"Letter for you, Shane!"

Marnie opened the door five seconds later, and placed the letter on top of Shane's forehead. He grumbled in protest, but asked Marnie to turn on the light as she left. It was progress, of sorts. And she had noticed the lack of cans anywhere in his room - either he was becoming tidier when he drank, or he hadn't drank at all the previous night.

The light burst its glow into the room violently, and Shane grunted as he blinked against the aggression. Brushing his hair out of his face, he peered at the letter.

It was written on pastel pink paper. Why on earth was Haley sending him a letter? She was the only one who'd buy pastel pink paper - except maybe Jas, but Jas didn't have handwriting that neat.

He broke the seal and flicked the letter open.

'Lucie really likes lilies. Pierre's has some bouquets of pink lilies and red roses. She'd really appreciate them.'

"Fucking hell, Haley."


Lucie blinked at the blonde woman before her. Her facial expression didn't change as she walked over to pick up a shovel, no words passing her lips. Haley continued to grin at her. The shovel dragged across the floor as Lucie scraped up the cowpat.

"You did, what?" She asked, softly. Deadly. The screech of iron on stone sounded once more. Haley did not get the hint.

"Come on, he just needs a little nudge!" She chirped. "Don't you want him to ask you out?"

Lucie looked down at the pile of still-steaming cowpat on her shovel, and tilted her head to the side.

"Haley. I am genuinely considering throwing this cow shit at you, do you think I wanted this?" She put the shovel down, much to Haley's immediate relief. Lucie pressed the back of her forearm to her head and sighed. "Look. Shane is currently at the bottom of a very deep well, and he is only just trying to climb up the very slimy, mossy covered bricks. The last thing he needs is a push."

Haley frowned at her, leaning gingerly against the shed walls.

"Surely, giving him something to live for is a good thing?" She asked, her forehead a crinkle of confusion. Lucie scratched the space between her eyebrows and tried to think. Logic was hard when it was this tangled up with emotion.

"It's…hard to explain," Lucie began. "But, I, uh, I'm scared that if we become a thing whilst he's trying to pull himself together, he won't be able to separate the relationship from the recovery - I mean, by Yoba, how many shitty films are there where the guy and the girl get together and magically someone's depression is fixed? That's not how it works. Sure, having a good thing around all the time helps, but it's not the end - and I'm worried that he'll think that it is, and then if he has a bad day, he'll go straight to the bottom of the well again, instead of just slithering back down a little."

The words came out difficultly. Lucie didn't look at Haley as she spoke, scared her voice would crack, or that the sharp prickling at her eyes would turn into full out tears. She didn't look up until Haley grabbed her by the shoulders and wrenched her into a hug.

"Shane's lucky to have someone like you in his corner," she whispered in her ear. "But also - you don't want to fuck this up by being too cautious, so I'm not apologising."

"I didn't expect an apology."

"Good. I don't do them. I'm usually right."

"Except about chicken names. Diogenes' is hilarious," Lucie laughed as she spoke, pulling herself together a little bit more. Haley pulled away, still holding on to Lucie's shoulders.

"Lucienne, I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Diogenes is not a good name for a chicken. 'Man' would have been a good name for a chicken."


Shane felt like a moron.

Why did the stupid flowers have to be outside? Why - where everyone could see him looking at them?

He glanced at the piece of paper in his hand. Lilies. Which ones were lilies again? When he'd left the ranch he thought he'd known, but now he wasn't sure. He knew what roses were at least, but roses were in practically every of these bloody - what did Haley call them? - bouquets. It was a pompous word if ever he'd seen one. Why did they all look the same? Haley said there was a red and white one that Lucie would like, but there were about eight different red and white ones - or was it red and pink?

"Can I help at all?" Pierre's amusement was obvious in his voice, though he did keep his face neutral. Shane looked at him and let out a small noise, as though to clear his throat. Shane's thoughts ran at a mile a minute, and Pierre shuffled behind the small wooden table to shuffle with the arrangement. Shane could barely tell the difference after he'd changed it. "If you're worried about people talking, I can be very discreet."

Shane shook his head slightly. An idea came to mind, and he looked up from the flower to the grocer.
Pierre's neutral expression slowly changed into a small smile as he nodded. He could indeed accommodate that request.


Shane brought home Lucie's gift in a small bag, hiding it amongst frozen pizza and various canned drinks, none of which were beer.
He placed the bag very carefully on the kitchen table, and lifted out its contents. The pizza was shoved into the large freezer, the cans into the fridge, the bunny-jewel slippers were hidden under table and finally the not-flowers were lifted out on to the table. He sat on the closest chair, and stared at the small tray, with three different cacti on it.
Apparently one of them was a succulent, but it looked pretty cactus-like to Shane.
He leant his elbows against the table and rested his chin on his folded hands. He stayed in that position, his face occasionally twitching, either into a frown, or his mouth shaping words as if trying to tell how they'd sound.


"Didn't know you liked cacti," Marnie said casually as she entered the kitchen, lifting her own bag on to the worktop in front of Shane. His eyes flicked up to her, then back to the cacti. "Lucie caught that cod I asked for, so fish pie for dinner?" Shane murmured his agreement. He sat back in his chair.

