Context: I decided to try something new. Takes place a few months after Matthew is born.

Dedicated to Lois Lowry, for writing 40 books and still going strong, and making my underrated OTP canon. And for the names, as well.

For Kerri, for being the first reader and always being so sweet. :3

Into The Open Air

Cafe Bene had a breakfast bar along the back wall, facing away from the rest of the tables. Most people who came by themselves sat there, shutting out the rest of the world with their newspapers and earbuds. Jamie had dubbed it The Loner Bar.

He always felt bad for them, the ones who chose to sit with their backs to the rest of the shop. He always wondered why they liked to be alone, but he never asked. He may have been curious, but he wasn't nosy.

At least…he wasn't nosy when it came to most of them. There was one exception to that unspoken rule.

"Just talk to her."

The boy shook his head vehemently. "Mr. Bradley, I can't."

"It's Jamie, remember? And why can't you?"

"Because." He turned back to his laptop screen. "It's complicated."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "What's so complicated about it? There's a girl, you like her, you should go talk to her."

The only answer he received was the tap-tap-tap of the keyboard.

Jonas Tyler had been a regular long before Jamie started working here. He was a uni student, majoring in English and never seen without his trusty laptop. Jamie had learned quickly to keep conversation away from embarrassing topics; as an aspiring writer, Jonas was always on the lookout for something to keep his fingers busy on the keyboard. "You never know when you'll get inspiration," he'd say.

Jamie pushed on the lid on Jonas's computer, shutting it. "Come on, Joe. I'm serious."

Jonas bit his lip. "Maybe I'm not interested. Ever think of that?" His bright blue eyes darted around for a moment, a nervous habit of his.

"Right. You're always so careful to not be caught watching her, and you're not interested."

"Exactly."

Jamie took a sip of his tea. "I'm trying to help you, Joe. You might as well tell me, or otherwise I'll -"

"You're not helping me."

Jamie stared at the young man for a moment. "What?"

Jonas opened his computer again, his eyes glued to the screen as he spoke. "You're not helping me."

Jamie blinked, stunned. "What…what do you mean? Do you not want me to talk to you?" He scoffed. "You know, I didn't have to come over and talk to you. I just figured you looked kind of lonely and you needed someone to hang out with, but I can just easily leave -"

"I see the way she looks at you."

He was silent, brown furrowed in confusion. "What?"

Jonas chuckled and continued to type. "Mr. Bradley, I know you're married and all, but sometimes I wonder if that's what blinds you from everyone else."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Jonas was about to answer, but was cut off by the beeper on Jamie's watch. "You'll have to figure it out another time," he said wryly. "Duty calls."

Jamie thought about Jonas's words for the rest of his shift. Why couldn't he stop being so confusing and just tell him what the problem was? He couldn't very well help him out if he didn't know what was going on.

He noticed that she was late today. Jonas sat for another hour before she came in. He immediately smoothed his hair and sat up straighter, pretending to be engrossed in his writing.

"What can I get you, Kira?" Jamie asked. "The usual?"

Kira Garrin pushed her glasses up her nose, nodding. "Yes, please."

"You want whipped cream?"

She smiled. "Of course."

"Alright. That'll be three fifty-seven. It'll be ready in five minutes."

She paid him, glancing nervously at his face. She chose a seat a few chairs down from Jonas, taking a book out of her messenger bag. Jamie couldn't help but notice that she continually looked toward the front counter.

She must really want her hot chocolate, he thought.

Jonas was still typing when Jamie was walking over to her seat.

"If you want, I can talk to her for you."

Jonas sighed. "Wouldn't hurt, I suppose. Just don't arch your eyebrows, okay?"

"Why would I…?"

Jonas was back to writing before he could finish his question. Jamie shrugged and walked to where Kira was reading.

"Here you are: medium hot chocolate with whipped cream."

"Thanks." She carefully set her book down, taking the plastic cup from him. She immediately averted her eyes, her face steadily growing pinker.

"So how's the reading coming?"

"Well, Ernest Hemingway may be easy to read, but he's difficult to understand." She giggled loudly, quickly glancing behind him before looking back at her drink.

Jamie nodded. He'd dropped out of secondary school; he had no clue who Ernest Hemingway was. He always pretended to listen when Jonas went on a rant about him.

"Well, I'm personally not a fan, but my friend Jonas is." He gestured down the bar. "He comes here often."

"Oh, right." Her cheeks were fully red now. "He's the one with the laptop."

