"Why is there a face with a mustache and monocle on the plants ponicpod lid?" Selene asked, spotting the plant in the background of John's video call.
"Gordon," he answered, as if that explained everything. Which in a way it did, but she still needed far more information than that.
"And why was he there to do that?"
"You don't want to know."
"I'm sorry, but that just makes me want to know even more."
John sighed, the deepest sigh she'd heard from him in weeks.
"That bad?"
He nodded.
"Spill it."
"He called up saying he wanted to visit."
"Awww, that was nice of him."
"Not so much. I sent the elevator down and all he did was wander around being annoying and then head straight for the toilet."
"The toilet?"
"Apparently, and I quote, he wanted 'a poo with a view'."/p
Selene tried to hold it in, she tried so hard not to laugh. Unfortunately, the ability to not laugh was one of her many failings.
"And then what happened?"
"He left, I only discovered what he'd done to Maurice after he'd gone."
"Maurice?" One eyebrow arched delicately in question.
"That's his name," John admitted, somewhat reluctantly, realising too late that he'd made a mistake.
"His name?" she pushed, knowing full well what he was referring to now but needing to hear it out loud.
"The plant."
She bit her lip, once again trying to hold in the giggle that threatened to spill out.
"I might need to come up soon and visit Maurice myself."
"If you do, bring scented candles."
"Candles? But you told me that they were dangerous in space, remember when I wanted to do a little ritual for Imbolc and you asked me if I wanted it to be my last because I was obviously planning to kill us both?"
"I'm willing to risk it, I haven't been able to go in there since Gordon left.".
-x-
"What is that?" Selene asked, lifting her head from John's shoulder to look at him.
They were floating peacefully in the comms sphere, as they so often did, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness and the peace that came with it. She still wasn't as comfortable in zero-g as he was, but she had learnt to relax if he was there beside her, giving her something to hold on to.
They had been listening to the peaceful strains of piano music, some lounge bar classics that she suspected Virgil had recorded at some point, but the mix had ended and the sounds had morphed into something completely different.
It sounded like a strange, but eerily beautiful mix of vibrating pulses, blending into something rhythmic, almost like the sound of far away helicopter blades, with little clicks, deep deep groans, accompanied by a haunting wail.
John's arm tightened around her, pulling her in a little closer, steadying the plant pot that sat on his stomach when it wobbled slightly from the movement.
"It's the sounds of the universe," he explained, the fingers of one hand tangling in her hair as he relaxed.
"It's what?"
"Solar system music. To be precise they are sounds that directly correspond to the radio-waves emitted by both the stars and the planets."
"Are you being serious right now?"
"I never joke about space."
"True. So, like how is it a thing?"
"It's something called asteroseismology."
Selene pulled a face. "Dumb it down for me, smart man."
John smiled, not taking the name calling seriously.
"Basically it's the science of listening to the seismic waves that the planets and stars emit to determine things such as their size, density and age. Kind of like how we measure earthquakes here on earth. Galactic archeology if you will. They first measured them back in the 1960's and did follow up studies in the 70's but it wasn't until the early 2000's that they really got serious with it. The french space agency launched their CoRoT, The Convection, Rotation and Planetary Transits satellite in 2006 and then in 2009 NASA's Kepler telescope began recording and delivering the information on these waves back to earth. They, along with the T.E.S.S, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite which launched in 2018, have been beaming the recordings back to earth for years."
"So it's like, vibrations or something?"
"Exactly that. The sound waves we've been listening to directly correspond to radio-waves emitted from the stars and planets themselves; these ones were actually picked up by the scanners here on Five. I got hold of the programme they use to translate them from vibrational codes into actual sounds and then I passed them on to Virgil. You know how he is with music, he can turn his hand to anything and compose the most beautiful pieces when he's inspired to. We've been working on these for years. It just so happened that I had Maurice out of his pod when Virg sent his latest creation, this is composition number four."
