Winter came with the shorter hours and the darker nights, and the cold. Jonathan seemed to shiver whenever the cold hit him, and he'd move closer to her. she didn't mind that, but she wondered at it. Still, being with him was fun, meeting the people of Britain was nice, they were all so keen to know Jonathan, their King, to see him as they thought he should be seen. Jonathan for his part did his best to listen to them, to speak with them all. Caitlin thought that he was doing a very good job, and he did look remarkably handsome with the crown atop his head, though he had always looked handsome. She pushed that thought down though, and instead continued walking just a few steps behind him, listening as their guide talked.
"And here is where the beer is brewed. It is kept within the temperatures for three to four hours, before being pulled out and allowed to sit for a period of three to four months before being bottled."
"And once it is settled, does anyone test it?" Jonathan asked. Caitlin smiled, she knew he liked his beer.
"Yes, Your Majesty, we've got a taster whose job it is to taste all of this." The man responded.
"A very lucky man." Jonathan replied, at which the crowd gathered laughed. Caitlin noticed that Ms Davey, the Home Secretary stood a few feet behind them a strange look on her face. Caitlin did not know British politics very well, but she knew the look of someone who wanted power well enough. And that look was on Davey's face plain as day. Something inside her flashed, the cold grew, but the life forced it down.
Jonathan extended his hand to her and she took it, they continued walking. "Mr Walker, I've heard that you've also got some new technology on board here, at the brewery. Could we have a look at that?"
"Of course, Sire." Mr Walker said, they walked down the corridor, through a series of doorways before stopping in a big room, which harboured several machines.
Caitlin gasped. "That's a life equator."
"Indeed it is. One of the only few that are in existence and operating." Mr Walker said.
Caitlin walked up to it and ran her hand over it. She looked at Jonathan and said. "The life equator is a machine that helps produce enough energy to power three estates and palaces. Enough energy to help make up for the lack of the sun within Alaskan communities and in Skye as well."
"It sounds like a very worth while invention. Tell me, Mr Walker where did you get it?" Jonathan asked.
"Your Majesty's predecessor signed the royal warrant that allowed us to get access to one. It has served as the generator for our brewery since we got it four years ago." Mr Walker said.
"And has it increased yields?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes, Sire. Several times over." Mr Walker said.
Jonathan turned and looked at Ms Davey. "I want you to ensure that more of these equators are ready for usage." The woman nodded, then turned to Caitlin and Caitlin took that as her cue to ask as many questions as she felt compelled to.
"With the equator, I know that there were some initial problems that got worked over on the third and fourth instalments. But what do you think of the generators that come with the proto inhibitors?"
Mr Walker grinned. "The proto inhibitors do wonders, Ma'am. They ensure that there is enough energy to provide for animals on the estates, enough for the people to work at night and during the day as well. Like the equators they make up for the lack of sunlight that we get in these parts, but they also help ensure that there is not an overheating."
"Is overheating a problem?" Caitlin asked. She knew that from studies conducted there was some talk that the generators could replace solar as the new energy source for reducing global warming within the next forty years. Yet she'd also read that there were things within the hard wiring of the devices that could compromise them.
Mr Walker shook his head. "It's not so much that overheating is a problem, Ma'am, it's more the fact that there are some people who continue to use the generators beyond their set hours. This consequently means that there is always a risk of burn out, or of the generators being so hot that they cannot properly function."
"And how do you handle such occurrences? Are they often? And what if the cerebral exhibitions come into play?" Caitlin asked. She could see Jonathan grinning at her, but she ignored him. for the first time, she was actually able to talk about these scientific discoveries and feel as if someone was talking to her as an equal. Mr Wells didn't do that. And since her little discovery about him being able to walk, she wondered what else he'd lied about.
"We tend to have someone on site, who can control the flows and the pressures at regular intervals. We've learned from the times when things went a bit too far. Now we operate in cycles, when the first cycle ends at midday someone checks out and another person checks in. We've also got some exhibitors here as well, if Ma'am would like to look at them?" Mr Walker said.
Caitlin looked at Jonathan, and though she knew he would've liked to have given her the time they were running low on that time. They were due back at the palace for some function or the other. So, it was with some regret that she turned back to Mr Walker and said. "Maybe next time." Mr Walker nodded then bowed as Jonathan said their farewells, they walked back to the car, hand in hand. "Thank you for bringing me with you."
Jonathan smiled, as they got into the car. "It was nothing. Really, I think that the people came to see you more than they did me."
"Oh don't be silly." Caitlin replied.
