At 6 O'clock, Haven Mean time, Trouble Kelp put down the phone, happy that the restaurant had had a spare table, and even happier when he remembered who he would be sitting at it with.

In spite of the fact that he was one of the LEP's most famous officers (and apparently quite good looking), Trouble had never actually had a proper date...or girlfriend. There had only ever been Holly.

Holly, who he walked into work with most days.

Holly, who he ate lunch with every day.

Holly, who in, he checked his watch, 15 minutes!

"D'Arvit," he swore, and rushed into the shower before he could get distracted again.

At 5 to 7, Holly finally managed to 'style' her hair, and checked her reflection.

'5 minutes!' she thought.

Of course, Holly knew that she would be the subject of wild and exciting (but probably untrue) rumours tomorrow, but was too...happy to care- Trouble Kelp had asked her out!

The buzzer on the door rang, looking through the small window Holly recognised him.

"Sorry I'm late," panted Trouble, "I got caught up and- whoa"

He stopped mid-sentence as he took in the elf stood before him. Holly (in his mind) always looked beautiful, but tonight, in a dress the colour of emeralds, it was enough to make his knees wobble.

"Do you, err, want a drink or something?" Having never been on a 'date' before either, Holly was unsure of what exactly happened next.

"I'm OK, thanks. I got us a table at Stanza's for 7.20, I thought we we'd walk there, if that's OK." Even though there was no ozone layer for them to damage, fairies were remarkably eco-friendly. During their time on the surface, they had cared for the earth whilst the humans destroyed; it was the same now (although with considerably less grunting).

Fetching her new purple coat and her bag, Holly glanced over at Trouble, who was pretending to be very interested in the family photo her cousin Lara had sent her.

'He really is...handsome,' she thought, 'He could get any girl he wanted- why me?'

As they came out of Stanza's after a delicious meal (vegetable stir-fry for Trouble and a Mediterranean salad for Holly) the same question was still playing upon her mind.



They had just reached Holly's flat when she blurted it out.

"Why me?"

"What do you mean?" Trouble looked puzzled.

"I mean you could get any girl in the LEP, in Haven even, but you asked me! Why?"

He answered her with a (ahem) knee-wobbling kiss on her lips.

"Because I think you're brilliant, Holly Short."