"It's so beautiful. It's like I can feel it right down in my soul," she sighed dreamily. "I swear, you boys, but especially you, never cease to amaze me. I had no clue you were doing this."
"Well, he's been working on it for the last year and half, gathering all the snippets together, blending them and arranging them to his liking. I guess I just never thought to mention it."
"It's the fact that this is a normal, everyday thing for you, it's just…" she trailed off, shaking her head, at a loss for words. "What's this piece made up of, do you know?"
John relaxed back, one arm behind his head, the other acting as a neck support for her where it was wrapped around her shoulders. He closed his eyes, letting the by now familiar sounds wash over him, enjoying the warmth of her by his side, the feel of her fingers tracing little patterns on his chest through the material of his suit and weirdly enough, the weight of the pot on his stomach, resting against the leg that Selene had thrown over both of his to anchor herself in place.
"I believe this is a blend of two dwarf stars, a giant star, the Moon, Venus and Pluto."
"It's amazing."
"It's his favourite," John nodded to the plant, it's leaves gently waving in the zero gravity. "He grew 2mm overnight the first time we played it to him. Before that we had only been playing classical, which he still enjoys. He didn't seem to care for more hardcore musical tastes."
"So he's gonna hate mine, gotcha, 80's pop it is then."
John rolled his eyes goodnaturedly. He was ever so grateful that Selene, being Selene, had taken the high road and not indulged in gloating over the fact that she had been right. She didn't goad or force him to admit that he had been wrong and was now seeing things from her point of view. No, she just accepted that he had done as she asked, had watched the videos, looked at the facts in a logical manner and made up his own mind. The fact that he was, at that very moment, floating with the plant out of its ponicpod, playing the music that the plant preferred, proved it without the need for words.
"Plants respond to the energy in the air, just as any living thing does, and you know how I put out the feel good vibes when I'm jamming to some old school tuneage," Selene explained.
"Tuneage? You've been hanging out with Gordon for too long."
"Don't pick on me, he's the only one that will do a dance party with me."
"I'm sure he's not."
"Not like you're going to, is it?" she teased, but he could hear that there was a tiny hint of challenge in her tone.
"I'd happily dance with you if you picked something decent to listen to."
Once again an eyebrow rose in both question and disbelief. "Yeah, right, sure you would."
One benefit of Zero gravity was ease of movement, something he always took full advantage of. It took very little effort to gently push the plant pot aside, allowing it to float off on its own, Maurice safe and snug in his nutrigel bed. In the slickest move she'd ever seen, John stood up like he was in water, the arm around her shoulders taking her with him. Before she really registered what he was doing his hand had slid down her arm to grasp her hand, spinning her away from his side and out into the air.
The music changed from the solar system symphony they had been listening to, the soft strains of a harp which moved smoothly into beautiful violins taking its place, the opening bars instantly recognisable to her.
"I love this one," she sighed, allowing him to use his grip on her hand to reel her back in against his chest and into the shelter of his arms.
"I know." He hugged her tight, keeping her close as they allowed their bodies to sway gently to the melody. And it was the most lovely song, one that he couldn't help humming along to.
Sometimes we'll sigh
Sometimes we'll cry
And we'll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
"My nan and grandad used to listen to him a lot and sometimes they would get up and dance around the living room together. I always thought it was so nice that they were still so devoted to each other, even after 60 years of marriage, they would sit holding hands even though they had separate chairs. I always wanted that, you know? To still be silly and in love no matter how old I was." She snuggled closer, resting her head on his shoulder, letting the music wash over her, bringing with it a feeling of comfort and familiarity. "Nan told me once that they had only had one argument, he annoyed her so she threw a loaf of bread at him. He picked it up and threw it back. They both started to laugh and the argument was over."
"That will be us," he promised her without the slightest hint of hesitation. He'd never have believed that such a thing was possible a year ago but now here he was, slowly revolving in a weightless dance, able to clearly see the future, his future, with the beautiful woman in his arms.
"You think so?"
"I don't think, I know."
