**Hi everyone! Thank you all for being so supportive and understanding with my late update. It's the end of the school year so I have a lot of things going on in order to get my students ready for first grade. Since I have done so many chapters of cases, I've been primarily focusing on (and having fun with) building Naru and Mai's attraction towards one another in these later chapters. There are still a few really adorable ones yet to come! I had a really hard time writing this chapter and because I felt like I couldn't get it 100% perfect. It's a slower chapter but lots of things needed to be done in order to pave way for future chapters. I hope you enjoy and thank you all again for the wonderful reviews and favorites/follows. Please send me a private message if there are any errors, I haven't proof read this yet but wanted to get it out to you since you have all been waiting so patiently.**

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mai leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Monday had flown by. It was already nearly time to leave for the day. Perhaps it was because she spent most of the day keeping herself busy to keep her mind from wandering to what had happened that weekend. Teasing her lip between her teeth, she thought back to her visit to Naru's house. It had felt so domestic, so comforting, so...natural for some reason. And now it was getting harder and harder to keep her growing affections for her boss in check.

Throughout the day she hadn't been able to control her wandering thoughts and found herself making silly mistakes such as missing the cup and pouring hot tea on her hand. At one point she had walked into the doorway leading into the lobby, which unfortunately Yasuhara had bared witness and still refused to let her live it down. On top of that, she had gone to deliver Oliver his tea earlier only to wind up staring at him as she was lost in thought. She was thoroughly embarrassed when she finally snapped back to reality at the confused look he was giving her and she nearly dropped the cup on the poor man. Ever since that debacle she stayed at her desk for the remainder of the day.

She pouted to herself. It was rather unfair that her heart raced every time she thought of her trip to Oliver's while he, on the other hand, appeared unaffected. He kept acting as he always had. Anyway, why wouldn't he? She sighed, it was nothing more than an employee running a task for their employer.

The sound of fingers typing away on a keyboard reached her ears and she shook her head softly. The man hadn't left his office all day; he really was such a workaholic.

A faint chime caught her attention and she looked down at her phone. She quickly straightened up upon seeing Masako's name displayed across the screen.

She unlocked her mobile to read what was written.

Thank you for all your help the other day. Gene has been so supportive and we've never been closer. - Masako

Mai quickly responded.

No need to thank me. I'm happy everything went well for the two of you. How is work going? - Mai

A minute went by before the phone pinged again.

Filming just began today. My boss is less than pleased that Gene came with me, though. I couldn't be happier.

Mai laughed lightly and typed another response.

I'd like to see them try to pressure you into another contract with Gene there.

Precisely. I've got to get back to work but thank you again.

You're welcome, good luck!

She couldn't help the giddy smile that spread across her face in happiness of having a new friend. Hopefully Masako saw them as such. She made a mental note to herself to ask the medium if she'd want to get together sometime after her return to England. Maybe they could watch their favourite Japanese movies or explore London.

Her train of thought was interrupted when a file was waved in front of her face. Letting out a small squeak of surprise, she quickly turned to see Oliver watching her with a quirked brow and smirk.

"How long have you been there?" she frowned and placed a hand on her heart. "You gave me a fright."

"You would have noticed me sooner if you were actually doing your work instead of talking on your phone," he stated.

"I have been working, for your information. Masako was just updating me on everything over in America," she frowned and took the file from the man's hand. "What's this?"

"Potential case," he responded casually. "You can look at it on the way."

Mai's brow raised questioningly. "On the way to where?"

"To see the baby. I'm assuming you were invited this evening as well since you have a gift bag under your desk." He motioned with his head to the baby blue bag poking out from under her desk.

"You're going, too?" she beamed.

He gave her a look that stated the obvious. "Seeing as Lin is my closest friend and Madoka my mentor, yes I'm going there as well."

"Right, of course you'd be going," she laughed embarrassedly and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

He looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

"Well?" she echoed, confused.

"Are you coming?" he asked. "I'll give you a lift."

Her mouth fell open slightly and she nodded. "Oh! Um, sure! Let me just turn off my computer, I'll be done in a jiffy."

She quickly turned off the device and grabbed her jacket, handbag, and gift bag before turning to the dark haired man with a bright smile. "Good to go."

He nodded and picked up the file from earlier off of her desk and handed it to her again. "You almost forgot it," he sighed.

"Oh, yeah," the brunette chuckled and took the file once more. "Thank you."

