"Inventing the Future"

"Chapter 45: Burning the Midnight Oil"

Meredith was six months pregnant, and in Jaming's mind the pressure was on to find out where he had gone wrong with his Aeroharmonics theory. He had been pulling all-nighters again, and was noticeably sleep-deprived during the day. Not wanting to be a nag, Meredith said nothing about it at first, and hoped he'd stop on his own. When it became clear that he was firmly stuck in 'work mode', she tried to think of a good way to bring it up.

One night, when Meredith went out to the garage with a thermos of hot coffee, she found him combing through his notes at his work table for the umpteenth time. His forehead rested in his hand, and his spiky hair was more untidy than usual from his having run his hand through it so many times out of pure frustration.

"I thought you could use some coffee," she said when he looked up.

"Thank you," he replied distractedly before looking back down at the papers on the table. "You can just leave it on the table..."

She did set the thermos down on the table, but instead of going back out again she sat down beside him. "How's the work coming along?"

His brow contracted in frustration, but it was not directed at her. "Sometimes, I almost think I have it. It keeps rattling around inside my head, but I'm still no closer than I was before."

"You do know you're not under a time limit, don't you?" Meredith traced her finger along the cool metal of the work table.

Jaming shuffled the papers around, then winced and stuck his finger in his mouth when he received a paper cut. "I can't afford to think like that. If I start telling myself, 'oh, I have plenty of time', I'll get lazy."

Meredith adjusted her flimsy summer nightgown and curled her toes around the rung of her stool as she remarked, "There's something to be said for a happy medium."

"Happy mediums are for people who are happy being mediocre," he retorted loftily, but the effect was ruined by a wide yawn, which he quickly tried to cover. "My goodness, excuse me..."

Meredith snorted. "Oh, 'mediocre' my behind. And wow, a man yawns in mixed company, how scandalous."

"I just wish I could figure this out..." he sighed.

"Do you think your lack of sleep might have something to do with it?" Meredith asked him, doing her best to sound casual about it.

"I don't know," he mumbled, pushing aside his notes. "I think I'll have some of that coffee now. Do you want any?"

Meredith could see that he could probably fall asleep within the space of a minute if he simply put his head down and closed his eyes. The poor man was exhausted! "No, thanks. I'm trying to avoid caffeine. Especially at this hour."

He smirked tiredly and lightly brushed her cheek with the knuckle of his index finger. "Speaking of which, I thought you were here to ask me to come to bed. Not that I don't appreciate the coffee."

"Oh, I know better than that. Once you have it in your head that you need to do something, there's not much I can do to change your mind." She watched as he poured some of the coffee into a plain white mug. "So, I brought you coffee instead."

"You're too good to me."

"Just...don't work too hard, okay? You work with some pretty dangerous tools in here, and I worry." She shrugged, as if apologizing.

Jaming paused with the coffee mug at his mouth, staring into the dark liquid with a frown. He then sipped the coffee, which was still very hot and laced with just the right amount of sugar, before putting his drink down and looking at Meredith. "You don't have to worry about me. I know my limits, and if I ever feel impaired, I take the day off to recharge. You know that, right?"

"Yeah." She hoped her reply didn't sound as unconvincing to his ears as it did to hers. "I hope I'm not starting to annoy you with this."

Jaming tapped his notes with an accusatory finger. "This is what annoys me. Well, that, and the fact that Cap pointed out the circles under my eyes yesterday when I went looking for you."

"Well..." Meredith hedged, wanting to be truthful, but not wanting to let on that she had noticed them, too. Shifting the subject a little, she asked, "How did he put it exactly?"

"I believe the exact phrase he used was, 'Get off my boat and get some sleep, numbnuts! You look like a ghoul'. Given my complexion, though, he's not that far off."

It was a fairly accurate imitation, and Meredith took a fit of laughing. "That sounds like Cap, all right! I'm surprised that didn't offend you."

Stifling a yawn with his fist, Jaming wondered if coffee was beginning to have the opposite effect on him, or if the heat from the drink was simply reminding him of how tired he was. "For some reason, it doesn't offend me coming from him. I think it's because he talks like that to everyone, so I know he isn't singling me out."

"He isn't," she smiled, "I think you earned his respect when you let everyone take shelter in your garage during that storm."

"That wasn't a big deal..." Jaming blushed, meticulously collecting his notes into a neat stack.

"Wasn't it?" Her smile grew, and she saw that he was avoiding her eyes. "Come on, Jaming. For a little while, everyone saw the real you. And they liked what they saw."

Looking up from tucking his notes into his portfolio, Jaming wondered if this was true or if she was just saying it to make him feel like less of a failure. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

Her calm assurance warmed his heart. Jaming smiled widely, and for once he wasn't self-conscious about his jagged teeth. He cupped her face between his hands and pressed his forehead against hers in one of the gestures he used in lieu of a kiss. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"Yes," She grinned back at him and kissed the corner of his mouth. "But I never get tired of hearing it. I love you, too. Which is why I'm sitting in your garage at one in the morning in my nightgown."

Jaming looked over at the clock on the wall, a little surprised that the hour was so late. He poured his coffee back into the thermos and put it into the fridge. The next day would most likely be another scorcher, and iced coffee would be a refreshing way to combat the heat. "Come on, let's go to bed. You need sleep more than I do right now."

Meredith raised an eyebrow as he laid a hand on her growing belly, and she retrieved his forgotten monocle from the table as he led the way outside. "That's debatable."