aroma.

Layton smiled at her reaction, then tapped her plate with his fork. "Eat." He stated. "Then off to bed. You don't eat or sleep enough."

Melanie stared back at him with a half-hearted stern look this time. "You just live here, Mr. Layton." She said. "Don't start getting bossy or you could very well find out how comfortable the hallway outside is at night."

"It's not being 'bossy'." He replied, giving her a softened look. "It's called 'looking after'. And you could use a little."

"I look after myself quite well."

"Well, now there's two of us to do that. And from now on, you eat before you get to sleep."

Melanie shrugged at the order. She was more interested in her plate than in what orders he thought he could give her.

As she started on her second helping, he casually began filling her in on his day and asking her questions about her's. While a bit reticent at first, as he began discussing matters of the train, she became more and more interested, and their late night dinner soon turned into a nearly hour long discussion about what was happening amid the new society of the train.

But checking the clock finally, and making sure she had finished her second plateful, Layton directed her off to bed, stating he would take care of cleaning up as she needed to get some sleep. The comment got him another half-hearted scowl as she shuffled off down the hallway.

The next night he came back to the cabin to the scent of something he barely remembered. Drawing in a deep lungful, he sighed happily at the smell.

"What is that?" He asked, following the smell into the kitchen area.

Melanie was already placing two plates on the table. "Hamburgers." She stated, trying, but failing miserably to hide a small smile at his reaction.

Layton quickly took a seat at the table and dove into the offering with pleasure.

Melanie took a seat across from him. "Don't you want anything with that?" she asked in as casual a manner as she could.

Layton shook his head with a contented smile. "Bread and meat." He sighed past a mouthful. "Perfection."

Melanie picked up her own hamburger off the plate. "So," she began, "how was your day?"

And so a new tradition was born between them. No matter what time one of them came in, the other had something prepared for them. If it wasn't too late, a regular meal was in order. But if it was late, something simple like sandwiches sufficed. And the routine also brought an end to the argument of who did the dishes. After the meal, they shared the task now, with one washing while the other dried.

The nightly meal also gave birth to another new tradition for them. It lent itself to them going to bed at more the same hour. Which in turn, brought about what was rapidly becoming what seemed to be their favorite part of the day.

As a joke, Layton called it their 'pillow talk'.

Practically living in the engine now, Melanie found herself more and more cut off from the daily happenings. Something she didn't particularly like, but she accepted as part of how things were now. She had hated being the sole decision maker. When responsibility for everything, good or bad, fell squarely on her shoulders, whether anyone else was aware of it or not. But when it was taken from her, she found, somehow, she did miss it. Not so much the responsibility for the decisions, but making them. Exploring new ideas and making plans. But shortly after Layton moved in, at night, as they lay in the bed basically ignoring each other as always, he started making small comments to her off-handedly about what was happening on the train. At first she tried to mostly ignore him, giving little more than non-committal sounds for answers. But he seemed to instinctively know she couldn't keep up the pretense for very long. Every scrap he fed her she feasted on, until eventually, as they started going to bed at mostly the same time, these brief snippets into the train's daily life began to turn into full fledged discussions, which in turn became planning sessions about how to improve things and move forward with this new society.

But as good as things seemed to be going with their new arrangement, that didn't mean there weren't problems. And they had their share of fights. The problem was, they were both extremely volatile people, but for very different reasons. Layton simply tended to have a very strong 'fight or flight' response, leaning heavily on the 'fight' side. While Melanie, as Audrey tried to keep pointing out to Layton, simply wasn't good at handling her emotions at all, and so she tended to lean towards extremes. One such fight had ended up with her literally shoving him out of the bed and keeping at him until she had managed to maneuver him all the way to the door and shoving him out into the hall, closed and locked the door behind him.

Thankfully that fight it had been before she gave him the thermals to wear at night, so he was, for the most part, still dressed.

He had spent that night down in the Night Car after going there and complaining to Ms. Audrey that his roommate had lost her mind and locked him out of the cabin.

Audrey carefully looked him over as he stood before the bar.

"Well, one of you is insane." Audrey replied as she carefully looked him over. "Are those the same cloths you were walking around in all day?" She asked.

Layton nodded slightly.

Audrey leaned over the bar, checking his bare feet. "You're feet must be freezing."