She smiled against his neck, nuzzling her nose into the soft dip behind his ear. "You're not getting soppy on me, are you?"
"I prefer to think of it as being romantic," he argued mildly. "As well as proving that I will dance with you when properly motivated."
"Then I'll have to make sure I motivate you more often," she whispered, lifting her head to steal a soft kiss.
EOS, smart girl that she was, knew when it was time to retreat, a small shutter sliding closed over her camera lense as she scooted out of the sphere, leaving Maurice floating happily, his little stems swaying to the music.
-x-
PRESENT DAY
"Oh my gods, Maurice!"
Selene looked at the mess of nutrigel, rootball and plant stems that sat in John's hands and honestly felt like crying.
She held out her hands and John gently deposited the plant's remains into her outstretched palms before scooping up the pile next to him on the floor that he'd already extracted, along with bits of broken pot.
"What happened to him?"
"I'd taken him out of his pod for his daily float, as I always do, you know how he seems to like it. He was two sections up in the gravity ring but, as I said, it all happened so fast. One minute he was far away, the next he was hurtling past me and had shot straight into the vent."
"It killed Maurice."
"The debris filtration system activated instantly, it was just doing its job."
"It's a murderer," she glared at the offending vent like she was planning on exacting revenge any second.
"It's a filtration system, it wasn't a personal attack. You know that if anything large or dangerous was to get into the air supply it could cause serious damage."
"I know, but did it have to see Maurice as a threat and chop him up like a bad slasher flick?"
"It was just doing its job, nothing that could cause damage to the life support system is let through, so no particles bigger than a grain of sugar. EOS stopped it as soon as she could but a lot of damage had already been done."
Selene stroked one poor leaf, there was barely anything solid left of him. When she looked up at him he could see that her eyes had filled with tears. "Babe, I'm...I'm so sorry."
"Why?" He frowned, unsure why she would be so upset. "You didn't do anything wrong, it was an accident. If it was anyone's fault it was mine, I left him out of his pod."
"That wasn't your fault, you did it every day, Global Two is to blame. But I can still feel bad about it, he's your plant. You've looked after him for two years."
"It's just a plant," he said, getting to his feet and moving through the gravity ring to the small bathroom to wash his hands clean. Selene followed after him, the remains of Maurice still in her hands.
"Do you want to throw that in the waste disposal?" John asked, nodding to the small chute beside the sink as he dried his hands on a towel.
"What? No!" Selene clutched the remains tighter, tucking them in protectively against her chest. "How could you even suggest that?"
"Because it's dead." Honestly she was acting as if it was a beloved pet rather than a plant he hadn't wanted in the first place and that had taken up far too much of his time.
"It's Maurice, you can't just throw him away."
"It's a plant, what do you expect me to do, bury him?"
The look on her face told her that he shouldn't have said that last one, he should have shut up and he definitely shouldn't have laughed. That was his mistake.
"Well, if you don't, I will." She was already off, stomping towards the elevator she had just come up in.
"Excuse me? You can't be serious?"
"Of course I'm serious." She didn't stop, just kept right on walking.
"Come on, Sel," he pleaded. "I know you get really attached to things, but you can't be this sentimental over a plant."
She jerked to a halt and spun round to face him, shaking one hand in his general direction, a little blob of nutrigel landing on the floor with a wet plop.
"A plant we've had for two years, that was cut down so horribly in the prime of his life," she wailed dramatically. He just about resisted rolling his eyes, but it was a close thing, if he had done he wasn't entirely sure that he wouldn't be joining the bloody plant in being buried six feet under.
"Fine," he sighed. "I don't want to argue. I respect your right to do something completely ridiculous in order to feel better."
"Bit of a backhanded comment there, babe."
"I just meant that if you feel the need to do so I shall support you."
She narrowed her eyes at him, searching his face for any lingering insincerity. He relaxed his face, looking as innocent as possible. She didn't say a word. The silence stretched on for far too long. Usually he was fine with silence, but this wasn't their normal, comfortable silence, this was the kind where he wondered if he really had just fucked up or if it was salvageable. She was clearly waiting for him to continue the conversation and, being a woman, was no doubt planning on judging him for whatever it was he did say. He had no choice, he had to take the plunge and say something before his wife seriously considered divorcing him.
