"Welcome!" Paara said as they approached the tables. "We have drinks over there, the food is almost ready."
"Thank you," Fatima said gratefully as they made their way over to the small counters.
"Here you guys go, would you like any fruit to put in it?" a man asked, passing them both cups of water. He gestured towards a tray of fruits next to the cups. Fatima took a strawberry and put it in her cup, then smiled.
"Thank you for your hospitality, seriously," she said softly. Rountree nodded and repeated her thanks, then put his hand on her back as they found a spot to sit. "Ty? Are we okay here, or are we in someone's way?" she asked.
"No, you're good. We don't have assigned seats, there's more than enough room for everyone," he reassured them. Fatima nodded. "No one has any food. What's the procedure here?" she whispered to Rountree.
"I don't know, hon. Just wait and see what everyone else does."
"Someone will announce when the food is ready, and we line up to get some. Don't worry, there's always enough for everyone. She's probably helping the cooks as we speak," Ty said, as if he was sensing her confusion. Fatima smiled softly.
"Thanks," she said softly. "I didn't mean to come off as rude, I just-"
"You're in a completely new environment. You're confused and scared, I get it," Ty said softly.
"How did you and Paara meet?" Rountree asked politely. "If you don't mind me asking."
"Not at all, I never turn down a chance to talk about my girl," Ty said, smiling softly. "I was attacked by someone who came through the same sinkhole that I did. Paara found me, stitched me up, and while I was regaining my strength, a winter storm blew in. We were trapped in a cave for quite a while, so I made conversation. She, um, did not trust me at first," he said, laughing.
"Talking about me, huh?" Paara asked, sitting next to him. "Food is almost ready."
"Just telling our guests how we met," Ty said sweetly. "We were trying to get a young kid to 1988 through an aurora. I still had cancer at the time, and I got a nosebleed when we were walking. She sat me down, helped me, and we talked for a while. Then, she kisses me out of nowhere. I was surprised, but I didn't mind." Paara grinned and kissed his cheek. "We went through a really rough period, most of which was my fault-"
"No," Paara interrupted softly. "It was mine. I should have listened,"
"But I realized what was important, and I fixed what I had broken," Ty said softly. His hand found her knee and he smiled softly.
"We got married about three months ago," Paara said, showing off her ring.
"Oh, wow, this is beautiful!" Fatima exclaimed.
"Yeah," Paara said, grinning. "This guy had his friend make it."
Just then, a man came around the corner and announced that the food was ready. They lined up and received their plates, then sat down and tried to resist the urge to devour the food.
"I don't think food has ever tasted this good," Fatima said between bites. Rountree nodded in agreement.
"Hey, seriously, thank you guys so much. You don't know how much it means that you guys opened your home to us," he said softly. Paara nodded and smiled softly.
"I hope we can manage to get you two home safely, but until we can, you have a home here," she said softly. Fatima smiled softly. "Do you guys have any Hetty stories? Ty told me one about Afghan monks with trained gorillas," she added, laughing.
"That… Completely sounds like Hetty. You know, my first day at OSP, another agent was with me, and he asked her if she had any advice for me. You know what she told me?" Rountree asked, laughing. "She looked me dead in the eye, like this," he began, imitating the look that Hetty had given him that day, "And she said 'Don't get yourself, or anyone else, killed,' exactly like that," he said. Fatima laughed.
"Oh, you want to tell her how you sat on a pressure plate and did almost get yourself, Deeks, and Sam killed?" Fatima asked, laughing. Paara's eyes widened and she eyed Rountree.
"That wasn't fun," he said, laughing.