Following after him, she tried to rearrange all of the things in her hands without dropping anything. Looking up, she realized Oliver was holding the door open for her and she smiled in return.

"...Do you need me to hold anything?" he asked unsurely as she walked past him.

She shook her head and he followed her down the front steps of the building. "It's okay, I can manage."

"Considering how uncoordinated you've been today, I'm not sure if I believe that," he said. His tone was casual but she could see the teasing glint in his eyes.

"That's only because...nevermind," she quickly stopped herself from explaining. "Anyway, I think I'm perfectly capable of holding just a few things."

As if on cue, a refreshing breeze blew through the streets, giving a bit of relief from the afternoon heat. Mai reached the bottom of the steps just as another gust of wind rushed by. Had she'd known it was going to be so windy she wouldn't have worn the flowing red sundress she had chosen for the day.

In a series of unfortunate events, the knee-length skirt of her dress billowed up around her thighs and her chocolate eyes widened as she felt it rise higher. Without thinking she shoved her hands down to keep her pants from being exposed and whatever was left of her dignity. In doing so she had forgotten the items in her hand.

With a gasp, she reached out with one hand and was able to catch only her jacket, handbag, and file, while the other hand continued to tame the hem of her skirt. However, in her haste, she had lost her balance and braced herself for the fall.

The fall never came as a strong arm wrapped around her waist and she was pulled against the man's chest. The hand on her skirt automatically reached up to steady herself against him and she grabbed onto his white button-down shirt.

Brown met blue as Oliver looked down at her with a smirk.

"You were saying?" he asked teasingly.

She stared up at him with wide eyes and she could feel the flush spreading across her cheeks. Their proximity was intoxicating and she couldn't move, let alone look away.

The teasing glint in his eyes slowly faded and was replaced with something else as he held her gaze. The arm around her waist tightened ever so slightly, pulling her closer. Her grip on his shirt held fast and her breath had caught.

The sound of a passerby coughing brought Mai back to her senses and Oliver stepped away. His hand now hovered over her hip to make sure she was steady on her feet. He turned his head to gaze down the street as he held up the gift bag with his other hand. She realized he must have grabbed it as he caught her.

"I'll hold onto this," he said, clearing his throat. "We should get going."

Mai nodded quickly and kept her eyes anywhere but on him. "T-Thank you."

They began to walk down the street towards the car park in silence. Mai was grateful the wind had ceased momentarily, but she kept a cautious hand on her skirt just in case. The two of them had a few blocks to go, so she flipped the file in her hand open to see what the potential case was.

Her eyes scanned the page. "Hmm, it looks simple enough."

Oliver nodded. "It shouldn't take more than a day. We also shouldn't need to call anyone else in."

Mai hummed in agreement, flipping the page. "When are we going?"

She felt his large hands on her waist again and she quickly snapped her head up. He was guiding her to stand on the other side of him and she gave him a questioning glance.

"If you actually watched where you were going you would have seen you were about to walk into a lamppost," he smirked down at her.

Turning her head around, she saw he had been right. She had been so engrossed in the case that she would have walked face-first into the post had he not moved her.

An impish grin played at her lips as she looked back at him. "Whoops?"

"Apparently you need a chaperone just to walk down the streets as well."

She could hear the playful tone in his voice and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Well, it's a good thing you're always there to save the day, hm Naru?" she joked and reached up a hand to lightheartedly pat him on the head. "Good boy."

He gave her a halfhearted glare from the corner of his eyes to which she laughed even more.

"What did you get for a gift?" he asked, changing the subject while holding the gift bag up slightly.

"Oh! Just a little something I made for little Ming," she explained. "I started it Saturday night and worked on it all throughout yesterday. It's not very good, but it's something from the heart so hopefully he'll like it."

Oliver reached into the bag and pulled out a small crocheted panda bear wearing a little green jumper. One leg was slightly longer than the others and its head was a bit large but he could see the effort she put into it.

"A panda?" he asked.

Mai nodded fervently. "Madoka sait it was her favourite animal so I thought it would be nice."

"You made this?" he repeated, turning it in his hands.

Mai began to feel self-conscious about the toy she had made from hand. "Yes...is it not okay? Maybe I'll just make a new one and throw this one out-"

She tried to reach for the bear but he effortlessly held it out of her reach.

"You did well," he stated seriously.

Pulling back, she looked at him bashfully. "Do you think so? I made it in such a hurry. I don't even know what I was thinking when I made the little jumper this morning before work. I barely even know how to sew! I can't even remember how many times I poked my fingers while making it."