"Where are you planning on performing this ceremony?" he eventually asked, making sure his tone was as supportive as possible.
"I'm going to put him in my compost tub, that way he's giving back to the earth and his plant friends on my roof." Her tone dared him to make fun of her, but he'd never do that. He might sometimes question her logic, she liked him to ask questions so he could gain a better understanding of her way of doing things, but he would never be deliberately disrespectful.
"Is that alright with you?" she pushed.
He nodded. The last thing he'd ever wanted to do was make her feel picked on or attacked for her beliefs. Yes, she did things a little differently to him, but that was part of her charm, part of why he loved her so much. She cared about everything and everyone, honestly it made perfect sense that she would want to do something meaningful with the plant rather than just throw it away like it was nothing.
Really, he should have known better. Just that fact that she was here showed him that EOS had known it would upset her and that she needed to be informed. He should have done the same.
"OK then," she said, signalling the end of the conversation. The elevator opened for her and, although she did pause to accept his offered kiss, she seemed a little distanced.
"I'll be home in two days, but you can come back up here to stay with me until then. Only if you want to of course?"
"I don't know, I'll think about it."
He didn't like the sound of that. While they weren't in the early relationship flush anymore, that time where you wanted to spend every single moment of every day together and couldn't bear to be apart, they still missed each other like crazy when they were separated and tried to spend as much time together as they could. It wasn't like her to turn down the offer of staying with him.
"Are you mad at me about this? I'm sorry if I said anything that upset you, that wasn't my intention."
Selene sighed, unable to do anything with her hands full of Maurice bits. "No, I'm not mad at you."
"Then why are you being like this?"
"Like what? I just want to make sure he's taken care of."
"Sorry, I just didn't think he'd care about it."
"That's the thing," she started. "You don't think the same way I do, and that's OK. To me he was a living thing, something we spent time with, that we looked after, nurtured and cared for. We put our energy into him and that energy needs to go somewhere where it will do good."
He nodded. That was something he could understand, he knew enough about her, had experienced enough with her to believe her when she said something was needed. Just sometimes he needed it to be explained to him in a way he could understand.
"Just promise me one thing," she continued. "Don't dismiss him and his place in your life just because your logical brain says that you should."
"OK," he agreed quickly, ready to promise her anything as long as she stopped looking at him like that, like she was feeling so sorry for him. He was fine, it was a plant, not a child or even a pet, it was a piece of vegetation that didn't interact or enrich his life in any way other than having been an interesting experiment to do with EOS.
He'd been right, it had taught her responsibility and even a little empathy. And it had been interesting to see how different things would affect him, from the music he played to a change in his light routine, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't live without or would miss if it wasn't there.
"I promise that I won't dismiss him, I promise I won't allow my logical brain to dictate to me."
"Good." Her attitude had softened as they had talked and it was a much deeper and more connected kiss that they shared just before the elevator doors slid closed, whisking her away from him once more and depositing her back at their apartment.
"She is a very strange human," EOS said the moment Selene was gone.
"Yes, she is," he agreed. "But that's part of why I love her."
"Is she really going to perform some kind of rite of passing for the plant?"
"Undoubtedly."
"I don't know what to think of that. I don't understand why."
"It's not always our place to understand, just to respect and support without judgement. It seems I forgot that for a moment."
EOS stayed quiet, either thinking over what he had said or just having nothing more to say, but it gave him the time to concentrate on cleaning up the remains of the broken pot and to make a start on cleaning out the filtration vent properly.
He was elbow deep in the vent with a cleaning cloth when the emergency line buzzed.
-x-
The reminder popped up on his screen and without thinking John swiped it aside, sending it straight to EOS to action. Usually he tried to do them himself but if he was busy, like now, he would pass the maintenance over to her.