"I'm not!" Jonathan protested. "Who would want to come and see some boring young man, when they could come and listen to a smart, intelligent and beautiful young woman speak about the things that are going to change this world?" As if to prove his point Jonathan handed her a copy of The Guardian with the headline: Caitlin Snow, the lady stealing a nation's heart.
Caitlin blushed. "That's the Guardian though, and they're always going to say that about someone who they think conforms to their ideals."
Jonathan laughed. "It's true though. You are stealing their hearts Caitlin."
The car started moving back to the palace, as the photographers took their pictures by the dozen. Caitlin felt herself grow warm at Jonathan's words. recently things between them had changed, or at least she'd recognised they'd changed. She got a flutter in her stomach whenever she looked at Jonathan, whenever she spoke to him she came away smiling, and she thought he felt the same. "Still, I think you're doing a better job than I am." She quoted a newspaper headline that had adorned several papers that morning. "Young King woos the nation with exemplary display of Gaelic and displays of fortitude and empathy."
Jonathan laughed, but she could tell that he was pleased. "Well, I mean being half Kryptonian and having part of the codex here with me has helped as well. Still, I know Ms Davey wants me to make some sort of move on the cabinet when I return."
Caitlin could tell by the way his hands tightened around one another that something else was bothering him. she did her best to stop the cold from seeping into the car. "And what are you going to do? Do you want her to be Prime Minister?" She asked.
"I think she could be better than the current PM, but I'm not sure. Right now, things are tense with the Americans, and Dad thinks the current PM is better placed at easing tensions there. Though whether that comes at alienating our people and our interests, I'm not sure." Jonathan replied.
Caitlin nodded and then gave voice to a fear she'd had for some time, though she felt horrible voicing it. "Will it come down to war?"
Jonathan took her hand and looked at her. "I promise you Caitlin, I'm doing everything I can to prevent there being war between the UK and the US. So, long as our rights are respected and we respect the Americans rights, I think there won't be any war."
Caitlin nodded, she didn't give voice to the threats she'd received from members of her mother's Democrat Party, and the threats she'd received calling her a traitor and threatening to rape her from men on the Democrat and Republican sides. Instead she asked. "What's next? Where are, we going from the Palace?"
The car pulled into the palace grounds, Jonathan got out and opened the door for her, and she took his hand. As they walked into the palace, Jonathan said. "Well, I was hoping we could talk for a little bit?"
Caitlin didn't say anything as they walked into the palace proper, the portraits of old Kings and Queens looking down on them. she said nothing as they walked up the stairs to the King's solar. They both sat down and then she said. "Jonathan…I…."
At the same time, Jonathan said. "Can I ask you something?"
They both laughed. "You got first." Caitlin said, she didn't want to say something and potentially ruin whatever it was between them.
Jonathan swallowed, then said. "Caitlin, I really like you. I think I always have. And I think that we make a great team, and I was wondering…" here Jonathan stammered and blushed slightly. "I was wondering if you…maybe… wanted to go out with me." Her surprise must have shown on her face because Jonathan quickly went on. "I mean, I get if you just want to remain friends, and I won't bring this up again… in fact…" he stopped then because she placed a finger on his lips.
Caitlin could feel her heart hammering in her chest, somewhere in the back of her mind two voices that sounded like her mother and the other being were fighting it out, struggling to get control. She ignored them and said. "I'd love to go out with you. I really like you as well."
She moved her finger away and Jonathan grinned. She grinned as well. Then Jonathan asked. "Can I kiss you?" She nodded, it was a light peck, but it was nice, and they would've kissed more, but then at that moment, Jonathan's secretary knocked.
"What?" Jonathan demanded angrily.
"Sire, your father is on the phone."
Jonathan picked up the phone closest to him, took a breath and said. "Dad."
Caitlin couldn't hear what Mr Kent was saying but from the expression on Jonathan's face it couldn't have been good news. Eventually they ended the call and he turned to her, his face was white. "What is it?" She asked.
"I think something's gone terribly wrong with the President. Terribly wrong." Jonathan answered.
"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked, fear growing inside of her.
"He's mobilised parts of the fourth and fifth battalions, groups meant only for the most extreme types of war." Jonathan said his voice sounding faint.
"What for?" Caitlin asked.
"I'm not sure. But I've got to make my way back to London, tomorrow." Jonathan said.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Caitlin asked. She wasn't sure what good she'd do in London, but she supposed it would be better than going back to the States, especially now.
"If…if that's okay?" Jonathan asked.
"Of course." She answered at once. "When do we leave?"
"First thing tomorrow." Jonathan replied. Caitlin nodded then took his hands in hers and squeezed. She wondered what the hell the President was doing, and what the world was coming to.