Please read and review.

….

The next morning Ace walks into her building. "How are you doing this morning?" Nyssa asks her first thing in her office.

"I am separating myself from those involved to protect them from more anger. I don't know how Graham can remain so calm about this."

"Maybe he is on the outside, but on the inside, he is wanting to."

"Throw cans of Nitro-999 at them."

Nyssa laughs a little bit, "maybe not that far, but maybe he wants to talk to them."

"I yelled at them."

"I heard. Tegan came home last night and wasn't in a good mood."

"Good, maybe she'll learn that I know how to control my own life. Hell, I have been myself off and on since I was 16."

"We know that."

"Nyssa, can we please change the subject." Ace doesn't want to remember why she had to manage everything about her life from a young age.

"Sure, granted today we don't really have much to do. We don't have anything planned for a future event."

"Why don't we start," suggests Ace.

"Not right now."

"Ok." Ace starts up her laptop looking at emails from the past weekend. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the week?"

"No, what about you?"

"Working here, and Saturday I have a date with Graham."

"What are the two of you doing?"

"Ugh I don't know, Graham wants it to be a surprise." Ace looks up to look into Nyssa's eyes.

"You hate surprises." She tries to hold back a laugh.

"I do, but Graham is trying to be sweet."

"He is trying to woo you."

"He already has."

"Ace O'Brien."

"Tegan told you?"

"She did, but I didn't tell her about you checking out his ass, and him checking out yours."

"What?"

"Don't worry only the Osgoods know. We had to delete footage."

"I didn't notice I did that, or even Graham did."

"How often are you checking him out if you didn't notice that you were doing that?"

"I don't know."

"Ace."

"What, really I don't know how often I check out Graham."

"Do you imagine some you know what with him?"

"Gordon Bennett Nyssa." Ace fails to hold back a blush.

"That is a yes from you." Ace looks back down at her computer. "It must be good if you are avoiding eye contact."

"Anything like that will be between me, myself and I. Well, Graham too if the question comes up."

"Is this kissing like how you imagined it?"

"How did you know that we have kissed?"

"Hello, have you met you?"

"I have."

"When you are interested in someone you usually kiss them."

"It doesn't usually take 8 months."

"I think that's because this one means more and you don't want to screw it up. Now tell me."

"It was better," Nyssa's eyes ask for more, "and that is all you are getting I don't kiss and tell. You know that."

"Ace."

"No Nyssa, I am serious about this. Yes we will probably date very publicly; which as you know could bring scrutiny as to many he isn't the normal person I date."

"Jennifer was good."

"And so was Michael, but they didn't get me ya know."

"Graham does?"

"I feel like he does. We both had troubled teenage years, but came out of it."

"That is all?"

"He enjoys the fact that I make my Nitro and the fact I can knock someone out with just a pressure point."

"The Doctor taught you, didn't he?"

"After my 19th birthday, he said I was getting too old to be a delinquent."

"Here you are in your mid 50s still making Nitro."

"I now sometimes have some help making it. He is helping me work on the timers."

"You do spend a lot of time with the man."

"He is becoming one of my favorite people."

"I am glad to hear that." Nyssa smiles at her friends who look down at her computer effectively meaning the conversation is over. "I know I haven't listened to the sign so far today, but I just want you to know that I am happy for you."

"Thank you, just don't go telling your wife about this. She needs to learn her lesson about making bets. She can't know how happy I am just yet."

"I won't, but you know the moment she sees you at the meeting Saturday."

"Remember I have a date with Graham that I don't know what all it entails." Nyssa watches as Ace's smile grows.

"I know, I am going to head to my office now."

A few hours later there is a knock on Ace's door. "Come in. The door opens to a smiling face.

"Have you had lunch yet?"

Ace looks up from her computer looking her visitor up and down, "I sure could eat;" she pauses and looks him up and down, "food."

"Ace."

"Sorry, I had to Graham. I did warn you that there was more." Ace gets up and walks over to him.

"That you did," as Ace gets within arms reach, his eyes drops to her lips before going back up to her eyes. "Sorry, I should have been looking into your eyes."

"You can look anywhere," Ace raises one eyebrow. "I heard we both like checking each other's asses out."

"You do have a nice one."

"And so do you." She takes the food from him, sets it on a nearby chair and grabs Graham by his shirt collar and drags him into a kiss. "Now food, I am famished. I may have somehow forgotten breakfast today." Graham is about to open his mouth as Ace puts a finger on it, "I know that is unheard of with either of us to forget breakfast when we have time, that is."

Graham rubbing her arms, "are you still running on fumes from yesterday?"

"Maybe a little. If I am honest I can't remember the last time I was that angry."

"Even though it hasn't yet been 8 months since I met you, I was shocked to see you that angry and a little scared."

"I never want you to be afraid of me." Ace stands back from Graham, "and I mean never."

"The only person I have seen that angry was the Doctor when she threatened to bring me home if I killed Tim Shaw. The one responsible for Grace's death."

"You wanted to kill him?"

"I did. Now I look back at it and am glad that the Doctor said what she did. I would be just as bad as the many aliens we fought."

"I'm glad you didn't. I wouldn't have met you."

"Though your friends wouldn't be making bets on your love life."

"That isn't your fault Graham. It is the busy bodies we call our friends." Ace bends down to pick up the food, grabs Graham's hand and walks him over to her desk. She brings her chair around so he could be sitting closer.

"I know. I just hate seeing you this upset."

"You're sweet. Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything."

"How come you didn't freak out yesterday?"

"After I was in remission some made a bet on when I would marry Grace. That was the first time people saw a connection between me and somebody else. Though with us, I think it was on a bigger scale."

"How much do you think people put money down on us?"

"I have no idea Honey."

"Honey?"

"Too soon?"

"Not at all," Ace leans over to kiss Graham as there is a knock on the door. "Not right now Nyssa, I am having a private lunch."

"It's not Nyssa," Graham sees the instant change in Ace's demeanor when she hears the voice through the door. "And I know it's Graham. I heard the two of you talking." They recognize the voice as Tegan's.

"I am not at UNIT today because I wanted to get away from you all."

"Not from Graham."

"Just leave us be Tegan." Tegan huffs and walks away. "Sorry about. Now I think we were about here." Ace lays her lips against Graham's in a kiss. After the kiss breaks they start eating lunch. When they are done Graham gives Ace another kiss and heads back to UNIT.