The two had finally made it to the black sedan and Oliver turned to look at her curiously. "Is that what happened to your fingers?"

Taken aback by the question she stopped walking. "Pardon?"

Oliver sighed and reached out his free hand to grab hers. The second his fingers touched her skin she sucked in a small breath, if he noticed, he made no sign. He casually held her hand up to inspect her fingertips.

"You were favouring them throughout the day. It was obvious you had hurt them in some way." His sharp blue eyes investigated the tips of her fingers momentarily before looking up to see the blush on her cheeks. "There's no need to be embarrassed. You were bound to hurt yourself."

Her brows furrowed at his words. "What do you mean I was 'bound to hurt myself'?"

"How many times did you hurt yourself today just by walking around the office?" he leaned in slightly with a teasing grin.

Mai quickly pulled her hand away and huffed. "That's different. That was because I was thinking about-" She froze with wide eyes before she could admit she'd spent the whole day thinking about him. "-something else."

"Such as?" he pried, intrigued. There it was, the glimmer of amusement shining behind his eyes.

He was enjoying this wasn't he? Pursing her lips in irritation she quickly reached out and grabbed the bear from his grasp before shoving it back in the bag he was holding.

"It doesn't concern you," she dismissed haughtily.

"Well apparently it does concern me if it's causing you to maim yourself during work hours just by doing basic daily tasks," he countered with a shrug.

Reaching out, she pulled the gift bag from his hand and turned towards the car. "Shouldn't we be on our way, Naru?"

He watched in amusement as she once again tried to juggle all the items in her hand while trying to open the car door. He allowed her to try for a moment before walking up behind her, reaching around to open the door.

"After you," he said softly next to her ear as he held the door for her. Seeing her cheeks turn a brighter shade of red satisfied him and the grin pulled his lips further.

He heard her grumble begrudgingly as she got into the car. "I would have gotten it eventually."

"Of course you would have," he mocked gently and closed the door behind her.

It wasn't long before the pair arrived at the Lin residence and Mai was still attempting to ignore the man sitting beside her. She wasn't actually frustrated with him. It was more so that she was frustrated with all the confusing emotions he happened to stir up within her whenever she was with him. How was she supposed to forget about her futile crush when he kept acting like that?

She shook her head and sighed as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Getting out of the car, she grabbed the gift bag before hurrying to catch up to her boss. In front of them was a cute terraced, nestled comfortably in the middle of their street.

"This is their house?" she smiled over at the man.

"No, I just drove us here for the fun of it," he said in casual sarcasm.

She shot him an unimpressed glance before striding up to the front door and knocking. From the shadow that fell over her shoulder, she could tell he was following behind.

It didn't take long before the door opened to reveal a very tired looking Lin. He was wearing pyjama bottoms and a rumpled band shirt, a stark contrast of the black trousers and white button-down he normally wore.

"Congratulations!" Mai beamed and held out the gift bag.

His eyes softened slightly and he bowed his head in appreciation. "Thank you, Mai. Please, come in."

Mai stepped inside while Oliver and Lin exchanged greetings.

"Mai, is that you?" Madoka's voice rang out from the next room.

The brunette made her way into the sitting room and saw Madoka seated on the settee holding a small bundle in her arms. Her hair cascaded messily down her shoulders and she wore clothes that clearly had some spit up on it, but nevertheless, the older woman was glowing.

A sudden wave of deja vu washed over Mai and a flash of a memory filled her mind of Madoka walking into an office carrying a small bundle with Lin right behind her.

Meet little Ming!

"Mai?" Madoka's voice brought her back.

Mai brought a hand up to her forehead and shook her head back and forth.

"That was odd," she whispered to herself.

"Did you just get a vision?" the maroon haired woman asked seriously.

"I don't know what it was. It felt more like a memory. It was...my memory...but it wasn't. It was about meeting your baby for the first time...but it couldn't have been because this is the first time I'm meeting him," she said distractedly, trying to figure out what just happened. She looked up and saw Madoka was watching her intently with concern and gave the older woman an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. Ignore me, it must have just been deja vu or something. Anyway, how are you? I heard there had been some complications. Is everything alright now?"

Madoka smiled in return and nodded. "It was a rough delivery, but we're all safe now. Aren't we, honey?" she cooed down to the baby in her arms.

Mai stood hesitantly at the other side of the room and Madoka beckoned her closer with a wave of her hand. "Come on over, take a seat."