Layton nodded slightly again.

With a deep sigh, she gestured with a flip of her dark curls to the back. "There's a spare room back there you can have. But only for tonight."

With a hung head, Layton headed for the back room.

"And I swear, stop acting like an old married couple!" Audrey called after him.

The next morning was no easier for Layton as Audrey had him up at the break of dawn and was hauling him amid avid protests back to the cabin.

"I couldn't care LESS about your opinions on the matter." Audrey stated as they made their way into the car where the cabin was housed. "I happen to rent out that room you were in last night and because the two of you apparently solve your problems like a pair of three year olds, I lost good credit last night. So...," she stated, planting him in front of the door as she banged loudly on it.

Within a few seconds Melanie opened the door to find Layton standing there with Ms. Audrey behind him.

With a solid shove, Layton found himself back in the cabin.

"...solve your own blasted problems!" Ms. Audrey finished, then turned and headed back to her Night Car.

For several long moments they simply stood and stared at each other, each daring the other to go first. But surprisingly it was Melanie who broke the silent stand off first.

"I checked the hallway a few minutes later last night." She said quietly, turning to study the floor with great interest. "But you were already gone. I...was...worr...wondering where you went. Where you slept last night."

"Audrey let me stay in the Night car."

Melanie, still studying the floor, gave him a small smile. "That must have been interesting."

"It was loud. Not interesting." He replied flatly, then added quickly, "But still a little quieter than your snoring."

Melanie looked up quickly at the comment, then caught the small smile he gave her as a peace offering.

"I don't snore." She replied quietly.

"And I don't talk in my sleep." He answered in the same quiet voice.

Melanie paused again before adding in an even quieter voice, " And I'm sorry."

Layton echoed her pause. "Me, too." He finally replied. "You were just trying to help by making a suggestion. I'm sorry I called it 'a stupid idea'."

"Maybe it was." She answered in the same quiet tone.

But Layton quickly shook his head. "No. I had some time...a lot of time... to think about it last night. It was a good idea. It just needs...a little refinement."

Melanie turned back to him. "All right." She replied cautiously. "I guess...we can talk it about it some more tonight."

Layton gave her an equally cautious smile. "So, I can come back?"

Melanie looked up at him, wrapping that hospitality mantle about herself that she relied on so much when things got uncomfortable for her.

"It's your cabin as well, Mr. Layton." She answered him firmly. "I have no right to say whether or not you can live here, and you certainly don't have to ask my permission."

"But it was yours first." He told her. "And you always have the right to toss me out when I step out of line."

"You didn't step out of line." She replied, reverting to her quieter tone. "We...had a disagreement."

"All right." He stated with a small smile. "Then a disagreement. But the next time we have one, could you just banish me to the sofa? I don't think Audrey will take me in again."

"It's still freezing out here at night." She reminded him.

Layton shrugged. "Still likely warmer than the reception Audrey gave me last night."

Melanie returned his smile before she turned and headed back to the bedroom with Layton following her, hoping to get even just one hour's sleep in the peaceful quiet of his personal little nirvana.

Not all of their arguments were settled quite as amicably. But they always seemed to try and settle them before it was time to go to bed after that. And it usually seemed to be Melanie leading the charge on that front. As though after that fight, it was important to her that she knew where he was at night. That she knew he had a place to sleep and he was safe. And safety for her equated to the cabin.

Nor did all issues arise in the hours between dawn and dusk, as Melanie found out one night when she awoke to a feeling she wasn't familiar with.

To her it felt like the whole bed was shaking.

At first she was afraid there had been another warning called out that she had missed. But she quickly put the thought aside as she sat up in the bed. Switching on the light, she glanced over at Layton, who was curled up on his side of the bed with most of the covers pulled off. Looking over the situation, she figured at some point she had rolled over and taken most of the blankets with her, leaving him uncovered in the process. Usually this was a short lived scenario as he eventually pulled the covers back over himself, though often claiming more than his fair share in return. This is turned would have Melanie giving the blankets a solid yank to get her point across and eventually they both settled back to sleep.

But that particular night Layton instead lay in the bed shivering slightly with only one thin cover over himself and all the rest of the covers bunched up between them in the bed.

Melanie nudged him.

"Mr. Layton."