"John I cann-"
"One moment, EOS." He brought up another screen, tapped in the agency's web address and sent his software out into their closed system. Less than a minute later he had the information he needed and they had no idea that he'd even been there.
Minimising the screen he sent the information to Virgil who would be needing it to navigate his way through the capital building in Vidhan Bhavan, Nagpur, India, where a bad storm had brought down the power lines around the area, causing a malfunction and total lockdown of the building's security system. The office workers, who had been in the middle of their normal working day, were trapped inside. With the lockdown in place and the building's systems providing only basic needs from a backup generator the people inside were on borrowed time. If Virgil didn't get in, locate the workers and get them out within the hour their air was in danger of running out.
John had pulled up the plans -with a surprisingly small amount of hacking required, something he would drop an anonymous tip about later- and plotted the best way in before sending it to Virgil's comm.
His brother had already entered the building through the emergency exit located in the building's basement, having cut through the securely locked door and was already making his way through the darkened corridors to the conference room in the center of the second floor, where the workers had all congregated for safety.
Knowing that Virgil would be fine on his own, John took a moment to just breathe and collect his thoughts. He was forgetting something, he was sure of it...
"EOS, what was it you wanted to tell me?"
"I could not action your last request, the 4pm watering is no longer needed."
"Oh, of course," he sighed, realising the origin of his forgetful feeling. "Sorry, I got distracted. Please remove it from the maintenance schedule."
Something on his screen caught his eye and he turned to check on it, finding that Virgil had passed the first floor and was climbing the stairs towards the second.
"Should we remove all of them?"
"Of course, Virgil will try to get them all out in one go if he can. Seeing as no one is hurt they should be able to follow him under their own steam," he answered, poking a couple of non-urgent alerts and registering that Scott had finally returned to base, Thunderbird One registering as being half way through its refueling cycle.
"I was referring to the schedule."
"What about the schedule?" His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he was hungry and he immediately started craving a burger in the worst possible way. Maybe, if he asked nicely, Selene could be convinced to send one up to him, if she had fully forgiven him that was.
"The 6pm music session, the 10pm luna lights, the 5am solar light wake up, the 7am misting-"
"Yes, thank you, I get it. Remove them all, they obviously aren't relevant now."
"Schedule update complete."
"Thank you."
"I cut off the power to the ponicpod too, and disconnected the air supply."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, is there anything else I can help with?"
"Thank you, no."
EOS, sensing that John would be impossible to talk to while his mind was occupied with the rescue currently ongoing, retreated to a safe distance, leaving him in peace.
It wasn't until three hours later that John found some time to himself. EOS had retreated into the depths of the ship as she sometimes did when she sensed that he needed to be alone. It had taken them a while to find the right balance between her being constantly by his side, involved with both his work and his downtime, and him needing some time to be by himself.
Before EOS and Selene had come into his life he had been used to spending large amounts of time on his own and found that he sometimes missed the peace. EOS had eventually realised this and had learned to recognise when he needed her to disappear for a while and leave him to his thoughts. They had trust now, he knew that if he needed her he only had to call and she knew that him needing time alone didn't mean he didn't want her there or would forget about her.
He wandered slowly through the gravity ring, needing to feel the pressure of gravity on his body after more than five hours in the comms sphere. Walking was calming to him, it helped him to feel connected to his body and to burn off some of the anxious energy that always built up in him. At times like these he would often call Selene, just to check in and ground himself, being able to talk through the rescue with her in a way that he couldn't with EOS or his family. His brothers would have been part of it, EOS would have more of her seemingly endless questions, whereas his wife would simply let him talk. But she wasn't always available, time zones and life in general meant that sometimes he found himself wanting to talk but without anyone to talk to.
It wasn't until he was face to face with the now empty ponicpod that he realised what he had been planning on doing. How had he not realised what a part of his routine the stupid plant had become? Taking it out, cleaning its leaves, talking to it while he made food that Selene would insist on knowing he had eaten, having it with him on the rare occasions that he watched a film or an episode of something.