"They're for her - Lucie, I mean," He said, still looking at the cacti. Marnie turned around, one hand resting on the counter next to the fish. She raised an eyebrow at him. His face held the ghost of a smile as he said. "Bouquets didn't seem very me. But a prickly cactus?"

Marnie smiled at him, her heart filling with a sadness that she couldn't understand. She sat down in the chair opposite him and looked at her nephew as though he'd done something impressive. All he'd done was buy three cacti.

"You really care for Lucie, don't you?" Marnie spoke softly. "You've seemed so much happier these past few weeks."

Shane raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his neck.

"That might also have something to do with the drinking sparkling water and not beer thing, too." Marnie looked at him slightly sceptically. He relented. "But yeah. She makes - she makes me remember that I do have friends. And that it's okay for me to rely on them, and relying on them doesn't make me weak."

Marnie smiled across at him, and placed a hand on his.

"I'm so happy for you," she said, softly. Shane pulled his hand back, and looked away, but the smile crept on to his face nonetheless. Marnie beamed, and stood up, turning back to the fish pie that waited to be made.

"Is Jas in?" Shane asked, more to fill the silence than anything.

"Penny said she'd walked her home, so I hope so!" Marnie chuckled to herself. "Check her room."


Jas was ecstatic to receive the real bunny-jewel slippers. She flung herself at Shane and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing him to stumble, but not quite fall.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed. Shane lifted her down from round his neck and dismissed the thanks with a small shrug.

"It's a gift from your citizens, thanking you for your wise rule all this year." He bowed low, and Jas curtsied back, grinning from ear to ear. Then she frowned.

"But," she began, her little face scrunched in confusion. "But these are so expensive! How did you afford them?"

Shane scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, before shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I cut back on an expensive habit." Was the only answer he gave. "So, now I have more spending money to spoil you with. Anyway, how do you know how much the slippers were?"

Jas grinned up at him.

"I was saving up for them! But now I don't have to!" She chirped. "I can buy so many ice-creams for me and Vincent now!"

Shane thought it best not to damp her mood by stopping her from buying out an ice-cream truck the next time she had the chance to, and simply messed up her hair before walking back into the kitchen.


Lucie just wanted to go into her house and have a shower, to get rid of all the animal filth that covered her, but Haley was feeling chatty. She debated physically moving Haley out the way as she continued to chat, literally blocking the entire doorway to the chicken coop.

Between her rambles about Emily demanding she clean under the couch cushions, and how unfair it was, and Diogenes' screaming and pecking at her feet, Lucie was about ready to burst.


Haley had been leaving the chicken coop, having run dry of things to chat to Lucie about, and ready to go home to Emily's bitching about cleanliness or whatever, when she'd seen Shane sneaking up the path. He'd met her gaze and had glanced at the chicken coop with such panic, that Haley had whirled around on the spot, and declared,

"You know, Lucie, I don't think Emily is fair in saying that I have to clean these cushions - she makes all the mess!"
Lucie had pinched the bridge of her nose at that, shutting her eyes just long enough for Haley to wink at Shane, mouthing 'I got ya'.


Shane didn't think he'd ever say this again, but thank Yoba for Haley. Why she'd decided to help him out, he'd never know, but here they were, and here he was placing a wooden tray of cacti on Lucie's bed, and a small folded note next to them.

He snuck out as quickly as he'd entered the house, and made a mental note to thank Haley properly tomorrow. Had he accidentally become friends with the girl he'd called 'a soulless bimbo' less than three months prior? Perhaps he ought to give people more credit.


There were cacti on her bed.

This day had gone from dredging up the past, to literal shit, to frustrating, to just plain weird. Why the hell were there cacti on her bed? At least the box they were in was cool, all faded varnish and scuff marks. It was very…farmhouse rustic. Whoever had decided to put cacti on her bed wasn't getting back the box-tray-tray. Hers now. It'd look great in the kitchen when she finally got around to paying Robin to build it.

Lucie didn't sit on the bed, no matter how much she wanted to, but she did pick up the note attached to it. Her curiosity was stronger than her desire to go shower off all the muck that coated her skin, her hair, her nails. By Yoba, her nails were disgusting.
She checked quickly that she hadn't left muddy marks on the paper, and was glad that she hadn't when she opened it, recognising the handwriting immediately.

Shane had only once sent her a letter, it was only to give her the recipe for pizza, but she'd kept it in the notebook with everyone's favourite gifts written on post-its. She knew the handwriting like she knew her own heartbeat. It seemed to pulse through her.


Lucie didn't breathe.

Her lip trembled despite her will. Her cheeks were wet. She swiped her cheeks furiously and looked back at the letter, memorising every detail. The words were etched into her mind, but she wanted to remember the way he'd looped his 'y's, the way that his 't's bled into his 'h's. She wanted to know every inch of the letter in her mind as well as in her soul.
She wanted to go to Shane.


She made it half way to the door before she caught herself. She was quite literally covered in goat, cow and chicken shit. Shower first.

Lucie sniffed tentatively - oh Yoba, shower first. Definitely shower first.