Layton shifted slightly, then rolled over partially to face her.

"Hmmmm?"

"You're shaking." She stated.

The answer held a considerable amount of sarcasm. "Because I'm COLD maybe?"

"Well, that's a small wonder." She replied. "You've lost most of the blankets."

Pulling herself up, she grabbed hold of the pile of blankets and arranged them back over him, making sure he was completely covered again. Layton helped a little, but still seemed to her to be more asleep than awake.

Finally getting the situation back in order, Melanie laid back down on her side of the bed, switching off the light and settling back under her own part of the covers as she felt him do the same with a contented sigh.

For a few moments she lay staring at the ceiling in the darkness.

"Why didn't you say something?" She finally asked quietly.

A shrug under the covers answered her. "Just used to being cold." Came the soft, half asleep answer.

"Back in the Tail." She said, though it was more of a statement than a question.

At first he didn't answer her. But finally he rolled over under the covers, facing her side of the bed. "Yeah, I guess." He finally mumbled in the darkness.

Melanie lay silently next to him for some time, thinking. Carefully she began putting a plan together, having it firmly plotted out before she allowed herself to go back to sleep.

The next morning Layton woke up to an empty bed. He sat up and looked around the room quickly. Usually he heard...or better 'felt' her get up in the morning. But that morning he had slept right through everything.

He frowned at the situation. Melanie wasn't exactly what he called a 'morning person'. Just getting out of bed and getting dressed he equated to a herd of buffalo going through the room.

Drunken buffalos.

But that morning he hadn't heard so much as a peep to wake him.

Sighing he wondered what she was up to. If she had been that quiet, she purposefully didn't want to wake him. So basically, she'd snuck out.

Glancing over at her nightstand, he checked the clock.

7AM!

When had this woman left?

He checked her side of the bed.

Cold.

Pulling himself out of his own comfortable, warm cocoon, he got up and got dressed, figuring he would see her that night and find out then what she was up to.

But it didn't take him the whole day to figure out her scheme.

It didn't even take half the day.

By 9AM he was stopped in one of the hallways by Richard, a Tailie now working in one of the Ag-Cars. He was one of the ones pulled out of the Tail first after the revolution through a census of the people living there. Having been a farmer, Richard was highly prized by the train to keep their carefully balance food supply sustaining all of the people.

It was one of the things Melanie had set in motion almost immediately, and something Layton had admired her for. She advocated at the council meetings she attended that the Tailies weren't just a bunch of lazy freeloaders. Many of them had useful skills the train needed. That they could, in fact, become productive, contributing members to their new society. And so she had set up a type of census through the Tail. A way to allow the Tailies to state what skills they had.

But since not all of the Tailies really trusted her, she operated the census in the background with the help of the Tail's leaders. And for many of the Tailies, it served as a way for them to improve their living circumstances through their own work.

And the census had proved to be a great help to the train overall. Through it Melanie had identified several people with some level of medical skills, including three doctors and several nurses, EMT's, and medical lab workers. Four more dentists were found. Several vets were also identified, along with a variety of food service workers, plumbers, security workers, and quite a few electricians. Builders, contractors, and jack-of-all trade workers were also quickly identified. These, along with the plumbers and electricians were all sent immediately to work under Boki, as he knew the most about the day to day maintenance needs of the train.

And not all of the residence had moved out of the Tail, even when it was offered. Many, like Richard, had chosen to stay and try to make a better home for themselves there along with their fellow Tailies.

"Mr. Layton!" Richard happily called out, waving to him.

Layton stopped in the hallway, a frown etching itself on his face at the greeting. He hated that everyone now seemed to only call him 'Mr. Layton' or his even more hated title...'Chancellor'.

"What happened to 'Andre'?" He asked as the man walked up to him.

The man shook his head. "Sorry. It's just...people think of you differently now. You know."

"Well, get on the speaker and tell that to the front of the train. Most of them still look at me and just see a Tailie."

"Back don't care what the front thinks." The man replied. "Some of them are back there now, getting a taste of it thanks to the census. Can't say they much care for it. But it sure was better this morning for everybody."

Layton turned back to him. "This morning? What made this morning so great in the Tail?"

"Well, the heat!" The man exclaimed. "And we sure appreciate it. Knew things would change eventually. But us in the Tail, we been waiting for them in the front to realize we were still cold."