It had been almost like, dare he say it, having a pet. Obviously less demanding, less invasive and a lot quieter, but still something to hang out with that wasn't constantly asking questions or needing his full attention. It was strange but, now that the ponicpod was empty, he found that he was actually quite sad about it.
He hadn't had time to think about it earlier, not about what it would actually mean to have it gone. He'd been so preoccupied with making sure the air vent was cleaned out properly and then the emergency calls had come in, occupying his mind so much that Maurice had been pushed to the back burner. Now that he had stopped he realised that he was sad at the loss.
He was going to miss him. He'd had the plant for so long that it had become part of his life without him even realising it and now that it was no longer there there was a definite Maurice shaped hole where the happy little pot plant had once been.
Quietly, he fetched the box that Brains had left behind and unplugged the ponicpod, rolling up the tubes and wires so he could tuck the whole thing neatly away. There wasn't much to do, the unit was self-contained, leaving behind a blank space that hadn't seemed empty before the pod had taken up residence but now seemed far too bare.
He stood there like an idiot, the box in his hands, and wondered exactly what he should do with it. The logical thing would be to send it back down to the island in the elevator and allow Brains to dispose of it but for some stupid, sentimental reason, he just didnt feel ready.
"I really am an idiot," he scolded himself as he tucked the box away in one of the supply crates and firmly shut the hatch.
-x-
"No, you've been up there almost constantly for three weeks and you deserve a night off."
"I know but-"
"No buts, babe, I won't take no for an answer. I'm your wife and I demande some alone time, proper alone time, without a single family member or AI in sight."
He was wavering, she could tell.
"Think about it, take out, classic sci-fi movie, I'll even let you pick it no matter how boring and ridiculous I'll probably find it, all while stretched out on a couch we don't have to share with any smelly brothers. And then you can curl up with me in a comfortable bed rather than that fold down monstrosity you have up there and get some proper rest. Now, be honest, can you actually think of anything better than that?"
He actually couldn't think of anything in the world that would be better, time with his wife sounded just about perfect at that moment. It had been a tough few weeks, he'd been working almost 18 hour days, only stopping to sleep when he had to. He needed a break, he needed good food and a mindless movie, he needed a long night's sleep and a lay in, he just hadn't wanted to admit it.
"We'd have to get Grandma to take over monitoring duty."
"Already arranged it, she knows you need a rest as much as I do."
He shook his head in disbelief, unable to help the small smile that formed. "I guess you've thought of everything."
"I have, all you need to do is pick a movie and the food you want and I'll do the rest. Let me take care of you for once, the rest of the world can look after itself for one night."
"Then I guess I had better get this bird moving and come home."
"Damn straight." She cut the comm link before he could say anything else, she knew that he'd find something else to worry about if she stayed on the line any longer. She knew him far too well.
"EOS?" he called, trying to catch his AI's attention.
"Yes, John?"
"It seems that I've been summoned."
"Yes, Selene informed me this morning that she would be requiring your company, as such I have already made the necessary preparations."
"She really has thought of everything."
"She has. I have set our course for London and readied the elevator. I shall take care of things here until you return tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am," he grinned, saluting playfully as he headed to his sleeping quarters to change out of his uniform. It actually felt strange to be in civvies after so long in nothing but his uniform and sleepwear. Selene was right, a break was long overdue.
In the elevator he allowed his tired body to sink into the chair, closing his eyes as he relaxed, enjoying the unaccustomed silence. On Five he was used to hearing the distant chatter of voices over the radios as the automated system scrolled through endless radio communications from all over the world, searching for the pre-programmed key phrases calling for help in every language on the planet.
If it wasn't the radios it was noise from the island, he'd grown used to leaving a channel open, listening to his family go about their lives, enjoying their downtime or simply resting after a call out.
Then there were the rescue times, when he was sometimes monitoring three or more channels at once, trying to stay at least two steps ahead of his brothers, trained to think of everything and anything they might need before they even realised they needed it. A quick response time was crucial in the field, they knew all too well that sometimes even a delay of a few seconds could make a difference between life or death.