Stepping closer, Mai carefully took a seat next to the woman on the settee. She looked down at the child in her friend's arms and her eyes softened with love.

"Ming, meet Aunty Mai," Madoka introduced them as she carefully handed the baby over to the brunette.

Mai couldn't help but realize how tiny the baby felt in her arms. So fragile yet so precious. She could hear Naru and Lin finally making their way into the sitting room but she paid them no mind as she looked down at the darling child she was holding.

Ming stared up at her with small upward-slanted, almond shaped eyes, not yet able to take in what he was seeing. His flat, round face was flush with new life. His small nose looked even daintier with its flat bridge. A sweet little tongue protruded out of a small mouth.

Wide, short hands reached out of the blanket he was in and Mai gently nudged a forefinger against his palm, which he promptly curled his stubby little fingers around.

"He's so precious," Mai whispered.

"Yes, he is. He's my little angel," Madoka sighed happily.

"Congratulations. I'm glad you're both doing well," Oliver's deep voice reached Mai's ears and she looked up to see him giving his mentor a brief hug and peck on the cheek.

"Mai brought us a gift," Lin said and held out the bag towards his wife.

"Oh, Mai, you didn't have to," Madoka chastised sweetly.

"Of course I did!" she smiled in response. "It's not much but I hope you like it."

Madoka reached into the bag and her eyes lit up in excitement as she pulled out the panda toy. "*Kawaii!" she cried happily in Japanese. "Did you make this yourself?" (*Cute!/Adorable!)

Mai nodded nervously and Madoka pulled her into a hug, careful to avoid squishing the baby.

"Ming, I think we found what's going to be your favourite toy!" Madoka sighed and wiggled the panda in front of her child.

The boy's little eyes creased joyfully as he watched the toy in front of him.

"A panda was a good choice," Oliver said from his place next to Lin, catching their attention. "Babies at this stage have an easier time focusing on high contrasting objects."

Madoka quirked a brow at his statement. "How did you know that?"

He placed his hands in his pockets and looked away from his mentor. "When you announced you were pregnant I realized I didn't know much about children. I don't like not knowing."

His mentor looked at the man sweetly. "So you've been doing baby research?"

"It was only logical. Now I know all that's necessary," he shrugged.

Lin clapped a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Good. Then whenever we need a sitter we'll call you, shall we?" he grinned.

"Well, let's not be hasty," Noll muttered and Madoka laughed.

Lin walked up to his wife and sat on the arm of the couch, draping an arm around her shoulders. Oliver took a seat on the smaller sofa in the room while Mai handed Ming back to his mother.

"I'd happily watch him if you ever needed someone. I used to work at a child care center where I took care of the infants," she chirped, looking at the new parents.

"Goodness, Mai. Just how many jobs have you had? Not that I'm complaining. We'll more than likely pick you up on your offer after he gets a bit older," Madoka agreed.

"I'm not sure how many I've had. It was as many as I needed to get myself here," Mai admitted.

"Yes, well, now that you're here the one job should suffice," Oliver added pointedly.

Mai looked over at him and the corners of her lips pulled up warmly. "Don't worry, I have no intention of leaving."

She could have sworn she saw a flash of complacency in those eyes of his.

The sound of the front door opening caught their attention and it was mere seconds before the Davis' walked into the room. Luella was clapping her hands giddily as Martin followed behind with an armful of gifts.

"Finally! I've been waiting for this day. Welcome to the world, little Ming!" the blonde cheered as she walked over to the baby with outstretched arms and scooped him up. She rocked him in her arms and looked at Madoka and Lin. "And how are the new parents doing?"

"Tired," they said in unison.

Mai had stood from her seat, allowing Luella and Martin to sit next to Madoka. She quietly made her way over to the other sofa and took a seat next to her boss who was typing something on his mobile.

"You didn't hold him," she noted quietly as the others began to chat.

His eyes stayed on his phone as he responded. "You looked content holding him yourself."

"I was, but you could have always taken him. Could it be that you're afraid to hold him?" she whispered teasingly and poked his side.

"Afraid? Hardly." He glanced at her, unamused, before resuming the message he was typing.

"I don't know," she pondered with a finger against her chin. "Babies are rather delicate. I'm assuming you haven't had much experience with babies since you had to research them. With that being said, I'm more than certain you're just like everyone else around a baby for the first time and you have no clue how to hold one. Nervous you'll drop him, perhaps?"

