"Do you...want anything to eat?" Dakota asked.

Helen hesitated. "What is the food like in this era?"

"Not so bad. Mainly fast-food, as you can tell." Dakota grinned and patted his belly.

Helen sighed. "I guess I am a little hungry."

"We've got pizza, chicken, subs. What do you want?" Dakota asked.

"A cheese pizza, if you would be so kind," Helen sighed.

"Cheese pizza. Got it." Dakota grinned at her and left the room, picking up the phone in the kitchen.

Helen sighed again, kissing Lily on the forehead. Lily giggled, reaching up to grab her nose. Helen also giggled and gently removed Lily's little fingers from her nose. "Mr Dakota, do you have any-." She broke off, spotting a rattle on the floor. "Nevermind." She scooped up the little rattle and placed it in Lily's hands.

Lily shook it eagerly, giggling as she did so. She accidentally smacked Helen in the face with it. Lily giggled, unaware of what she had done and tried to swing at her again. Helen skilfully captured the rattle and shook it over Lily's head, causing the little girl to giggle again and reach for it.

"Can you get it?" Helen cooed, holding it a little higher.

Lily babbled and waved her little arms.

She reminded Helen of her own children, when they were young. She clearly remembered little Nancy swinging her own tiny arms as she attempted to grab something held just out of her reach.

Lily's giggle brought her attention back to the baby, who had managed to grasp the rattle and stick it in her mouth.

Helen laughed. "You are adorable."

There was a knock on the door.

Frowning, Helen hesitated. "Mr Dakota! There is someone at the door!"

"It's dinner!" Dakota said excitedly. He opened the door and greeted the delivery man with a friendly grin.

The man, who looked quite bored, simply nodded his thanks at the tip and left.

Helen frowned. "What…?"

Dakota lifted the box into the room, grinning. "The pizza we ordered."

"So fast…?"

"Yup. Ever since those hoverboards were invented, it arrives within a few minutes. If that."

"Hov-Hover…?!" Helen shook her head. "I don't want to know."

Dakota chuckled. "Hungry?"

"Yes."

"Come into the kitchen and we can eat."

"Alright."

The dining room was not that bad of a room. It was small, yes, but in a cosy sort of way. The floor was tile, and there was an antique wooden table in the centre.

"Cavendish won this at an auction a few months ago," Dakota explained, setting the steaming box of pizza onto the tabletop. "He's got an eye for these sort of things"

Helen stared at it. "It…really is beautiful. And a shame that the only food that is lain upon it is fast food."

"Yeah, well..." Dakota shrugged. "Cavendish can cook, but he's always too busy to make anything."

"Ooh, he can cook?" Helen hesitated, realising how quickly and eagerly she had spoken. "I-I mean..."

Dakota gave her a funny look, then nodded. "Yup. All sorts of gourmet dishes."

Helen raised her eyebrows. "He…doesn't seem the type."

"He doesn't seem the type for a lot of things." Dakota nodded in agreement, pulling out some paper plates for them to eat off of. "He seems really mean, but really, he's a big softy once you get to know him. He likes art, classical music, antiques. Sometimes he does crafts. He never sleeps, though."

"He should," Helen said. "Not sleeping is bad."

"I've told him." He sat across from Helen. "He doesn't listen to me."

"Maybe he will listen to me."

"If you could get him to listen, I'd be impressed." Dakota sighed. He chewed on the tip of the pizza.

Helen hesitated. "I should apologise to him, shouldn't I?"

"That would be wise," Dakota agreed.

Helen sighed. "I..."

"What?"

"I don't like apologising at the best of times."

Dakota shrugged, his mouth full of food. "Well, it would help."

"Ugh."

"She shouldn't bother apologizing to me," Cavendish said from the top of the stairs.

"Good because I wasn't going to!" Helen snapped up at him. "Stop eavesdropping!"

"I wasn't eavesdropping!" Cavendish snapped. "Can I not walk around my own home?"

"Nope."

"Well, fine, then."

Helen hesitated. "L-Look, I am sorry. F-For kicking you and insulting you."

Cavendish sighed. "It's...no big deal."

"It…It's just…a lot has happened to me today. I-I had my husband's funeral, and then I time-travelled a hundred years into the future. It's too much for me to comprehend, really."

"I...I understand," Cavendish said carefully.

Helen closed her eyes and lay her head on the table.

Cavendish cleared his throat. "Would you…care for some tea?"

Helen looked up in surprise. "Y-Y-Yes, please."

"Sugar or cream?" He asked over his shoulder, crossing to the stovetop.

"S-Sugar, please."

He opened the cabinet, pulling down a container of sugar.

Helen watched him uneasily.

Cavendish filled a kettle with water from the sink, then placed it on the stove.

"So," He began, keeping his eyes on the kettle. "I heard you were good with children."

"I have two of my own," Helen replied cautiously. "Richard and Nancy."

Cavendish nodded. "Cute. How old?"

"Richard is sixteen and Nancy is fourteen."

Cavendish sighed. "Fun ages."

"Y-Yes." Suddenly overcome with sadness, Helen stared down at her feet. "I-I am a horrible person..."

"No you aren't," Dakota protested, swallowing a mouthful of pizza.

"I am a horrible mother, at least."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Wh-When Edward died…" Helen swallowed. "I t-turned to alcohol. I was deemed an unsuitable p-parent. My children…were t-taken away from me and given to Edward's sister to raise."

Both men froze.