He hadn't realised how tired he actually was until he woke up a few minutes later, the elevator reaching the roof top garden of their apartment with a gentle thump. He still felt slightly drowsy as the doors opened and he slowly walked down the retractable ramp to the rooftop.
"Hey gorgeous man," Selene called, lifting her arm and waving lazily from the hammock in which she was reclined.
Even after three years together, seven months of which they had been married, he still felt a silly smile forming as soon as he heard her voice. The ramp retracted automatically the moment he stepped off of it, tucking itself away into the elevator, which released its hold on the roof, starting its steady ascent back to the heavens.
It was always nice to wander through her garden, created to be a sensory delight both in sight and scent. Everything was in pots or planters, meaning that it stayed as low maintenance as possible, thanks in part to the watering system he and Brains had installed a few years ago. He took a few moments to enjoy the fresh scent of lavender, roses and the clematis that was growing around the poles of the hammock and the pergola seat. He never realised how much he missed the scents of earth, be it here or on the island, until he was home. Thunderbird Five was a marvel but it still lacked the more sensory nature of earth, the air filtration system meaning that nothing lingered in the air but the slightly medical scent of recycled oxygen.
The thought of the filtration system brought with it the still quite painful memory of Maurice and his untimely demise at its hands. He'd made peace with it now, knew it had been nothing but an accident but it still hurt that his long term experiment with EOS had come to an end at the same time the plant had.
Selene had been right, he thought as he neared the hammock, plants really did have a relaxing vibration all of their own, bringing with them a sense of calm and peace just from being near them. Selene was watching him as he let his fingers trail through one last scented pot of rosemary before he reached her side.
"Hi, beautiful.
"Nice of you to join me." She sat up, offering him her hand so he could help her out of the hammock in a slightly more dignified manner than her own method of bunching the material up between her legs and standing up.
"It's nice of you to have me."
"Don't tempt me," she giggled, offering her lips for a kiss. "I've got those kinds of plans for you tonight but they aren't on the schedule until much later."
"Promises promises," he quipped, kissing her softly as she moved into his arms. Her head came to rest against his shoulder, her nose tucking into his neck just as it always did and suddenly everything was right with his world.
"So," he said after a long moment of doing nothing but breathing her in and holding her, "are you ready to pick up some food? I thought we could take a walk down to that new Korean restaurant by the river."
"I'm almost ready."
"Almost," he groaned. "You lured me here with the promise of food and now you're planning on making me wait?"
"Only for a few minutes," she soothed. "I've actually got a little surprise for you."
"You have? What is it?"
"Come with me and you'll find out."
He had to admit, he had been wondering if she was planning on working up an appetite before they ate, not that he would be against such activities, but he couldn't see how that was going to happen in the kitchen. He might have loosened up a lot in the time they had been together but he still drew the line at contaminating a food preparation area with those kinds of activities.
"Did you manage to find another supplier of my Fever Tree soda?" he guessed, ever hopeful, it was hard to get his favourite blood orange drink.
"Yes, it's in the fridge, but that's not your surprise," she answered, leading him over to the windowsill.
As always it was packed to bursting with plant pots of all shapes and sizes, with a few hanging from the ceiling for good measure, but it was the three tiny little pots nestled amongst the larger ones that caught his attention.
He frowned, carefully picking one up to take a closer look. "Are these the same as Maurice?"
"Not just the same as him," she said proudly. "These are his pups, his babies."
"Seriously?"
"Yep. I checked through his mulch when I got home, you know, just to be sure, and I managed to salvage a few that weren't too badly damaged. Four didn't make it and the other two are still a little ropey but I've got high hopes for that one." She nodded to the pot in his hand. "I've named her Beatrice."
He couldn't keep the stupid smile off his face as he studied the delicate little round leaves of the tiny plant.
"Hi, Beatrice, I'm your new plant Daddy."