His fingers paused. "...I've never had the opportunity to hold one," he admitted before looking towards the others in the room. "Either way, now that Mother's arrived I don't see myself holding him anytime today. Father will be lucky if he gets a minute edgewise."

Mai chuckled and looked over at the older couple. Luella was cooing at the baby in her arms while Martin was making silly faces over her shoulder.

"You're right," she agreed. "I'll be surprised if his parents even get a chance to hold him within the next hour or so."

The dark haired man made a sound of confirmation before continuing typing.

Mai sat there, watching the Davis's and Lin's talk about children and past cases. The longer she watched, the more she thought about her own family. What would life be like if they were still around? Would they have acted the same way whenever she decided to have children of her own?

A wave of loneliness washed over her at the thought. Even though she was surrounded by friends, she couldn't help feeling like an outsider on this important day. She looked around and wondered if they felt as close to her as she did them. In all fairness, she had only known them for about two months. She was still basically a stranger.

She chewed the inside of her lip as dark thoughts marred her mind. She began to feel like she was drowning in self doubt. Deep down she knew they saw her as one of the group, but years of living alone and working nearly every minute of every day had taken a toll on her self image. She had no family. Her friends had all gone to university and moved on in life. Sure they kept in touch and she had made acquaintances at each of her jobs, but no stable friendships. There were moments like this where the anxiety she had acquired through years of isolation made her mind her own worst enemy.

Oliver watched from the corner of his eye as the smile slowly faded from Mai's face. The luster that normally filled her eyes melted into a hollow gaze. He could tell something was plaguing her mind. It was typical in these situations to comfort a person in such a state but he was unsure as to what to do without drawing any attention to them.

He was trying to think of what to say when Madoka turned and asked Mai a question. The familiar mirth returned to the brunette's eyes as if a fog had been lifted. Relieved she was back to her old self, Oliver turned back to the email he was composing.

Before long, a half of an hour had passed. The occupants of the room were laughing at a story Madoka had been telling and Mai held a hand over her mouth to stifle a small yawn. Oliver looked down at his watch and stood from the sofa.

"We'll be taking our leave. It's getting late and I'm sure the two of you are getting tired," Naru said to his friends.

Madoka gave him a thankful smile. "You have no idea."

Mai got to her feet as well and smoothed out her dress. "Thank you both so much for inviting me over on such a special day. And I have to admit, Ming truly isthe cutest baby I have ever seen," she smiled and gave Madoka a hug goodbye.

"You better believe it, he has our genes after all," the woman winked. "Thank you for coming, dear. Noll, get this cute little assistant of yours back safe and sound, you hear?"

Oliver rolled his eyes and bent down to give his mentor a polite peck on the cheek. "Don't let Mum stay too late or she'll never leave."

"I heard that~," Luella sang warningly as she stared down at the sleeping baby she was rocking in her arms.

After saying their goodbyes, Mai followed Oliver out of the Lin household and down the steps. "You don't have to drive me home, I can take the-"

He interrupted before she could finish by opening the car door for her. "Really, Mai, by now I would have thought you'd stop suggesting such things. Besides, your jacket and bag are still in my car, now get in."

Mai sighed and slid into the car. "I just thought I'd offer in case you were busy."

"If I were busy I wouldn't have offered," he countered and closed the door behind her before getting in the driver's side.

The car started with a purr and pulled away from the curb. The two sat in silence for a moment before the driver spoke.

"You seem like you're back to normal," he mentioned cautiously.

The brunette looked at him and tilted her head curiously. "How do you mean?"

"You had the same look on your face that Gene gets when he's thinking about something unpleasant. The two of you are very similar in that aspect." His voice was neutral but she could tell his words were stemming from concern.

Mai lowered her eyes at being exposed. "I was just thinking about some things."

There was no response and she could tell he was allowing her to continue at her own pace. He wasn't going to pressure her if she didn't want to talk.

She took a deep breath and looked out the window. "I don't really know...I think I'm a bit jealous?"

A black brow rose in question, but, again, he did not press her.

For a moment, she debated whether or not to continue but closed her eyes after deciding. "For nearly half of my life I haven't had a family to come home to. No one to talk to. No one to share milestones with. I didn't have many friends, and the ones I did keep I'd barely been able to spend time with because of how much I worked," she admitted. "I've been okay with that and still am for the most part. But...watching everyone today...I was a little jealous. Even though I'm content with my life the way it is, there are those moments where I realize how nice it must be to have a family like yours. It's been so long that I've had anyone close to me and a part of me always feels like an outsider when I'm around people, even when I'm surrounded by friends."