Jamie perked up. So she knew him. "Yes. That's him." He cleared his throat. "Listen, he has a hard time making friends, and I'm trying to get him to open up, so I was wondering if you'd maybe…"

Kira began to wind a strand of auburn hair around her finger. "I wouldn't want to disturb him," she said to the bar top. "He's always so engrossed in typing."

"Jonas wouldn't mind."

Kira shook her head. "I'll think about it." She looked him in the eye, smiling. "I think it's time to get back to work." She raised her voice slightly. "I wouldn't want to be the reason you get in trouble for neglecting your job." She glanced over his shoulder again, a look of disappointment crossing her face.

"Right…" Jamie gazed quizzically at her for a moment before walking back behind the counter, feeling her eyes boring into the back of his head the entire time.

He'd figured it out.

"Cathy?"

"Yes, dear?"

Jamie shifted in bed, sitting up against the headboard. "Did you ever have a crush on someone?"

Cathy giggled, amused. "No, of course not. That's why I'm married to you."

"I meant did you ever have a crush on an adult. Like a professor or…" He swallowed. "An employee at a coffee shop."

Cathy's grin widened. "Are you trying to tell me someone fancies you, Jamie?"

Jamie folded his arms. "It's not funny," he mumbled.

"I didn't say it was." She hugged him around the waist, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "It's cute."

"What's cute about it? She's not some eight-year-old, Cathy. She's a uni student, who obviously needs to get her eyes checked if she can't see my ring or the fact that there's a perfectly nice guy who's interested in her."

"So someone likes her?"

"Jonas Tyler, the shy bloke I keep telling you about."

"He's the one with the computer, right?"

"Yes." He was about to go on when Matthew's cries interrupted him.

"Has he tried talking to her?" Cathy called as she walked out of the room.

"No, he refuses. He doesn't want my help, either. He knows that she's got a thing for me."

Cathy reappeared a moment later, cradling Matthew and settling back into bed. "Could you hold him for a second?" she asked, lifting up her pajama shirt.

Jamie smirked. "Picked a great time to be hungry, Matt."

Cathy swatted his arm, taking Matthew back and holding him to her breast. "I believe we were talking about something else."

"You can't expect me to focus when you're doing that."

"Get used to it." She gave him a stern look. "So Jonas doesn't want to pursue her because he knows she likes you. He knows you're married, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, he shouldn't feel very threatened."

"Apparently he does." Jamie ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe he thinks she'll never get over me or something."

"What did you say her name was again?"

"Her name's Kira. Kira Garrin."

Cathy's eyes widened. "You're talking about little Kira Garrin?"

Jamie slowly nodded. "Do you know her?"

"She sees Dr. Carlson every Saturday morning. She's one of the patients I get to work closely with. She has high anxiety and is very shy when it comes to boys."

"Really?"

"She asks me about that a lot. And…funny thing is, she knows who you are and that you're my husband. I remember showing her a picture and telling her a bit about you."

"So…if she knows all that, then why does she fancy me? I mean, it's a bit of a lost cause, isn't it?"

Matthew started to whimper, squirming in Cathy's hold. She placed his face on her shoulder, patting his back. "Girls are odd sometimes, sweetie. The lengths we'll go to for love are absolutely -" She stopped, a sly smile creeping onto her face.

"Cathy?" Jamie peered at his wife. "Are…are you alright?"

"Jamie, do you know what Kira and I discussed the other day? She was curious about how to get someone to notice her. And at some point, the idea of making someone jealous came up."

"So?"

Cathy rolled her eyes just as Matthew burped. "Jamie, I'm fairly certain Kira's using you."

"Using me? That's ridiculous! There's no way. James Andrew Bradley does not get used."

Cathy leveled a look with him. "Honey, I think I know more about how her mind works than you do. She's trying to make him jealous."

Jamie sighed, defeated. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it?"

"First, you can stop pouting about it." She smiled, kissing his cheek. "And second, I have an idea that I'll run by you tomorrow."

Jamie frowned. "Why not now?"

Matthew yawned, snuggling into Cathy's shoulder. "You're forgetting he's only a couple of months old. He's going to be up at around four or five. You'll need your sleep." She walked out of the room to put him back in his crib.

"Remind me why I'm getting up that early?"

"Because you're his father!" she called.

"You breastfeed him!" he shot back.

"It's your turn!"

"Well…" He paused as she came back in. "You're the one who seduced me that night."

"You're the one who insisted on the bed sheet," she reminded him, crawling under the covers.

