Chapter Three - Grow where you're planted!

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A/N - Hiya! It's been a while I know, but I've just finished a rather hectic choir tour in
Venice. Great fun. Masks and gondolas everywhere plus the obligatory theme park
visit! Anyways, I'm back after a quick hop and a skip through Switzerland and France
and back across that fetid little channel back to the land of drizzle. There's my excuse,
hope you liked it. Now on with the story! Arrivaderci senoritas!

******

Thomas gazed with disbelief at the house that contained Hilarity's parents. He hadn't
expected them to live so deep in the dense forests that surrounded the buzzing
metropolis in which he and his girlfriend were living. After a ten mile trek from the
nearest spaceship parking zone, machetes in hand ready to ward off the endangered
but deadly giant hornets, they had reached their remote destination. The house itself
was mostly underground to protect it from the stifling heat of the rainforest. The only
part that was visible was a large glass greenhouse that was steamed up with the
humidity at a temperature that could steam cabbage.

He looked across to Hilarity and noticed that her nails were a lot shorter and raw than
usual.

"I feel like some coffee! You want some? I saw a place about five miles away!" she
said trembling with agitation and quickly tried to escape.

"Hilarity. It's fine. There's nothing for you to worry about." Thomas said soothingly
after he had rugby tackled her and dragged her back to the front door.

"But you don't understand! My parents are..."

"I don't care if they're a couple of angry Vogons. I love you and I'm going to do
everything it takes to get them to accept me." came her reply as Thomas took her face
in his hands and kissed her gently. "Are you ready?"

"I dunno. I might need a bit more coaxing." she said and waggled her eyebrows in the
way that always made him laugh. At least she still had her sense of humour.

******

After a bit more 'coaxing' (that was mostly tongue related), Hilarity and Thomas
plucked up their courage and rang the bell at the front of the glass house. They heard
the sound of footsteps upon a concrete floor with the occasional mufflement as the
walker accidentally trod in a pile of soft peat. The steamy door flew open and a giant
dressed as a middle aged man stepped out. In unison, Hilarity and Thomas craned
their necks to look the man in the eye. He was huge, well over eight feet tall and had
the same blue/black hair and dazzling violet eyes as Hilarity and while they were both
blessed with the gift of height, the man who stood before them had the physical
stature to go with it while Hilarity still remained a spindly lamppost. So this was the
renowned horticulturist, Ranford Freak, Hilarity's father.

"Hi dad!" cried Hilarity and was soon engulfed in bone crushing bear hug.

"Honey, we weren't expecting you till ten. How was the traffic?" said Ranford.

"Not too bad."

"And the walk here?"

"Nothing fatal."

Both father and daughter stepped into the eccentric house, quietly chatting without
giving Thomas a second glance. Had he not moved quickly, the door would have
slammed in his face. Once inside, Thomas gasped with shock as they entered a room
filled to the brim with the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen in all shapes and
sizes, including the large, spiky form of the black orchid Hilarity had brought back
from her first trip to the Labyrinth.

"So how's you're latest book going?" Ranford enquired breaking the stunned silence.

"Still in the research stages at the moment. I thought I'd do something about the Alteia
star systems and their famous jewelled coastlines." said Hilarity.

"Excellent, when's the trip planned?"

"We're leaving next season." she said smiling.

"Who's we?"

"Me and Thomas of course." said Hilarity with a quick gesture to the alien at the other
end of the room, admiring a large species of fern.

"Oh! Sorry, I though you were talking about this mysterious new man in your life I've
heard so much about."

"I was!"

"Oh." said her father and looked slightly shocked. Inter-species relationships were not
completely accepted in polite society and were regarded as unnatural and flipping
pointless. He looked at his daughter in disbelief. "Well, if that's the way you feel
then..." he wasn't sure what to say "You're mother's not going to like this! I'm not
getting involved because everything I get involved with automatically becomes my
fault. If I were you, I wouldn't introduce this guy to her until she's completely calmed
down..."

******

A few hours later they flew home in silence. Hilarity was still seething with anger and
Thomas was still nursing his head wound.

"That woman!" Hilarity snarled. "I'm so sorry, I was not expecting her to throw that
wellington boot at you!"

"I'll be all right." said Thomas.

"She's never hit anyone before."

"She's not a violent person?"

"No, her aims really bad!"

They got out of the ship and made their way to Hilarity's apartment block.

"Still, I liked your dad." said Thomas "He's a really decent person."

"Yeah." said Hilarity as they climbed the steps up to the main entrance.

"I was a bit worried though when he started talking to his plants."

"Yeah, he does that sometimes."

"He said: "You're so gorgeous, if you were a Zean I'd make love to you right now" !!!"
said Thomas as they got into the elevator "I thought he was talking to me and I was
about to leg it!"

Hilarity looked at him then fell into a fit of laughing "Oh crap! I should have warned
you about that."

They got out, still giggling like a pair of school kids. Hilarity opened the door to her
flat and switched on the living room light.

The room was filled with Goblins!