Layton stared at the man with a questioning look. "Heat?"

"Well, it ain't like I remember June in the Plains or nothin'." Richard answered him. "But it was definitely noticeable. And don't think for one moment any one of us don't appreciate it."

Though it took a moment, Layton suddenly caught up to what was going on. He gave the man a friendly pat on the shoulder before moving on.

"Glad things are looking up, Richard." He replied. "And thanks for letting me know."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Layton. Tail appreciates all you're doing for us."

Layton stopped suddenly and turned back to the man with a shake of his head.

"Not this time, Richard."

The man gave him a confused look. "Sir?"

"I didn't turn the heat up in the Tail, Richard."

The man now looked completely perplexed. "Then who did, Mr. Layton?"

Layton turned back to him as he started off down the hallway again. "That's what I'm going to find out."

"Well, when you do, you tell them the Tail thanks them." Richard called after him.

Later that night, after they had finished dinner and settled in for the night under the layer of cozy blankets, Layton decided it was time to figure out what his enigmatic roommate had been up to that day.

"Andrew Mason came to me with an interesting idea today." He commented off-handedly as Melanie worked diligently on her laptop.

"Hmmmm?" Came the half-interested response.

Layton wasn't the least put off by her response. He was used to it. It usually took a few moments for her to ever give something else her full attention when she was working on a problem on the laptop.

"He suggested maybe we could work up some sort of system so people could get paid for the work they did. It would be a step towards getting some sort of economy going on the train."

Melanie turned to him this time. "What sort of system?"

Layton shrugged at the question. "I don't know. Maybe let people earn work credits. So many credits for so many hours you work."

"But how would we keep track of that?" She asked. "Or keep people from claiming more work time than they actually earned?"

"I suppose we could issue some sort of physical token."

Melanie gave him a soft laugh. "Like money?"

Layton echoed her laugh. "Yeah. Something like that." He gave a small sigh as he leaned back against the pillows again. "I'll put the idea before the council at the next meeting and see what we can come up with. But I definitely think its an idea worth exploring."

"Needs work." She replied, turning back to her laptop.

Layton lay in silence for a few moments. "You don't come to the meetings very much anymore." He finally commented.

Melanie appeared to have turned her attention back to her laptop by then.

"I seem to cause more discord than I help by being there." She replied. "You run the meetings well enough without me."

Layton sighed as he turned to her again. "That's just Ruth and her First Class cohorts. The others don't think you cause any issues by being there, and they even asked why you stopped coming."

"I couldn't care less what Ruth and the others think." She replied, but then slowly turned back to him. "What do you tell them?" She asked.

"That you're busy in the engine."

"Well, that's not a lie. I usually am."

"Only because you make sure you are whenever there's a council meeting."

Melanie simply returned his stare, not denying or affirming the statement.

"If you want them to trust you, to accept you, Ms. Cavill, you can't keep running away."

"I'm not." She protested. "I'm genuinely busy."

"And you couldn't care less what anyone thinks."

Melanie turned back to her laptop. "No. I couldn't."

"And that's why you turned the heat up for a bunch of freeloaders in the back of the train?"

Melanie froze at the comment, but then went back to working on her laptop.

Layton paused for a moment. But he knew from her reaction he had found exactly the answer he was looking for. "Well, even though you don't care," he went on with a small smile, "they said to tell you 'Thank you' just the same."

Melanie paused, just staring at her laptop screen, but not doing anything else. But after a few moments she finally closed the lid on it and set it on the nightstand as she rolled over to face the side of the bed.

"Good night, Mr. Layton." She said, switching off her light.

Layton reached up and switched off his light as well before settling down in the bed. "Good night, Ms. Cavill."

For some time they lay in the darkness, their backs to each other, staring at the opposite walls.

"I prefer 'Melanie'." A soft voice finally reached out to him in the darkness.

A smile worked itself across Layton's face at the request.

"Well," he answered her, "I prefer 'Andre'."

There was a brief pause. "I like 'Layton' better."

A soft chuckle answered her. "I can live with that."

Again the room fell into silence as they each lay on their side of the bed. But finally Melanie stretched out a bit, the resettled into the soft mattress.

"Goodnight, Layton."

"Goodnight, Melanie."