Oliver didn't know what to say and continued staring at the road ahead.

Mai looked over at him and smiled sweetly. "I'm fine though, truly. It's just a thought that pops up in my mind every so often."

His hand tightened slightly on the wheel. "I apologize."

"For what?" she asked, tilting her head back onto the headrest.

"That you feel that way. If it is any consolation, it appears my family has already taken you under their wing as one of their own. You fit in well."

His words comforted her and she reached out a hand, resting it on his elbow. He quickly glanced at her hand from the corner of his eye before looking back at the road with a guarded expression.

"Thanks, Naru," she said and gently squeezed his arm. Her brown eyes drifted to look out the window.

"So...Ming is a little cutie, isn't he?" she continued. "I used to work with older children like him at one of my old jobs."

Oliver glanced over at her. "Children with Down Syndrome?"

She nodded with a big smile as Oliver pulled up outside of her building. "It was actually one of my favourite previous employments. They were, and still are, some of the sweetest children I have ever met. They were probably also some of the happiest people I've ever met throughout my life in general."

Blue eyes met hers and held them. "Sometimes people dealt such a difficult hand in life tend to be the happiest."

Her lips parted slightly at the intensity of his gaze. "That's very true," she agreed quietly. She looked away and cleared her throat. "Well, I should be going. Thank you, Naru, for giving me a lift."

He nodded silently and she bid him farewell. He drove off as she made her way inside the building and she let out a sigh.

Hoisting her bag further up onto her shoulder, she began her trek up the winding stairway and let out a deep breath. The sound of metal sliding against the hard floor reached her ears as she made her way to her flat. Emerging from the stairwell, she saw Phillip adjusting a ladder in the middle of the corridor. The blonde was wearing a worn pair of jeans and a white tank top dampened with sweat. A shirt was tucked into his back pocket, clearly removed in an effort to cool the man down.

He let out a huff of air and ran a hand across his brow.

Mai as she made her way towards her flat with a friendly smile.

"Hello, Phillip," she greeted.

He turned suddenly at her voice and his emerald eyes lit up at the sight of her. "Mai! Fancy seeing you here," he winked cheekily. "Did you work late today? You're back later than usual."

She shook her head and looked at the bag of tools and empty bucket laying next to the ladder. "I went to see some friends. What are you fixing?"

"The storms we've been having lately have caused a leak in the roof. Just trying to control it before it spreads to the flats and I can hire someone to come," he said and ruffled his hair.

Nodding, Mai looked up at the ceiling shifting her weight from foot to foot. Phillip was looking through his bag of tools and was clearly overwhelmed.

"Um, do you need any help?" she offered.

Phillip looked up at her quickly. "Oh! No! I can do this. Sweet of you to ask though. Anyway, the last thing I'd want is for you to ruin your dress. It's...very pretty," he gulped and looked away with a tinge of red spreading across his cheeks.

"Oh, thank you," she replied, subconsciously flattening the skirt of her dress with one of her hands. "Okay then, I'll be off."

"Mai," he called out as she made her way towards her flat. She stopped and turned with a questioning glance. "I...I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable the other day. I just really like spending time with you, I'd really like to be your friend. Things aren't so unbearable when you're around," he laughed nervously, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh," she whispered, not really sure what to say. "It's okay, I just can't talk much when I'm at work. I love my job and the last thing I want is to be unprofessional."

"Very understandable," he said and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um...I was thinking maybe sometime soon you'd like to grab something from the pub again? I can even catch you up and how Pops is doing."

Mai gave him a small nod. "Okay. Good day, Phillip. I hope things don't get too stressful with the leak."

"I'll see you around, Mai," he smiled back and continued with his task.

** I just wanted to add that, yes, Ming does have Down Syndrome. I have worked with many children with DS and I don't lie when they are the sweetest and happiest people I have ever met. I also intentionally didn't make a big deal out of them realizing Ming had DS because it shouldn't be a big deal. Having DS doesn't make a baby any less precious. I've worked with students who have been treated just like any other child by their families and they are just that; just like any other child. Once a baby is born with DS I feel like people automatically start to think of what the child will miss out on or wont be able to do and right away that child is brought into this world with limitations. Yes each child has different degrees of cognitive development and that should be taken into consideration, but so many children with DS are just like everyone else and should be treated just the same. Thank you for reading! **