She applied herself to the task at hand, but the solution she had thought she had found turned out to be a bust. She thought for a few minutes that the modeling system might be buggy, but then she found the flaw in her logic. With a face-twisting grimace, she sat back and tried to not pout.

Taking the tie out of her hair, she raked her fingers through the unbound mass, marveling again at how thick her hair was, when she let it grow. That was one of the things you forgot when you kept it short, just what it felt like to have a bunch of hair hanging from your head. It was actually kind of nice to have long hair, she had to admit. Sure, it took a little more care than short hair, and an enemy could grab it when you fought, but she had the time, now. And lacked the enemies, thankfully.

Her fingers caught on a snarl, and she worked it out, running her fingernails through the caught hairs until they fell free again. Then she tied her hair back up, leaned forward, and buried her head in her hands.

She was stuck. Completely and totally stuck. The project could go on even if she didn't figure this piece out, but something teased at the edges of her mind, an elegant solution that would increase output dramatically. If she could just see it… but she couldn't. It taunted her, teasing the edges of her mind, but she couldn't figure out what it was she was missing.

Standing, she turned off her monitor and called it a day. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to come to her now. Maybe later tonight, when she was tired and feeling more creative, but not now. She checked her watch and noted with some surprise that it was only a few minutes until it was time to leave, anyway. She fidgeted until it was time to properly leave, then flew out the door, trying to avoid contact with anyone while she went home to attempt to think this thing through from the comparative luxury of her apartment.

She almost made it. As she was nearly dashing out the front door a hand reached out and grabbed her upper arm.

"Hey you, where do you think you're going?"

"Home?" she turned and mock-glared at Mark.

"How about a nice home-cooked meal, instead? My aunt made a double batch of lasagna… and the girls would love to see you again."

"Mmm…" she hesitated.

"Come on… pasta? Cheese? You know you want it…."

"Fine, you sweet talker. You know how to impress the ladies." She swept out the door, then waited for him to follow. They made their way through the streets at his pace, navigating the sidewalks with practiced ease.

"Just you," he said after a moment, flashing her a smile. "You're the only lady I try to impress."

"So is Effie coming?" she asked with a laugh and a quick look over her shoulder before they got too far away from work, changing the subject with practiced ease.

"No… She has a date, remember? With Kathleen, in accounting?"

"Oh, that's right. The blond one?"

"No. The brunette. Did you even listen at lunch? She was going on and on about her. Her eyes, her figure…"

"Her availability?"

"That too. Well, here's hoping it works out."

"Here's hoping. That must be why she was trying to set us up. Again."

"Was she? That was nice of her."

"One of these days, you guys are just going to have to accept that I'm already taken."

"By your mystery man?"

"Yes."

"I think he's a myth."

"Lots of people do. But he does exist."

"But doesn't visit."

"Not… yet." She sighed. "That's my fault, I'm sure. We didn't leave on amicable terms."

"And yet still you're faithful."

She grinned at Mark wryly. "If I fell for the guys who were good for me, I'd be dating you. But I'm not that smart."

"I'm still here."

"I know you are. Mark, you're one of my best friends. But that's going to be it. Until I know for sure that he wants nothing more to do with me, I'm going to be faithful."

"I just hope he's really worth it," he sighed.

"I think he is. I think. You know, I really have bad taste in men. But I can't seem to help it. Blame it on a horrid father figure."

"You blame everything on your father."

"Not everything. But he was a bit of an asshole."

"No excuse. You can move beyond whatever it was he did to you."

She shot him a sad look. "You say that as if it is an easy thing to do. You, with your beautiful family."

"We aren't beautiful."

"But you love each other. And that is very, very good."

"Of course we love each other. We're family," he said, as if the correlation should be obvious.

Anne shook her head. "You… It's great that you guys love each other. Not all families are loving. And it's a hard thing to learn, later in life, how to love."

"We love you. We'd love you more if you let us. You know the girls just adore you. My aunt thinks you'd make a great mother; you know she pesters me, asking how long it's going to take me to ask you out."

"I know. I'm sorry. But…"

"I know. You're taken by your mystery man."

"Entirely. Heart and soul."

"That's a bit pathetic."

"Some say romantic."

"Four years, and you hear nothing from him? And are still obsessed? Pathetic."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Think nothing of it. Friends get such services free."

"Wonderful. So what do I have to pay for?"

"The wine, for dinner."

"Oh. Well, we'll need to stop off and get some. I seem to have left that traveling bottle in my other jacket."

"There's the store a few blocks away from my aunt's place. We can pick a bottle up there."

"Trying to get me drunk so you can work your way upon my fair flesh?"

"Drat. You saw right through me."