Do they have Thanksgiving on your planet? What kind of pie is the most popular? He grinned. It was Friday morning, and definitely time to play Stump the Alien.

Nine minutes later, an answer chimed back.

Sorry, there is no pie.

Wait. You DO have Thanksgiving? He double-tapped to send, and then got up and headed to the shower. Sophia had left his apartment at an ungodly early hour to go Black Friday shopping with Marissa and, dear God, his mother. He felt twitchy just imagining it. They would probably return this evening either hating one another, or best friends, and he wasn't sure which scenario scared him more.

No. Gullible human.

He rolled his eyes. Score one for the alien. There was a knock at the door.

"Hey guys." He gave a high-five to Rick's young son, David, who made a beeline for the TV. "Hey Martinez, help me think of something ridiculous to ask Oaiea."

Rick grinned. "Ask her if she were a tree, what kind would she be?"

"Ha, good one." He tapped it out and sent it.

"So, how did 'Meet the Parents' go?"

"About how you'd expect." He grinned.

"Right, totally normal, introducing the folks to the new girlfriend. At the White House." Rick shook his head, in amusement.

"Yea, well, not everyone gets to meet the in-laws when they're fifteen." Mark laughed.

"Ha, yea, that was awkward. Wait. Did you just say in-laws?" Rick raised an eyebrow at Mark.

"Bad figure of speech?" Mark hedged. Shit.

"Uh-huh." Rick gave him a dubious look. "I had a feeling about you two. So the mighty Watney has been chopped down, at last. Gonna be floating down the river with the rest of us logs."

Mark rolled his eyes.

His computer chimed.

I am not sure how to answer that question. I defer to your botany expertise.

"Ha! Score one for the humans!" Mark grinned.

x x x

Black Friday shopping might have gained a reputation as a somewhat declassee pastime, but Sophia looked forward to it every year. It had always been something of a family tradition for her, growing up, even though it had been a few years now since her mom had been able to join her. Marissa really enjoyed it as well, and lived far away from her own family. They'd become fast friends over the last year. And so far, her impulsive decision to invite Lynn as well seemed to be working out. It was a nice change-up, from shopping alone, or worse, shopping online. It helped her get into the holiday spirit.

She glanced over her shoulder, to make sure that she was staying in range of the security detail. So far, none of them had been recognized. It was making for an enjoyable outing. Marissa was always fun to spend time with, and she was in fine form this morning, acting as somewhat of a buffer between the newly-introduced Sophia and Lynn.

Marissa laughed and pointed as they passed the Hermès shop. "Think I should get Rick a tie?"

"It'd be kind of an expensive joke." laughed Sophia. Something had caught her eye, in the back of the store.

"A joke that he would only wear once a year!" Marissa grinned.

"They do have nice ties, though. My dad has a few. Actually, let's stop in there for a minute." Sophia turned, as Lynn and Marissa followed her.

Exactly Mark's size, too. It was a black leather jacket; the leather was burnished perfection, supple and smooth.

"What do you think?" she asked Lynn.

"It's gorgeous." Lynn stroked the buttery-soft leather sleeve. "Mark would love it."

Marissa waved a cologne sample at them. "Smell this!" she grinned.

Sophia sniffed obediently, closing her eyes. "It smells like... a spicy gin and tonic! That smells amazing!" She laughed.

"Check out the name!" Marissa turned the card over.

"Voyage d'Hermès?" Lynn read, as the three of them smiled.

"Perfect!" the three of them said in unison.

The next commander of the Ares Program was going to be doing his job, smelling really good.

x x x

"Honestly, Marissa. I can't believe you were alright with Rick signing up to go to Mars again. It's an awfully long time for you and David to be without him." Lynn shook her head. They'd stopped to get some lunch before heading home.

"That's true," Marissa replied, "But this is important to Rick. He had barely gotten to Mars before the mission was scrubbed, and then losing Mark..." she trailed off. "It just ruined the whole experience for him."

"So he wants a re-do?" Sophia laughed.

"It's just something he needs to do." Marissa shrugged. "I'll be here for him when he gets back. It's not like whatever the next thing he moves on to is bound to be easier, in any case. We're talking about Rick Martinez here, after all." She grinned at them.

"Good point." Lynn smiled. She knew all about over-achievers.

"What about you, Sophia?" Marissa asked, "How much longer do you have?"

"A little over a year." Sophia replied.

"Done with the Air Force after that? Or thirsty for more?" She smirked.

Sophia was quiet for a moment. Lynn's eyes were alert, this was clearly something she'd been wondering, herself. "I, um..." she paused for a moment, "I don't know, really. Probably not." She blushed.

"Uh-huh," Marissa teased her.

"Honestly, it's hard for me to imagine what I'll be doing in a year. Dad's prospects for getting re-elected weren't looking all that great a year ago. I had always seen myself moving back to Morgantown. Maybe going into teaching. Now I'm not really sure."

"Now you want to stay in DC." There was a note of amusement in Marissa's voice. "I wonder why?" she deadpanned.

Lynn chuckled.

"Oh, sure!" Sophia grinned, "You guys go ahead and laugh." There was a tap on her shoulder, and she spun around. It was one of the agents, giving her the hand signal that she had been recognized. Time to leave, before a crowd started gathering. She sighed. "Looks like it's time for us to head back."

x x x

"Good job, Valya!" Beck cheered on his baby girl, who had just managed to roll herself over. She flipped onto her back, looking stunned for a moment. Then the lower lip quivered. Mark swooped in and scooped her up before she had a chance to get going.

Beth smirked. "Uncle Mark to the rescue. You sure you don't mind watching her?"

"Let's just get going, before he changes his mind." Chris grinned.

"We'll be fine, don't worry." Mark patted Val, who had taken up her usual spot of residence, cuddled into the crook of his arm. Beth looked unconvinced, but started towards the door.

"You're sure you'll be okay?"

"Babysitting for two hours so you guys can have dinner together? It doesn't really rank very high on the list of difficult things I've done, honestly." Mark rolled his eyes. "I'm her godfather, after all. Least I can do." He took Valya's hand and waved it at Beth. "Bye-bye!"

The door closed behind them.

"Thought they'd never leave," he said to Val. "You want to roll around some more?" He set her carefully down on the blanket again.

Bad decision. Valya started crying immediately.

"Okay, no rolling around. Not a fan of that myself. How about we walk around for awhile?" He scooped her up again and patted her back, as she wailed in his ear.

Fifteen minutes later, he was seriously re-thinking this babysitting gig.

And that was before the suspicious smell appeared.

Shit. Literally, figuratively; it was all the same. It's just fertilizer, he reminded himself.

No. No, the contents of that diaper would kill any plant life within twenty meters.

Still. He needed some practice at this. If he was seriously going to propose to Sophia, who was still well within her childbearing years, he needed to make sure she didn't have that reason, at least, to say no. Sure, he might be on the older side for a first-time dad candidate, but now that he'd had some time to get his head around the concept, he rather liked the idea.

Fresh and clean again, little Val calmed down considerably. In fact, she looked downright sleepy.

Which was how it came to be that an hour later, when Beth and Chris returned, they opened the door to find Mark napping on the sofa, with Val cuddled in the crook of his arm, fast asleep as well.

x x x