"You're the one who finds it sexy," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"And what's the harm in that?"

"Nothing," he said, turning off the light and resting his chin in the crook of her neck. "Absolutely nothing."

He tapped his fingers against the counter. Thirty seconds until his break. Where was she?

This wasn't going to work. It was a terrible idea. He should just forget about it and focus on -

There she was. She waved at him through the window. He smiled back, untying his apron.

"I'm on break!" he called into the backroom, walking out from behind the counter. He arched an eyebrow as he approached her. "And what brings you here? You take the day off or something?"

"Something like that. My husband needed my help, and I brought lunch." She narrowed her eyes. "Of course, I could always go back home if he's not feeling up to it." She glanced down at the baby carrier in her hand. "I know Matt was looking forward to visiting his daddy at work."

He laughed. "I've got our own private booth," he said, walking over to the corner. "And we've a whole hour, since it's a full shift today."

Jame peered into the carrier. "Hey, Matt." He gently kissed the baby's nose. "How's my boy? You excited to visit Daddy?"

Matthew giggled, wriggling excitedly and clapping his hands.

"I wish Mummy was this excited to see me," he said, straightening and pulling Cathy to him by her waist.

"Who says I'm not?" She kissed him quickly, but soundly enough to leave him breathless. "I brought turkey on rye, your favorite."

Jamie reluctantly let go, lifting Matthew into the baby seat that sat beside the table. "Extra tomatoes?"

"And pickles," she added, unloading the lunch bags on the table. "I brought a bottle for Matt, just in case he's hungry."

"Well, we may be here a while." He sighed. "So be glad you packed a lot of food."

Ten minutes later, Jonas walked in. He took his usual place, glancing quizzically at Jamie before focusing on his laptop screen.

"Is that him?" Cathy asked, taking a handful of potato crisps from the bag.

Jamie nodded. "That's Jonas."

"He's cute."

Jamie gave her a look.

"Not as cute as you." She softly squeezed his hand. "But it's really no wonder Kira's taken a liking to him."

"Speaking of her…" Jamie nodded at the door just as Kira entered. "You ready?"

"Are you?"

He scoffed. "I'm always ready."

Kira ordered her usual hot chocolate, glancing around before her eyes rested on Jamie and Cathy. She walked over, looking slightly put-out.

"Hello, Dr. Cathy," she said, scuffing the floor with her foot. "I…I didn't know you'd be here today."

"I thought I'd take the afternoon off and visit." She glanced at Jamie. "It's been a while since we've had a proper lunch together."

"That's…sweet." Kira looked over her shoulder at the bar, quickly turning away. "I, um…well, it was nice to…"

"We know about Jonas," Jamie said bluntly.

Kira froze. "What…what are you talking about?" She shook her head. "I don't…"

"That's why you were trying to flirt with me, right? You knew it would drive him crazy."

Kira's face steadily grew redder. "I…"

"Jamie." Cathy glared at him before turning to Kira. "When we talked about methods to get a boy's attention, I didn't think you'd actually try making him jealous."

Kira shrugged. "I didn't know what else to do, alright?" She looked at Jonas. "He's always so engrossed in that thing." Her shoulders slumped. "So what's the use? He doesn't know who I am."

Jamie chuckled. "Kira, trust me. He knows who you are. And he's noticed you talking to me."

"How do you know?"

"I talk to him. Which is what you should be doing."

Kira winced. "I can't. He…he won't want to."

"Remember what I told you last week?" Cathy asked her. "Don't go to the worst-case scenario right away. Just try it and see what happens."

"He likes you, Kira," Jamie assured. "He's just a little shy to approach you, is all."

Kira bit her lip, staring at the ground for a minute. Finally, she sighed. "Alright. I'll try. But if it doesn't work, I'm leaving."

"Well, it's time for me to get back to work." Jamie gently stroked Matthew's cheek. "I enjoyed having you visit, Matt. Be good to your mum, okay?"

Cathy settled Matthew back into his carrier and buttoned her coat. "This was fun. I think we should do this more often."

"Well, it's not every day I get an hour off from shift and you get the afternoon to yourself."

She laughed. "Then more lunch dates on the weekends, then."

"I like that idea."

"I'll see you at home." She pulled him into her arms. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "Have a safe walk home."

Before she left, they both glanced over to The Loner Bar. Jonas had his laptop closed for once; he was currently engaged in a conversation with Kira, making her giggle and fiddle with a strand of her hair. They both had huge smiles on their faces.