Miranda walked through the restaurant doors, flushed and slightly out of breath. She was late.
"Can I help you?" the hostess said.
"I'm meeting someone," Miranda said as she craned her neck, looking around.
Nora waved at her from a table over in the corner and Miranda weaved through the crowded restaurant to join her. She bent down and kissed Nora quickly.
"I'm sorry, we had another incident," Miranda said as she took off her coat, arranging it carefully over the back of her seat so no one would notice the sword concealed within its folds. She sat opposite Nora and took a sip of the soda Nora had already ordered for her with a smile.
"It's fine, Cariad," Nora said with a smile. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"A small spike down in Splott," Miranda said with a sigh as she glanced over the menu.
"Splott? Why is it always Splott," Nora said chuckling.
"Jack and Ifan went to investigate. It was some sort of small creature. It escaped and we've been trying to track it down."
It had been precisely one month, to the day, since the two women had resumed their relationship and Miranda had been over the moon. Even though she tried to keep Torchwood's interruptions to a minimum, sometimes it was unavoidable but Nora had always been understanding about her work. Not only was Nora understanding, but she also knew about aliens and the rift so she was also someone Miranda could talk to about Torchwood on a limited basis. Nora was also adjusting well to Miranda's immortality.
"Dangerous?" Nora asked.
"We don't think so. Jack thinks he recognised the species before it scurried off. It's a small predator from some moon somewhere. He said it looks like a mole the size of a cat. He called it a niffler."
"Like from Harry Potter?" Nora laughed.
"I don't think it finds treasure, love, but he swears it's not a danger to humans," Miranda said, with a one shouldered shrug. "I would have paid good money to watch Ifan and Jack chasing after it though."
The two women's laughter just died down as the waiter came over to take their orders and the two of them settled into comfortable small talk while they waited for their food to arrive. The restaurant was a small bistro, one of Jack and Ianto's favorites. Jack had recommended it to the two women. After Nora updated Miranda on the goings on with her own work and schooling, she fell oddly silent and started nervously fiddling with her napkin, folding and refolding it. Miranda was about to ask if something was wrong but was interrupted by the arrival of the food. The two women ate in relative silence.
When the waiter cleared away the plates, Miranda watched as Nora began to once again, fold and refold her napkin.
"Something wrong, love?" Miranda asked as she sipped her drink.
"Tad called yesterday, he wanted to know if I was coming to Sunday dinner this week," Nora said.
Miranda flinched slightly. Sunday was Miranda's day off and, much to the annoyance of Nora's family, Nora had been canceling her Sunday dinners in London to spend time with Miranda. In fact, Nora had done so this week. Today was Sunday. The time frame of their question wasn't lost on Miranda. They were asking a full week in advance. "Go, Nora, your family is important."
"I'd rather spend the time with you than being grilled by my family," Nora said.
"I'll be here when you get back and there is always next Sunday. You should spend time with them. You've cancelled for the past month."
Nora shifted nervously in her seat. "Tad asked if you'd like to come."
"I didn't think your parents approved. I don't want to cause trouble, Nora," Miranda said, surprised by the invitation. She knew for a fact that Nora's parents didn't approve of their relationship. Nora's father had his own reasons but Nora had said that both of her parents disapproved of her sexuality as it conflicted with their conservative religious beliefs.
"Tad asked. I told him I'd talk to you about it. You don't have to, Miranda. I know that you can get called away at any moment."
But Miranda heard the hopefulness in her lover's voice. Nora's family was important to her and by extension, this was important to her.
"We'll be there, Nora," Miranda said.
Nora smiled and reached across the table for Miranda's hand. "Thank you."
"I know it means a lot to you," she said, squeezing Nora's hand.
"You must have made quite an impression on Tad," Nora said with a wide smile.
"I have no idea what I did, I assure you, love," Miranda said.
She had no idea what she could have done to impress Colonel Ashline. Her associations with Nora's father were purely professional in nature and she had gotten the distinct impression that the Colonel merely tolerated her. The invitation made Miranda curious. Nora's past partners hadn't been invited to the Ashline family home and had only gone for Sunday dinner or holidays when Nora had insisted.
"Some dessert, ladies?" the waiter politely asked.
"Nora? Anything?" Miranda asked.
"Creme brûlée please, two spoons?" Nora said winking at Miranda who smiled at her lover.
"Coffee or tea?"
"Tea please, milk and sugar," Nora said.
"Regular coffee, cream and sugar for me," Miranda said with a smile.
When the waiter had gone, Nora turned back to face Miranda and said, "That's a first, you never order coffee when we're out."
"Ifan says the coffee here is good and Ianto Jones is a man who knows coffee," Miranda said with a slight chuckle.
"I'd like to meet him and the rest of your mates from work," Nora said cheerfully.
"I can arrange that," Miranda said as she squeezed Nora's hand.
The waiter returned with the perfectly browned dessert, a dollop of cream and a handful of berries decorating the top. While Nora busied herself with fixing her tea, Miranda bent down to her purse to retrieve the slim rectangular box and slid it next to the dessert while Nora's head was down. Nora's hand reached across the table for one of the spoons on the plate and froze when she saw the box.
"What's this?" she asked.
"It's for you," Miranda said, shyly.
"My birthday is next month, Miranda," Nora said, pushing the box back in Miranda's direction.
"I know, it's not a birthday gift, love," Miranda said.
"Is there something you need to apologise for, Cariad?" Nora said with a sly smile.
Miranda laughed. "No, I just wanted to buy something for the woman I love."
"I love you too," Nora said as she lifted the box and tugged at the ribbon and used her finger to slit the paper open. She flipped the velvet box open and her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.
"If you don't like it…" she said, trailing off, nervously. She had had no idea what Nora's tastes in jewelry were so, one night as the other woman slept, Miranda had snooped through Nora's jewelry box. She'd tried to purchase something similar to what the woman already owned. She'd chosen opal because it was Nora's birthstone.
"No… I love it…" Nora whispered as she fingered the opal and diamond bracelet. "It's too much, Miranda. I can't accept this."
Miranda took the box from her and gently removed the bracelet from the fastenings holding it in place. She lifted Nora's hand and brushed her lips across the knuckles as she fiddled with the clasp, securing the bracelet around Nora's wrist.
"It's a small token and it suits you," Miranda said.
"A small token? Miranda, this must have cost you a fortune!" Nora exclaimed.
Nora tilted her head to admire the bracelet's sparkle. It was a vine, formed in yellow gold. Next to each leaf was an opal and next to each opal was a small diamond. She had ordered it from a reputable jeweler in London. The bracelet was one of a kind and had indeed been expensive but she didn't care. Miranda had lived a long time and had more than enough money. Her Torchwood salary was minimum wage for the UK.
"Two things I have in abundance, love, are time and money," Miranda said with a smile.
"Thank you," Nora said, not taking her eyes off the stunning gift.
"You're welcome," Miranda said. "Thank you, for giving me a second chance."
Miranda smiled, her heart warmed at Nora's joy. She reached out and picked up her spoon and fed Nora the first bite of the dessert that had sat, neglected, between them. The two women alternated between eating and feeding each other the sweet confection, smiling at each other, tuning out the rest of the crowded restaurant.