This is Prompt No. 31-Fairground

Mitchie didn't find out what Shane's thoughtful look meant until a few days later when she was walking down one of the many hallways of the base, looking for Caitlyn. He saw her before she saw him and he hurried to catch up with her. "Looking for Caitlyn?" he asked innocently.

Mitchie nodded. "I'm rather lonely today." She smiled up at him. "Present company excluded, of course."

Shane nodded and smiled. "Of course." He then lightly grabbed her arm and began pulling her in the opposite direction.

"Shane!" she cried, more surprised than angry. "Where are you going?"

He flashed her a smile and continued to pull her along. "You said you wanted to be normal, so we're going to be normal."

For a moment, Mitchie was unable to understand what he was talking about, but then her earlier statement came back to her mind and she smiled to herself. Leave it to Shane to take a comment made in passing and make it a reality. "Okay," she said softly, showing him that she was going to be compliant. "You planned this, didn't you?" She was rewarded with an excited nod.

Shane led her down to the horse and buggy tunnel, helping her into the buggy with an over exaggerated bow and a wink. Mitchie smiled, trying to force the giddy feeling she was experiencing down into the pit of her stomach. He sat down next to her and nodded to the driver, who flicked the reins and started the horse off on its two-hour journey.

"Do I get any hints?" Mitchie asked, curiosity getting the best of her after only a few minutes into the ride.

Shane glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Bored already?" he asked. "My my, I must freshen upon on my entertaining skills if you are!"

His teasing made Mitchie blush. "No," she assured him. "I'm not bored. I'm just really curious." She decided to tease him right back. "You're being very mysterious, Monsieur Harlequin."

He smiled back at her as she reminded him of France, and said, "I would love to tell you. Actually, I'm dying to tell you, but I can't. Otherwise, I would miss the look on your face when you arrive."

Mitchie suddenly felt very self-conscious of her face. "Is it going to be a look of horror, or a look of absolute bliss?" she asked, worried that it would be the former option.

Shane noticed her face and let out a laugh. "I hope it will be a look of happiness." His mind wandered back to the look on her face when he had given her the letter from her brother and his wife. He could only hope that her expression today would mirror that one. "I have a feeling you'll like it.."

Mitchie nodded. "If you think so, then I'm sure I will. I trust you." The look on her face as she said it made Shane's heart beat slightly faster. She trusted him!

"I'm glad." Shane told her honestly.

They rode in relative silence for a long time before they reached the end of the line and Shane stepped down first to help Mitchie down. Instead of offering his hand, he put his hands lightly around her waist and lifted her down. "What are you doing?" Mitchie gasped as he set her down on the floor of the tunnel.

Shane raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Mitchie looked from the buggy to the young man and finally said, "You've never lifted me down."

He cocked his head to the side and asked, "Isn't that normal courting behavior?"

Mitchie's face flamed as it did every time Shane spoke of courting. "Yes, but you've never-"

"I told you," Shane said, cutting her off. "I want you to feel normal today."

He offered her his arm, and she took it after a moment, her grin getting wider and wider as time went on. Finally, she was getting to go courting, proper courting. Together, they walked up the steps and found themselves once again in the dark prop room. "Where now?" Mitchie asked good-naturedly, beginning to enjoy the element of surprise Shane had created for her.

"Follow me," he instructed, taking her hand and pulling her gently through the theater.

She obediently followed him, trying to think of what he had planned for her, but she had no idea. Soon, as they neared the main doors of the theater, Mitchie could hear a lot of noise coming in through the wooden doors. She frowned and began to wonder if the war had come here to Washington and that was why Shane had brought her here.

"No!" she thought, berating herself for not thinking clearly. "Shane told me that we were going to do something 'normal.' Espionage is definitely not normal."

"Everything alright?" Shane asked, noticing that she had stopped and was staring at the doors very hard.

Mitchie shook herself out of her thoughtful state and nodded. "I'm fine," she said with an apologetic smile. "Let's go."

Shane held open the door for her and she stepped out, right into the middle of a throng of people. Almost immediately, she stopped, and Shane ran right into her, putting his hands on her shoulders for support. She looked right and left, seeing all the people laughing and talking, with streamers flying from all around and music playing from somewhere down the street.

"Are you surprised?" Shane asked, bending over and speaking loudly in her ear so that she could hear him over the noise of the crowd.

Mitchie looked around, examining all the stands selling different delicacies, shriveled due to the harshness of the war. She took in the haggard, but happy, expressions on the people's faces, and she turned around and smiled up at Shane. "I'm very surprised," she told him. "And I'm also very happy."

Shane nodded as well, pleased that she approved of his "normal" outing. "Do you know where you are?" he asked her.

Mitchie shook her head. "I know we're in front of the theater, but other than that, I'm rather lost."

He pointed down the street at a tattered little banner that hung from one house's window ledge to the other's window ledge. Mitchie squinted, but she couldn't make out the words. "These are the fairgrounds for the autumn festival," he explained. "The festivities are a little shabbier than usual since the war's pretty much wiped every green thing out, but it's still very much like a party." He smiled and said, "Here, you can act normal for today."

He motioned for her to follow him and then began weaving through the crowds. Mitchie started to follow him, but a thought made her stop for a moment and ask aloud, her voice muffled by the other voices, "What exactly is normal?"

A/N: Did you like it? Let me know!